Convert your Polaroid to 120 roll film and enjoy it

Many Polaroid lovers e-mail me about converting a Polaroid to MF roll film and

I decide to post it up to offer them a start-point. But be careful you do it

yourself and safety first.

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1) Drill a 1/4 inch hole at the right film chamber, get a 1/4 inch bolt, 1 1/2

inches long make a winding shaft by grinding to made it tip fit the hole of 120

roll film, get a 1/4 inch knob from home depot or surplus store, make an adapter

by two ends from the old roll film.

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2) At the left chamber make a film holder bracket or just shim both side to

prevent the roll film bouncing.

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3) Drill a 7/16 hole in the pressure plate and cover by a clear red plastic or

glass.

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4) Prevent light leak from the back by black cloth or velvet..., very careful.

I still make mistake some time but better now.

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<img src="http://i23.tinypic.com/23j4ff8.jpg">

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<img src="http://i20.tinypic.com/24mero8.jpg">

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<img src="http://i23.tinypic.com/5ydfg0.jpg">

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<img src="http://i20.tinypic.com/jzv4nk.jpg">

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You can make masks for different formats. Here are some pictures of the

Polaroids and some taken by Polaroids in 6x12 format

I have done this exact mod to mine and it works very well. I did some research before I modified mine and other people were drilling through the top for the winder which makes no sense at all.

I have a label on the bottom of mine which gives the amount of rotation needed between frames.

 

I used the spool holding mechanism from a defunct Agfa Isolette for the supply spool.

 

6 x 12 is a bit optimistic. It's closer to 6 x 10 - but still worth doing though.

 

 

Steve.

Scroll down here a bit for a picture and a bit further down for more detail:

 

<url>http://www.f295.org/DIYforum/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?b-misEquip/m-1146826169/</url>

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Steve

Nice work, great pictures ! What I want to see though is someone converting an SX-70 to 120 roll film :-) I reckon there's jussst enough space in a 600 film pack for a roll of film if the battery was taken out and the camera powered externally.

Minh's The Man.

What model Polaroid are you working with?

Well done Minh!

Eddie... this conversion will work with pretty much ANY of the roll-film Polaroid cameras except the Model 80... it CAN be done to the Model 80 as well but that requires some grinding of rivets down in the body. Just to encourage more...

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<img src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/patrickjdempsey/Polaroid%20Land%20Camera%20Model%20150/img095.jpg" width=600>

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This is a crop from a 6x12cm neg... probably about a 5x6cm section. This is from a Model 150. It also looks really cool when its strapped to your side... sorta reminds me of the scientific equipment Mr. Spock used to carry on away missions... Mr. Spock I aint:

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<img src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/patrickjdempsey/mebyhelen.jpg">

Who is that handsome guy ?

 

Thanks for looking at this gentlemen. Minh

I have a PL 250 that works fine with PL pack film. PL Film is really too expensive. Can that model be converted and how do we bypass the exposure meter or do we just use 120 film that is ISO campatable like 100 ISO and simply use the internal metering system? I'm guessing that's a good way to go. This sound very interesting.

 

Patrick, your photos are wonderful.

 

Minh, thank you.

It's not practical to convert a Polaroid 250 to MF roll film, because there's no room for the film, you have to add-on a roll film back, expensive and looks ugly. If you want an automatic Polaroid, the 900 is an excellent choice. Here are couple pictures taken by Polaroid 900 in electric-eye mode and 6x6 format.

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<img src="http://i23.tinypic.com/23u992r.jpg">

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<img src="http://i22.tinypic.com/4v21pv.jpg">

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<img src="http://i21.tinypic.com/28o8xj.jpg">

has anyone thought about using 70mm roll film in these??

all thes photos are beautifull by the way

Steve,

 

I am currently converting a polaroid 150 to roll film. You said in your post that "I have a label on the bottom of mine which gives the amount of rotation needed between frames." Could you please share that information with us?

 

Chris

Chris

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If you go to link I posted earlier and scroll down to nearly the end, there is a picture of the label.

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I wind the film on with the back on until the start mark/arrow reaches the winder end of the film gate.

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Wind on 5.25 turns to the first frame.<BR>

2.75 turns to the second frame.<BR>

2.5 turns to the third frame.<BR>

2.25 turns to the fourth frame.<BR>

2.25 turns to the fifth frame><BR>

2 turns to the sixth frame.

I meant back open, not back on!

Steve,

 

Thanks for the quick response. I was able to pull up the Jpeg but I couldn't enlarge it enough to see the label clearly. I am currently modding two polaroid 150's. One for packfilm and one for roll film. Your pics are just incredible. I will try to have both cameras up and running by the end of the weekend if all goes well.

 

Chris

Steve, How large is the mask that you made? How large are the photos you are taking? I thought that more pictures could result from a single roll of film.

 

Chris

Steve,

 

Sorry to bother you. I found the information I was seeking from other posts. I am fashioning the film carrier for inside the camera and the 6x12 mask for my negatives. Hopefully, I can show you the results shortly. I got a great buy on porta 160 220mm film. I am going to compensate for the lack of paper backing by attaching some paper to the pressure plate to ensure good registration without excess tension or scratching of my film. Wish me luck!!!!

 

Chris

<p>can eather of you tell me where you get the winding knobs? or what you use to make them?</p>

<p>I got the winding knob at an electrical surplus store and a winding shaft made from a 1/4 bolt</p>

<p>This is a great idea, thanks for sharing it! I have a Polaroid 800 that I'd like to modify to take 120/220 but would like to know if Minh or anyone else has some more detailed photos of the process. I tried following the link that Steve Smith referenced http://www.f295.org/DIYforum/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?b-misEquip/m-1146826169/ but it no longer exists. Thanks.</p>

<p>Looking for a little more detail, just picked up a Polaroid 900 from goodwill for $8 and I want to convert it.</p>

<p>Hey if you had the 800 i would say , yea go ahead and do a 120 roll film conversion. Actually i would say do you 70mm film conversion like i did because you get just about the full image frame and don't have to make a mask. Now the 800 had a better lens front standard i feel, for many reasons. First Because its set up for electronic flash sync and easier to tap into that for a flash shoe. Its easier to adjust the EV setting. Another reason is that it's Lighter. <br>

However with a 900 you should definitely do the 4x5 conversion, because its got the view finder that wont get in the way of the 4x5 back, and 4x5s can accept a 120 or 220 roll film backs and 70mm roll film backs, as well as , of-course, the 4x5 magazines which you can use on occasion if your not really into large format. But it allows you the opportunity to try if you ever wanted and the image captured on the 4x5 film, from the cameras lens would cover a little wider than what you see in the finders frame lines. So in short it would be a much more versatile camera As a 4x5, and when you have more money later on you can add a better front lens on to it that has more control..<br>

I wish i could find another 900 at a thrift store like you did. I kinda messed up my 900 a little doing a 4x5 conversion. Not my fault , lets just say my 6yo niece should learn when she comes to visit, not to try to take things apart that are on my work bench. My sister wouldn't let me talk to her to explain why i got upset at what she broke. As she and my sister told me " it was an old piece of junk , that i got at a flea market anyway." My sister wont get me another, but offered me the 15 dollars i spent. I want another one and Yet i cant find one without spending a lot with shipping. I do have another 800 untouched.</p>

<p>Anyway I'm sorry i Digressed.. oh yea .. Conversions.. DO the 4x5. A little more work but easier than all the holes you have to drill and winding mechanisms you need to create (easy to make mistakes there) for 120. IMHO</p>

<p>hey Michael Calanan , I am sorry i didn't address your question, do you still need help ? are you still following this thread?</p>