vintage camera

i don't know if this is the right place to post this, but i didn't see any thing

else describing better. so i bought this vintage camera on ebay. i only paid 2

dollars for it so i'm not really expecting much from it i guess. it's a vintage

polaroid land camera. square shooter. <BR>

<img src="http://i8.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/a7/c8/0ddd_12.JPG"><BR>

this is a picture of it. my question is if this camera is in perfect condition

is it going to work still? like, am i going to be able to find film, a flash,

and batteries for this thing? i don't know anything about cameras, not even a

little bit, and i'll bring this to a shop either way, i just figured i'd post

and ask on here first. thanks all.

The square film was discontinued recently, but your local camera store may still have some on the shelf. Flashcubes have not been made for years, but can be found on eBay. You won't need them outdoors in daylight, anyway. Batteries, should just be AA on that model, are required in almost all Polaroid cameras for the shutter to work. They are fun to use, and if you can find a few packs of film you will get your money's worth. It will have little or no value when the film vanishes from the shelves. I hope this helps.

Well this camera is a real limited thing. Polaroid produced many cameras similar to this. Basically the camera works like this: You can only use one speed of film and you have to use flash. You have to use 75 or 80 speed film and you have to use flashcubes.

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I beleive Polaroid has discontinued all Type 80 films... even though they just reintroduced them a few years ago. Because this is the kind of film that the Holgaroid takes, theres a premium on it so you may pay as much or more for expired Type 80 films as when it was new! You might be able to buy old Flashcubes online from Europe. I think there is something called Polaroid Chocolate which is made in Europe for Type 80 size, but I dont know if its the correct speed... also its probably rather expensive. Batteries are also expensive, especially for the models with flash.

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If you want to get into older Polaroid cameras, I suggest you look for this cameras bigger brothers. The 100 series cameras take Type 100 film which is still produced by Polaroid as well as Fugi in both color and B&W and a wide range of speeds. There were dozens of varieties of them made. The early ones had glass lenses and metal bodies and the later ones were all plastic. The batteries can be found today but are a little pricey, if you are handy with a soldering iron you might be able to install a battery-pack for 2AA batteries. The cameras look like this:

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<img src="http://www.rwhirled.com/landlist/pics/campics/104.jpg">

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Look here for comprehensive information:<br>

http://www.rwhirled.com/landlist/landdcam-pack.htm#cat-packfos

Corey,

 

Sure, it is a cheap camera but that won't keep you from taking award winning photographs...just look at the Holga cult. I have a similar camera that I modified to take 2x3 cut sheet film holders. The back is very easily modified with a dremel type tool. I use 100 ASA film...close enough to 80 ASA not to have to modify the exposure mechanism. The cut film is easily obtained from most on-line photo stores. Look on eBay for cut film holders. Go here for flashcubes (12 for a dollar)

 

http://sciplus.com/singleItem.cfm?terms=7420&cartLogFrom=Search

 

The lens is pretty soft, but pleasingly so. You will be zone focusing anyway.

 

It is a great camera to have some fun with. Don't bother trying to keep it as a collectable camera as millions were made and they are not exactly the best quality. So break out the hacksaw!

This camera uses two AA batteries. It also does NOT use square film, it's rectangular. If you shoot outdoors you don't need flashcubes. These cameras have very good 3-element lenses.