polaroid back

[filippo_birichino]

<p>Hopefully this is the right place to post...<br>

i am new with the instant film, and i would like to know which camera i should use to use ( not a polaroid one, but a medium/large format with the polaroid back) the full frame of a fuji fp-100c, which is 8,5 x 10,8 cm.<br>

I guess that if i use a mamiya 6x7 or a hasselblad the picture will be as big a a regular negative frame right?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot</p>

[martin_dake]

<p>No matter what size film you put on the back the final image will only be as big as the camera is designed for. With a Hasselblad or other 6x6 your Polaroid image will be a little less than 6x6 and with a Mamiya 6x7, assuming an RB or RZ, it will be around 70mm square maybe a little more.</p>

<p> </p>

[matthew_stott]

<p>Hi Filippo,</p>

<p>As Martin has said, no medium format cameras (that I have used) use the whole fp-100c image area. A hasselblad 500c uses a 6x6cm square and the Mamiyas use about a 7x7cm square. </p>

<p>If you can find a Speed or Crown Graphic 4x5 press camera with a Fuji or Polaroid back you can use the entire image area. You can also use the entire image area of the larger Fuji fp100c45 film. Any 4x5 camera will pretty much work- the press cameras are great for walking around and shooting polaroids.<br>

I will try to upload some examples in a bit.</p>

<p>Good Luck,</p>

<p>Matt</p>

[matthew_stott]

<p>Some examples (of what I had on hand): all photos shot on fuji fp100c film- just what i had ready on the web tonight. </p>

<p>Hasselblad with polaroid back:</p>

<p><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/mstott/polaroid/hassy-pola-1.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[matthew_stott]

<p>Mamiya with polaroid back:<br>

sorry about the poor quality of the photos!<br>

<img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/mstott/polaroid/mamiya-pola.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[matthew_stott]

<p>speed graphic with fuji pa-145 back:</p>

<p><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/mstott/polaroid/graphic-pola.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[leicaglow]

<p>I use the Polaroid version of the PA-145 back, on my 4x5 cameras. It is a very economical way of shooting instant film (except the backs are not easy to find or cheap). It's about a third the price of a full 4x5" instant film print.</p>

[filippo_birichino]

<p>Thanks a lot...<br>

i guess i will test with a polaroid camera as i can't buy a large format camera right now.<br>

i guess something like this will hold fuji fp 100 right?</p>

<p>http://cgi.ebay.com/Polaroid-Automatic-420-Land-Camera-Ex-w-Manual-/160480671256?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255d64b618</p>

[matthew_stott]

<p>Yes, the 420 will hold the fuji pack films. If you can find a 250,350 or 450 I would go with one of those models instead. They are all great cameras, but the 250, 350 and 450 all have coupled rangefiner focusing, which makes picture taking much easier, as well as glass lenses.</p>

<p>The 250 is my personal favorite, since it does not have the timer built into the back. The timer is nice, but it makes the back a bit thicker, which makes the Fuji film packs tight. This makes pulling the first few photos out of the pack slightly more difficult.</p>

<p>Good luck, the polaroid pack film cameras are a ton of fun to use.</p>

<p>Matt</p>

[AJG]

<p>The one MF camera that I know of that will cover the full Polaroid pack film format even though it maxes out at 6x9 format is the Mamiya Universal system. Expect some vignetting in the corners with some lenses, but it will cover more of the Polaroid than a Mamiya RB/RZ or a Hasselblad. There was also a special Polaroid model of this camera with an interchangeable 127 mm lens that would cover the Polaroid format fully. These cameras and lenses are usually inexpensive when you can find them. </p>

[gian_antonio_soldi]

<p>Hi Folks, I'm new to photo.net, but I already love this forum! I have recently found the old Polaroid Zip that was given to me when I was 8 or so (I'm 43 now!) , so I'm back to instant photography (got a new Fuji Instax 210 too) The problem is, as you know, that the 80 packs are so rare and they all expired a few years go, so I really need an upgrade .... why not get the best, a 4x5 instant camera! To cut the long story short, I might have a chance to get a Polaroid 110, already conververted to 4x5, but I'm not sure I will be able to use it with a Polaroid 550 back, the only one, as far as a know, that would take the 4x5 Fuji packs. Here is a picture, would someone be so kind to tell if this will fit with 550 back? is this a Graflok back?<br>

Thanks!<br>

Gian Antonio</p><div></div>

[matthew_stott]

<p>Hi Gian Antonio,</p>

<p>Both the Polaroid 550 holder and the Fuji PA-45 holder will take the instant 4x5 films (they are essentially the same holder). The Polaroid 405 and the Fuji PA-145 will take the smaller instant films and fit into 4x5 cameras- so you have 4 choices of backs for instant film on a 4x5 camera.</p>

<p>Now- will they fit into this camera? That is a good question- sometimes they do and sometimes they do not. All four of the above holders are pretty thick- so it all comes down to how much the spring back can be pulled out from the camera. If you had a Graflok back, you could remove the ground glass and insert the polaroid holder with no problem, but the spring and trap backs are a roll of the dice as to whether or not they pull out far enough to accommodate the instant backs.</p>

<p>Good luck, instant 4x5 is a lot of fun.</p>

<p>Matt</p>