Polaroid. Sx 70

[jepper_jet]

Im think im about to buy a sx70 model with autofocus because i like the impossible projects integral film ...i think its called px 70 . But i

dont know what to use the images for... They cant be enlarged , they cant produce any negative , and they are not very big in its self. Is

it possible to scan those littel pictures and make some small posters , say 20x30 cm or even a littel bigger and frame to use on my own

walls or will resolution be to bad to enlarge? And what do you use them for.?

[zml]

<p>Well, there is intrinsic beauty in small format polaroids...<br>

Yes, you can scan them and enlarge them for printing of a smallish, say 8x10", image but IMO it is either the original size (small is beautiful!) or blown up beyond reason to a poster size. You know, extremes often work very well.<br>

And because of the small "canvas" size, simple, austere compositions work best although this is not a hard rule.</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>If you don't know what to use the image for then you should not buy the camera. <br>

I had several versions of the SX-70 with and without autofocus but I don't have them any more. I used them primarily for getting pictures quickly. Today we have other ways to have the pictures quickly so there is no need for the Polaroid camera for me. I do understand that many people still use those cameras and they have valid reasons.</p>

[john_shriver]

<p>Polaroid consumer products never had lenses any sharper than was necessary to make an adequately sharp print at the original size. They didn't waste any money on lenses better than that, since almost nobody paid to have them copied and enlarged. <br>

So, while all the SX-70 were a technological tour-de-force for their day, the lenses are simple triplets.<br>

Certainly you can scan them. Indeed with the lack of image keeping of most of the Impossible Project films, that was pretty much necessary if you wanted to preserve them. The versions they announced last month at Photokina are apparently much more stable, and the first ones with decent color and easy to use. But if it was my picture, I'd still scan it until they get a track record. Even the real Polaroid SX-70 films had some stability issues, the white background cracking, etc.</p>

[john tonai]

<p>The easy answer to making the Impossible black and white photos is to separate the integrated film so that it dries out completely. There isn't a problem of stability when you do this.</p>

<p>However, back to the OP, as BeBu mentioned if you don't know why you would use the camera/process, you need to think about why you want to do it. I use both the PX/PZ films and just started using the 8x10 film I like the qualities of the image and the unique nature of a Polaroid. Think about why you think it is important to enlarge and reproduce them.</p>

<p>Lastly, what do I use them for? Photographs</p>

[m_m3]

<p>Nothing wrong with having fun.</p>

[jepper_jet]

Ok thanks all. What my thoughts are: a couple a years ago i bought a land 195 and just in time i was lucky enough to try

and shoot with the 669 film when it was still cheap and around. When i heard that polaroid was closing i sold the195.

Then some month ago i was in the baisment and found a lot of transfers i did with the 669 on archess aqurelle . I liked

them so much that i put together 30 in a big frame and now its on my white wall i the kitchen. Really really nice and

verypersonal i think. Anyway it inspired me so much that i got a land 250 and a lot of fuji fp 100c thinking i would do

some " reclaimed polaroid" or also called bleached negatives because i like the vintage frame that comes along when

bleaching it. I did a lot of these and i like them but my BIG problem is the fuji film which i dont find artistic enough

compared to the 669. I think its to " nice" and correct in the colors.Now i know that polaroid wasent intended to be used

this way but i think this is what we all love about it. Anyway i got some tips from you John Shiver on trying to heat the fuji.

Actually i did and it really brings out the cyan dye but it also darkens the overall image. Anyway this " dissapointment"

with the fuji led me to try the impos.project films with the sx 70. So like the fuji film andthe 669 and other polaroid films

has /had lots of ways to be used.. Transfers, emultionlifts, bleaching negatives i thought that maybe intergral film could be

manipulated in some way...scanned and enlarged ... Anything. And yes maybe just be satified with the beauty i the

small....

[borrel1]

<p>What to use an SX-70 for? Why, pictures of course! Delicious pictures! http://abdallah.hiof.no/photography/sx-70/ There is something magical about the SX-70 that makes it, along with the Cousteau-Cagnan underwater breathing regulator, one of the ultimate achievements of 20th century analog technology. That it also produces instant and lasting images of its environment, makes it a miracle fulfilled. The master of integral film "instant" photography was of course, Andrei Tarkovsky: <strong>http://tinyurl.com/8v8evoh </strong></p>

[mfophotos]

<p>I have seen some wonderful photography done with an SX-70. It's the last single-lens reflex camera built in America, too. I shot quite a bit with one until the last of the 600 series film was no longer sold (used a ND filter on the SX70). Some of my prints have been on exhibit, and matted and framed, they look like the small gems that they are. Cynthia Davis, who used to live in Ann Arbor, manipulated the Time-Zero film as a major part of her work for years. I have seen some of those prints scanned and enlarged to 18 x 18 " and thought they looked quite nice.<br>

I have a box of the PX-80 Silver shade from the Impossible project that I will try out soon. At $20+ a box for 8 shots, I'm not going to waste it on banal stuff.</p>