New lenses, new films, good times.

A couple things to talk about, mostly Polaroid related (of course). First, it's a funky eBay purchase I recently made...a set of Polaroid camera accessories, mostly redundant and completely useless. Check this out:


And that's minus a couple boxes I gave to a friend. For $9.99, I got five copiers for Swinger 20s, one copier for the Big Swinger 3000, two lens sets for 100 series cameras, one lens set for the Swinger 20, and one lens set for the Big Swinger 3000. The latter was the one I was interested in, as that's the only (usable) camera I have of the bunch. I think Kalimar is the Japanese company name, and Kaligar is the imported brand.
So I tried out the Big Swinger 3000 set. It comes with a wide-angle lens, a telephoto lens and a viewfinder attachment, all in a nice little case. Unfortunately, the velvety red interior is now red dust.




Here is the naked Big Swinger 3000...


And with a lens attached...


Not exactly elegant, but still pretty cool. So how do they work? I didn't want to waste a bunch of film doing the same shot with each lens more than once, so I just did one scene for comparison, using Fuji FP-3000B. First is a natural shot, no extra lens.


Then the telephoto lens...


And then the wide-angle lens...


The only reason the last shot is lighter is because I was messing with the exposure, as the first two were so dark. It was a very cloudy, chilly day, so the light was low. Definitely a difference between the three! I actually think I like the telephoto shot. It warps the sides a bit and has a nice vignette. They will be interesting to use with some people in the shots. This is a closer shot taken with the telephoto lens.


Can't really tell, but it would be framed much tighter without the lens. Very dark, as well. It was a dark corner of a building, but this brings up the main problem with the lenses. The YES exposure system has a bit of trouble functioning through the extra glass. The system is technically all manual. You twist the knob until you can see YES in the window, which is really just opening and closing the aperture (the camera only shoots at one speed). With the lens attached, you can barely see the YES at all, so after a couple shots I found myself taking the lens off to set the exposure.
Here are a couple goops from above.



One of the few times I've gotten solarization from FP-3000B. I think it must have something to do with temperature while developing, because it was probably 38F outside. So, anyway, another toy to play with. Oh, here is a copier...



I'll mess with it at some point, but I'm not sure quite how it works. For one thing, you are supposed to be at least five feet from your subject when using the camera. And I'm not sure how you get enough light to expose your copy without getting reflection. The Big Swinger 3000 was a cheap camera, so it's not like this is a professional studio setup. According to the box, you just attach it to the camera like above, with nothing about an additional lens. It says you can take close-up shots with it as well, which makes very little sense to me, knowing the basics of focal lengths, etc.
Actually, I'm going to leave all that there, but try it right now. Duh. I used a frame from a Peanuts comic.


Ummm...yeah. About what I expected. I fired the shutter twice because I knew there wouldn't be enough light available. You can see the frame edge in the shot, as well. Sooo...let's try one with the telephoto lens. I know it won't work, but maybe it will.


Nope, even worse. So, I have no idea. There must be a close-up lens you are supposed to use, but it says nothing about it on the box. It just pretends you can hook it to the camera and magically take shots from four inches away. Oh well, still interesting.
A quick bit about the new Polaroid films from Polapremium, 100 Chocolate and 100 Sepia. I was going to save this for a separate post, as these things tend to go a bit long, but I want to get it over with while I'm in the mood (baby).
I didn't buy any 100 Blue, but I may at some point. It might work well for the summer monsoon. First is the 100 Chocolate.


I've used the original Type 80 Chocolate...this is just more of the same tastiness, except more of it. I shot a pack in my Colorpack III and was very pleased with the results. Chocolate is one of my favorites, and the 100 didn't disappoint. Lovely texture, lovely tones. Gives many of the photos a watercolor effect. Here are a few examples...





Then we have the 100 Sepia.


It's a bit of an odd man out, sitting at 1500 ISO. This makes it difficult to use in a non-manual Polaroid camera (though people have gotten decent results from some of them, so far). I used my 180 so I could take advantage of the exposure range. I started I think at about F16 and 125. It was a dark day, so adjustments will be made depending on light. It's an interesting film, very much like 667 with a sepia undertone. It's cold and warm at the same time. It has the cold, harsh look of 667 while still having a wider range between the light and dark areas. And with the sepia adding a bit of warmth, the effect is different than any other available Polaroid film. A few shots, of course...







You can see the wide exposure range, from under to overexposed. I don't use a light meter or anything, but that keeps things interesting. As an added bonus, it makes a nice goop, as well. Much like 667 and Fuji FP-3000B, but a bit softer.



That's it for now. Next time I want to show you some Polaroid film that expired in 1989, and it still works! I leave you with a shot of a sweet batch of 120 film I picked up for cheap, all expired between 1969 and 1972.


I love Verichrome and it usually ages very well. It will be interesting to use the vintage slide film, also. Seeya, peeps. Happy Holidays, whatever you happen to celebrate.

Polaroid Pinhole V 1.02

I've made a couple Polaroid pinholes in the past, most recently using a ProPack back. That camera is now defunct, as in no more. The ProPack back is currently attached to a box camera. Well, I kinda missed my pinhole, and I thought it about time to make a "proper" pinhole Polaroid. Something a bit more permanent that doesn't look like crap. I bought an Automatic 102 awhile ago that I've never used because I didn't feel like messing with the batteries. That, and I have 10 other Polaroid cameras to use. The 102 is a folder, as well, and I thought that would make more sense for a Pinhole, as I could adjust the focal length at any time. And it has a tripod mount, which my previous pinholes were lacking. Though this camera doesn't have a "foot" on the front like my 180 and 195, so it leans forward (and down) when you place it on the ground. I'll have to make a small piece to brace it.
So I took the thing apart. Not a lot of pictures of this process, as it was basically messy and just involved removing as many innards as I could, while keeping the parts I needed.



I used the same pinhole I've used for most of my other projects. I just taped it to the underside of the front cover.



With previous pinholes, I've just used a piece of tape on the front as a "shutter". I wanted something a bit nicer for this one. I thought about using the actual camera shutter...most simple cameras just require removing a spring to allow you to slide the shutter open and closed. Not this camera. The shutter is quite complicated, probably because of the "cocking" system. You cock the shutter with one lever and push the button to fire it. It had a lot of little springs and levers inside. So I just took it out. The camera does have an aperture plate, though. I just taped up the holes I didn't want to use (on a side note, this still has the same plate as the 100, because it had multiple aperture sizes, even though this camera only uses two of them...basically 3000 and 75). So now I can just turn the plate to open and closed.


Another issue to deal with was lightleaks. The camera originally had a seal that I destroyed when I pulled it apart.


I had to think about this one for a day or so. I thought about using some kind of sponge, but I couldn't think of any way to guarantee that light wouldn't shine right through it. While browsing though the craft section at the grocery store, I happened upon the perfect solution...black clay.


I just made a seal with the clay...


The clay is also oven-bake clay, so I don't have to worry about it melting when I take it out in the summer. Chances are it will just cook and harden.
Next, it was just a matter of putting it back together. You can see I snapped a piece off by accident...I just used superglue to fix it. And, in the end, we have a very nice looking Polaroid pinhole!




The simple shutter system. Black is closed, red is open. And I can just cover the front with my hand while opening and closing to prevent camera shake.



I also removed a spring from the underside, because the bellow would slide shut by itself when not latched open.


So, it looks nice, but is it functional? I did three test shots from my patio, at three different focal lengths, using Fuji FP-100C. These are 15 second exposures.
First, fully extended (that's what she said).



Then halfway. You can see that the angle is much wider.



And then, just for kicks, bellows closed.



Interesting, but not something I'll probably do again. Next, a couple self shots, the first fully extended, the second somewhere in between, all at 10 seconds.



The first shot, I must have let the shutter open a bit while the bellows were closed. I look bald in the second shot. And, there is obviously some point at which the edges of the pinhole become visible on the film. I'll have to figure out where exactly that is. Another issue is with the bellow not being stable. If the camera is level, everything is fine, but if the camera is at an angle, gravity makes it want to close, so the pinhole moves while exposing. Though the effect is pretty cool.


So I want to come up with some simple, not ugly mechanism to brace the camera at certain focal lengths. I'll have to think about that for awhile. One last shot into the sun...


That's it! This is a much easier pinhole to take out in the field. It's more compact and I don't have to worry about the tape peeling off and creating a bunch of leaks. Just a couple small issues to tackle to make it easier to plan my shots, and I will be set!
I almost titled this post "It's not a pinhole, it's a funhole!" But that just sounds wrong (and oh so right).
For those into Polaroid that haven't noticed, Polapremium (previously Unsaleable) has three new Polaroid 100 types. 100 Chocolate, similar to the 80 Chocolate; 100 Blue, which looks like expired ID-UV to me, maybe a bit softer; and 100 Sepia, a nice, sharp, sepia-toned film with an ISO of 1500, oddly enough. Must be either based on an old recipe (there was a sepia Polaroid film a long time ago), or it's a combination of 667 and Chocolate. I've ordered some, of course, though I skipped the 100 Blue for now. I'll post some impressions when I get it. I love the 80 Chocolate, so I imagine the 100 will just be more magic. The shipping is a bit killer, so if you can combine an order with a friend, you'll be able to buy another pack of film.
Anyway, I'm sure I have other things I need to post about in the future, but I'll think about that stuff later...
Oh, and check out Gake no Ue no Ponyo if you get the chance. Very nice Ghibli feature, made me smile.

Polaroid Pack Film, the final lesson

I've done a previous post about pack film, but it still seems a bit convoluted. I wanted to simplify pack film (also referred to as peel-apart), as there still seem to be lots of questions about which camera can take which film. I took most of this information from The Land List, so if you want more information about a specific camera, go there and search. Land List is a fantastic recource, but I know when I first started to get into Polaroids, the site just confused the heck out of me. I didn't even know where to start looking. All I want to do here is list the film types and what cameras you can use with that film type. So you can just do a search for the camera name you are curious about and wherever it sits, that's the kind of film it can use. If it doesn't appear on this list, it most likely doesn't use pack film. I'm not going to list the cameras that take 600 film or Time Zero, because that would pretty much be every other camera available (aside from roll film and Spectra).
If there are additional film types available in the future (see Polapremium), I will just add them in here for future searches.
And I'm not covering large format pack film, Type 50s, 800s, etc.

Okay, so there are two basic pack film types, Type 80 and Type 100, and three film speeds, ISO 75-100, ISO 400 and ISO 3000. This is important, because some cameras can use all, while some can only use one or the other.

Type 100 films (ISO 75-100)
Types 105, 108, 125i, Studio, 611, 664, 665, 668, 669, 679, 689, 690, 691, 64 Tungsten, ID-UV (ID Ultraviolet), 100 Blue, 100 Chocolate, Fuj FP-100B, Fuji FP-100C

Type 100 films (ISO 3000)
Types 107, 107c, 084, 667, 3200B, Fuji FP-3000B

Odd Type 100 films
Type 612 (ISO 20,000 for CRT recording)
Type 663 (ISO 800)
100 Sepia (ISO 1500)

Type 100 films (ISO 400)
Types 672, Fuji FP-400B

Type 80 films (ISO 75-100)
Types 84, 85, 88, 89, Viva Colour, Chocolate

Type 80 films (ISO 3000)
Type 87, Viva 3000

Those are all of the Type 80 and 100 pack films that I know of. I included Tungsten 64 (ISO 64) and 125i/Studio (ISO 125) with the ISO 75-100...it's close enough to work the same. Some sites have 690 listed as ISO 125, but mine says ISO 100. ID-UV is ISO 80 in the US and ISO 100 in Europe. Note that Type 084 is different than Type 84. There may also be a Fuji FP-500B. I don't include the Type 612 below, because it requires special equipment. The 100 Sepia is new with an ISO of 1500. Not sure yet how this will work out with an automatic camera, but I've seen some successful shots.

In the camera list, I've broken it down by film types. The first part lists cameras that use only Type 100. The second part lists cameras that use only Type 80, and the third part lists cameras that can take both Type 80 and Type 100. Each section is broken down into which cameras can use the specific film speeds. That's about as simple as I could think to make it. So you can look up your camera and know exactly what kinds of film to use.

All Type 100 and Type 80
Types 084, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 105, 107, 107c, 108, 125i, Studio, 611, 664, 665, 667, 3200B, 668, 669, 672, 679, 689, 690, 691, 64 Tungsten, Chocolate, ID-UV, 100 Blue, 100 Chocolate, 100 Sepia, Fuji FP-100B, Fuji FP-100C, Fuji FP-3000B, Fuji FP-400B, Viva 3000, Viva Colour, and probably Type 663

Models (Automatic) 100, 220, 225, 230, 240, 250, 350, 355, 360, 450, 455
180, 185, 190, 195, 195 NPC version
600, 600SE
Fuji FP-1 (probably takes Type 80s)
Konica Instant Press (probably takes Type 80s)
Pinhole 100

Type 100 and Type 80
Types 084, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 105, 107, 107c, 108, 125i, Studio, 611, 664, 665, 667, 3200B, 668, 669, 679, 689, 690, 691, 64 Tungsten, Chocolate, ID-UV, 100 Blue, 100 Chocolate, 100 Sepia (?), Fuji FP-100B, Fuji FP-100C, Fuji FP-3000B, Viva 3000, Viva Colour (no Type 672 or Fuji FP-400B)

Models (Automatic) 101, 102, 103, 104, 125, 135
Models (Automatic) 210, 215
Models (Automatic) 315, 320, 325, 330, 335, 340
Models (Automatic) 420, 430
Clincher 2
Colorpack 200
EE60
EE66
Instant 30
Propack
Super Colour Swinger III
Super Shooter
Super Shooter Plus
The Clincher
The Reporter
The Reporter SE

Type 100 and Type 80
Types 84, 85, 88, 89, 105, 108, 125i, Studio, 611, 664, 665, 668, 669, 679, 689, 690, 691, 64 Tungsten, Chocolate, ID-UV, 100 Blue, 100 Chocolate, 100 Sepia (?), Fuji FP-100B, Fuji FP-100C, Viva Colour (no Type 084, 87, 107, 107c, Viva 3000, 672, 667, 3200B, Fuji FP-400B or Fuji FP-3000B)

EE55
EE58
EE100
EE100 Special
Memory Maker
Minute Maker
Minute Maker BC
Minute Maker Plus
Minute Maker Plus SE

Type 100
Types 084, 105, 107, 108, 125i, Studio, 611, 664, 665, 668, 667, 3200B, 669, 679, 689, 690, 691, 64 Tungsten, ID-UV, 100 Blue, 100 Chocolate, Fuji FP-100B, Fuji FP-100C, Fuji FP-3000B, 100 Sepia (?) (no Type 672 or Fuji FP-400B)

Colorpack II
Colorpack III
Colorpack IV
CP5
Colorpack M6
Countdown 70
Countdown 90
Countdown M60
Countdown M80
Super Colorpack
Super Colorpack IV
The Colorpack
Colorpack 100

Type 100
Types 105, 108, 125i, Studio, 611, 664, 665, 668, 669, 679, 689, 690, 691, 64 Tungsten, ID-UV, 100 Blue, 100 Chocolate, Fuji FP-100B, Fuji FP-100C (no Type 084, 107, 107c, 667, 3200B, 672, 100 Sepia, Fuji FP-400B or Fuji FP-3000B)

Big Shot

Type 100
Type 084, 107, Type 667, 3200B and Fuji FP-3000B only

Big Swinger 3000

All Type 80
Types 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, Viva 3000, Viva Colour, Chocolate

Colorpack 80
Colorpack 82
Colorpack 85
EE44
Electric Zip
Instant 20
Pinhole 80
Super Colour Swinger
Super Colour Swinger II

Type 80
Types 84, 85, 88, 89, Viva Colour, Chocolate (no Type 87 or Viva 3000)

EE33
EE38
EE88
Instant 10
Colorpack 88
Colour Swinger
Colour Swinger II
Square Shooter
Square Shooter 2
Square Shooter 4

Type 80
Type 87 and Viva 3000 only

EE22
Super Swinger
Swinger EE
Zip

That's it!
There are also quite a few ID portrait cameras that I'm not particularly familiar with, like the Miniportrait 202 and Miniportrait 402, along with various models that require an electrical outlet, as well as various third-part creations. Many take Type 100 films, though a couple take 4x5 film. And I don't know which can take ASA 3000 film and which take ISO 75-100, etc. I also see an occasional pack film camera built by a third party meant to be used dentists or scientists, etc. Typically close-up cameras. If I can ever figure out which is which and what takes what, I'll add them to the list.

AND (always an and), there are also (I believe) four or five different Holga backs. Originally know as the Holgaroid (maybe unofficially), now known as the Polga (Polga Sun 4 is the current model). The original models took only Type 80, the new model takes both Type 80 and Type 100. You just have to read the description or ask questions if you buy one on eBay, as they all look about the same. I wouldn't imagine that ASA 3000 film would work well with these backs, as the shutter speed of the Holga is about 60-100th of a second, I think.

Now that I have the basic list out of the way, you may be wondering why some cameras can take some films and other can't...and you may be saying, "Where the heck are the pictures! Too many words, dude!" A quick review of the difference between Type 80 and Type 100.
Type 80 is a square format and Type 100 is a rectangle format. Simple as that. Here you see the Type 80 pack on top and the Type 100 pack below.


And a Type 80 shot:


Compare that to the Type 100 shot:


Now isn't that easy and a bit obvious?
So...why can some cameras use one type, while others can use both? Well, first off we have the size of the pack. The Type 80 cameras can only use Type 80 because a Type 100 film pack will not fit in the camera. Some Type 100 cameras can take only Type 100, while others can take Both 80 and 100. This is purely dependent upon the build of the camera. Some have little slots inside where the packs go. These slots hold the Type 80 in place via notches on the pack in the larger available space. So with some cameras, the Type 80 will either not push into place because there is no place for these notches to slide into, or the pack will fit but there is nothing to hold it towards the open end of the camera, so it just slides away and you can't pull the tab. You don't know which cameras take one or both unless you look at a list or try it yourself, as you can't tell from the outside. The Type 80 cameras looks smaller when you put them next to the Type 100 cameras, but it's sometimes difficult to differentiate the shape in a photo. Also note that while many of the cameras take both 100 and 80 film, the viewfinder is set for only Type 100, so you need to take into account that the film sits on the right side of the camera.

Okay, so that explains the film sizes. Now...why can some cameras use ISO 75-100 and some use ISO 3000, and some use both? First off, I say 75-100 because color film is sometimes ISO 80, and other times ISO 100, depending on film type, but it doesn't really affect your usage in the basic Polaroid. ISO 3000 (Type 87, Viva 3000, Type 667 and Fuji FP-3000B) is MUCH more sensitive to light, though, and requires a MUCH smaller aperture to expose an image. So...some cameras have a switch on the top front of the camera. This switch sets the ISO from 75 to 3000. If the camera doesn't have the switch, the aperture is either fixed for 75 (many cameras) or it is fixed for 3000 (only a couple cameras). The few cameras that can use both ASA types that don't have switches are completely manual cameras, which tend to be the higher-end cameras (AKA, more expensive cameras). These are the 180, 185, 190, 195 and 600/600SE, plus the Konica and Fuji. You control aperture and shutter speed manually, so you can take a wide range of film speeds and even shoot out of the film's natural range, like using 3000 in a dark room with a fast shutter speed. There are also a few original folder models (Models 100, 220, 225, 230, 240, 250, 350, 355, 360, 450, 455) that have ASA settings for 75, 150, 300 and 3000. The other original folders only have settings for 75 and 3000.

On a side note, I separated the 400 ISO films (672 and Fuji FP-400B), but you could probably get away with using them in any camera that takes ISO 75-100. I haven't tried, but it's close enough that it should work. You might just be a bit overexposed (you could set the exposure knob to darker). I wanted to keep it separate, though, as it isn't ideal. These are considered "professional films", whatever that means for small Polaroid prints. I've used Fuji FP-400B in my 195 and it took a few shots to get used to, but it has a nice tonal range.
More on these different film types in an older post. Some are very rare (like Tungsten 64 and 691), others are very easy to find (ID-UV, 669, 690, etc.)

To end this diatribe, I always get questions asking, "Where do I get such and such film/camera?" The answer? eBay it or google it. Type 80s are rare, but you can find them on eBay regularly. Type 100s are all over the place. It's pretty easy to find the Fuji films, and even the Polaroid types are readily available at OfficeDepot.com and other major outlets (for now, at least). Many are available from smaller photo suppliers, both Fuji and Polaroid, such as Polapremium, Freestyle Photo and Calumet. There are plenty of other sites, as well. It just depends on how much you want to pay for it. I generally stick to eBay, as you can find some great deals if you are persistent and patient.
Where do you find the cameras? eBay mostly (gee, they only have about 2,000 Polaroid cameras listed right now), or whatever auctions sites are available in your country. Goodwill has a decent selection of used cameras, as well. In Japan, Yahoo is the auction site of choice....but they don't ship to outsiders. I'm sure there are others. Polaroid stopped making cameras in the past year, and most of these cameras have been out of production for 20+ years, so used is the only way to go.
So, okay, I'm super tired of typing, and I'm not ever going to do another post explaining pack film...i think I'll stick to talking about silly things like pixies and peanut butter (or taking photos of them). I will update this list if I need to, though. Hope I kept it simple, obvious and useful!

Again, if you have such-and-such camera, say a Sun 650, and it doesn't show up on this list, there is a 99.99 percent chance (I may have missed a camera or two) that it doesn't use pack film. It probably uses 600 or 779 integral film. So no need to post a question like "How come my Sun 650 doesn't show up on this list? Can I use Fuji FP-3000B in it?" Because the answer is 99.99 percent likely to be no. If it's not here, and it doesn't have SX-70 somewhere on it, it is probably an integral 600 camera, or possible a Spectra Camera. You can't really mistake a roll film camera for a pack film camera, because they are either HUGE and look very old, or they are small but have a big round spot in the back for a roll of film. And if it is here, and it says it doesn't use Fuji FP-3000B, then no need to ask, "Can I use Fuji FP-3000B in my camera?" I know people sometimes like to ask first and read later, though. I generally don't have problems with questions...just saying. Adios and enjoy your pack film cameras!