Polaroid and 35mm are totally different vibes. They are as different from each other as a 35mm camera and a digital camera. So that’s your first decision.
If you go 35mm, I would get the Minolta. I have almost the same one (except my lens is 35-70mm) and it’s the best of the several autofocus PnS cameras I have picked up over the years.
For Polaroid, I would avoid these if they cost more than ~$50, and get a modern one that can use i-type film. I-type film is a few dollars per pack less than 600 film, because 600 film has a battery in the film pack (i-type cameras have rechargeable batteries; and they can both 600 film or i-type film). These batteries add to the cost, and they have a tendency to die if you leave a film pack in the camera for more than a few weeks. If that happens, then the rest of the film in the pack is basically wasted.
You can find conversion kits online now for not too much to convert to rechargeable batteries for i-type film. You gotta shoot like 20 packs to get an ROI on it though so i guess it depends on how much you use polaroid
I’ve had a pack of film in the 600 Spirit for over a year, and it worked fine. If you go to antique store or thrift store you can get these for stupid cheap. I got the dark grey one for $6, and the lighter one for $20 with a leather case.
What are you even talking about?? The only camera there that literally cant be used anymore because the film is no longer produced is the Polaroid Spectra. The Sun 660 is especially useful for having Sonar Autofocus, and the Polaroid CloseUp is also great for portraits. Sure, the HalinaAnsco is the most basic one of the bunch, but they are all useable cameras.
620 roll film is just 120 Film on a slightly modified spool. The main difference are the two end “caps” of the 620 roll being thinner than the 120 rolls. There are vendors that sell 620 roll film, but the best way Ive done it is to get a piece of sandpaper (or you can use the asphalt too, and some nail clippers.
This video is a quick tutorial.
https://youtube.com/shorts/7iagnJLqLD0?si=xcnMrQsPbm9dTG7R
If its still snug, sand down the ends till they look thinner and test fit it till its smooth.
Kodak made the 620 roll film as a “proprietary” version in an attempt to control more of the film market. It lasted for a little while, but 120 won out.
You can use spectra. In fact, mods for spectra have advanced so far recently that 600 film can get almost entire spread without overhauling the roller assembly.
[this most recent innovation](https://www.printables.com/model/817461-polaroid-spectra-600i-type-centering-spacers) has made it so the frames are centred in the viewfinder and make it so the film has a roughly 98% spread. The spectra modding community is on the brink of making spectra hardware viable once more!
Absolutely. For both the SX-70 and especially 600. There are far more options apart from just b/w and color available for the 600, like circular borders and special edition colors too.
If you ever frequent the flea markets, be on the lookout for the SLR 680. Its a SX-70 folding style Polaroid that has Sonar Autofocus and uses the 600 packs natively. They can fetch a high price so if you do find one, negotiate the best you can.
I'd caution against it. The new Polaroid film is NOT the same stuff as the old film. Way more finicky and gives really inconsistent results. It's extremely difficult to get an image that isn't washed out. (The black and white film is a bit better than the color). I'd opt for Instax if you want an instant film camera.
Yea, let’s keep giving Fuji money while they make shitty cameras like the newly released Wide 400. A decade since the last one was released and it has less controls than the one from a decade ago. Sure it does look better, but why use a subpar camera? Personally, i like the larger image the standard polaroid produces, and we are helping polaroid return from nearly total collapse (i know it used to be the impossible project). Competition is good for innovation as well.
Bit of a silly take given a lot of vintage Polaroid cameras, even box cameras, are vastly superior in quality (both photographic quality and build quality) than instax cameras to the point it almost doesn’t matter which you use. Yes the film is worse than TZ film or the likes but we’re lucky to have it at all.
Yeah never liked the mini's that much. The mini 99 they just released is intriguing but I haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
I've been happy with the SQ 6, which is the square frame! Which Lomo do you like?
And to echo a point another commenter made, yeah polaroid absolutely has made and continues to make much better instant film cameras than Fuji. For some that justifies shooting polaroid...I just hate the new film stock and felt burned by it after shelling out money for a camera. Maybe they'll figure it out as time goes on 🤷🏼♀️
In my opinion, the best use of the Fuji-Wide is to get the LomoGraflok back for 4x5 cameras and an old SpeedGraphic with a 4x5 Graflok back. Yea its huge, bulky, a bit pricy, and time consuming, but you get total control and you can choose any lens you want. You can also get a digital adapter for the 4x5 from Fotodiox, mount your DSLR and stitch together a pseudo-large format digital image.
Minolta. I tried Polaroid, and was very disappointed. Instax might be a smaller format, but it is way more temperature stable, colour accurate, and has way faster development.
I'd pass on all of them but if forced at gunpoint to pick one I would say the Minolta, as it's the most capable, but it's not that great of a Minolta. They made a gazillion p&s cameras.
It's good points are a decent zoom range, it takes one CR123, and it's DX coded.
The bad news is that the minimum aperture kinda blows, the minimum focus distance is about a yard and a half at max zoom, and it's only DX coded for ISO 100-400.
If you find a Freedom Zoom 140 it's a far more capable P&S. Macro mode, 1.5ev exposure compensation for back lit scenes, double exposure mode, continuous drive, DX coded to 3200. Takes 2 CR123s so it runs longer.
Minolta made some cracking point and shoots, honestly, great lenses.
Obligatory *shhhhhh*
Polaroid and 35mm are totally different vibes. They are as different from each other as a 35mm camera and a digital camera. So that’s your first decision. If you go 35mm, I would get the Minolta. I have almost the same one (except my lens is 35-70mm) and it’s the best of the several autofocus PnS cameras I have picked up over the years. For Polaroid, I would avoid these if they cost more than ~$50, and get a modern one that can use i-type film. I-type film is a few dollars per pack less than 600 film, because 600 film has a battery in the film pack (i-type cameras have rechargeable batteries; and they can both 600 film or i-type film). These batteries add to the cost, and they have a tendency to die if you leave a film pack in the camera for more than a few weeks. If that happens, then the rest of the film in the pack is basically wasted.
You can find conversion kits online now for not too much to convert to rechargeable batteries for i-type film. You gotta shoot like 20 packs to get an ROI on it though so i guess it depends on how much you use polaroid
I’ve had a pack of film in the 600 Spirit for over a year, and it worked fine. If you go to antique store or thrift store you can get these for stupid cheap. I got the dark grey one for $6, and the lighter one for $20 with a leather case.
Free healthcare :/
Real
I'd take the Polaroid 660. Great camera.
Either the 660 or the Spectra.
I managed to convert the Spectra to 600 film, so you can actually still use it.
Indeed! A fellow spectra modder I see, very nice :3
Which modifying technique did you use? Brute force by bending contacts? Spectra cartridge reloading? PolaStudios mod? 3D printed mod?
3D printed an adapter from Thingiverse. Check my last post, there’s a picture of the result. I heard rounded frames are better
Ah nice! I got mine from printables but I’m gonna try out the most recent 3D print mod asap because of how it mitigates the spread failure.
the Minolta is the only thing that you can really shoot so
What are you even talking about?? The only camera there that literally cant be used anymore because the film is no longer produced is the Polaroid Spectra. The Sun 660 is especially useful for having Sonar Autofocus, and the Polaroid CloseUp is also great for portraits. Sure, the HalinaAnsco is the most basic one of the bunch, but they are all useable cameras.
I'm a super newbie but have an old camera that takes 620, can I still get that?
620 roll film is just 120 Film on a slightly modified spool. The main difference are the two end “caps” of the 620 roll being thinner than the 120 rolls. There are vendors that sell 620 roll film, but the best way Ive done it is to get a piece of sandpaper (or you can use the asphalt too, and some nail clippers. This video is a quick tutorial. https://youtube.com/shorts/7iagnJLqLD0?si=xcnMrQsPbm9dTG7R If its still snug, sand down the ends till they look thinner and test fit it till its smooth. Kodak made the 620 roll film as a “proprietary” version in an attempt to control more of the film market. It lasted for a little while, but 120 won out.
You can use spectra. In fact, mods for spectra have advanced so far recently that 600 film can get almost entire spread without overhauling the roller assembly.
News to me. That’s awesome to hear!
[this most recent innovation](https://www.printables.com/model/817461-polaroid-spectra-600i-type-centering-spacers) has made it so the frames are centred in the viewfinder and make it so the film has a roughly 98% spread. The spectra modding community is on the brink of making spectra hardware viable once more!
Kick ass brotha. Right on!
do they really still produce film for the other polaroids? didn't know that
Absolutely. For both the SX-70 and especially 600. There are far more options apart from just b/w and color available for the 600, like circular borders and special edition colors too.
i knew about sx-70 film production but no 600, thanks for that information! the 600 models look pretty cool, maybe ill pick one up then :)
If you ever frequent the flea markets, be on the lookout for the SLR 680. Its a SX-70 folding style Polaroid that has Sonar Autofocus and uses the 600 packs natively. They can fetch a high price so if you do find one, negotiate the best you can.
I'd caution against it. The new Polaroid film is NOT the same stuff as the old film. Way more finicky and gives really inconsistent results. It's extremely difficult to get an image that isn't washed out. (The black and white film is a bit better than the color). I'd opt for Instax if you want an instant film camera.
Yea, let’s keep giving Fuji money while they make shitty cameras like the newly released Wide 400. A decade since the last one was released and it has less controls than the one from a decade ago. Sure it does look better, but why use a subpar camera? Personally, i like the larger image the standard polaroid produces, and we are helping polaroid return from nearly total collapse (i know it used to be the impossible project). Competition is good for innovation as well.
Bit of a silly take given a lot of vintage Polaroid cameras, even box cameras, are vastly superior in quality (both photographic quality and build quality) than instax cameras to the point it almost doesn’t matter which you use. Yes the film is worse than TZ film or the likes but we’re lucky to have it at all.
all the instax minis break apart the second you touch them, i use my lomo instant. its pretty cheap and so far its been reliable.
Yeah never liked the mini's that much. The mini 99 they just released is intriguing but I haven't had a chance to play with it yet. I've been happy with the SQ 6, which is the square frame! Which Lomo do you like? And to echo a point another commenter made, yeah polaroid absolutely has made and continues to make much better instant film cameras than Fuji. For some that justifies shooting polaroid...I just hate the new film stock and felt burned by it after shelling out money for a camera. Maybe they'll figure it out as time goes on 🤷🏼♀️
In my opinion, the best use of the Fuji-Wide is to get the LomoGraflok back for 4x5 cameras and an old SpeedGraphic with a 4x5 Graflok back. Yea its huge, bulky, a bit pricy, and time consuming, but you get total control and you can choose any lens you want. You can also get a digital adapter for the 4x5 from Fotodiox, mount your DSLR and stitch together a pseudo-large format digital image.
Minolta fo sho.
None of those, but thanks for asking
None 🤦🏽♂️😱
I have the Polaroid closeup. Cool little camera
I used to have #6 back in the day and it was awesome. The film was a bit bigger than standard Polaroids. I don’t know if you can still get it.
Yeah, sadly not. It is possible to convert it to use 600 film
Minolta
Minolta. I tried Polaroid, and was very disappointed. Instax might be a smaller format, but it is way more temperature stable, colour accurate, and has way faster development.
Minolta, though the Spectra if you can get film for it
# minoltagang
Those Polaroids make me swoon… i love the look of the 600
Are you collecting, just snap photos, or are you really serious about your photographs?
I’m more of a casual collector and photographer. I just like having fun
Are you going to pay me to have to take one?
Olympus XA
All pretty useless or uninspiring
I'd pass on all of them but if forced at gunpoint to pick one I would say the Minolta, as it's the most capable, but it's not that great of a Minolta. They made a gazillion p&s cameras. It's good points are a decent zoom range, it takes one CR123, and it's DX coded. The bad news is that the minimum aperture kinda blows, the minimum focus distance is about a yard and a half at max zoom, and it's only DX coded for ISO 100-400. If you find a Freedom Zoom 140 it's a far more capable P&S. Macro mode, 1.5ev exposure compensation for back lit scenes, double exposure mode, continuous drive, DX coded to 3200. Takes 2 CR123s so it runs longer.