Are polaroids really worth the asking price?

Kyle M. · Jul 21, 2015

mweintraub said:
You might be right about the date, but I just picked a year to look into as there was no qualifications given by IP.

I prefer the Fuji stuff too. I like that I can use those packs in the Land Cameras and MF backs.

I just wish I could stumble upon a Polaroid 180 or 195 for cheap. It's not that I'm not willing to spend the current asking price, but more like I can't afford too. Theres also Just something about using the 450 that I can't quite put my finger on that I like better about it than the integral Polaroids. If Impossible was $8.99 a pack and FP-100C was $23.50 I'd probably still prefer the pack film, I mean I only have 3 packs of Impossible projects at the moment and 31 pack of FP-100C. Also I just got 2 sealed cases of Hi-Power flash cubes in the mail yesterday, I couldn't pass them up for 85 cents a cube.

mweintraub · Jul 21, 2015

The 450 is great. You should check out the Polaroid ProPack cameras and the ColorPack II camera.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hsandler · Jul 22, 2015

MattKing said:
Interesting. This is what happens when I put ~$128.00 USD worth of Kodak film in my B & H cart:

[h=2]Duties & Tax[/h]Close

We calculate Duty VAT, Taxes, etc. in accordance with the laws and import regulations of the destination country. These fees are usually based on destination, item type, and country of origin, manufacture or assembly.
When you choose to have B&H handle this payment for you the order total is guaranteed by B&H 100%. There will be no additional charges or fees due upon delivery.
[h=3]Details of Duty Charges[/h]

[*=right]GST:$6.41
[*=right]Brokerage:$1.56
[*=right]Disbursement:$0.19
[*=right]Security & Handling:$10.20
[*=right]Total:$18.36

I'm thinking the difference is because I am on the West Coast (the shipping is supposedly free)

Matt, You're right about the duty. I just filled a cart with $160 of film, a mix of Kodak and Fuji. By playing with the quantities of each, I found the duty is about 4% on the Fuji stuff, but absent on the Kodak. Your security and handling fee is very high. The amounts below are what it gives me for shipping to Ottawa via Purolator ground (the "free" option) and B&H handling customs:

Details of Duty Charges
Duties:$4.10
HST:$20.75 (note that HST is the Ontario "harmonized" sales tax which includes GST. It's 13%)
Brokerage:$1.56
Disbursement:$0.75
Security & Handling:$1.05

Total:$28.21

removed account4 · Jul 22, 2015

mehguy said:
This question has probably been asked a millions times already but I see polaroids often at threft stores and that got me thinking if the film is worth it or not. So do you think that its a worthy investment or should I stick with 35mm?

sometimes the swingers and older ones ( with bellows ) have corroded batteries in them
so if you are looking at one of those keep an eye out for that ...
but the other stuff is fun and worth it if you have the $$$ and like that sort of thing ...

summicron1 said:
even back in the late 70s polaroid film was expensive -- you had to figure about $1 a shot, as I recall, although maybe it was 75 cents or so, and that was for film for the One-Step that came out in 1977 and was a huge seller.

The sales pitch was that it cost more per shot but you could tell right away if the shot was good, and you didn't pay processing charges.

$1 in 1977 is more like $5 today.

i never paid attention to how much sx70 film was back in the 70s cause i wasn't the one feeding the camera/s
but in the 80s and 90s i was feeding the camera/s and it was expensive more money than i had in my pocket ...
that said, there is something to be said for a unique image, polaroid or otherwise, and if the user has a system
that has as little waste as possible polaroid /impossible/fuji instant is a great thing .
i'm still not able to feed the cameras i have, a 800(?) and a sonar sx70 both in working order, filled with memories.
just waiting for me to be paid the millions i won a few years ago in the portugal lottery.

mehguy · Jul 27, 2015

Well i meant that since there are import charges right? Do they get charged when the mail man rings onto your doorbell and asks for money or at the checkout at B and H? Ive shipped a large item in the past from the US and the UPS man charged me 40 dollars in import charges on the spot.

MattKing · Jul 27, 2015

At B & H it is at the checkout.

mehguy · Jul 29, 2015

with and B and H, there are 2 options for shipping,
B&H customs clearance and Pay on Delivery. Whats the difference?

hsandler · Jul 30, 2015

Choose B&H customs clearance. With that, you see the customs charge up front before you pay, and it's included in what you pay B&H and there's no other charges later. With the other option you have to pay the duty to the courier at the door. B&H has some kind of amazing fast track with customs. The film I ordered on Sunday arrived at my home in Ottawa on Wednesday afternoon. The duty and customs handling component was under a couple of dollars. B&H uses Purolator, and I can't remember if the ultimate delivery in Canada is Purolator itself or Canada post parcel service. In any case, your experience with UPS is similar to mine. I never buy when the seller uses UPS. I find their customs charges outrageous, and sometimes you don't find out until later when you get your credit card bill that they tacked that on.

EdSawyer · Jul 30, 2015

hard to make that a fair comparision when the original polaroid was such a better product vs IP films.

I too like the FP100C way better than any of the integral films so far. the original SX-70 film was cool though, mainly for the manipulation capabilities of it.

For those looking for a 180 or 195 polaroid, I have an interesting CAI military camera that takes pack film, has a 90mm super angulon on it, can do manual exposures of any sort... I thought of converting it to 4x5 but it's more work than I feel like. So, I may end up parting with it. It won't be super cheap (thinking $600 or so), but it is as capable as a 180/195 or moreso in some ways, and even more rare.

-Ed

Fixcinater said:
The Impossible team made a statement earlier in their development that it was cheaper to shoot, adjusted for inflation, than the original Polaroid had been.

skorpiius · Sep 25, 2015

Fixcinater said:
The Impossible team made a statement earlier in their development that it was cheaper to shoot, adjusted for inflation, than the original Polaroid had been.

In the late 90s it was $15 cad per pack of 10. In today's dollars that's $21 cad, but for only. 8 photos it should be $17 cad. Instead for 8 pics its 25 usd which is about $31 cad

Sirius Glass · Sep 25, 2015

Only if you want Polaroid photographs. I am not a fan of Polaroid so the cost of Polaroids is not worth it to me. It may be an entirely different kind of photography all together for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wxp-NxJny8

mweintraub · Sep 25, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
Only if you want Polaroid photographs. I am not a fan of Polaroid so the cost of Polaroids is not worth it to me. It may be an entirely different kind of photography all together for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wxp-NxJny8

I'm a fan of Fujis. I prefer Fuji photographs.

skorpiius · Sep 25, 2015

For me integral Polaroid film (ie 600 size) is really only fun in a 'hey check out this vintage camera' kind of way. The image quality isn't great, and the cost is astronomical now.

Peel part Polaroid, FP100C colour and FP3000b black and white (recently discontinued) I believe has better quality and is cheaper, so it might be worth it, until the FP100C is discontinued anyway.

mweintraub · Sep 28, 2015

skorpiius said:
Peel part Polaroid, FP100C colour and FP3000b black and white (recently discontinued) I believe has better quality and is cheaper, so it might be worth it, until the FP100C is discontinued anyway.

Bite your tongue.

Are polaroids really worth the asking price?

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