instax 210 film in a 4x5?

EASmithV · Feb 29, 2012

Is it possible to do this? My Girlfriend is thinking about getting an Instax 210, so I was thinking about snagging a pack and running it in my 4x5 for the hell of it.

CGW · Feb 29, 2012

Get out the tape measure and judge for yourself:

http://www.fujifilm.ca/products/instax/instax_wide_film/index.html

canuhead · Feb 29, 2012

How do you intend to process the film ? I believe you need rollers (don't want to take apart my Instax to see) to do this and the film comes in packs so you'd have to hack something together.

himself · Feb 29, 2012

should be ok...
take the whole pack, plastic case and all, take the dark slide out (that comes in the front of the pack, it will usually eject when you put it in the camera), tape it to the back of your cam, work out your focal length, and shoot.

take the pack off your cam and put it in the instax and it should eject the first frame now that there's no dark slide and the rollers will work like normal - spreading the chems and developing your image...

all the film moving and taping should be done in the dark like, and if you weren't just messing about you could make some sort of back out of a plate holder or something, so you still have a traditional dark slide for attaching it to your cam.

should be possible for sure...

makes me wanna try now

EASmithV · Feb 29, 2012

I have a graflex pack film holder and a cheap polaroid camera as well as a polaroid back for type 55... Would those rollers work?

himself · Feb 29, 2012

i'm not sure. you would have to compare the gap in the instax and others to make sure it's tight enough or not too tight. you could try pulling a developed one through just to test.

you'd also then need a way of pulling it through the rollers...

if you have a dark bag/room you could just use a brayer, could be interesting

EASmithV · Feb 29, 2012

I have a darkroom. What if I killed the lights and used a rolling pin? From the kitchen?

himself · Feb 29, 2012

as long as you roll it from the right end using, enough pressure i don't see why not...
never tried it mind.

you might need to stick it down somehow.

i've seen polaroids done just by hand... all you need is enough pressure to crack the chemical pack and then try to spread it evenly and in one go

EASmithV · Feb 29, 2012

Why does it have to be in one go? I just bought some of the film, will let you know how it goes.

himself · Mar 1, 2012

just so that you get and even spread that's all...
if you do it a couple times you could end up with all the chemicals at the top of your frame

i'm eager to see/hear how it goes

Mike Wilde · Mar 1, 2012

I have tried manually spreading the instax developing agent with a print out of the camera ( yes, in absolute darkness ) with a brayer (more commonly called a print roller by many).
I did not have uniform pressure or speed, and the resulting development was uneven.

Which was a drag, because I was not able to get the film eject on my autofocus instax to work, and ended up scrapping it event though it was a nice instant picture camera bought very inexpensively.

himself · Mar 1, 2012

yes, I imagine it's not something one would expect to get right first go.

personally, i'd rather go down the route of putting it back in the pack and ejecting it through the camera rollers

Prof_Pixel · Mar 1, 2012

When I worked on the Kodak Instant Photography system ('76 to '83), I used to make prints on the Kodak film units with my enlarger. After exposure, I would insert the exposed film back in a pack - put the film pack in a camera - and then eject it from the pack using the camera (with it's lens covered).

BTW, the Fuji Instax film is basically the sames as the Kodak Instant Film. Fuji had licensed the technology from Kodak and Polaroid sued Kodak but let Fuji continue to make the film for use out side the US.

EASmithV · Mar 2, 2012

I had the film arrive today... Now I just need to find the rolling pin...

himself · Mar 2, 2012

well come on, what the devil are you waiting for...

EASmithV · Mar 3, 2012

Well, here's my two most successful, some trains and one of my GF's stuffed animals...

Apparantly I wasn't allowed to use a kitchen rolling pin for chemicalley-stuff so I took a large wine bottle, filled it with water and tried to use it instead, with mkixed results... I need a better way to do this, yes, but I have to say, I like the film from what little I've seen of it so far. Fuji needs to make a better camera for such nice film.

This seems like the kind of thing Jnanian would have a ball with.

himself · Mar 3, 2012

wow, that's worked, well almost great
worth trying to get it right for sure, have you tried pulling it through your other polabacks yet?

edit: forgot to mention, that you could also do some selective developing like this, once the chemicals are cracked you can just manipulate it with you hands

EASmithV · Mar 3, 2012

I tried running it through a crappy old land camera, and it squeezed goo into the rollers cause it went through sideways...

The film wont fit right into my 545.

Come on, Fuji! Make an SX-70 equivalent!!!

xya · Mar 3, 2012

EASmithV said:
Come on, Fuji! Make an SX-70 equivalent!!!

that's what we are all waiting for. or an instax wide back like the cb70 in the old days.

EASmithV · Mar 3, 2012

It seems that there is a consistancy in my uneven development... Perhaps it is an unevenness in my bench I don't notice that causes this.

The last one is me attempting to enlarge a 35mm slide... Looks like my cold light head just isn't helping the color any...

EASmithV · Mar 3, 2012

YES!

It was the worktop!

I used my enlarger baseboard and got much much more even development;

himself · Mar 3, 2012

that's a huge improvement...
just imagine what a real rolling pin would do to

bvy · Mar 4, 2012

Rolling pins are cheap. Keep it up! This is intriguing.

EASmithV · Mar 6, 2012

himself · Mar 6, 2012

that's a good one, except for the missing bit, the colours are really even.
how are you exposing them, just sticking them in a sheet holder?

instax 210 film in a 4x5?

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