polaroid camear and image quality

[Mewael]

First, this may not be technically medium format, thread-wise, but close enough I think.

I was looking into the Mamiya Press cameras, and then I started looking into the Polaroid 600 / 600 SE cameras which are based off the Mamiya Press design. I've seem some pretty cool Polaroid/Fujiroid shots from these cameras, so now I want one. They give that large format(ish) look. Instant film isn't cheap and may not be available for too much longer but it'd be fun to experiment with these cameras and this medium while I still can.

I was thinking of grabbing a 600/600SE with a 127mm lens and start shooting some Polaroid portraits. When I browse flickr it's a hit/miss because many Polaroid shooters have that Lomo aesthetic or "snap shot" style which I am not too fond of.

Questions:
1. Is the Polaroid 600/600se the "best" camera to shoot handheld? I understand that it isn't an SLR so I can't focus too closely, I am fine with that. This isn't a view camera, so I can't use movements. I'm fine with that too. I think SLR backs crop the image, but I want the largest film area possible to give a "large format" look.
2. The films that I am interested in using are FP-100C and maybe some FP-3000B because they are available, and I trust Fuji. Is impossible film good and consistent in quality? I believe that the first batches were not very good. Is the fuji film consistent in quality? I would assume so but flickr searches give me really weird results but I suspect that it is because of the lomo crowd.
3. The actual instant photos/prints, look good right?

Any thoughts, input? Should I just stick with medium format? lol. I'm hesitant because this medium caters towards the lomo crowd these days. I have nothing against those shooters, but that isn't the aesthetic that I'm going for: inconsistent results/strange colors/ etc.

 

[vdonovan]

I have a business shooting instant film at events, so I've shot hundreds of portraits using a Mamiya Universal, Polaroid back, and Fuji instant film. The Mamiya Universal/Polaroid 600 is a great camera. It gives you a full frame image and full manual control, not to mention easy syncing for camera-mounted and studio flash. The lenses are sharp.

Fuji FP-100c is excellent film, with rich colors and the quality is excellent. Out of the many cases I've shot, I've never had a bad pack. Fuji FP-3000b is a remarkable film, and again I've shot cases of it. It was by far my favorite film before it was discontinued.

Note that FP-100c and 3000b are the ONLY films that will work with this camera. None of the Impossible Project films work or will ever work. The under-development New55 film also will not work.

 

[LMNOP]

I have a business shooting instant film at events, so I've shot hundreds of portraits using a Mamiya Universal, Polaroid back, and Fuji instant film. The Mamiya Universal/Polaroid 600 is a great camera. It gives you a full frame image and full manual control, not to mention easy syncing for camera-mounted and studio flash. The lenses are sharp.

Fuji FP-100c is excellent film, with rich colors and the quality is excellent. Out of the many cases I've shot, I've never had a bad pack. Fuji FP-3000b is a remarkable film, and again I've shot cases of it. It was by far my favorite film before it was discontinued.

Note that FP-100c and 3000b are the ONLY films that will work with this camera. None of the Impossible Project films work or will ever work. The under-development New55 film also will not work.

Do you see an end in sight for instant pack film manufacturing? I'm looking into a polaroid back for my RZ67, but I wonder how much longer I'll actually be able to buy film for it.

 

[bitnaut]

Note that FP-100c and 3000b are the ONLY films that will work with this camera. None of the Impossible Project films work or will ever work. The under-development New55 film also will not work.

This is not strictly true...I have been able to adapt a Polaroid CB-70 back to the 600SE which allows me to use Impossible Project SX-70 and 600 type film. Also the Mamiya Press medium format film backs are available if you know which adapter to put on them.

All of this is covered in Skorj's superlative review of the 600SE found here: http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=779.0

e

 

[vdonovan]

This is not strictly true...I have been able to adapt a Polaroid CB-70 back to the 600SE which allows me to use Impossible Project SX-70 and 600 type film. Also the Mamiya Press medium format film backs are available if you know which adapter to put on them.

All of this is covered in Skorj's superlative review of the 600SE found here: http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=779.0

e

Thanks for the update. I knew it could shoot roll film (I have the back for it) in my Universal, but I had thought that pack film was the only instant film one could use. It's interesting to see in that article that one can shoot 4x5 as well, with the 545i back, and it had never occurred to me to put the CB70 on it, but I'm not partial to Impossible films anyway. They are two expensive and the quality is too variable for my purposes.

I hope the Fuji Instant 100c film will be around for a while, but there is no way of telling. Chris Bonanos (author of a recent book on Polaroid) thinks that FP-100c is still used in developing countries for passport and visa photos, and that is the market that is keeping the film in production. He believes that the amateur and creative markets are not big enough to sustain production of the film, so it will certainly go away someday, but who knows when?