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Polaroid Pro Palette 8000 experience?


Thank you Koraks. Are the transformers easy to replace and do you think it is wise to buy one recorder and then another one when it surfaces for spares ?

In other words, are they repairable by electronicians when you have spare parts ?

How much would you pay for a used one considering the « risks »?

NB I have used a lasergraphics recorder recently and the results were good though they needed colour correction in the slide projector. Also maybe 8k would be better for 35mm slides as 4K is good but a bit soft compared to « native in-camera » slides.
 
I can't comment in specifics, but in general, repairing circuitry around CRT's is a specialized line of work, preferably complete technical documentation should be available for the device and there should be access to spare parts. It's also a dying art since CRT's have of course gone out of fashion for the most part. Moreover, defects around the CRT are just one caterhiy out of several failure points.

Realistically, I think in most cases if a machine like this dies, it's best assumed to be a lost cause.

If this is for protection of native digital or 'hybrid' images, I'd forego the whole film recording stage and look at digital projection instead.
 
I think koraks has it right - if one of these unit dies then the only option is likely to be to source a working replacement. There are repair manuals available but most of the components inside look to be Polaroid proprietary assemblies for which replacements will obviously not be available, and while these manuals also include printed schematics for the various boards in the units, these would obviously only cover simple replaceable components, and would not cover things like the contents of EPROMs, etc.
 
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ProPallette 8000s seem to be quite sturdy. I have two, and they still work. As so do the MacBook G4 Lombard. That’s the one to get. It has native scsi. I fire them up once a year, when someone asked for digital slides or negatives. I can’t really see the difference bt. 4K and 8K though. If I need something high res I’d go for an LVT negative or CRT from an Agfa Alto.
 
Can anyone with an HR6000 upload some film scans?
I just bought an HR6000, but I'm a bit skeptical about its sharpness. I printed out a resolution chart and some test images, and the sharpness is poor. I can only accept such negatives enlarged to 5x7 paper.
Is this the performance of the HR6000? Or do I need to calibrate it? (eg optical focus, CRT focus adjustment collimation)
 
maya0574 said:
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Maya - The mods here are pretty strict about people posting wanted requests or similar in the discussions - you're supposed to use the Classifieds section for those things, so I expect your post will get deleted.
 
In terms of the availability of either the medium format (6x7cm) or the large format (4x5") film backs for the Polaroid 8000, there probably weren't very many of them made when they were originally released, and so you'll need to be a bit lucky if you're going to find one or both of these now.
 

It is indeed difficult
 
  • maya0574
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Hello, is there a picture of the 45/67 back?
 
maya0574 said:
Hello, is there a picture of the 45/67 back?
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The 4x5" adapter was based upon a standard large format film back that had been adapted and fitted to a interface box for the film recorder, and would generally have been used with standard dark slide cut film holders.



The 6x7cm film back was based on a Mamiya RB67 motorised magazine adapted to take trigger cues from the film recorder.



Both film backs had their own format-specific lenses which imaged the CRT onto the film at the right scale, and they were manufactured for Polaroid by a company called Double M Industries of Texas which closed many years ago. I believe that an alternative 6x8cm adapter was also made by a company in Germany.

Good luck with your search.
 
  • maya0574
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I used this monitor to enlarge color or black and white digital pictures before, but the contrast was not good and the colors were not perfect.
 
But after I bought the 8000, the color contrast was balanced and the colors became full and bright.
 

在哪里可以找到 8000/8035 硬件的固件升级？
(Where can I find firmware upgrades for 8000/8035 hardware?)
 
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There was a firmware update floating around previously, but even if you can find a copy I would think long and hard about whether you really need to use it. If anything goes wrong during the update you would risk turning your propalette into a door stop as there is nowhere that can service these devices.
 
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  • Ergos
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Hello!
Is there any chance of making a 4x5 back yourself or adapting an existing one for the palette?
Unfortunately, I only have a 35mm back.

Best Roland
 
Physically you could probably fabricate a 3D printed enclosure/film holder with suitable locking pins, but I think the main challenges would be the optics and the interface.

The various film backs have lenses with different focal lengths, e.g. the 35mm back has 43.53mm lens, the 6x7 back a 74mm lens, and the 4 x 5 back a 101mm lens, and these need to be set to precisely image the full width of the CRT onto the maximum area of film, meaning that you'd need to find a lens appropriate to the film format which you could adapt.

The other issue would be the connection with the film recorder as the film backs all have a PCB edge plug above the lens that interfaces with a connector on the main unit, and which presumably tells the film recorder what type of back is fitted and allow it to control film advance, etc.

So not impossible, but far from straightorward.
 

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Hello!
I thought so. There is also a back piece for Polaroid pack film. As far as I know, they are connected to the device without cables. Perhaps this could be adapted.
But I don't have one of those either
 
If you've got a 35mm back then you're at least in a position to determine the physical interface, including the connector location and contact spacing. The lens might be something as straightforward as a scanner or enlarger lens - you'd want something with good flat field charateristics. Electronics I don't know - the 4x5 back might be something as straightforward as having a couple of contacts linked back to ground - there's no advance after all.
 
Of course, I would have preferred it if a 4x5 back had been included with the purchase. Finding that on its own seems difficult...
 
I just had a look in the service documentation I have for the 8K and it looks like you can bypass the auto-sense function and manually set the type of camera / film back installed using the menu system - see below.

That could mean that you'd be able to omit the connector and only address the hardware and optical setup if you wanted to make your own 4x5 camera back.

 

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Ok. Thanks. You must do it in Rasterplus or on the device?
 
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Ok. Thank you.
If you know anyone who has a 4x5 back they no longer need, please let me know.
 
Hello,

I have now managed to find a Polaroid Palette 7000. Unfortunately, it has a few problems. The exposure and sharpness look good. However, it produces coloured stripes and glitches in the images. Does anyone know what could be causing this?
Best, Roland
 

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If you google “propalette service manual” the first two links that pop-up (at least for me) are links to the PP7000 and PP8000 Repair Manuals on the Internet Archive, so it would be worth grabbing those anyway. You’ll need both for your 7000 as the manual for that device is an addendum to the 8000 manual.

EDIT - some links to the manuals, first for the 8000 and then the 7000:

ProPalette 8000 Repair Manual : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

archive.org

ProPalette 7000 Repair Manual : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

archive.org

These manuals have some diagnostic tables in which may be of help at some point, but my initial instinct would be to check what you can with your software and connections, particularly things like whether you have a defective cables, or whether your SCSI addressing and termination is good. As you’ve noted, the images are sharp and well exposed, excepting the colour glitches, and so it may be some type of data flow error from your computer or software. I believe there are some “pacing” settings that can be varied from the LCD control panel on the front of the machine which might help in this respect.

Also, do you have the same issue with black and white, or have you only tried colour? Have you optimised your file sizes for the machine, and what file format are you using to feed Rasterplus? Also, have you tried it with a Mac instead of a PC, or visa versa? For example, I have my 8000 connected via SCSI to a Mac which has the bare minimum of software on it required to run only the imaging process - no other applications, nothing else running in the background, no network, etc.

Good luck, and keep us informed as to your progress.
 
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