SX-70, Black & White Film, and Dealing With Slow Shutter Speeds

[Truzi]

@Truzi, take some shots of your cats! The first pack that I shot in the video was over a year old, and it was fine.

The cats are too fast under indoor lighting, even when they just sit there only moving their heads. Our dogs were the same way. Even with my cell phone, I often get a little blurring because they won't sit completely still. I use the flash because the colors are better that way, though it throws off the contrast & saturation, and the pre-flash leads to closed eyes. They're not good pics either way, lol. I do have a few rolls from my GS-1 I've not developed yet, and I'm confident those pictures will be quite good.

I do have a good flash bar for the SX-70 that I found at a thrift store, but I'm saving that.

I've seen people take really good pictures with an SX-70 regardless of situation, but those people have skills (as shown in the OPs video).
Otherwise, I find the older Polaroids are best used as intended - quick little snapshots. They are fun cameras, and you can't beat the reactions and smiles you get when you hand someone an instant photo.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

The cats are too fast under indoor lighting, even when they just sit there only moving their heads. Our dogs were the same way. Even with my cell phone, I often get a little blurring because they won't sit completely still. I use the flash because the colors are better that way, though it throws off the contrast & saturation, and the pre-flash leads to closed eyes. They're not good pics either way, lol. I do have a few rolls from my GS-1 I've not developed yet, and I'm confident those pictures will be quite good.

I do have a good flash bar for the SX-70 that I found at a thrift store, but I'm saving that.

I've seen people take really good pictures with an SX-70 regardless of situation, but those people have skills (as shown in the OPs video).
Otherwise, I find the older Polaroids are best used as intended - quick little snapshots. They are fun cameras, and you can't beat the reactions and smiles you get when you hand someone an instant photo.

I got better results with the 600 film, and ND filter stuck on the lens... but I lost the filter

 

[Truzi]

Somewhere I have those ND filters that go over the film pack. They were okay for casual usage - I probably should have just cut one to go over the lens (or just buy a proper lens filter, lol).

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Somewhere I have those ND filters that go over the film pack. They were okay for casual usage - I probably should have just cut one to go over the lens (or just buy a proper lens filter, lol).

Wow I've never heard of ones that go over the film pack. Interesting.... I was using a small filter specifically made for the SX-70, that stuck on with double-sided tape.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Wow I've never heard of ones that go over the film pack.

The advantage of those over the lens filter, of course, is that they film pack filters don't darken the viewfinder. The disadvantage is that the slightest speck of dusk shows black and sharp on the print, and doesn't move from one print to the next, vs. dust on a lens filter being generally invisible.

I found my unmodified Model 2 will expose 600 film in a way I like just by setting the brightness dial two large marks to "darker". No filters needed (though little adjustment left if I want to darken a print further).

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thanks, Donald!