USING NEW Polaroid or Instax Film Today for MF or LF (4X5) cameras

JWMster · Oct 14, 2019

So I've wondered with my MF cameras and now a LF 4X5 whether there is any path for using instant film in the ways I've read about - to check exposure "live" on location before shooting a bunch of film... or even for it's own sake? I can imagine it as a useful learning tool in terms of some immediacy. And as someone who is wading toward shooting my first 4X5, there's some appeal. Yet I've never seen an Instax back, and I think the current Polaroid film doesn't fit the old holders either. But maybe I'm missing something? Cost of old film is crazy, too!

So today, is POLAROID and INSTAX simply shot on their own cameras rather than the wider use it once had? (This is my perception, but it's not been high enough on my radar screen to "know"). This grasshopper would appreciate some enlightenment... oh wise ones.

Thanks!

AgX · Oct 14, 2019

In the past there were backs made by Polaroid for LF- and by means of 3rd party adapters fot MF- and 35mm-cameras.

The backs existed in 2 sizes as the respective Polaroid films. And there was a Polaroid 8x10 film with respective holder for standard 8x10 backs.

For part of the Polaroid film range there were similar films from Fuji. All these films were of the peel apart type.

The current instant films are of the integral type and there are no backs for LF that accept these, moreover the Impossible/PolaroidOriginals films would need a mirror within the optical path to yield rightly orientated photographs.

Pieter12 · Oct 14, 2019

JWMster said:
So I've wondered with my MF cameras and now a LF 4X5 whether there is any path for using instant film in the ways I've read about - to check exposure "live" on location before shooting a bunch of film... or even for it's own sake? I can imagine it as a useful learning tool in terms of some immediacy. And as someone who is wading toward shooting my first 4X5, there's some appeal. Yet I've never seen an Instax back, and I think the current Polaroid film doesn't fit the old holders either. But maybe I'm missing something? Cost of old film is crazy, too!

So today, is POLAROID and INSTAX simply shot on their own cameras rather than the wider use it once had? (This is my perception, but it's not been high enough on my radar screen to "know"). This grasshopper would appreciate some enlightenment... oh wise ones.

Thanks!

I often use a digital camera to check lighting and exposure before shooting film with strobes.

Oren Grad · Oct 14, 2019

Search the web and you'll find various more or less messy DIY hacks to do this.

For off-the-shelf, there's this:

http://mercurycamera.com/backs/mercury-instax-backs/

AgX · Oct 14, 2019

I stand corrected.

Thank you Oren!

thus Mercury
-) Instax Wide Graflok 4x5" back $530
-) Instax Wide Graflok 2x3" back $550

Both backs add 30mm extension

jim10219 · Oct 14, 2019

Pieter12 said:
I often use a digital camera to check lighting and exposure before shooting film with strobes.

That's what I do too. You may still have to calculate bellows extension and reciprocity failure, but you gain a digital snapshot for easier record keeping, and as a backup in case something happens to your film. Plus, it allows me to immediately explore other focal lengths, because I usually have a zoom lens attached to the digital camera, so I can double check to see if there's something I might be missing.

The problem with any instant film back these days is there isn't an instant film. So it might be helpful for exposure references, but it won't help you with composition, as you'll cut off a lot of the final negative with the smaller film size of the instant film. Well that, and the price. They are fun to use though. I'll give them that.

Pieter12 · Oct 14, 2019

...also I understand Instax is ISO 800. So you may not be able to use the same f-stop as your film.

JWMster · Oct 14, 2019

Know anyone who's used the Mercury backs?
Here's another approach I found on Youtube which is kind of ingenious with Instax Wide:

If this works... for a fraction of the price + an ND 3-stop filter to reduce ISO 800 back down to ISO 100, you get a system.
It's the thought that counts?

Pieter12 · Oct 14, 2019

JWMster said:
Know anyone who's used the Mercury backs?
Here's another approach I found on Youtube which is kind of ingenious with Instax Wide:

If this works... for a fraction of the price + an ND 3-stop filter to reduce ISO 800 back down to ISO 100, you get a system.
It's the thought that counts?

Sure seems like a lot of effort for a test shot that can be easily and quickly made with a manual digital camera. Unless the Instax is going to be your final product. Remember, the purpose of a test shot like this with strobes is not only to check exposure and verify lighting, but to be able to experiment with the lighting before a final set of shots. More than likely you will be making multiple tests.

Oren Grad · Oct 14, 2019

JWMster said:
Know anyone who's used the Mercury backs?

Neal Chaves, a member of the Large Format Photography Forum, has posted a little bit in the Lounge there about his experience with the Mercury Instax Wide 4x5 back.

JWMster · Oct 14, 2019

Oren: Thanks! I'll go over and check. Haven't "lounged" there, but it is a good group. Funny how Rangefinderforum, Photrio and LargeFormat forums all seem to strike different folks differently. Good groups all in my view, and yes, I stay away (and don't know enough) to get into the soap box fights... I see rarely (thankfully).

USING NEW Polaroid or Instax Film Today for MF or LF (4X5) cameras

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