Polaroid SX70 is, for me, an object of admiration and a camera that has always intrigued me.
I have never understood why other reputed camera manufacturer didn’t follow the idea of a folding MF/LF SLR. An SX70-like 6x9 folding SLR with a motorized roll film back and all the electronic advancements of a 35mm SLR could have been an absolute killer camera, pocketable and even smaller than the SX70. But now it is, unfortunately, too late.
However, I turned one of my 2 SX70s into accepting i-type film and now it has a new PCB with Bluetooth and manual shutter speeds and I wondered: could it be made to accept negative sheet film instead of Polaroid film? And would it worth it?
To make a long story shorter, after A LOT of tests and try and error I managed to 3D print some film inserts and the needed parts to turn the Polaroid film holders into 6.5X9 holders for sheet films and took some test photos to see if the lens is good enough for enlargements.
I think it could be of interest to share some of them.
If the light is good and your hand is steady the lens can deliver something like this:
And an 100% detail:
In normal conditions it delivers something like this:
The film is 4x5 Fomapan400 cut to fit, exposed as 650 ASA (i-type film sensitivity) and developed normally.
Both photos are quick scans with the camera, they are ~70% crops and they have been prepared in PS for test prints. I have actually printed the first one to a 30x40 cm. paper (my usual enlargement) to check the detail.
I have never understood why other reputed camera manufacturer didn’t follow the idea of a folding MF/LF SLR. An SX70-like 6x9 folding SLR with a motorized roll film back and all the electronic advancements of a 35mm SLR could have been an absolute killer camera, pocketable and even smaller than the SX70. But now it is, unfortunately, too late.
However, I turned one of my 2 SX70s into accepting i-type film and now it has a new PCB with Bluetooth and manual shutter speeds and I wondered: could it be made to accept negative sheet film instead of Polaroid film? And would it worth it?
To make a long story shorter, after A LOT of tests and try and error I managed to 3D print some film inserts and the needed parts to turn the Polaroid film holders into 6.5X9 holders for sheet films and took some test photos to see if the lens is good enough for enlargements.
I think it could be of interest to share some of them.
If the light is good and your hand is steady the lens can deliver something like this:
And an 100% detail:
In normal conditions it delivers something like this:
The film is 4x5 Fomapan400 cut to fit, exposed as 650 ASA (i-type film sensitivity) and developed normally.
Both photos are quick scans with the camera, they are ~70% crops and they have been prepared in PS for test prints. I have actually printed the first one to a 30x40 cm. paper (my usual enlargement) to check the detail.
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