In this video I test out my "Sears Special" Polaroid One Step camera with Impossible SX-70 color instant film.
Welcome to Hangar77!
Hi everybody, Thanks for stopping by! Today I decided to dust off my "Sears Special" Polaroid One Step camera and test it out. I found this camera in a thrift shop quite a while ago but never got around to testing it. I'm not exactly sure what makes this Polaroid a "Sears Special", But if you know what makes this camera Special don't hesitate to let me know about it in the comments!
The main thing you need for testing Polaroid cameras is a film pack. The reason a film pack is so important in testing Polaroid cameras is the battery for the camera is located in the film pack itself. This is actually a good thing because it reduces the chances of a battery popping in the camera and spilling its acidy juice all over you cool camera. One thing you can do is carry an empty film pack with you. Even though there is no film left to take pictures with, the battery will probably still have some power. So when you see a camera, you can pop the empty film pack in and see if the gears start turning. If you hear the whirling of the gears when you pop the film pack in, there is a good chance that the camera is going to work for you!
Where do you get Polaroid film you ask? Well, unfortunately Polaroid stopped making instant film quite a while ago. Around the same time Polaroid stopped making instant film the Impossible Project started. The story of how Impossible started making film is pretty interesting. Below I will provide a link to a great interview on the Impossible Projects story. For my test I decided to use Impossible SX-70 color instant film.
The first part of my test was to pop a SX-70 film pack in and see if it fired up my One Step camera. Upon opening the box I found a quote printed on the dark slide of the film pack. Which at the time I thought maybe one of the quotes used to help come up with the brand name of Impossible. The quote on the film pack was not the quote I was thinking of. The quote I was thinking about was "Don't undertake a project unless it's manifestly important and nearly impossible" from Polaroid's founder Edwin Land.
As I was attempting to insert the SX-70 film pack into the camera, I was trying to be as careful as possible and didn't push the film pack in far enough to allow the camera to close. Once I figured out the problem the film pack popped into place and I was able to close the camera. The second the Polaroid camera closed it came to life and spit out the dark slide telling me it was ready for business.
To test out the camera I went on a photo walk and tried to take pictures of different colors to see how they were reproduced on the instant film. I had a great time taking pictures and am happy with the way they came out. The main thing that I did notice were white streaks on the photos. This could be due to the fact that the Impossible SX-70 film I was using was expired or that the rollers in the camera were not clean enough. If the rollers in a Polaroid camera are not clean it may not spread the chemicals evenly producing lines on your photos. Further testing will be required!
In conclusion I had a great time using my "Sears Special" Polaroid One Step. I will definitely be taking this camera out again!
Cool Web Sites to check out:
Great Video about the Impossible Project:
• The Impossible Project...
The Impossible web site:
us.impossible-project.com/
Music Credits:
Stoker by Jingle Punks
Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Otis McDonald by Joe Bagale
Marty Gots a Plan by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Opening Night by Jason Farnham