r/Polaroid

When I was returning from vacation, my Polaroid film packs were scanned twice by airport X-rays. Once at the building entrance and once during security before boarding. The b&w pack was inside the camera, the color one was still sealed. As you can see, nothing happened, no X-ray artifacts at all. Nice to see Polaroid working on improving their chemistry.

BW: 01-26, color: 12-25

P.S. It was a regular X-ray scanner, not a CT scanner.

Hi everyone,
I recently picked up a gorgeous Polaroid SX-70 Sonar OneStep (Sears Special Edition) at a local thrift store (Brockenhaus). The expired film pack that came inside the camera had a stamp on the back dated 1975, so it’s highly likely this camera hasn't been used or serviced since then.
I'm facing a very specific mechanical issue and would love some technical insight from the community:
• When empty (with just a battery blank/empty cartridge): The camera works flawlessly. The motor sounds strong, and the mechanical cycle is instant, fast, and crisp.
• When a fresh modern film pack is loaded: The camera completely struggles. When I press the shutter button, the mirror goes up, but the mechanism stalls and gets stuck mid-cycle for about 5 to 7 seconds. Eventually, it manages to squeeze the photo out by itself, but because the shutter stays open during the stall, the photos come out completely overexposed/white (with heavy chemical marks at the bottom from the rollers stopping over the pods).
It feels like the motor is healthy, but modern Polaroid film packs (which have thicker modern film composite and denser chemical paste) are creating too much physical resistance/friction for the camera to handle on its own.
Has anyone dealt with this after bringing a long-dormant SX-70 back to life?
Could this be a case of hardened 50-year-old factory grease inside the gear train creating friction under load? Or is it more likely an electronic issue like the S7 internal switch needing a clean/adjustment, or the motor brushes being oxidized?
Any tips on how to un-stiff or fix this (or if it strictly needs a professional refurbishment) would be highly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

What does everyone think of the hi-print? Would you all describe it as a worthy member to the Polaroid family?

I’m a pure instant film person but would love to hear your thoughts.

Immediately after taking the photo in selfie mode, I removed the gel packs from the top and bottom of the film. Then, I peeled off the white protective cover and removed the photo. I kind of like the effect.

I found an ad (see below) for old itype film and want to know if it's worth buying. The listing is for 12 boxes of expired from from 2019 for $180. I think there's 8 photos per box. The boxes look like they're camo, note pad, and regulator, I think this is just the boarders.

Do you think $50 is fair to offer. I don't think $180 is justified, even if they're refrigerated.

The ad:

"Brand new 12 boxes of Polaroid iType film that has been kept in a cool place and refrigerated. Expired in 2019. This not for vintage cameras. ONLY FOR Polaroid i-Type cameras.

4 camo themed

4 note theme

4 normal white framed"

I really like this funky film! I think it’s ISO is higher than the normal 640 it does seem to like to be underexposed by a stop or two. Highlights go to base pink (that’s the brightest the film gets) with shadows varying shades of blue and purple. It’s like if synthwave were a film. I think this film will really shine with careful composition and will allow for some very cool photos that play with silhouettes, take advantage of whites and other highlights blowing out, etc. these photos don’t fully capture the color effect, they’re close but in person the highlights are more pink and have a sort of glow to them.

Finally got around to fixing the SE4 and using it for a Photo Booth School fund raiser. So many oooh’s and ah’s with the occasional “I can’t see” after the flash.

1 & 2: two months apart
3: a harsh lesson
4: first purple 600
5: white trash art
6 & 7: nothing lasts forever
8: Still smoldering

Thought I would share some snapshots of my friend while we were testing out the film. These were taken on SX-70r with natural light plus flash. I ultimately decided not to use flash in the studio, it was the right choice (I will be posting those next week).

Bought some Purple reclaimed, I’ve liked a few of the reclaimed and the duochromes .
Tooled about with a pack of purple on my lunch break. Not sure I like it, not sure I dislike it - will need to find what it works best with.