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[gravy_jane]

For anyone who reads this within the next week:
I'm looking for a Polaroid instant camera and need some input. I'm pretty lost; I know nothing about a quality camera, film costs etc. If you have one already and could guide me in the right direction, any tips are appreciated. It's for someone else, and I want to make it count!

Comments

[girltoinfinity]

are you going to buy one new or look around at goodwills and stuff?
i would definitely reccomend thriftstores, from my experience just cuz they are thrown out doesn't mean they don't work. usually people just don't want to pay for the film.
definitely look for one with a flash, without a flash it won't take pics inside very well. you will want to find one that takes either 600 film or spectra film, if it says sx-70 or time zero (these are the same film) it's film has been discontinued (polaroid makes something called sx-70 blend which is a replacement film but i haven't tried it and don't know a lot about it; also it's not as easy to buy as the other two are which you can pretty much get at any drug store, fred meyer, walgreens, etc.)
the other thing i usually do when looking is open the film slot and check the rollers to make sure they are clean, don't have any corrosion from old film packs or anything like that. it's hard to test for much else until you put in the film pack, but for $4.99 for the camera it's not too much of a loss if it ends up not working. (if you put film in and it doesn't work, just wait until you get a new camera, then you can open the film door and remove the pack of film in relative darkness, and it might ruin the top exposure but the rest should be ok.)

i have a spectra
http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/facilities/model_info.php?model_no=C506A
and a one step with a flash,
http://www.alanricotta.com/polaroid/images/cameras/OneStepFlash.jpg

both of which i love, especially the second, it takes great pictures and the colors always come out amazing.

i also have an older one step,
http://cameras.bretculp.com/pages/sx70os.htm
but it takes the time zero film and does not have a flash. i got some pretty cool effects with it, but i haven't tested out the new film.

spectra film as i remember is a little more spendy than the 600, which is the most common. it gets cheaper the more you buy, i checked out walgreens.com and 2 packs (20 exposures) of either film are $25. they go on sale a lot though, i think i've seen 2 packs for $15. it usually averages about a buck a shot, so heres where testing thrifted cameras can get tricky.
good luck!!

[girltoinfinity]

oh also, i forgot to say, that the spectra is cool because it has some options on the back, including most importantly a self timer. you can fiddle with the timer to make the camera take double exposures, which is fun. you can also opt to turn on or off the sound effects (sweet!) turn the flash on or off, and change AF (auto focus? i think.)
anyway these seem kind of important to note.

ok im done geeking out!
hope this helps.

hmmm...

[gravy_jane]

maybe i'll go with the spectra. or maybe a camera will fall from the sky and decide for me.

[gravy_jane]

WOW! when i wrote this entry i thought you might have one and secretly hoped you would respond (i should have just addressed it to june!). so MUCH thanks for the tips and pics. i've decided to look for a one step, and thanks for mentioning your older one step. pretty sure this is the one i've found on ebay, but maybe i'll nix it since the film seems to be obsolete or not as accessible. thoughts: is there a battery or if the camera dies is it forever dead? and can i depend on thrift stores to have a good one step, and if not should i settle for anything less or not even bother?

[girltoinfinity]

aw i'm glad i could help!
researching cameras has been one of my boredom strikes. the battery is actually in the film pack, so the camera won't appear to work if it doesn't have film, or has an old pack.
the one steps aren't too hard to find, but give yourself time because it really just depends. sometimes i see a ton, sometimes nothin. the flashless one step is pretty common, i see a lot of those.
i was just at value village a few days ago and saw a few one steps in the back room, they weren't the same as the one i have but they were newer, so you probably can't go wrong with that. i sort of think the newer ones are ugly, hah, but that's just me. also sometimes i see a one step close up, which i'm not sure if it only takes close ups or has a close up feature. my camera has a little switch next to the lighter/darker switch that pushes an oval over the view finder, so you can fit a persons face in the oval and it will (supposedly) be in focus if you do that. i haven't tested it out a lot, but i don't know if the one step close ups are specifically for that or if they can focus far away scenes as well.
i usually see spectras at the goodwill superstore, on se grand right as you come into portland from milwaukee.