Anyone here shoot with the "pro level" Polaroid 180 or 195 series Land Cameras?
They qualify as Alt. I have not shot shot any Polaroid film since using my 4x5 545i back on my Sinar, quite some time ago now. But I just purchased a decent looking 180 camera to play with. It's not here yet, still waiting for the shipment, and four boxes of Fuji instant b/w film from B&H...
I used to use a 195 in the mid 90's when the Pos/Neg B&W film was available. Great lens (beautiful rendering) and the Zeiss finder is not too shabby either. I forget the difference between the 180 and 195, perhaps it was the finder with the 180 not having the built in rangefinder in a single, taking window?
With all the zillion alt options on this forum I really do not recall any Polaroid photos? The lens in question is the Tominon 114mm f/4.5 that goes all the way down to f/90 I believe...
By the way a nice 195 with case and goodies can go for $950 and more. The really rare 185, a collectors camera, can fetch $5000 when you are not looking...
I owned a 180/195 hybrid..
In fact it was a 180 with the lens/shutter of a 195. The front part of both cameras was interchangeable so, when the shutter of my 180 failed, it was replaced with a 195 front unit ( the only one I could find ).
The lens of the 195 was a bit faster but the finder assembly of the 180 was a genuine Zeiss, whereas the one in the 195 was made by Polaroid and had separate windows for viewing and focusing.
The camera was sold two or three years ago. Unfortunately for me, the prices weren't so high as nowadays. I don't remember exactly how much I got. No more than 250 Euros probably..
I didn't take many pictures with the Polaroid and none of them are scanned to a digital file. What I have instead is a picture of the camera ( side by side with another folder classic, a Bessa RF from 1936 )
I don't have a lot from that period scanned either and/or what I do have is rather small. Here are two. I almost exclusively used Polaroid Type 665 Pos/ Neg B&W and would discard the pos (as the development time was different for a good negative versus positive) and soak the negatives in a sodium sulfite portable bath for later printing. These were printed on Forte Polywarmtone and toned with Selenium.
Roids do have a distinctive look. My camera is still in transit. I hope it will function well.
Its now halfway through 2013 so its been quite some time since the last Polaroid film was manufactured. Fuji is still making a popular b/w and a color instant film that will work in these Land Cameras. Its about $1 per exposure.
The process will be interesting: the immediate thrill of holding a print in your hand, then either scanning the print or negative, and processing the digital file, etc...
I can't believe what these cameras are going for these days. Wow!
Fuji seems to have always made better color instant film than Polaroid. Most professionals used to prefer Fuji to Polaroid for proofing purposes as it was more accurate and consistent with regard to color. I bought one of the Fuji Instax 200 instant cameras a while back but seem to seldom actually use it.
I always thought Polaroid missed a major opportunity early on in the digital era in creating a truly portable device that would output a Polaroid from a digital file.
The Impossible Project continue to make some of the Polaroid stuff.
Prices are indeed insane! My view is that if I lose interest in this I can always get my money back as this camera format purchase price seems to steadily increase unlike digital...
Its sad what happened to Polaroid, when you think of all the expensive battles they fought protecting their patents etc...
PhotoMaximum wrote:
My 180 arrived yesterday. It's a user but looks pretty good really. Major issue is that the slow shutter speeds from 1/15 on down are very sticky...
If you're lucky, exercising the slow speeds over and over may help.
If you are able to remove the lens and unscrew the lens elements from the shutter, some lighter fluid applied to the shutter mechanism with exercise might fix it completely. I have done that with other leaf shutters (completely disassembled a Zeiss Ikonta Synchro Compur to fix long ago) but not this particular one. I'm guessing this shutter is fairly simple by comparison (It's a Japanese shutter I think).
Some of the time the shutter remains open with the slow speeds and you to move the dial over to one of the faster shutter speeds to close the shutter. Not sure if this would damage the shutter mechanism or not? There is a great camera repair store near me so I will ask them...
There are a couple of cosmetic pieces missing as well. Sort of feel like the fleabay ad description was not as forthcoming as it could have been...
The biggest possible issue you should test for are pin holes in the bellows. If the camera has not been well cared for, this could be an issue. Easy to test with a small flashlight in the dark. I'm betting the rollers also need a good cleaning. You want to check and make sure they work smoothly.
Frankly, if you paid quite a bit of money and the sticking shutter speeds were not mentioned, depending upon the item description (was it said to be in good working condition or simply sold As Is with no working description?), you might want to think of returning it.
There is one small hole in the bellows. A couple of the cosmetic parts are also missing. This I can live with. The eBay ad mentioned that the 1 sec shutter was a little slow. But I find that all of the slow speeds are either slow or stick all together. I have just contacted the seller, who has a great rating, to see what he will offer...
The camera was a little grimy, but it cleaned up pretty nicely though. The good news is that the lens seems perfect with no dust, cracks, haze or fungus...
Tariq, the seller has offered a full refund for the camera or a partial refund on the purchase price and I get to keep the camera. The best option though is to see what a CLA would cost? The seller is ok with paying for it within reason.
I hope to get this resolved soon so I can shoot some pictures...
*** Update: CameraTechs in Ballard (Seattle) will do a full CLA on the shutter for $139. Not bad really...
Hola, I would love a Polaroid 180 or such... I shoot quite a lot of Polaroids (well technically the fuji instant stuff). I have a land camera 100 or so (the automatic/slower ones), and I use my rz67 quite a it. Recently I picked up a speed graphic with a schneider 12.5cm f/2 lens and a 405 back. It produces amazing images, but is quite slow and cumbersome...
PhotoMaximum wrote:
Tariq, the seller has offered a full refund for the camera or a partial refund on the purchase price and I get to keep the camera. The best option though is to see what a CLA would cost? The seller is ok with paying for it within reason.
I hope to get this resolved soon so I can shoot some pictures...
*** Update: CameraTechs in Ballard (Seattle) will do a full CLA on the shutter for $139. Not bad really...
Sounds like you're covered for the CLA cost with the seller, which is reasonable. Looking forward to seeing some pics!
