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Polaroid SX-70
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Polaroid SX-70
The Polaroid SX-70 is a folding single lens reflex Land Camera which was produced by the Polaroid Corporation from 1972 to 1981. The SX-70 helped popularize instant photography.
In 1948, Polaroid introduced its first consumer camera. The Land Camera Model 95 was the first camera to use instant film to quickly produce photographs without developing them in a laboratory. Although popular, the Model 95 and subsequent Land Cameras required complex procedures to take and produce good photographs. The photographic paper for each picture had to be manually removed from the camera and peeled open after 60 seconds to reveal the image, which needed to be hand-coated with a chemical stabilizer for preservation. The picture required several minutes to dry, and the process could leave developing chemicals on the hands. The instructions for the Model 20 Swinger, introduced in 1965, warned that, if not followed, "you're headed for plenty of picture taking trouble".
Pictures from the SX-70, by contrast, ejected automatically and developed quickly (fully within 10 minutes) without chemical residue. Polaroid founder Edwin H. Land announced the SX-70 at a company annual meeting in April 1972. On stage, he took out a folded SX-70 from his suit coat pocket and, in just ten seconds, produced five photographs, both actions impossible with previous Land Cameras. The company first sold the SX-70 in Miami, Florida, in late 1972, and began selling it nationally in fall 1973. Although the high cost of $180 for the camera and $6.90 for each film pack of ten pictures ($1,385 and $53 respectively when adjusted for inflation) limited demand, Polaroid sold 700,000 by mid-1974. In 1973–74, the Skylab 3 and 4 astronauts used an SX-70 to photograph a video display screen to be able to compare the Sun's features from one orbit to the next.
There were a variety of models, beginning in 1972 with the original SX-70, though all shared the same basic design. The first model had a plain focusing screen (the user was expected to be able to see and discern whether an image was in focus) because Land wanted to encourage photographers to think they were looking at the subject rather than through a viewfinder. When many users complained that focusing was difficult, especially in dim light, a split-image rangefinder prism was added. This feature is standard on all later manual-focus models.
The later Sonar OneStep (introduced in 1978) and SLR 680 models were equipped with a sonar autofocus system. This sonar autofocus system greatly helped the user's ability to focus the camera, especially in dark environments, and could be turned off if manual focus was needed. The Sonar OneStep models were the first autofocus SLRs available to consumers. The later SLR 680/690 models updated the basic design of the Sonar OneStep to more modern standards by incorporating support for newer 600 film cartridges instead of SX-70 cartridges, and a built-in flash instead of the disposable "Flash Bar". Today, they are the most evolved forms of the SX-70 and are highly sought after by Polaroid enthusiasts[citation needed].
Though expensive, the SX-70 was popular in the 1970s and retains a cult following today. Photographers such as Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, and Walker Evans praised and used the SX-70. Helmut Newton used the camera for fashion shoots. Walker Evans began using the camera in 1973 when he was 70 years old. Not until the $40 Model 1000 OneStep using SX-70 film became the best-selling camera of the 1977 Christmas shopping season, however, did its technology become truly popular. More recently, it inspired the name of the Belfast alternative band SX-70.
The SX-70 included many sophisticated design elements. A collapsible SLR required a complex light path for the viewfinder, with three mirrors (including one Fresnel reflector) of unusual, aspheric shapes set at odd angles to create an erect image on the film and an erect aerial image for the viewfinder. Many mechanical parts were precision plastic moldings. The body was made of glass-filled polysulfone, a rigid plastic which was plated with a thin layer of copper-nickel-chromium alloy to give a metallic appearance. Models 2 and 3 used ABS in either Ebony or Ivory color. The film pack contained a flat, 6-volt "PolaPulse" battery to power the camera electronics, drive motor, and flash. The original flash system, a disposable "Flash Bar" consisting of 10 bulbs (five on each side, with the user rotating the bar halfway through) from General Electric, used logic circuits to detect and fire the next unused flash.
Although various models were offered, all share the same basic design. All SX-70 models feature a folding body design, a 4-element 116 mm f/8 glass lens, and an automatic exposure system known as the Electric Eye. The cameras allow for focusing as close as 10.4 inches (26 cm), and have a shutter speed range from 1/175 s to more than 10 seconds. The Model 3 departs from the other models in that it is not an SLR; instead, it has the viewfinder cut into the mirror hood.
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Polaroid SX-70
The Polaroid SX-70 is a folding single lens reflex Land Camera which was produced by the Polaroid Corporation from 1972 to 1981. The SX-70 helped popularize instant photography.
In 1948, Polaroid introduced its first consumer camera. The Land Camera Model 95 was the first camera to use instant film to quickly produce photographs without developing them in a laboratory. Although popular, the Model 95 and subsequent Land Cameras required complex procedures to take and produce good photographs. The photographic paper for each picture had to be manually removed from the camera and peeled open after 60 seconds to reveal the image, which needed to be hand-coated with a chemical stabilizer for preservation. The picture required several minutes to dry, and the process could leave developing chemicals on the hands. The instructions for the Model 20 Swinger, introduced in 1965, warned that, if not followed, "you're headed for plenty of picture taking trouble".
Pictures from the SX-70, by contrast, ejected automatically and developed quickly (fully within 10 minutes) without chemical residue. Polaroid founder Edwin H. Land announced the SX-70 at a company annual meeting in April 1972. On stage, he took out a folded SX-70 from his suit coat pocket and, in just ten seconds, produced five photographs, both actions impossible with previous Land Cameras. The company first sold the SX-70 in Miami, Florida, in late 1972, and began selling it nationally in fall 1973. Although the high cost of $180 for the camera and $6.90 for each film pack of ten pictures ($1,385 and $53 respectively when adjusted for inflation) limited demand, Polaroid sold 700,000 by mid-1974. In 1973–74, the Skylab 3 and 4 astronauts used an SX-70 to photograph a video display screen to be able to compare the Sun's features from one orbit to the next.
There were a variety of models, beginning in 1972 with the original SX-70, though all shared the same basic design. The first model had a plain focusing screen (the user was expected to be able to see and discern whether an image was in focus) because Land wanted to encourage photographers to think they were looking at the subject rather than through a viewfinder. When many users complained that focusing was difficult, especially in dim light, a split-image rangefinder prism was added. This feature is standard on all later manual-focus models.
The later Sonar OneStep (introduced in 1978) and SLR 680 models were equipped with a sonar autofocus system. This sonar autofocus system greatly helped the user's ability to focus the camera, especially in dark environments, and could be turned off if manual focus was needed. The Sonar OneStep models were the first autofocus SLRs available to consumers. The later SLR 680/690 models updated the basic design of the Sonar OneStep to more modern standards by incorporating support for newer 600 film cartridges instead of SX-70 cartridges, and a built-in flash instead of the disposable "Flash Bar". Today, they are the most evolved forms of the SX-70 and are highly sought after by Polaroid enthusiasts[citation needed].
Though expensive, the SX-70 was popular in the 1970s and retains a cult following today. Photographers such as Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, and Walker Evans praised and used the SX-70. Helmut Newton used the camera for fashion shoots. Walker Evans began using the camera in 1973 when he was 70 years old. Not until the $40 Model 1000 OneStep using SX-70 film became the best-selling camera of the 1977 Christmas shopping season, however, did its technology become truly popular. More recently, it inspired the name of the Belfast alternative band SX-70.
The SX-70 included many sophisticated design elements. A collapsible SLR required a complex light path for the viewfinder, with three mirrors (including one Fresnel reflector) of unusual, aspheric shapes set at odd angles to create an erect image on the film and an erect aerial image for the viewfinder. Many mechanical parts were precision plastic moldings. The body was made of glass-filled polysulfone, a rigid plastic which was plated with a thin layer of copper-nickel-chromium alloy to give a metallic appearance. Models 2 and 3 used ABS in either Ebony or Ivory color. The film pack contained a flat, 6-volt "PolaPulse" battery to power the camera electronics, drive motor, and flash. The original flash system, a disposable "Flash Bar" consisting of 10 bulbs (five on each side, with the user rotating the bar halfway through) from General Electric, used logic circuits to detect and fire the next unused flash.
Although various models were offered, all share the same basic design. All SX-70 models feature a folding body design, a 4-element 116 mm f/8 glass lens, and an automatic exposure system known as the Electric Eye. The cameras allow for focusing as close as 10.4 inches (26 cm), and have a shutter speed range from 1/175 s to more than 10 seconds. The Model 3 departs from the other models in that it is not an SLR; instead, it has the viewfinder cut into the mirror hood.
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