# RIP, Instant photography **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 9, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950 "2008-02-09T20:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950/21 "2008-02-11T04:38:41Z")
When the last Harry Potter book was released, we went down to Barnes & Noble for their midnight release party. They had a number of activities for the kids, including a ‘magic camera’. It took a ‘blank’ photograph, which then magically transformed itself into a photo of the junior witch or wizard… The Kiddo had never seen such a thing. He was suitably impressed… ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950/22 "2008-02-11T05:57:37Z")
I still have a OneStep Flash 600 in good working condition. I’ll have to pick up some film before it all goes bye-bye. Man, what a shame. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950/23 "2008-02-11T08:32:23Z")
My celebrity Polaroid camera story. Before moving to Las Vegas, I lived in West Hollywood and decided to have a garage sale on the front walk of my apartment building. One of the things in my packrat pile of junk was an old Polaroid camera that I got in the late 60’s for a birthday present. I had barely been on the sidewalk for 10 minutes when a guy came running across the very wide street - he had seen that camera from half a block away! He was all over it - looking for scratches or whatever, and deemed it to be in great shape and said flat out, “I collect them. How much do you want for it?” I suppose I could have asked for some outrageous amount, but figured it the camera was going to a “good home” and why screw the guy over - even though I knew it was the rather successful actor, Brendan Fraser, who was buying it. I think I sold it for about $15. He was really, really happy to get it and carried it away like it was a treasure. About a year or so later I happened to see some quick interview with him and he actually mentioned his love of Polaroid cameras and his rather extensive collection of them. Wikipedia even mentions that a collectors book on Polaroids gives him a special dedication. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950/24 "2008-02-11T17:38:57Z")
[QUOTE=ASAKMOTSD] I have an obsolete Sony digital camera that stores pictures on 3.5" floppy… [/QUOTE] One of those is still in use where I work. I think it’s a later version though; it can also write to a memory stick. My family never owned a Polaroid camera, though I do remember seeing some in use at family reunions as a child. We had a 35mm Minolta; when I got my first digital camera in 2002, it was a Minolta. It still works, but it runs on AA’s, and keeping enough batteries charged for it is aggravating at times. Of course, Minolta’s not in the digital camera business anymore… ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950/25 "2008-02-11T17:49:24Z")
I got a Polaroid Swinger as a high school graduation present. I’d been the staff photographer for the high school newspaper (the Bengal Cry!) and wanted to pursue a career in photojournalism. My parents wanted to get me a “real” camera, but the Swinger was all they could afford. I remember those One-Step commercials. Most Americans thought Mariette Hartley and James Garner were really married. They were cute commercials. I owned a One-Step in the Army, then invested in 35mm. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950/26 "2008-02-11T17:51:51Z")
[QUOTE=Musicat] When’s the last time you took a snapshot with your Polaroid camera? Only a year to go before you can no longer get film for the SX-70 model. [/QUOTE] Actually, Polaroid stopped making SX-70 film back in the fall of 2005. It’s all the other instant films they’re discontinuing. But fear not! [These guys](http://www.lordofthelens.net/servlet/StoreFront) import a ‘Blend’ film from the Netherlands. I’ve yet to try it; I’ve got two outdated packs of the real thing in the fridge, but I may give the new stuff a whirl this summer. I loved my SX-70, I had two of them. They inspired the creation of my [VanGoghlaroids](http://vangoghlaroid.blogspot.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950/27 "2008-02-12T14:07:35Z")
I guess I blew it - I’ve idly wanted to build a dim light camera using the 3000 ASA Polaroid black and white film, and a projection TV lens. They made the film really fast to make it easy to have a cheap small aperture lens and still use fast shutter speeds, and it was grainy as hell but since you’re not enlarging it the grain was acceptable. I even bought the surplus projection TV lens. It has an aspheric plastic rear element, an image size suitable for the film, and an amazing speed of f/0.7. Oh, well. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950/28 "2008-02-12T14:20:25Z")
[QUOTE=postcards] Actually, Polaroid stopped making SX-70 film back in the fall of 2005. It’s all the other instant films they’re discontinuing. [/quote] I guess PC World didn’t know that, since the only illustration for their article was a sparkling pack of SX-70 film. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-instant-photography/436950.md?page=1)