I’ve been thinking a lot about the cameras in my collection that I’m not using - and can’t really use, for that matter. A lot of this is my polaroid collection. My main draw to instant photography was always packfilm. The cameras were cool, the process was really interesting and the results were always amazing. There was a time when I would find a polaroid packfilm camera at any thrift shop I went too, and eventually I picked up a 600SE off of craigslist for pretty cheap. But then fujifilm killed off the film. I have some packfilm left but I’m sure its probably dried up by now. Even if it weren’t, it would be basically the last of an era and once THAT was gone it was gone, gone. And while packfilm will almost definitely never come back, at least not in the way that we had once had access, the cameras could have a second life, or at least should.
So here is a collection of 3D printed cameras, adapters, and odds & ends that could make that a reality, just some things I’ve seen across the internet all collected in one place. I don’t have a 3D printer anymore but seeing all of this really puts that back on the top of my “must buy” list.
There are a few of these polaroid spectra film adapters floating around out there and I'd like to investigate them. I LOVE the spectra cameras I have. Originally I was loading them with this weird GRID film and shooting them like crazy but that's all dried up by now. Being able to use iType film in them is intriguing.
Okay this persons website is both equal parts irritating and inspiring. On the one hand, they are making all these cool 3D printed cameras. On the other hand, they are relying on patreon and drops for distribution and there store is completely cleaned out. Makes me want to investigate their camera that takes 600SE lenses and a Lomograflok back for instax wide.
Here is a modification of the SPRKPLG camera. These take the lenses for the aforementioned Polaroid 600SE and basically make it into its own camera body. Pretty cool stuff.
Heres a video of SPRKPLG putting one of these together.
This guy is also making some 3D printed adapters for Polaroid cameras including a 600SE to Graflok adapter plate which would allow you to use the Lomograflok back (though it has some focusing issues).
Another 'unobtainable' instax back from a HK fabricator.
FUJICA WIDE 60
When I do these link dumps, it’s generally the result of me wanting to close out 50+ browser tabs, and they don’t feel specific enough that I should be bookmarking them. So at some point in all of this I turned my attention away from medium format cameras as polaroids and started thinking about my Fujifilm GS645S Wide 60. I’m packing for our mini-honeymoon and I pulled that out of it’s case and the front lens element was all wonky. Long story short, and I’m going to do a post about this later, there are 3 screws under the center ring of the lens and two of them were sticking out of their holes (kind of like the screws in the lens of my Canon Auto Zoom 814). These are some links that I’m saving for when I have the where-with-all to take the top off and clean the rangefinder coupling arm.
This is a new site for me, there are some interesting posts aside from this one, which is about fixing parts of the Wide 60. They also make a new rangefinder window, which is interesting, and provide specs if you need to make your own.
More forum posts! This one about taking apart and fixing the shutter / lens assembly.
Polaroid 110a/b
Finally, while unable to sleep the other night I read an offhand comment on some reddit post about instax film that people have been adapting the Polaroid 110a-style cameras to use the lomograflok and I’m extremely interested in this. And I haven’t done too much research into this! But it’s on my radar now.
