Quote Originally Posted by MathewMorris View Post
A Polaroid conversion I use weighs 3 pounds 2 ounces, add 1 pound per Grafmatic and 1/2 pound for lightmeter. 2 pound tripod optional. It's slender and fits into a very small pack. I throw it in the car when we go away on day trips and (since I have practice) I can pull it out, open and shoot pretty quickly. After the shot it goes back in the pack where it's ready, without advertising me as anybody but just another dad out there with his kids. It gets used a lot, I've got enough empty boxes to think I've shot 1,000 sheets. When people comment I just say "thanks" and if they ask what it is I mutter something like "it's an old Polaroid"... if pressed, I'll unhook the Graflok and show them there's nothing inside, kind of like a magic trick.

It can be part of a "one-camera, one-lens" project. Many times, it is the only camera I have on-hand. Lately I avoid using the cellphone camera at the same time. On soccer parade day I missed a shot because I was fiddling with the cellphone. Kids went by while I was setting phone to black and white mode to "preview" flare. Had to run to a new spot to catch the kids again. So I stopped using cellphone camera for previews. I also avoid bringing multiple cameras. One day at Disneyland I carried both 35mm and 4x5 and at the end of the day I'd forgotten to take it out. Sure the 35mm shots from the day are nice. But it sucked that I had zero 4x5 shots. The camera was on my back the whole time. Next time I made a point of only bringing one camera, and I'm happy with the results.

Handheld wasn't my goal. I always plan on using tripods. But I'll shoot it handheld in a pinch. I wanted the 4x5 look because I was dissatisfied with graininess of 35mm fine grain black and white. I wanted a lightweight 4x5 camera that I could bring backpacking. Extra points if total weight could be less than the 35mm Olympus gear that I would normally carry.

Everything I shoot 4x5 is with the conversion. This shot at 1/300th has no motion blur. The dress itself screams sharpness, every black line comes to a razor's point. This may seem like a technical exercise, but it's actually a kind of shot I've wanted to get for a long time.
wedding dresses photos are part of what made me wish I used 4x5 more often...


Bride to-be, Heisler Park, Laguna Beach

Very nicely written about Polaroid camera. I have one and I still believe it is best to click pics with so light weight and sharp picture quality. but now with rapidly changing world there are lot more good camera options which we need to look at ...
There are plenty of good things about Polaroid camera as it was my first one