Polaroid 100a used for large format

[cheri.leichleiter]

Hello all! I went to college for photography for 2 years before switching to business. I have the basic camera (old school film) knowledge but did miss two very important classes on LARGE FORMAT!

My sweet husband purchased me a mint condition polaroid 100a camera. This thing is beautiful! He bought it for me to start getting into the large format photography that I have always dreamed of. I started looking into the camera and noticed that all the camera's were modified. When I asked him about the modifications he said that I could use the camera as is by just loading the film directly into the camera in a dark room.....of course I'm already groaning about not having preloaded film, having to carry a portable dark room tent, and also am questioning if that would even work. Has anyone had any experience with this? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Cheri

[fuegocito]

If the camera was original, you'll need polaroid pack films. Unfortunately they don't make Polaroid films anymore, Impossible Project took up the task to make instant films but selection is limited and I don't know they film packs fits the 100 series cameras.

If the camera was modified, you'll have to post a pix so one can see what film it's been modified to use.

[Oren Grad]

Welcome to the Forum!


When I asked him about the modifications he said that I could use the camera as is by just loading the film directly into the camera in a dark room.....

Not really. Not sure whether you're talking about a rollfilm 100 or a packfilm 100, but either way I don't know whether a camera body never designed to hold individual sheets of film will properly hold a cut sheet in the correct position relative to the lens and keep it flat and secure against stray light there. Even if it will, that's a very cumbersome way to work. Fine if you're doing some initial tinkering with a home-brew pinhole camera, but it's likely to get really old really fast.

There are many relatively inexpensive large format cameras and lenses available if you're not sure whether large format is for you but would like to explore and learn.

[Fr. Mark]

I think there have been Polaroid cameras modified to fit 4x5 film holders.

I've been known to cut 8x10 film to 5x7 which results in a slightly more than 1" wide 10" strip of film. I've put it in 35 mm cameras in the darkroom and taken pictures with it. It is too stiff to get film transport to work reliably. I have made a couple photos I like this way even (sharp, focus correct) if it feels silly to have a 39 exposure camera set up for one shot.

[locutus]

(Disclaimer: not associated with the following provider)

This company converts the 100a's to 5x4: http://www.polaroidconversions.com/4x5/

Looks like it would be a really cool setup for handheld 5x4s.

[Liquid Artist]

I think there have been Polaroid cameras modified to fit 4x5 film holders.

I've been known to cut 8x10 film to 5x7 which results in a slightly more than 1" wide 10" strip of film.
I have yet to try that, but since 5x7 is my favourite format I will have to sometime.

I am suddenly thinking that 1" x 10" scrap may look cool shot with a pinhole.

[Drew Bedo]

Wasen;y ythis a hugely trendy thing in the mid 2K years? I recall a lot of conversion activity going on to make Polaroid based cameras use 4x5 film holders along with the front end adjustments required to maintain infinity back focus with various focal length lenses.

Names I recall from that period who did conversions were "Razzle" ((now passed away), Byron and Alpenhouse. There may still be YouTube videos on this. The Polaroid 110-B models were the most popular base cameras because they had a parallax corrected coupled range-view finder.

Is this the right camera for the OP to enter the LF world with?

[Drew Bedo]

Cheri: Any update?

Did any of this guidance help you any?