Polaroid 8x10 back

[ghe67]

Hi guys,
thinking to buy a mint and complete Polaroid MP4 to try some experiment as a view camera.
Reading on the web I've found that at the time there was two interesting accessories for the camera:
the Kenro enlarger head and most interesting to me the 8x10 back.
So, never found any info or pic about the back only the two types of holder, the 81-05 and 81-06 so I have a couple of questions...
Does anyone know or have some infos/pics of the Pola 8x10 back?
The holders can be used for normal sheet film or they are just for the instant pola films?
Hope to receive some help.
Thanks
Giorgio

[unixrevolution]

Hi guys,
thinking to buy a mint and complete Polaroid MP4 to try some experiment as a view camera.
Reading on the web I've found that at the time there was two interesting accessories for the camera:
the Kenro enlarger head and most interesting to me the 8x10 back.
So, never found any info or pic about the back only the two types of holder, the 81-05 and 81-06 so I have a couple of questions...
Does anyone know or have some infos/pics of the Pola 8x10 back?
The holders can be used for normal sheet film or they are just for the instant pola films?
Hope to receive some help.
Thanks
Giorgio

I don't have any concrete answers on the Polaroid 8x10 backs, but I do know a bunch about the 4x5 backs, so let me tell you what I know and hope it's relevant.

The PA-45/Polaroid 550 film back is for 4x5 instant pack film. It will not accept sheet film in any way due to the tolerances inside the holder; even with a spent Polaroid cartridge to actually hold the sheet, your registration distance and film flatness will probably be off.

The Polaroid 545i 4x5 holder is for a single-sheet-at-a-time Polaroid film that is no longer made. I am told the 545i will accept Readyloads, but with those now on Remaining-stock-only I haven't had a chance to prove that.

The 8x10 is probably one of those two types, in which case I"d say...probably not the best thing to hold sheet film with. Given its rarity and the likelyhood of its price being astronomical, even if you can find one, why not just use the standard Riteway/Fidelity holders?

[Jim Noel]

The Polaroid 8x10holder was for Polaroid materials only. Two parts were involved, the holder which went into the camera and the processor.

[ghe67]

I have all the polaroid backs available, this is another question.
I'm talking about the 8x10 back available at the time for the MP4 camera.
The two 8x10 holders are available without problem but there are of any use to me as I have not the back to fit them.
Giorgio

[Ben Syverson]

The 8x10 system is not like the 4x5 system. The 8x10 holders go right into the camera like a normal film holder. Then, you put the holder into a Polaroid "processor" and it combines the positive and negative. You wait a couple minutes, then peel the negative away from the positive.

So there's no 8x10 "Polaroid back."

[Tracy Storer]

It's been a long time since I've seen one, but yes,
There was an 8x10 back for the MP4 copy camera.
It would take either a Pola 810 cassette, or a
Standard 810 film holder.

[ghe67]

That's a confermation of what I've found!
Thanks Tracy, now I need to find one and I think it wouldn't be easy...
Giorgio

[W K Longcor]

The Kenro Unit that you are talking about was not a "back" as such - but a complete 8X10 camera unit that replaced the MP4's 4x5 camera. It was well made, but a bit heavy and needed double balance springs on the MP4 column. It also made the column a little shaky -- best results were if you braced the MP4 column to the wall to avoid shaking. Kenro was a client of mine at the time they brought this to market and I did quite a bit of the photography for them.

I had worked along with Polaroid and wrote a number of "how to" articles about the MP4. They were great units -- but frankly , I never had much use for the top heavy Kenro unit.

[johnielvis]

if there was an 8x10 converter, it wasn't made by polaroid or offered by them

I got the polaroid mp4 system complete brochure...there's actually a condenser enlarger attachement for it, but no 8x10

the lenses for the mp4 system would not work with 8x10 too good--maybe at certain restricted magnifications, but that's it, and the bellows would vignette any 8x10 coverage at the proper extension anyways.

the 8x10 polaroid film brochure for scientific applications states that the 8x10 film can be used for regular 8x10 view cameras and/or process cameras--no mention of any polaroid product or mp4...the rest of the films mention polaroid products.

just physically an 810 conversion would be VERY limiting with the lens choices....proper lenses that would fit would not fit in the mp4 shutter

that being said--glenn@glennview makes 810 enlarger converstions out of mp4's.

I highly recommend the mp4--I have a few of them---multi uses like you wouldn't believe---like erector sets

[Punkinhed7]

I know this is an old thread, but I'd been meaning to take some pictures for awhile so in case you're still interested here are some showing the Kenro 8x10 camera and reflex viewer for the MP-4