Last night I took over three hundred pictures with my Polaroid One600 Classic Film Camera. We were doing a promotion for an NBA basketball team. You remember these cameras don't you? The ones where you point and shoot and a cardboard-like square comes out of the camera a moment later and within a minute or two an image is on that paper. Hey, this form of picture taking isn't considered old fashion any longer, now they are "classic". Pretty cool.
This is a Polaroid camera that has long been known as THE instant picture camera. Though the quality may not be the same as some better digital cameras, it sure is fine for most people when given away as a free promotion. It's now more a novelty item more than anything else to the general public. It actually can cost more to use Polaroid film than it takes to develop digital, but, people still like it.
The one600 Classic is a basic Polaroid camera. They have much better quality cameras now. This one is very slim when closed. A push of a button and the casing opens with the lens and viewfinder ready for action. This kind of casing keeps the more delicate parts of the camera tucked away when not in use and also keeps the camera from being so bulky when not it use. Even when open it's still slim lined. Nice. It's also pretty lightweight at slightly more than a pound. That said I do happen to like the older, bulkier versions of the Polaroid. I also find the sleek casing design is temperamental and does not open and close smoothly at all times.
The camera comes with an instruction pamphlet that uses images to show how to use the camera. Don't expect much text. The bulk of all the words you might see, hoping for detailed information, is printed in twelve different languages.
The film is placed into the camera through the front. I don't like the small little button that has to be reached in the front of the camera to open it. Polaroid used to have a nice thumb action latch on the side that made it easy to find and use. That's important for the way we use the camera, many photos in an evening. These cameras hold packets of film that push out 10 images, then the next batch must be put in. I have found that this type of camera does not always spit out the cover card of the film upon closing the film storage latch as it is supposed to. In two cameras we have to squeeze the front area together to activate the switch or whatever is in the camera that triggers the mechanism.
The camera has a counter that is easily viewable. This is a big improvement. For years the window was extremely tiny.
A flash is built into the camera and always goes off so there's no using this camera in museums and such places that may not allow flash. No batteries are needed to be changed. There's a system in the camera that receives the little bit of power needed to energise the flash through the film packet. Very cool.
These cameras are really best for close-up portrait and such work only. They lose much detail as one moves from a subject. 3-10 feet is ideal. Portraits at about five feet are best in my view. Just a reminder, I'm not talking professional quality here but they are good for an instant photo.
The camera comes with a strap.
Some basics about the camera will tell you not to shake or bend the picture as it is developing. That may create some unwanted blotches as the interior chemicals move around.
The camera does have a self-timer that's easy to use. A red-eye reduction feature works very well.
This camera gives sharp close-up images, as close as 2 feet. Nothing needs to be changed to get that close. There are no settings to get closer either. In fact there are no settings on the camera at all. Speed and aperture is all automatic.
Overall, these inexpensive cameras costing about $30-$40 give good sharp portrait type pictures. The colours are true and the convenience is excellent. The price of film makes it more expensive to use than a digital, but you get not only an image right away as you do with a digital, you also get the photograph immediately. Of course, only one image. No copies can easily be made of the original.
These old time, now "classic" cameras, still have their place in today's world.
Polaroid 600 Instant Film
Digital cameras
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100 Digital Camera
Canon PowerShot A630 Digital Camera
