The Plastic Lens ~ Words » Instant Film http://www.theplasticlens.com/blog Talking Photography, Plastic Cameras & Stuff Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:27:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Polaroid to make Instant Cameras again! (& World Toy Camera Day Coming Up!) http://www.theplasticlens.com/blog/2009/polaroid-to-make-instant-cameras-again-world-toy-camera-day-coming-up/ http://www.theplasticlens.com/blog/2009/polaroid-to-make-instant-cameras-again-world-toy-camera-day-coming-up/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:10:10 +0000 Cameron http://www.theplasticlens.com/blog/?p=1018
Alex Syndikas at BIFB09 - taken with expired 600 integral film on a Polaroid 680 SLR SE

Photographer Alex Syndikas at BIFB09 - taken with expired 600 integral film on a Polaroid 680 SLR SE

Less than a month after the last of the Polaroid Integral Instant film cartridges passed their use by date wonderful news has been released by those luminous people at The Impossible Project. The Impossible Project who have been working tirelessly to keep the beloved instant film alive released an update stating that the Polaroid licensee – The Summit Global Group – announced at a press conference on October 13th in Hongkong that they will re-launch some of the most famous Polaroid Instant Cameras. The Impossible Project itself has been working with Harmon Kardon to produce a new integral B&W instant film which is to be released to the market in early 2010, followed by a new batch of integral instant colour film (in collaboration with a different European company) Read more press in the online British Journal of Photography.
Just a side note, I have included the Polaroid of Alex I took a few weeks ago at the last day party for the Ballarat International Foto Biennale ’09 because, well, one it’s a Polaroid and two, Alex became quite excited when he saw my SLR 680 was a ‘blue button’ edition camera and told me how (apparently) any owner of a blue button special edition Polaroid camera could, if unhappy with a shot taken with the camera, send it back to the company and get the film replaced for free, for the life of the camera. As he is obviously a Polaroid aficionado, I thought it only fitting to include his image captured on expired Polaroid integral film here, raising a toast to the good news!
WTCD 09
Even though it’s late notice, it would be remiss of me to forget to remind everyone that WORLD TOY CAMERA DAY is THIS WEEKEND PEOPLE!! That is October 17, 2009
The following has been pinched & paraphrased from the flickr World Toy Camera Day Group –

Invented by Becky Ramotowski, who took the idea from World Pinhole Photography Day, World Toy Camera Day spawned a world wide annual event using toy cameras and shooting endless rolls of 120 and Polaroid film and even some crappy 35mm cameras too…and has been in circulation for nine years now. So on October 17, 2009 (this coming Saturday, remember) get your favourite plastic camera and take as many lo-fi exposures as you can! (and have FUN – that’s important!)

]]> http://www.theplasticlens.com/blog/2009/polaroid-to-make-instant-cameras-again-world-toy-camera-day-coming-up/feed/ 0 Instant Film News, 110 Camera Reviews etc http://www.theplasticlens.com/blog/2009/instant-film-news-110-camera-reviews-etc/ http://www.theplasticlens.com/blog/2009/instant-film-news-110-camera-reviews-etc/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:01:12 +0000 Cameron http://www.theplasticlens.com/blog/?p=815
Paddling - taken with an Polaroid SX-70 camera

Paddling - taken with an Polaroid SX-70 camera

My thanks to Nic Nichols and his excellent blog Four Corners Dark from where I gleaned much of this information. I’ve been a bit crook with the flu so having an informative resource like Four Corners Dark to read whilst locked away (to prevent me inflicting my bugs on anyone else) feeling muzzy headed is a boon. Of course there are a lot of great toy camera related sites out there (just check the links on the sidebar or the sites of interest page) but I have been getting a lot of enjoyment reading Nic’s latest reviews and news, not the least of which the latest reviews with accompanying results of a couple of cool little (and I mean little) Cameras from Superheadz Ina Babylon, the demekin 110 format fisheye camera (that’s right!) and the ikimono, another 110 format camera that takes more conventional shots. You can read Nic’s reviews here:
The Demekin
The Ikimono

Again through reading Nic’s blog, I found out more good news about the future of instant film, in particular Polaroid, you may remember my post on The Impossible Project a while back, well it seems things have progressed read more about it at Dave Bias (one of the co-founders of Save Polaroid)

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A

s far as integral ‘instant’ film is concerned it seems there is hope still for the Polaroid fanatics amongst us, myself included.
hats off to Florian Kapps, Lexi (even though I can’t see him in the Team, I’m sure he is working extremely hard behind the scenes) and the rest of the team in their quest to bring back the production of instant integral film.
Visit The Impossible Project and read the article in the BJP related to this exciting news.

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