Polaroid Sun 600

For some time I've been wanting to try my hand at doing something creative with a Polaroid camera. The problem always was the film. Polaroid discontinued producing film for Polaroid cameras in 2008. If you find any Polaroid film, it's usually old and expensive.

The most recent Polaroid cameras are fairly easy to find and rarely sell for more than $15.00 for most models. But I didn't want one I if I couldn't get film for it.

Then I found a company called The Impossible Project who manufactures film that will work with certain Polaroid models. I waited until I found a really good deal on a camera, which ended up being the Sun 600 LMS I found for $2.25. Then I ordered one film cartridge (black & white).

The type of film I ended up buying for my new/old Sun 600 is tricky to work with. They strongly advise covering the picture with your hand as it comes out of the camera. If any bright light hits the picture in the first few seconds it could ruin the image. My very first image did just that because I wasn't quite fast enough. The second shot was better, with just a little light exposure on the bottom. Still, this requires some practice to pull off. Here's the result:

Polaroid does now produce a new version of their instant film cameras. The Polaroid PIC-300 produces instant photos about the size of a credit card. I'd love to try one out sometime.

The Sun 600 LMS was manufactured between 1982 and 1984. Here's a commercial I found on YouTube: