Taken using Instax Mini 90, Spray Art Film

Last year, I not only bought one but two Polaroid cameras on Carousell, a buy-and-sell platform. It was actually my first time owning this brand of instant camera. I remember when I was a kid, I used to refer to the Fujifilm Instax brand as Polaroid. To me, every instant camera was a Polaroid. I even believed that shaking the film would make it develop faster. Well, as it turns out, that’s just a common misconception about instant photography. Anyway, the seller informed me that he had obtained the cameras from an auction house. At first, I was hesitant because I preferred to personally inspect and test them. However, I decided to take the risk. The seller assured me that the cameras were in good condition and that he had already tested both of them, confirming they were working fine. I managed to get both cameras for the price of one. Not bad at all.

As soon as I received my new cameras, I promptly ordered the films. I started by testing the Polaroid 636 talking camera. This camera has an amazing feature that allows you to record your voice or music, and when you click the shutter button, it plays the recorded sound. Personally, I’m not a fan of its design as it lacks the classic Polaroid look, but it’s still a Polaroid nonetheless. I also did some research to determine which type of film was suitable for this particular Polaroid model. I was amazed to discover that the old Polaroid cameras don’t require batteries. Each pack of film contains a fresh battery that powers the camera. How cool is that?

Testing time: I was actually contemplating what to capture because the film ain’t cheap. Every pack has 8 exposures, and it’s around 1200–1500 PHP. Every shot is golden. So for my first two packs, I took photos of my loved ones.

Only one photo was damaged. Weird because the other half was okay. Oh, the unknown surprises of instant photography!

This is the second pack of Color 600 film. I still have three shots left.

The other camera I got was the Instant 1000 Deluxe. This one was much older and still had its box, which, according to the seller, was rare for a boxed ‘70s Polaroid. Unfortunately, when I tested this one out, it was not working. Yes, the dark slide was ejecting, but once I tried to click the shutter, it seemed like it was stuck. I still haven’t had the chance to have it fixed. Btw, I love the look of this one. Classic!

I also transferred the SX-70 films to a finished 600 film cartridge. I thought the SX-70 pack that I bought had a discharged battery, but still it wouldn’t work. Anyway, I just used the film using the Polatalk. I should just keep in mind that I need all the light I can get when shooting this because of its 160 ISO.

Here are the results:

Two photos were damaged in this SX-70 pack. I think it was because of how I handled the film during the transfer. Ahhh! I wasted two golden films. Lol! Anyway, the vibe of these photos is very vintage.

I love the overall retro look and feel of Polaroid. Very different from the contrasty results of Instax. So yeaaa, can’t wait to shoot more. If budget permits, I would love to bring one of my Pola cams to my travel trips.