FAQ

From time to time, your Polaroid camera will require a little tender loving care. This will keep your camera producing the best images possible, and ensure the longevity of your camera.

Please remember that all Polaroid, Polaroid Originals cameras must be cleaned with care. You should only use a slightly dampened cloth when you are working on the plastic or metal components of the camera. Do not use chemical cleaners of any variety, as they could damage your camera. If cleaning the leather components (as found on folding camera models like the SX-70), make sure you do so with care, so as not to tear the leather.

To clean the lens of the camera, use a microfibre cloth designed for that purpose. This will ensure that you do not scratch the lens or leave behind any strands that may impact the quality of your photos.

The component which will require the most frequent maintenance are the rollers of your camera. In order to spread the developer paste between the negative and positive components of each photo, the picture goes through two metal rollers as it exits the film door. If they are dirty, uneven or a just little off-kilter, the chemistry will not be evenly spread. 

We recommend that you inspect your rollers between every pack of film, and clean them every 2-3 packs – even if they look perfectly clean to you. The rollers are accessible by opening the film door compartment of the camera. You can easily clean them with a soft cloth, dampened slightly with clean water. Allow the rollers to dry completely before using your camera again. 

All Polaroid, Polaroid Originals and Impossible i-Type cameras have some kind of exposure compensation, whether it’s a dial, a knob, a slider or a wheel. So, when should you be using it ?

In most cases, your camera will make its own best assessment of your environment using a built-in light meter, and will usually do a pretty good job creating a balanced exposure. If you aren’t happy with the result of a photo, you can re-take the photo, making it lighter or darker using the camera’s exposure control. Below are some instances where you may get better results initially by manually tweaking the exposure a little bit.

Very Bright Sunlight:
Polaroid 600 - slide 1/4 towards darken
Polaroid SX-70 - slide 2/3 towards darken
Polaroid Image/Spectra - slide 1/4 towards darken

Normal Daylight:
Polaroid 600 - keep settings in the middle
Polaroid SX-70 - slide 1/3 towards darken
Polaroid Image/Spectra - keep settings in the middle

Subject is in Shadow in Daylight Environment:
Polaroid 600 - slide 1/4 towards lighten
Polaroid SX-70 - keep settings in the middle
Polaroid Image/Spectra - keep settings in the middle

From the bare-bones Polaroid Amigo to the exquisite Polaroid SLR680, and a ton options in between, such as the 636 Close-up, Sun660, 630 Lightmixer, Supercolor 635, Spirit 600 - just to name a few.

The Polaroid 600 camera was designed to make instant photography as simple as possible for photographers of any ability. Polaroid 600 series cameras can shoot under almost any conditions. With a new high-speed film, one-click focus (auto or fixed) and automatic flash settings (with manual override options), simplicity and ease-of-use are at the forefront of every 600 camera’s design.

600 cameras come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but they share the same basic principles. Due to the wide variety of 600 cameras produced over the years, Polaroid Originals can’t guarantee the specific model you will receive when you order one through our online store. The exact name, design, color and cosmetic condition may vary from what is displayed. But all cameras are original vintage Polaroid™ cameras which have been carefully inspected, refurbished and tested by our team of repair technicians.

All 600 series cameras feature:

One-click photo taking procedureBuilt-in electronic automatic flashLighten/Darken controls1 year limited warranty

The Polaroid SX-70 camera is probably the most well-known and iconic Polaroid instant camera:

Produced between 1972 and 1981Features a unique folding mechanism that makes the camera the most compact of all Polaroid camerasWorks with all Polaroid film packs for Polaroid SX-70 cameras featuring the classic square format

The SX-70 camera is a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera, and is available as a standard model, with manual focus, and the Sonar model, featuring both manual focus and optional Sonar autofocus. The camera comes in a range of classic colors such as chrome with brown leather or black with black leather.

At Polaroid we artfully refurbish vintage Polaroid cameras, collecting, cleaning and repairing them so they’re ready for a new generation of photographers. We do this at facilities in Ukrainian Treasures Inc. 2233 49th Ave North, Suite 180, Minneapolis, MN 55430

We currently refurbish the following camera types:

- Polaroid 600
- Polaroid SX-70

All the refurbished cameras we sell are originals – not reproductions. They were produced by Polaroid in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, so the cosmetic condition of each camera may vary slightly. Every camera comes with a one year limited warranty.

The Polaroid camera you are holding is a so called 600 series box type camera. Polaroid started the production of this camera in the 1980s. Your camera and its flash are powered by the film pack’s builtin battery (no extra batteries needed) and it uses automatic exposure. Please take apart the empty film pack and recycle the battery. This 600 Polaroid camera has either a fixed focus lens or an automatic focusing system with a fixed front lens and an internal rotating disk with four lenses.

If you have a fixed focus lens camera stand at least 1.2 meters (4 feet) away from the subject of your picture. In the picture everything beyond 1.2 meters (4 feet) will be in focus.

Applies only if your camera has a closeup lens: To take a close-up photo, slide the close-up lens (P) lever (located at the front of your camera) to the right. Frame your subject in the oval area of the viewfinder. Everything from 0.6 - 1.2 meters (2 - 4 feet) will now be in sharp focus.

With autofocus cameras stand at least 0.6 meters (2 feet) away from your subject. Your camera will send out soundwaves (at frequencies beyond our range of hearing) to the central part of the scene to measure the distance between you and your subject (Q). According to this the lens will put your subject into sharp focus

Open the film door by pushing the film door latch (F) forward. It is located on the right side of your camera. Hold the film pack by its edges only and slide it all the way into the camera. The black cardboard (darkslide) has to face upwards. Then, close the film door (G). After closing the film door your camera will do two things:

• The darkslide will eject.
• The picture counter (N) will set to 10. Please note that your Impossible film has 8 pictures. Impossible pictures are thicker than Polaroid pictures used to be. Therefore if the counter hits 2, there are no pictures left.

Outdoors, when there are normal light conditions, use the flash override shutter button (E). It is located right beneath the flash shutter button (D). Just press it all the way to take your picture.

If you want to take a picture with flash, press the flash shutter button (D) halfway to charge the flash. After a few seconds the flash is charged and you can take a picture by pressing the button all the way. Or you can release the button and the flash will stay charged for several minutes.

You need film for 600 Polaroid cameras. The film is produced by “The Impossible Project”.

Store your film in a cool and dry place such as your fridge. Never freeze film! Impossible suggests to use film within a year. We recommend using it as soon as possible after your purchase. Using new film achieves better results. If you have a camera loaded with film we recommend using it up within a month.

Keep the developer rollers clean. Open the film door (G) and you will see two metal rollers. Always check and clean them before loading the camera with film!

Tip: Use a moist tissue, cloth or Q-tip to clean the rollers.

Please store your photos with room to breathe, cool, dry and in an upright position until they become stiff. Do not expose them to extreme humidity or direct sunlight as this may lead to alterations in color or fading of the photo.

Avoid shooting right into the sunlight. Try to have the light on your subject to come from behind you or from the side to prevent the loss of detail and highlights. If you shoot into the light-source the contrast between lighter and darker areas is getting bigger and you’ll end up with a silhouette of your subject.

The exposure for pictures without flash is set by the automatic electric eye from your camera. It defines the shutter speed and lens opening according to the light conditions. If the scene is unevenly lit, then the picture will be unevenly exposed, being either too bright or too dark. Try to take pictures where the lighting is even – about as bright on the background as on the subject.

If the background is a large part of the picture and is brighter than the subject, the electric eye will set the correct exposure for the background, not your subject. The subject will be too dark. To avoid this we recommend getting close to the subject.

If the background is a large part of the picture and is darker than the subject, the electric eye will set the correct exposure for the background. The subject will be too bright. This time getting close will prevent your subject from being too bright in the final picture.

See photo-tip #7 for more reasons to get close!

Hold the camera steadily until the picture leaves through the exit slot. This is especially important when there isn’t much light available. In dim light the camera shutter stays open longer than in bright light. Any movement of the camera while the shutter is open will result in a blurred picture.

We therefore recommend holding the camera in your left hand, your palm on the bottom of the camera.

This will simulate a tri-pod and gives your camera extra stability. Be careful to not block the film exit slot at the front of the camera! Press the “flash override shutter button” from the bottom. There’s the most space for your finger!

When it’s cold outside (below 13 degrees Celsius or 55 degrees Fahrenheit) it is crucial to warm your camera and your pictures. You can achieve this by carrying the camera inside your coat (preferable) or in your bag. In addition we highly recommend putting the Polaroid picture as close to your body as possible once it has left the camera, at least your coat’s inner pocket. Be careful to not bend the picture. The warmer you keep the picture the better the colors and contrast will be.

When it’s hot outside (more than 28 degrees Celsius or 83 degrees Fahrenheit) we recommend keeping the picture out of the sunlight and/or at a cool place (i.e. in the film box next to a cold beverage in your bag) once it exited the camera for development. This will help minimizing unwanted orange or red tinted pictures.

The Polaroid 600 camera will take the picture through the lens, but you’ll see the scene through the viewfinder next to the lens. This results in a so-called parallax error. This error is bigger the closer you are to your subject, it’s less visible the more far away you are.

If you are for example framing your subject in the middle of the viewfinder, your camera in fact “sees” it closer to the left, upper corner. To work around that we recommend avoiding full frontal framing of your subject.

Rather go for a side angle. You could also frame the subject a little bit more to the left, leaving space on the right side of the

viewfinder. Another note: Your camera doesn’t show you the full scene it’ll capture in the viewfinder. It’ll add a little bit on all sides. This makes the parallax error seem smaller. In short: We think it’s very hard to successfully work around the parallax error. Our tip: Don’t worry too much about it – rather embrace the imperfection :)

To make the most of your instant-shots we recommend getting close to your subject and making your subject the main interest of your picture! Frame it in your viewfinder as big as possible and keep the background simple. Don’t think too much about it: Often the simple things work best in a Polaroid.

After the photo got ejected, quickly turn the camera by 180 degrees or take the picture with the darkslide (put it on the side with the developing picture). Then quickly place the picture in a bag, pocket, book or let it develop face down (be careful to not bend it).

Avoid exposing and developing in direct sunlight; this will cause overexposure and reddening of the final result. The Impossible instant-photos are no longer sensitive to light after a few minutes but it will take about 30 minutes to fully develop the Polaroid.

It might even develop further after that point! The long development process is mainly caused by the so-called opacification layer. It is a blue layer within the film, which protects the lower (lightsensitive) layers from light.

Instant film contains a regular film negative, which is why the photo is sensitive to light until it is fully developed. Think of the opacification layer, or opacifier, as a chemical curtain that needs to be drawn over the film to protect the image you’ve created.

The opacifier isn’t perfect protection: Therefore we recommend using the “Impossible Frog Tongue“, a device that can be installed in most Polaroid cameras, which helps to further protect your pictures.

There is one key ingredient to colorful pictures: Color! If you want to have saturated colors in your Impossible instant picture the subject must be colorful. How to get good colors in cold weather? Check out tip #4. Tip #8 is also helpful!

Your camera has a slider to control how bright or dark your picture should be. Adjust it to manually tell your camera to change the exposure of the next picture. With the Impossible color film we recommend leaving the slider in the middle position.

Your pictures turn out too light? Move the slider towards the black arrow (1). You might want to move the slider as shown in picture (2) when either the sun or the setting is very bright.

Your pictures turn out too dark? Move the slider towards the middle position (3). Usually with the color film you wouldn’t move the slider towards the white arrow (4).

If you want to take a picture indoors, use the flash by pressing the flash shutter button. You can find more information in the “Manual Polaroid 600” that came with your package.

There are circumstances where you’d rather not use flash indoors, for example when you want to snap a Polaroid of something that’s lit by a natural light source, such as a window.

Outdoors, under normal light conditions, use the flash override shutter button. It is located right beneath the flash shutter button. You can find more information in the “Manual Polaroid 600” that came with your package. Just press it all the way to take your picture.

There are some outdoor situations that might require you to use the flash, for example if you want to make a portrait when not much light is available, when the subject is backlit or when your subject is located in a doorway or under a bridge.