Pinhole Camera with Instant Film
Posted April 7th, 2008 @ 02:43pm by Erik J. Barzeski
I'd like to make a pinhole camera (just something simple, out of a box or something) with instant film. I'm fairly certain I can find enough variations of pinhole camera online to suit my tastes, but I'm not so certain about the instant film: can it be found? Does it exist in larger sheets than the traditional "Polaroid" style size? Is it really $7.99 for 10? Black and white is fine… Is there some sort of hidden place where I can get some 4x5" sheets of B&W instant film for less than $0.80 apiece?
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Posted 07 Apr 2008 at 2:58pm #
Yes, Polaroid film exists up to 20x24. I read an interesting article about the format a while back--I just don't remember who linked to it. Of course, I think each shot was over $100 at that size.
Posted 07 Apr 2008 at 5:44pm #
You might want to check out http://www.freestylephoto.biz/ They remarket film under their own brands for discounted prices. I'm not sure if they carry their instant film or not, but it's worth a check.
Posted 07 Apr 2008 at 6:50pm #
This might be of interest:
http://pro.corbis.com/creative/readycam/
Posted 07 Apr 2008 at 9:07pm #
Didn't Polaroid as a company finally kick the bucket a month or so back? In the age of digital photography, finding instant film/print material is going to become increasingly difficult. Maybe someone will buy their patents and keep producing the stuff, but I would google up some research on the matter.
Posted 08 Apr 2008 at 11:44am #
i use a black and white 5x4 inch sheet polaroid is called 'Type54' (there are other Type51,51,55 variations).
it's expensive.. B&H Photo have it for $63 / 20 sheets. so about $3 a shot.
remember you will need a 5x4 polaroid sheet film back to process the frames (you need the roller mechanism to spread the chemistry around evenly).
bigger than that 10x8inch sheet film is available. it is the type 800 range. it's very expensive, 15 sheets of Type803 is $260,
yeah that's $18 a pop.
afaik there's nowhere to buy professional Polaroid cheap. as the stock is running out, this situation will only get worse.
prices in the uk (where i am) have doubled since last year.
Posted 08 Apr 2008 at 4:06pm #
$0.80 a sheet for instant print film ain't a bad price really..
I've been doing a lot of large format pinhole work this year- Polaroid Type 55 is my favorite. It has a beautiful grain, gives instant positive and negative image, but at $4-5 a sheet is the most expensive of the 4x5 polaroids. I've started hoarding it for the day they stop making it (next year!)
Don't forget you can also just stick a piece of photo paper (of any size) in the back of the camera and develop that yourself. That's pretty common, and paper is way cheaper than film. Or get a pinhole body cap for your digital camera. Even cheaper.
Posted 10 Apr 2008 at 3:26pm #
In other words, forget it. 🙂
Thanks for the help, all.