I have a Polaroid camera that uses the Polaroid 600 instant film (no longer produced). Is anyone currently producing a compatible (and cheap!) film for my camera? I’ve tried a few different products, with no luck. The Polaroid film retails at about /10 exposures, wayyy out of my price range. Should I just bite the bullet and buy a new instant camera?
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Johnny Martyr says
The only place you can buy 600 Polaroid film new is the Impossible Project and they seem to be out of 600 very often, such as right now.
There’s no way you’re going to get a popular obsolete film like 600 inexpensively but if you check back with the Impossible Project, surf eBay and check all your local thrift shops, you MIGHT find something that you can live with. I am burning my last pack, which I’d tucked away in my film fridge several years ago.
If you are interested in using instant film, I highly recommend Fuji Instax cameras over Polaroid unless you have your heart set on a specific look or were to get into peel-apart instant films.
Fuji is a much more well-managed company than Polaroid has ever been and their Instax film has been around for quite a number of years without random discontinuations as Polaroid is known for. If you buy an Instax camera, you’ll probably be able to supply film for it for quite a bit longer than you could the 600. You’ll have to drop a bit of money up front (unless you buy a used Instax camera or Fuji Mio) but I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to buy film for quite a while as Instax has become extremely popular since the formal demise of Polaroid film (so much so that Polaroid themselves bought rights to use it with their name.)
There are three Fuji Instax cameras and two sizes of film. One is credit card sized, the other is larger and closer to the size of 600 but is more rectangular. These cameras are good quality and the film has been available for years and continues to be. Fuji is a much more effectively run company than Polaroid so we shouldn’t have as many issues with availability. Fuji’s instant films are also more saturated and contrasty than Poloroid, which I personally like.
Have fun shooting!