Polaroid Back

[Guest]

Just bought the polaroid back. Unfortunatly without a manual(second hand).
Who has experiences with the polaroid back? Which film is to use? Any specific tricks?

Chris

 

[Guest]

Polaroid info:

689 Vivid is a bit red but gives you better color on exposures over 1/15 sec. - I usually rate it at ISO 125-160 rather than 100. 90 sec process in 70 F, much longer in colder temps.

679 Pro 100 color is greener, less saturated, less contrasty and I usually rate at about ISO 125, as well.

669 Color - I hate it. You are better off showing B/W to a client.

??? Polapan Pro B/W (I forgot the #) is a low contrast B/W that is very popular and develops in 20-30 sec.

665 Positive/Negative will give you an instant negative that can be louped to check depth of field on critical shots.

 

[pigdog]

i got a rather persistent problem with the contax 645 polaroid back, for some reason the camera tends to shut down everytime the dark slide was pulled, i had to press the back along the metal contacts with my thumbs before firing the shutter otherwise the camera will <font color="ff0000">•<font color="ff0000">•<font color="ff0000">•<font color="ff0000">•<font color="ff0000">•<font color="ff0000">•<font color="ff0000">•<font color="ff0000">•<font color="ff0000">•<font color="ff0000">• has anyone had any experiance with this issues?

 

[kjb]

> [> Posted by a chester ong on Saturday, May 03, 2003 - 10:48 am: > > i got a rather persistent problem with the contax 645 polaroid back, > for some reason the camera tends to shut down everytime the dark slide > was pulled, i had to press the back along the metal contacts with my > thumbs before firing the shutter otherwise the camera will has anyone > had any experiance with this issues?

I've been having difficulty with the polaroid back since it was purchased six months ago. I'm also getting camera shut down after taking out the dark slide, as well as, when the camera is turned vertical. To remedy this situation, I put the dark slide back in place, take off the the back and reattach. It is a pain! Especially because it it time consuming and inefficient and makes your subject or client have to wait. Not to mention the fact that I feel completely incompetent fumbling around with this state of the art vacuum back. For the last 15 years, I've been using various polaroid backs with my Hasselblad and Calumet without any difficulty. Any suggestions would be great!]

 

[alan_h]

Regarding the 645 Polaroid back problems: I've used the Polaroid back for thousands of shots over the last three years and only occasionally had some trouble with it. One thing to keep in mind is the neck strap positioning, it can cause mounting problems if set in the Up position. The gold contacts have to make good connections for the camera to work properly. The other problem that I've noticed is when going vertical the part extruding below the body can get bumped out of place by the tripod head/column. I usually raise my Gitzo column a couple of inches and the problem is solved (using an Arca Swiss head with the RRS anti-twist plate). Good luck!