Converting an SX-70 Camera
Earlier this year, Polaroid’s SX-70 film (aka ‘Time Zero’) left store shelves FOREVER and like most fans of the format I’ve been sitting on that last box holding out for the perfect subject that will be worth the sacrifice. More than 6 months have passed with nothing being good enough for my beloved last box. With old stock skyrocketing on ebay (some are going as high as $5 a picture. How’s that for pressure?), and similar camera models that take available film formats also going through the roof, it looked like my SX-70 love was coming to an end.
Well it turns out that with a few simple modifications you can still get some play from your old camera using an available (and slightly cheaper yay!) film type. 600 is a square format very similar to SX-70 — in fact the cartridge fits into SX-70 models albeit with a few minor problems. The cartridge has little nubs on the bottom that catch on a mechanism in the camera. You can either modify your camera permenantly to accept 600 film without catching, file the nubs off of every new cartridge, or very simply use your discarded black card (it comes out of the cartridge) as a quick cartridge guide. I opted for this option and it works like a charm!
The other bigger problem is that the 600 type’s film speed is a whole lot fast than SX-70, meaning that your pictures will overexpose everytime. Again you can avoid this with a few simple modifications. Found Photography has a great d.i.y tutorial that walks you through the process with easy-to-follow pictures.
I have opted to purchase an inexpensive Neutral Density Filter available from Polaroid Japan (I bought mine on ebay) that easily peels and sticks over the camera lens. The darker filter does make it slightly more difficult to see through the viewfinder so I do suggest replacing the viewfinder with a piece of clear plastic as shown on Found Photography.
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