The Impossible Project Polaroid SX-70 Sonar Instant Film Camera (Black)

Beautiful camera... looks like new, smells like leather. Cant wait to get out and shoot with it. They even included a frog tongue which is usually sold seperately. Very nice. Very happy :)

It was great ... no longer available it it broke

DISCLAIMER: This is a review of the camera itself, not of Amazon or the Impossible Project. Please note that IP's refurbished cameras will not always be the original "steel" (actually, nickel-chrome coated, glass-filled plastic) model; you might also get the black plastic Alpha model. To be sure you get the steel model, either ask Impossible or buy it from Ebay at the cost of not being professionally refurbished. SPECS The SX-70 is a folding, manual focus SLR with a 116mm f/8 lens. It can focus from 10 inches to infinity. Its shutter speed can vary anywhere from 1/175 to more than 10 seconds. Its electric eye determines shutter speed automatically, and you can adjust the exposure with the lighten/darken wheel right above it. ERGONOMICS/EASE OF USE Again, the SX-70 folds. It collapses into a rectangular brick. It was designed to be pocketable, and it kind of is, although it's pretty bulky and heavy enough that it'd noticeably weigh down one side of your coat. It weighs about 1.5 pounds so I'd still recommend carrying it or getting a bag for it. On Ebay, you may be able to find a handy carrying case made specifically for the camera, with a pocket for the camera and slots with straps for film packs and flashbars. The SX-70 is a beautiful machine and it's sure to catch the attention of anyone within a 10-foot radius of you. The camera requires that you unfold it for each use, by pulling up on the top part until it snaps into place. It'll feel like you're being too rough every time, but that's how it was designed. Once unfolded, there is an arm on the side that keeps the camera from being folded accidentally. To fold it down again, you push the arm on the side to "unlock" it and push it down till it collapses closed. While folded, you cannot access any of the controls so you won't ever accidentally take pictures. There is a film counter on the back of the camera, so you'll be able to tell how many pictures you have left without needing to open it. The camera itself can be little awkward to use. The lens is angled slightly downward, and the viewfinder is angled in such a way that it may take a few seconds to find the proper angle to "see". The focus crosshair is inside the camera, and it's off-center toward the bottom. It is, however, very necessary in order to precisely focus it. The focus crosshair is a bisected circle (circle with a horizontal line through the middle). To focus, turn the wheel until the picture isn't blurry. In order to finely focus, put a vertical line inside the crosshair. Turn the focus wheel until said vertical line is lined up inside the circle. If not focused properly, then the vertical line will be split in half inside the circle. You can use any vertical line, such as the placket of someone's shirt, edge of their jacket, a letter in a sign, the edges of a house, etc. This camera is definitely something you'd have to explain for 15 seconds to whomever is using it-- it's more of a personal photographer's camera than something you can take to a party to take snapshots of you. It takes a little bit to get used to, but once you become adept at focusing (which is just as simple/complex as it sounds), that's all you really need to be taking great pictures. Keep in mind that if you're using Impossible film, always start the exposure off from the darkest setting and work your way up. Indoors (with flash) usually required darkest or second-darkest, while outdoors required second-darkest to the middle point. I've never had to pass the middle point during normal use. Check out my review of Impossible film for more tips, in the section on Instant Film below. ACCESSORIES I haven't tried most of the SX-70 accessories (close-up lens, telephoto lens, self-timer), but I have used many flashbars, which are the most important accessory. You NEED flash for pretty much all indoors pictures. Lighting was, think of the SX-70 as a cheap digital camera-- a good 80% of your pictures will require flash. There are two types of flash attachments. The first is disposable flashbars, which are no longer manufactured and go for about $10 per bar. They give you 10 flashes in total, and to use them all you do is insert them into the socket. The camera automatically "recognizes" that there is flash attached and will adjust its shutter speed accordingly. The power is supplied by the battery pack that is already present inside the film cartridge. Each flash is provided by exploding a single bulb, and 10 bulbs thus = 10 flashes. Most of these flashbars will be at least 20 years old, but I've had about 90% reliability-- in the approximately dozen flash bars I've used in my life, only one has failed, and even that one managed to provide 6 out of 10 flashes. Cleaning the contacts, which get oxidized over time, with a rough eraser might improve reliability (thanks again to commenter William Sommerwerck for this tip). The second type are rechargeable electronic attachments. In the same way, you insert them into the socket, and the camera automatically recognizes there's flash and adjusts its shutter speed accordingly. MINT makes new ones for about $90, or you might find a vintage one for around $30. HOWEVER, these require separate batteries, are much bulkier, and must be charged up before each flash, usually a few seconds. The one-time cost comes with a hefty disadvantage-- because you have to charge flashes before each picture, it's a lot more difficult to take spontaneous pictures. Imagine having to anticipate pictures 5 seconds before they happen, or waiting 5 seconds before taking each picture. Or, I guess you could keep the flashes ready to fire whenever the camera is unfolded, draining the external batteries much faster. IMO, the lower reliability/higher cost of disposable flashbars are still worth it over a much more hasslesome electronic flash. The steel model does not have a tripod attachment on the bottom, which is another big disadvantage. You'll have to put your camera on a railing or chair in order to take good night pictures. It's obviously possible, but a lot more difficult than most film cameras. According to a commenter, there WAS a tripod adapter made for this camera, but it's not easy to find. Refurbished models come with a frog tongue, which is a thin plastic screen that covers every picture when they print out and automatically rolls back inside the camera once you grab the picture. Since pictures print face-up, that first moment of light hitting it may affect the development. I can't really speak to whether or not this is true, but installation is very easy and requires no tools, should you buy one elsewhere. Note that this "tongue" was never an official feature, and is special to the Impossible Project. RELIABILITY I've had my SX-70 for a year and haven't had any problems with the camera itself. The only problems I've had were unrelated-- flashes failing to fire were the fault of the flashbar, and I have yet to run into a situation where the camera failed to print a picture. Even if it did, it's very likely the film's fault, not the camera's. According to the owner's manual, the only maintenance you really have to do is making sure the rollers are clean. There's a button on the side that opens the film door on the bottom (the part where "Polaroid" is written), and you can use a Q-tip or soft cloth to clean up any dust or dirt. Other problem areas are purely aesthetic-- the sides of the camera that expand when unfolded are analogous to leather bellows. Someone who isn't careful could potentially poke an unsightly hole (with a finger or sharp object; it wouldn't happen from regular use), and there's no recovering from that. The leather on top of the camera could also become stained, but it is possible to replace the leather. Some people offer this service on Etsy. Generally, these cameras have very little reason to break-- when shopping online, make sure it's film-tested and flash-tested too, if possible. If shopping in real life, I'd recommend buying a SX-70 film cartridge. Once you insert a cartridge, a working camera will spit out whatever's on top (either the dark-slide if it's the first time, or the undeveloped picture on top, which wastes that one). Disposable flashbars should also be able to fire once the cartridge is inserted. You can test flashes with empty cartridges as well. INSTANT FILM Pictures are completely up to the film you use and your skill. You have two options when it comes to instant film-- vintage, authentic Polaroid film or newly-manufactured Impossible PRD4512 SX 70 Film, Color . Check out my review on the link for my in-depth thoughts on Impossible's film. To sum up, Polaroid film is generally much less reliable (high chances of failing to develop or not even firing due to dead batteries), but the advantage is a more authentic look and actual instant development. Impossible's film is reliable insofar that you'll find less catastrophic failures, but it is very finicky, develops within 30 minutes rather than right away, and is fairly expensive at $3 a shot. Plus, Impossible film packs contain only 8, while the originals contain 10 pictures. If you actually want to use this camera regularly, you're much better off buying Impossible film. SUMMARY All in all, the SX-70 is truly as beautiful as it is unique. For someone who's interested in instant photography (rather than instant picture-taking), this is the cream of the crop. It takes a little while to get used to, and it's not easy for your friends to use it, but once you do it's very straightforward. Operating it effectively comes down to only two things-- focusing properly and setting the right exposure. The latter you will learn with a little bit of trial-and-error. It's certainly a head-turning piece of technology, and it provides an unmatched, visceral experience. It is NOT a suitable replacement for analog photography, there are much better cameras for that. For instant photography, however, it is the best marriage of ease of use, cost effectiveness, and features. PROS - It's a Polaroid! Polaroids are well-proportioned (in comparison to Instax's wallet size and awkward wide photos) and authentically vintage - Solidly built and very reliable, unique folding mechanism - A little more portable than other Polaroid cameras such as the box-type SX-70 or 600 series - Ability to manually focus - Simple control scheme; only two wheels (exposure and focus) and one button (shutter) CONS - Expensive and/or unreliable film - Requires separate flashes, which is another added cost - A little awkward to use due to its downwardly-angled lens and crosshair being off-center - A little too big and heavy to be pocketable - No tripod attachment on earlier models

Spedizione puntuale nei tempi stabiliti, il prodotto è ottimo come da descrizione e funziona benissimo. Messa a fuoco manuale per chi si vuole divertire..

Detalles sucios en el lente, no cierra bien y venía en una caja más que precaria