![]() The eventual bankruptcy of Polaroid was brought on by a brutal lawsuit with one of its former business partners. The company adapted to the market by releasing progressively cheaper models with plastic glass and rigid bodies until completely discontinuing the SX-70 line in 1981.Įdwin Land presenting his new Polaroid camera. Alas, one of the greatest photography products in history marked the start of the company’s decline. Unfortunately, its release coincided with an economic recession, leading to disappointing sales - barely half the expected million+ units. Tagged with $180, or approximately 1,320 US dollars today, it wasn’t cheap. The camera became a fashion statement, an artist’s tool, and an expensive toy for the masses. The likes of Andy Warhol, Ansel Adams, Helmut Newton, and Walker Evans took it everywhere. Up until the day of release, no one could be sure that it would be possible, even for a multi-billion dollar company to complete.īut once it was built, SX-70 created a truly unique experience, unparalleled even today. It stood for “ Secret Experiment 70 ,” abbreviated in the same fashion as his classified work during the Second World War.Įdwin’s experiment 70 was his most ambitious project, virtually free of compromise and incredibly complex by nature. The camera’s name came from Land’s military background. ![]() At the time, Polaroid had commissioned several factories dedicated to film and camera assembly and chemical sourcing. SX-70, the first and only foldable SLR instant camera, debuted in 1972. Several years after inventing the polarizer, Land Cameras began its production of instant film cameras. This revolutionary invention filtered partial light wavelengths, allowing the viewer or the camera to peer through reflective surfaces. The iconic company began materializing when young Edwin Land dropped out of school to develop the polarizer technology. Land was virtually the only person in the company who knew in details all the difficulties that had to be surmounted. The SX-70 program was so complex and so extended the boundaries of half a dozen technologies that those who worked on it had difficulty in stretching their faith and their optimism beyond the piece of the whole on which their own energies were concentrated. Many of the most important manufacturing issues had not been solved, since the specifications of the camera and film were still changing. Three Polaroid factories were being built simultaneously: a negative plant in New Bedford, a film assembly plant in Waltham, and the new camera assembly plant in Norwood… Each required process machinery that was yet to be conceived, built, and installed by Polaroid engineers. The camera was to include revolutionary optics and a complete set of photonic controls, some of which had not yet been invented. But despite its age, it hasn’t been forgotten the likes of Andy Warhol immortalized its image in our collective minds to the point of instant recognition, and it’s been revisited countless times in books, blogs, magazines, and by YouTube stars like MKBHD. □ This year, it celebrates 50 years since beginning production in 1972. SX-70 is not just a film camera but a cultural object deeply embedded in cinema, fashion, and the art world. A brief history of Polaroid SX-70 and the brand that built it. ➜ Free Download : Polaroid Land SX-70 Instant Camera Guide (PDF). I spent four years using my SX-70 often this review covers everything I know about Edwin Land’s final masterpiece. In fact, there are tons more brilliant innovations and quirks that make this camera unique. Who would’ve known you can pocket and instantly ready a large format film camera and then print your image in minutes! Its folding SLR assembly is a unique and the most elegant solution to the lack of compactness in single-lens reflex cameras. This is also the only film camera for this format that can produce bokeh. ![]() SX-70’s glass lens uses its unique shutter mechanism to make the sharpest images possible with user-adjustable exposure and focus controls. Polaroid SX-70 is a beautiful and immensely capable instant film camera. Polaroid SX-70 Alpha 1 in unfolded position, ready to shoot.
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