It appeared to be the Holy Grail of analog photography. It was a pristine early 1960’s Polaroid Camera in its original leather case. It was a wondrous thing with lots of buttons and a lens that telescoped from the body via leather bellows for focusing. The camera had a appeared to me amid the junk in a Marietta, Georgia, thrift store like an ancient sword emerging from a misty English lake. I had found it and it would be my treasure. As I hastily inspected it, I was pleased to see that the shutter still opened and shut, all the buttons still worked, and the back opened and closed. It looked ready to load and shoot. Since The Impossible Project was resurrecting film for vintage Polaroid cameras, I thought it would be a great buy. Best of all, the camera only cost $4.74. I snatched it up and made my way to the cash register with glee.
However, I was a little too hasty. When I got home and played with it some more, I found that it used roll film. It didn’t use the Polaroid pack film that I expected. When I searched the Internet, I found that the Polaroid J33 Land Camera would not be easy to use. The camera was made between 1961 and 1963 and requires Polaroid Series 30 roll film. Unfortunately, Polaroid Series 30 roll film hasn’t been made since 1991. The camera is too rare to warrant a film creation effort by The Impossible Project. Thus, if I want to use my Polaroid J33, I’ll need to improvise to get film into the camera. In his article, Film Alternatives for Polaroid Land Film Cameras, Martin Kuhn lays out a few options for intrepid analog photographers. The most practical option seems to be using 120 roll film and manually advancing the film one frame at a time in a dark room.
Brian Pritchard, a user on the film-photography.org discussion forum, directed me to another article by Kuhn that provides exact instructions for this method. Since these original articles, some newer options for pressing a Polaroid J33 into service have been devised. For example, a user named Skorj on the Filmwasters Discussion board successfully used a Lomography Instax film conversion kit for the Lomo Diana camera as a means to convert the Polaroid into a Instax instant camera. It’s not an easy task as a filter must be placed for the Polaroid J33’s electronic eye to fool the camera into the proper exposure time. However, the resulting pictures have the artsy, vintage, look that drives people towards using old analog cameras in the first place.
If you are thinking about buying a Polaroid J33, you should be aware that film is not available. Ultimately, the lack of film will probably relegate my Polaroid J33 to a curio cabinet shelf until I am ready to experiment with 120 film, Sheet Film, or have the extra funds to undertake an Instax conversion. Without film, the Polaroid J33 Land Camera will simply become home decor. However, the quest is not over. I may find a way to use that old camera yet. It is a beautiful and well-made camera.
Sources:
The PhotoWorkshops Partnership Collection, Polaroid Land Picture Roll Cameras, David G Präkel
“Film Alternatives for Polaroid Land Film Cameras” Martin Kuhn, rwhirled.com, 1999.
“Using 120 film in Highlander/J33 Cameras” Martin Kuhn, rwhirled.com, 1999.
“Nekotech – Polaroid J33 Instax Conversion” Discussion Thread, Filmwasters.com
Other articles by this contributor:
Seven Magnificent Cameras to Save Film Photography
Vintage Camera Review: Minolta SRT-201 35mm Film SLR Camera
Six Reasons to Try a Film Camera – Again
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