Upcoming products !

When someone asked me “what’s next” at Polacon NYC almost one year ago, I didn’t think anything else would be on the pipeline.

Lo and behold I’m working on two projects, both very close to a working prototype and then production:

  • A Polaroid Big Shot adapted to shoot modern integral film AND with a flash-sync socket + an “dumb” flash on a removable bracket on top. Just add film and shoot! Don’t have a name for it yet, my dear friend Gregory Hevelin makes these with instax wide backs and calls them Big Stax and Mario makes a redesigned from the ground up version with a large format lens and calls it Big Roid. I decided the Big Shot is a fixed focus rangefinder designed to do one thing – flash portraits and went Gregory’s way, but for Polaroid film.
  • Polaroid Land cameras adapter to shoot Instax Wide using your own Lomograflok! Yes, it’s possible, and apparently without messing with the rangefinder! I will mod my second Polaroid 195 to do this, and a few Polaroid 250, 350, and 450 I have around! And I will be offering this as a service for your own Polaroid Land camera! I’m very excited about this one

I’m also working on two other little related project, both Instax Wide based:

  • Rehouse Fuji Instax Wide guts to make an Instax Wide back with Polaroid 600SE hooks – but this will ONLY work on the Polaroid Portrait 203 cameras – too long of an explanation why not on a Goose. This would have centered hooks, automated eject but still no film counter.
  • Rehouse Lomo Wide guts, but to add a Mamiya Universal Press Mount on it for a better looking Mamiya Instax Wide zone focus camera with a film counter and automatic eject, and MUCH better viewfinder compared with the current mod based on Fuji Instax Wide.

And no, I’m still not making Instax Square backs for Mamiya RB67, there’s already a very affordable solution out there .

RB67 and RZ67 Polaroid Backs shipping updates

Yay, I fixed the little annoying light leak I discovered post beta testing in the RZ67 Polaroid back and I am now resuming shipping, the first two orders are out the door on July 5th!

Also resuming work on the RB67 nextgen backs, shipping order 3 of 7 (first batch) on Wednesday as well, and with a little luck, even 4 of 7.

All remaining first batch orders should ship by end of next week (July 14th).

RZ67 Polaroid Back News

For those waiting for a Polaroid Back for their RZ67, based on available Polaroid hardware, the wait is almost over. I have received the first shipment of laser cut metal lock rings and currently printing the final version of the adapter top. With a bit of luck, I will have a working prototype this weekend, and will bring it to Polacon NYC for a few lucky people to test.

To reiterate, this will have a dark slide, automatic one button eject, and on off button, and will function on 4 AAA (replaceable) batteries

Stay tuned!

Hey Andrzej, here comes some help – IP Lab conversion tip

If you’re Andrzej and you’ve just sent me an email asking for help with the IP lab conversion, I just added a note with photos in the Install your RB67 analogue.studio Impossible Lab conversion kit! Rescue Me page!

Your yahoo email bounces so I had to find a way and hoping you see this!

For everyone else, this is how to correctly reconnect – notice the orientation of the blue tape – the ribbon cable to the eject board when you build your Polaroid Back from an Impossible Project Lab.

 

 

Polaroid Back news!

Head out to the RB67 Polaroid back page in the Candy Store and snap the last available Impossible Lab Based Polaroid Back for Mamiya RB67!

Yes I know I’ve said I’m discontinuing these before, but low and behold, I keep finding Impossible Labs for reasonable price and I make another one. But as I said before, the base for the product is old, long discontinued and rarely available at a decent price. So if i find another decently priced Impossible Lab, I’ll make another back based on it, and I will continue making conversion kits as long as there’s a demand.

All that being said and as promised, I have now finished two working prototypes of the new version of the Polaroid Backs for Mamyia RB67. They have functional dark slides, they run on 4AAA batteries, and the eject is one touch automatic. There’s also an on/off switch. Are these “better” than the Impossible Lab based ones? Functionally they are absolutely identical. The IP lab version has built in rechargeable battery, this runs on AAA. That’s the only real difference. What will be different is the price. The IP Lab version is (now) $340 plus shipping options (conus/canada is still free shipping), the “new” version will be more expensive. How much? I don’t know yet. There’s significant more work to make these and I have to source a laser cut dark slide and new electronics. Official launch is still a few weeks away.

What about the RZ version I keep talking about. I took the next logical step and bought a (broken) RZ body to move to the next stage. I am now confident I have a working dark slide solution (already tested on the RB version), and enough backfocus to make the mating connectors part. Eta? I don’t know. Two months? Maybe sooner.

Just to reiterate, all these backs take available integral Polaroid film, as in itype, type600 or SX70. They do not work with instax film.

Stay tuned