Rollfilm cameras comes in a few basic styles.
Examples are the 95B, 110A, 150 & 800.
The original instant cameras. Starting with the Model 95 this was the beginning of instant photography as we know it today.
No film has been made for these cameras for many years, so they are only useful as the basis for another film format. This information will give you the major differences between them and why some are more sought after than others. All are built like tanks and though being the oldest Polaroid cameras around, they are typically in the best of conditions.
The information compiled can be found at the Land List.
All cameras here are aperture priority cameras. Unless noted, there is no manual way to set either the shutter speed or the aperture. These mechanical shutters have a number of set speeds and a rotating dial of different apertures.
Exposure Value (EV) specs |
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|---|---|---|
| EV | fstop | shutter speed |
| 10 | 8.8 | 1/12 |
| 11 | 8.8 | 1/25 |
| 12 | 8.8 | 1/50 |
| 13 | 8.8 | 1/100 |
| 14 | 12.5 | 1/100 |
| 15 | 17.5 | 1/100 |
| 16 | 25 | 1/100 |
| 17 | 35 | 1/100 |
Every camera uses the EV exposure system, found on many light meters, including newer fancy ones. Match EV numbers to your meter reading and shoot.
The first model 95 uses the LV system which is actually the EV system minus 9. However, the shutter was slower than the EV ones, so this chart is NOT for the original 95.
Eventually you will get the hang of just turning the dial one number up for darker, one down for lighter exposures and seeing the scene for the correct exposure without a meter.
The manual cameras, noted below, also use the EV system but allow you to choose different combinations of shutter speeds and apertures. Giving you more control over depth of field and camera shake.
These cameras will take 4×5 sheet film with no modifications, simply load/unload in the dark.
Hover over green text to see more information about certain attributes |
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| Model | Color | Finder | Shutter | Notes | |||
| 95 | brown leather cloth | viewfinder only | LV mechanical | original instant camera; not a good choice to convert because of the focusing being wonky | |||
| 95A | brown leather cloth | wireframe | LV or EV mechanical | better shutter, typically missing adjustable infinity stop making conversions more difficult | |||
| 95B | brown leather cloth | wireframe | EV mechanical | has adjustable infinity stop and the EV shutter guaranteed making it the best 95 candidate for conversions | |||
| 100 | black textured | wireframe | EV mechanical | combines the mechanics of 95 with covering like a 110; very rare model | |||
| 110 | black textured | uncoupled rangefinder | Manual Rapax | finder location makes conversion difficult | |||
| 110A | green leather | 2 window rangefinder | manual Prontor | easier to find than the 110B and for shooting purposes only differs in the rangefinder type | |||
| 110B | green leather | 1 window rangefinder | manual Prontor | f90 aperture in lenscap; expensive and most sought after for conversions | |||
| 120 | green textured vinyl | 2 window rangefinder | manual Seikosha | Japanese version of the 110A; the rarest rollfilm camera; expensive | |||
| 150 | green leather | 2 window rangefinder | EV mechanical | a 95B with 110A rangefinder | |||
| 160 | green textured vinyl | 2 window rangefinder | EV mechanical | Japanese version of the 150 | |||
| 700 | grey textured | uncoupled rangefinder | EV mechanical | a 110 with the shutter from a 150; not very useful because of the location of the rangefinder, but unique looking | |||
| 800 | grey/green leather | 2 window rangefinder | EV mechanical | different color version of the 150; refer to both models as one in literature for some reason | |||
| 850 | grey/green leather | 2 window rangefinder | electric eye | new front door style, new lock and focus knob; introduced the automatic exposure | |||
| 900 | green leather | 1 window rangefinder | electric eye | an 850 with finder from 110B | |||