polaroid film holder

Hello everybody, please forgive me if this topic has been covered yet,
but I'm new to large format and cannot easily find the information I
need.
My problem is really simple but I'm in total confusion: I bought some
packs of Polaroid 554 film. They're recently expired, but I will use
them only for experimenting with instant large format shots.
Furthermore at polaroid.com I learn that this kind of film is no longer
manufactured and works with any 550 film holder. So I'm in trouble with
the holder I need to buy: are newest holders (545i) compatible with
this film? What is film that replaced the 554 type? Thank you for any
help!!!

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello everybody, please forgive me if this topic has been covered yet,
but I'm new to large format and cannot easily find the information I
need.
My problem is really simple but I'm in total confusion: I bought some
packs of Polaroid 554 film. They're recently expired, but I will use
them only for experimenting with instant large format shots.
Furthermore at polaroid.com I learn that this kind of film is no longer
manufactured and works with any 550 film holder. So I'm in trouble with
the holder I need to buy: are newest holders (545i) compatible with
this film? What is film that replaced the 554 type? Thank you for any
help!!!

I think you'll find that any of the Polaroid type 545 film holders will
work. I use an old metal bodied 545 holder in my MPP MkVI technical camera,
with the latest film with no problem. The newer holders have more features
such as timers. Whether any 545 holder will fit your camera could be an
issue. Try below and elsewhere on the forum for info.
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-...id=005RYA&tag=

In my own case, I had to slightly reduce the length of the wings of the
camera's film holder arrangement before the 545 would sit correctly and
become light-tight.

--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
http://www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

Ok, but now I need to know a bit more :-)
What is a "pack film"? How does it works? 554 seems being no longer
produced... is there any replacement that could be used with the 550
holder to "preserve" its investment?
Thanks again.

wrote:
Ok, but now I need to know a bit more :-)
What is a "pack film"? How does it works? 554 seems being no longer
produced... is there any replacement that could be used with the 550
holder to "preserve" its investment?
Thanks again.



Polaroid 550 is a dead end. The size is larger than the pack films that
fit into the 405 holder, and no way to shim down to make the smaller
pack fit into a 550 and still work.

You can find used 405 holders fairly cheaply, either EBAY or used camera
places. I got one about two months ago for $US 20. This gives you ten
images in one pack. Fuji are also making instant films that work in the
405 holder.

I think there is an advantage to the 405 holder over the 545 in that it
takes up less room. Even the 545 is a cropped down image from regular
large format films, so the slightly more crop to a 405 holder is not
that much different. The film area on the 405 is 78 mm by 116 mm.

Polaroid 664 would be the closest replacement to 554, if you go for a
405 holder. If you choose the larger 545 holder, then the closest would
be the type 54 film. If you noticed, the numbers are close, something
common with Polaroid materials.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com

wrote in news:1141591896.146447.85410
@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Ok, but now I need to know a bit more :-)
What is a "pack film"? How does it works? 554 seems being no longer
produced... is there any replacement that could be used with the 550
holder to "preserve" its investment?
Thanks again.


Stefano -

As you know, the unique feature of Polaroid films is that they are self-
developing. That is a characteristic of all Polaroid films.

Pack films came in two formats - the "500" series packs (that fit the 550
holder) and the "600" series films for the 405 holder. 500 films
produced an image size of 3.5 x 4.6 in. (90 x 117 mm) while 600 films
produce a slightly smaller image size - 3 3/4 x 2 7/8 inches (95 x 73
mm). Pack films typically have 10 sheets of material in a pack, and the
holders (both 550 and 405) are designed to process each sheet of material
after exposure, and before exposing the next sheet of material. As a
result of this feature, one must process each sheet of material before
proceeding to the next sheet in the pack.

The 545 holder is larger (close to the conventional 4x5 format). But the
thing that is unique about is is that the materials for this holder
(designed by a two-digit identifier - 54, 55, 72, etc) are packaged in
sheets, with each sheet in a separate light-tight envelope. While it is
possible to process film immediately after exposure, the 545 holder is
also designed to permit sheets to be returned to their protective envelop
after exposure and without development. As a result, one can make a
series of exposures on Polaroid sheets without stopping to process
individual sheets between exposures. Instead, one has the option to
reserve the sheets and process them all at once.

There are two ways in which this feature of the 545 holder is useful.
One is the case of using type 55 material. This material produces a
traditional photographic negative as well as a print. Many photographers
like to use type 55 material for its grain and tonality, and the
characteristic edge treatment is often used as a graphic gimick in
fashion photography. But the negative is very soft and easily scratched,
and must be cleared in a special chemical bath. Rather than deal with
the chore of clearing and washing in the field, some photographers prefer
to take the unprocessed material back to the studio where this task can
be completed under more controlled conditions.

The second situation is that because the holder is designed for material
in light-tight envelopes, it can be used with "quick load" sheet film.
Kodak and Fuji both produce a small selection of their films in this
format. Using quickload film avoids some of the dust problems associated
with traditional large format film holders, and a box of quickload film
and 545 holder weigh a lot less and take up less room than the same
amount of film in traditional "double dark" holders.

Your second question is whether there is an alternative material that can
be used in a 550 holder. Sadly, I'm not aware of anything. Frankly, the
550 is a very old design, and the introduction of the more flexible 545
holder and materials actually obsoleted the 550 holder. Polaroid
continue to make material available in the 500 format for many years
(decades, actually), but marketing realities eventually prevailed and the
format has been formally retired.

Mono wrote:
. . . . . . .

The second situation is that because the holder is designed for material
in light-tight envelopes, it can be used with "quick load" sheet film.
Kodak and Fuji both produce a small selection of their films in this
format. Using quickload film avoids some of the dust problems associated
with traditional large format film holders, and a box of quickload film
and 545 holder weigh a lot less and take up less room than the same
amount of film in traditional "double dark" holders.

Your second question is whether there is an alternative material that can
be used in a 550 holder. Sadly, I'm not aware of anything. Frankly, the
550 is a very old design, and the introduction of the more flexible 545
holder and materials actually obsoleted the 550 holder. Polaroid
continue to make material available in the 500 format for many years
(decades, actually), but marketing realities eventually prevailed and the
format has been formally retired.


Excellent overview of the 545. One thing that needs to be remembered is
that the 545 holder does not have a pressure plate. Both the Kodak
Readyload holder and the Fuji Quickload holder have a pressure plate as
part of the design. Unfortunately they are not as reliable using the
other companies films, though it is possible. There are some nice
reviews and articles on these holders at http://www.butzi.net

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com

Ok, so reverting to my original question, the situation seems to be the
following:

1. I need to purchase a "550" holder to use my few boxes of "554" film
until they are over
2. Throw away the "550" since it will be unusable with any other film
type today available in the market
3. Replace it with a "545"/"545i" holder to use any other
Polaroid/Readyload/Quickload film today available in the market

Am I right or missed something? Thanks again to everybody for your
valuable help!!!

Stefano

wrote in news:1141891719.396689.13610
@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Ok, so reverting to my original question, the situation seems to be the
following:

1. I need to purchase a "550" holder to use my few boxes of "554" film
until they are over
2. Throw away the "550" since it will be unusable with any other film
type today available in the market
3. Replace it with a "545"/"545i" holder to use any other
Polaroid/Readyload/Quickload film today available in the market

Am I right or missed something? Thanks again to everybody for your
valuable help!!!

Stefano




That's one summary.
An alternative scenario is:

1. Throw away the out of date 554 film now. Polaroid film does not age
gracefully - the pods of chemicals requied to process the film tend to
dry out as the film ages. It's not at all unusual to find that out of
date Polaroid material just doesn't work.

2. Purchase a new or used Polaroid holder. The choices are either the
405 or a holder in the 545 series. 405 holders are relatively
inexpensive, and the film pack material for this format is costs a lot
less than the full size 4x5 material for the 545 holder. On the other
hand, the selection of material for the 405 holder is not as good as for
the 545 - Polaroid just announced that they are discontinuing the
excellent 655 stock. My preference would be to opt for a 545 holder.

wrote:
Ok, so reverting to my original question, the situation seems to be the
following:

1. I need to purchase a "550" holder to use my few boxes of "554" film
until they are over
2. Throw away the "550" since it will be unusable with any other film
type today available in the market
3. Replace it with a "545"/"545i" holder to use any other
Polaroid/Readyload/Quickload film today available in the market

Am I right or missed something? Thanks again to everybody for your
valuable help!!!

Stefano


Mono has another good viewpoint on this. If you really want to use the
Fuji Quickload or Kodak Readyload, I highly recommend getting an actual
Fuji or Kodak holder for those films. While a 545 or 545i can work, they
do not work as well. Also, consider that every extra holder you have
becomes a back-up in case there is a problem.

Just for an example, a friend of mine was on a shoot, and forget to
press the release on his Quickload holder, then ripped the film out of
the holder. This caused part of the film to get jambed into the holder.
So to continue shooting, he used his Polaroid 545 holder for the rest of
his Quickload film. Even if the holder does not have a problem, a simple
mistake could leave you without a holder. The lesson is to buy more than
one, or mix and match several so you are never without some kind of film
holder.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com

"Gordon Moat" wrote in message
...


wrote:
Ok, so reverting to my original question, the situation seems to be the
following:

1. I need to purchase a "550" holder to use my few boxes of "554" film
until they are over
2. Throw away the "550" since it will be unusable with any other film
type today available in the market

If you 554 film is still good - it may not be - then a used 550 is not going
to cost much, and yo can probably sell it on for not much less than you pay
for it (especially if you throw in your last pack of 554 with it!)

It's a shame about the 550 actually: I like the convenience of pack film for
a lot of things, and the 405 is a bit small. Oh well, I only have a couple
of packs of 554 left, so my 550 may be going up for sale soon too.

3. Replace it with a "545"/"545i" holder to use any other
Polaroid/Readyload/Quickload film today available in the market

The 545 is a good holder, and probably the way forward. I have a 405, 550,
and a 545. If I could chose only one, it would be the 545: I wouldn't want
only a pack film holder, and certainly not only one that holds film that is
so much smaller than full frame, which the 405 is.

Though in an ideal world I'd have the 545 and the 550, with a decent range
of film available for both - but we don't live in an ideal world...


Am I right or missed something? Thanks again to everybody for your
valuable help!!!

Stefano


Mono has another good viewpoint on this. If you really want to use the
Fuji Quickload or Kodak Readyload, I highly recommend getting an actual
Fuji or Kodak holder for those films. While a 545 or 545i can work, they
do not work as well. Also, consider that every extra holder you have
becomes a back-up in case there is a problem.


I second this - and the Kodak and Fuji holders have pressure plates, which
the 545 doesn't, so are my preference for Readyload/Quickload. The Kodak
holder seems to work well with both Kodak and Fuji, while the Fuji holder
doesn't aways like Kodak loads, so unless you only ever use Fuji films, I
would get the Kodak Readyload holder.



Peter