How To Shoot Polaroids At Night With An SX-70

[@mahaalbalushi6751]

Have just ordered an ND filter for mine along with mint flash can’t wait for the package to arrive 😅

[@MattLovesCameras]

Awesome! I don't have the Mint flash, I do have some really old 1970s flash bars though somewhere ha ha

[@MoMo-li3zn]

The white spot is known as a "Fern" per Polaroid themselves. And it does tend to come from a pressure point on the film (can even be the result of how the film was shipped), it can come from even a slight bend as you think you're pulling it out perfectly flat. You don't have to literally put your thumb on it and press. I had an entire pack have this issue and spoke to Polaroid who explained it in detail, and even replaced the pack of film for me. They're wonderful about helping with things like this 🙂

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thank you! Yeah I always intended to hit Polaroid up for a free pack but forgot ha ha. Thanks for watching! 😊🙏

[@utekopka7920]

Your video is such an inspiration! I have recently got an SX-70 Alpha 1 and am excited to try long exposures. Still waiting for my remote shutter to arrive. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@MattLovesCameras]

Amazing, so great to hear this Ute! I have a stack of Polaroid film so I’ll try and make another video like this again soon. Thanks for your comments and thanks for watching! 😁 let me know how you go with your long exposures!

[@Poverello2001]

Polaroid night photos are something special. I ❤️Polaroid!

[@MattLovesCameras]

They sure are 🤩 thanks for watching 😊

[@BillySanford]

Excellent samples Matt. Your nighttime images are better than my daytime Polaroids! I also get those marks sometimes by the way, so agree it would be nice if they could sort that out.

[@MattLovesCameras]

You are too kind Billy! I'd left a couple shots in the camera from months ago before I took these and the results weren't great... really washed out colours. So I'm trying to only shoot fresh from my fridge and leave none in the camera from now on. Yeah so weird! I know imperfections are part of the modern Polaroid experience, but those white marks are annoying!

[@JamieMPhoto]

I think SX-70 film has such amazing color. I wish more film could render skies and reds like that. Also, the spider web looking marks I think are related to rollers. It has been mentioned in like SLR- 680-era manuals. I'm sure it might also have to do with maybe clumps or inconsistencies in emulsions or the reagent. Amazing work! I really need to get my Sonar out at night ... Dare I try the 8x10? :)

[@MattLovesCameras]

Hmm very interesting Jamie, I will do some more research on the spider web marks for sure. I clean my rollers regularly but maybe there's something else I can do. The 8x10 would be amazing at night! Do you have many shots with it left?

[@JamieMPhoto]

@@MattLovesCameras I'm afraid to admit how many ... haha. I do have enough that I could spare 1 or 2 for the right night shot. :)

[@stapledtogether]

ive been getting some of those weird splotch things on my film also! glad to see its not just me

[@MattLovesCameras]

Yeah so frustrating hey!

[@stapledtogether]

@@MattLovesCameras it is yeh! on the plus side though ive found overall the quality and consistency of polaroid keeps improving as the years go on, ive had barely any issues with itype and 600 for over a year now, theyre doing a great job with the 600 batches atm

[@denisgauert5438]

these marks are the result of banding the film while it develops

[@mattmurray2719]

@@denisgauert5438 interesting... is there anything Polaroid shooters can do to stop it? or is it just an imperfection of the film?

[@Markybug-Keira-Cody]

What a great video 😎 hard to find sx70 long exposure vids , usually they are for the newer models. Or if they use the sx70 they open the door which i don’t like to do. How long did they camera expose ? How often did you adjust the exposure dial and by how much ? Thanks 🙏

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thank you, appreciate you watching and your comment! I turned the lighten wheel to maybe half way towards the max for some shots, but not all. Exposure times were anywhere from 2-3 seconds to more than 20, but the longer ones were for the photos that weren’t very good ha ha. Most of the time it was between 2 and 10 seconds I’d say. 😊🙏

[@TheRefinedBudget]

Please post more Polaroid how to images. Maybe shooting through glass or portraits?? Thanks!

[@MattLovesCameras]

Sure thing, I will do some portrait shots soon! What kind of situations would you be shooting through glass with Polaroids? Keen to try it out :)

[@DEADPEDAL]

So with the shutter cable, you can hold it open?

[@MattLovesCameras]

No, the exposure is worked out automatically by the camera. All you're doing is tripping the shutter without pressing the button which could induce camera shake 😊 However, there is another way. One hack that people use for long expsoures with Polaroid cameras is pressing the shutter then opening the film door as quick as you can. Apparently this leaves the shutter open until you close the film door again. I've never tried that method though.

[@royayersrules]

Those imperfections in the processing bug the hell out of me! Polaroid need to get on top of that.

[@RYANPARKPHOTOGRAPHY]

wow! that's amazing... I didn't know about long exposure with polaroid. I have SLR 680, then I need to buy a shutter release now! thanks for sharing!

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thanks Ryan! So you got an SLR 680! I saw your post looking for one ha ha. Do you like it so far?

[@thomascampanis]

Could you please talk more about the film you used, and how you are achieving these long exposures with long shutter speeds? I have both the I-2 and an SLR 680 with a Manual Control Modification. This allows me to shoot sx70 film in both cameras as well as control the length of the shutter speed. I think they can both go up to 30 seconds.

[@MattLovesCameras]

Hello, thanks for watching! I used an unmodified SX-70, so I used Polaroid SX-70 film. I prefer using this ISO 160 slower film for long exposures. 600 and iType is ISO 640 film. The SX-70 camera has auto exposure, so all I needed to do was set it up on a tripod, attach a cable release, and then press the shutter. The camera determined how long to take the exposure for. In most cases the photos look fantastic, so the exposure was spot on! If you are using a Polaroid camera with manual controls, you'll need to use a light meter to guage how many seconds to take the photo for, then review the results and adjust from there.

[@michael_177]

absolutely incredible. I wonder if its possible with 600 film in lower light conditions? Or perhaps the manual mode on the OneStep+ via the bluetooth app 🤔. God I love seeing stuff like this @Matt Loves Cameras it makes me wanna go out there and try it myself

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thanks so much for such a wonderful comment Michael! I’ve shot all 3 types of film in these conditions, sx-70 seemed to be the best just because you can shoot longer exposures while there is still light in the sky. The others were fine too though! I’ll do some more Polaroid long exposure videos now it’s winter again here in Brisbane 😊

[@laurentiustefangabor171]

ND filter for 600 film camera

[@Thebroketographer]

Another great video. I've been itching for long exposure myself. Now I need to order some sx-70 film and a remote and I will for sure be playing soon with it. Thanks for fueling my GAS yet again!

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thanks so much JT! Those SX-70 accessory kits are pretty cheap in the USA! I had to buy one from the States as I couldn't find one here - a few days after I ordered it, one showed up on my local Facebook Marketplace would you believe.

[@joeytimberwolf2555]

so did you do the open film door method? or the method where you cover the light meter? or is this just all natural?

[@MattLovesCameras]

No need to leave the film door open with the SX-70 and the SLR 680. They can do long exposures already 😊

[@joeytimberwolf2555]

@@MattLovesCameras do you leave the exposure meter just normal in the center when taking these shots?

[@MattLovesCameras]

@@joeytimberwolf2555 bit of a mix... you run the risk of making the bright areas overexposed. Some of the photos were about halfway from memory towards the maximum, when it got really dark it was all the way :)

[@AlexLuyckxPhoto]

These are stunning results!

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thanks so much Alex!

[@mollyanderson449]

Awesome video! The photos are amazing!!! I wish I had an SX-70…it would be so much fun to shoot some long exposures with such a beautiful camera!

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thanks Molly! I kinda forgot I had a stack of SX-70 film in the fridge so thought I'd use some up. You may have noticed I accidentally wasted a frame during the shooting of the video when I pressed the red shutter release button 😭😭😭

[@mollyanderson449]

@@MattLovesCameras I’m glad you had forgotten fridge film & decided to share with all of us! And yes, the “demo frame” didn’t go unnoticed, but hey…it’s for the vid right?!?

[@christina_21700]

Very cool. This is one camera I’ll never own unless someone gifts it to me. LOL

[@MattLovesCameras]

Beg, borrow or steal an SX-70 Christina! (actually, maybe not steal ha ha)

[@carltanner9065]

Well, looks like I'll be in the hunt for an SX-70!!! :)

[@MattLovesCameras]

They are such a classic! Make sure you pick up the accessory kit too Carl 😊

[@ManeshwarSingh]

What's that white mark on the right side of your Polaroid picture @ 8:45? I sometimes get them on my Polaroid now camera at the top left. Wondering if I'm doing something wrong

[@MattLovesCameras]

You're not doing anything wrong, they just seem to appear on some packs of film unfortunately! One of the "joys" of shooting Polaroid ha ha

[@pokulan]

This white marks on your photos are because you probably damaged the film in your pocket :) It happens when you crack one of the layers of the film in first few second. If you use old pack of film the rollers may damage the layer.

[@MattLovesCameras]

Hmm I'm pretty careful with my Polaroids, but I will be extra careful next time. Thanks for watching!

[@ANALOG-ARCHIVE-A-A]

It's actually because of dirty rollers

[@prettylagoon]

What about using a 600?

[@MattLovesCameras]

You can shoot with 600 but it’s 2 stops faster so your exposures won’t be as long 😊🙏

[@prettylagoon]

Thank you. I was gonna use without tripod. Im usin green film. Should i just slide the exposure meter to brightest?​@MattLovesCameras

[@anthonyritchie696]

Interesting to see Polaroid long exposures.. It is not the Thumb and it happens often

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thanks Anthony! Kinda glad to hear it's not just me with those weird issues.

[@jonatascd_]

now I want this setup too =D

[@MattLovesCameras]

ha ha, go for it!

[@brettjames1992]

I took pictures at night once with an sx-70 polaroid camera

[@MattLovesCameras]

Nice! How did they turn out?

[@brettjames1992]

@@MattLovesCameras they came out blurry!!!!!!!!!

[@EveningDiscipline421]

Does the shutter cable allow for long exposure by holding the button?

[@MattLovesCameras]

Not as far as I know. You press it and the camera then works out the exposure time based on its own light meter. There’s a hack you can do with long exposures by leaving the film door open - the shutter stays open as long as you like doing that 😊

[@abielaird]

I tried doing a long exposure of the stars in my back yard with this method and it came out black, Any tips to avoid that?

[@abielaird]

I opened the film thing to do it

[@MattLovesCameras]

Hi Abigail! With stars you’d need a much longer exposure than the SX-70 would be able to give you. Unless… you look up the trick where you press the shutter and leave the film door open. That will leave the shutter open until you close it again. I’m not sure how long you’d leave it open for, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours or more depending on the conditions.

[@MattLovesCameras]

@@abielaird how long was the exposure for?

[@abielaird]

@@MattLovesCameras it was only 15 minutes. I did some research, it needs to be at least 2 hours for star trails

[@Arv-6969]

You shoot with no flash?

[@MattLovesCameras]

No flash, long exposures on a tripod 😋

[@Arv-6969]

@MattLovesCameras my pictures always come out so dark i cant see anything dont have luck with these type of shots

[@MattLovesCameras]

@@Arv-6969 what camera? is the flash firing?

[@Arv-6969]

@@MattLovesCameras sx 70 no flash

[@goodmorning2570]

Amazing Pictures!

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thanks so much! I’ve been meaning to make another video about Polaroid long exposures, coming soon hopefully!

[@outtathyme5679]

Excellent

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thank you 😊 🙏

[@johncz62]

🇨🇦👍

[@MattLovesCameras]

Thanks John, hope you enjoyed watching 😊