The Beautiful Catastrophe of Polavision [Instant Breakdown]

In the spectacular era of Polaroid's inventive product releases we saw cameras like the SX-70 sweep the nation. But there was also a gorgeous misfire called Polavision, a motion picture instant film that nearly took down the entire corporation.
Follow us on Instagram: @the.instantgram
Please slap that subscribe button in the face for more instant goodness!

[@maxdoes_]

You've backed me into a corner here, I need a PolaChrome video immediately.

[@InAnInstant]

Hahah might be one coming in the future!

[@bgimusic]

same!!

[@cgeorge6786]

From old 1978 news paper ad: (which led me here to begin with) Polavison camera $163, Polavision player $370, Photo tape cassette $8.99. That is about $2,200 in today's money.

[@InAnInstant]

A major dagger!

[@andreapellegrino4469]

Lol, the "we didn't start the fire" reference was brilliant

[@InAnInstant]

Finally someone who gets it!!

[@andreapellegrino4469]

@@InAnInstant yay, finally got first at something! :P Btw your content is top quality, really beautifully editing and content! You also got me grab my instant cameras again!

[@chipzahoy00]

This channel is great, please keep making content! I just got into instant photography and these videos are funny and inspiring.

[@InAnInstant]

Welcome to instant film! This is an awesome little world and I appreciate you peeping the vids!

[@thewetcoast]

Land's approach to the additive color process was difficult to manufacture since it required a high precision (3000 lines/inch) color mask of primary colors, essentially an analog version of a color screen. This demonstrates Land's genius, even if he lost his ability to read the market.

[@entity9742]

Todays market yearns for his work now

[@thomasmurray9249]

I've been a Polaroid fan since my teens (back in the 70s). I remember seeing the news report where Edwin Land did that first demo. I had a real sinking feeling and I felt sorry for the guy, everyone knew home video was coming by then. It was obvious from day one it would be a flop.

[@MrDuncl]

I don't think it was that obvious. In 1977 the school I was at was still using RTR video (which only the school librarian was allowed to touch). The VCRs which were around at this time weren't much smaller so it would be difficult to imagine them getting down to an on the shoulder size.

[@thomasmurray9249]

@@MrDuncl You're right that it wasn't as obvious as I stated, I guess criticism comes easy over 40 years later. I was fascinated that they were able to accomplish it. What I didn't like from the outset was that it had no sound (there were plenty of Super 8 sound cameras by then) and you had to use a special viewer for it. It didn't really matter to me since a the time I couldn't afford anything anyway!

[@MrDuncl]

@@thomasmurray9249 People watching Back to Future in 1985 might not have known that you could now buy the all in one camcorder it featured (a JVC GR-C1) but would probably be disappointed when they found out how much it cost.

[@marcbloom7462]

I used Polachrome in the 90's. It was great stuff. I liked to used the B&W version alongside regular chrome film. having a B&W slide pop up in a slide show always got an "OO"

[@InAnInstant]

I love the Polapan 35mm! Still Polaroid’s most underrated product IMO

[@TH3mrBROWN]

I've watched all of your videos in one sitting, and subscribed about a minute into the first one! Excellent content, and superb quality! Keep up the good work, just don't burn yourself out!

[@InAnInstant]

TH3mrBROWN Love the binge watch Mr. Brown! Thanks so much for checking out the eps released thus far. I’ve got a plan in place to avoid burnout, with episodes requiring this much work that’s definitely a valid concern, but COVID’s offering a little padding for me to get ahead given the docket is lighter than usual. Cheers!

[@MarkSLanglois]

I was shooting stuff as teen on Super-8mm. My best friend announced he got POLAVISION cam and viewer for Xmas ‘82. Sears sold them at big sale prices. We enjoyed the instant film development but couldn’t edit so all mistakes in our story films had to stay. After 10 views, the picture was full of chemical blobs and looked dark and dingy. Fun to remember our excitement at the novelty of insta movies (didn’t need to wait 3-5 days for Sears film processing).

[@mitherbee]

I just ran across this video for Polavision, and it is awesome. You have a way of sharing so much information and not be boring like so many of the KZbin folks. You are fun and entertaining and I truly enjoyed it. I was one of the people that remembers Polavision and I wanted it so badly when I was a teenager but it was more than I had to spend at the time and had to keep making movies with the 8mm equipment that was handed down by my grandparents. Of course as you mentioned we were on the verge of home video and my parents did hop on that bandwagon, $899 for a Betamax! Thanks again and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your content.

[@user-ew2hw3wd2b]

Polavision remained an unsurpassed miracle.

[@InAnInstant]

Couldn’t agree more, absolutely insane thing to have existed

[@roxie8350]

I love these videos!!! Finally a polaroid appreciation Channel

[@brineb58]

When that came out, I worked in the Photo department of a store called E. J. Korvettes, I was able to play with it and wanted one, but was never able to afford one as I was in college!!! I also love the polaroid slide film!!!

[@InAnInstant]

Same with me and Polaroid slide film! Love the stuff, will def make a video about that eventually

[@ethanbalcazar226]

Instant subscriber, already watch all your videos. Beautiful project and gorgeous quality you have!!

[@InAnInstant]

Cheers Ethan! Appreciate the subscribe!

[@JCNY718]

It’s shocking you don’t have at least a million subscribers

[@InAnInstant]

I clearly need to radicalize my followers and spread the word through sheer force

[@matsukotokainn]

love your channel. keep posting

[@ralphhoskins2115]

Loving the channel!!! Can’t get enough Polaroid ....been In love with them for 44 years now

[@InAnInstant]

That's awesome Ralph! Hopefully there's another 44 years of instant film, if our species manages to survive that long.

[@ElGordo2497]

First video I've ever seen from you. Loved it and subscribed. Thanks for the info!

[@InAnInstant]

From Ben Fratty to The Fatty, thank you!!

[@dixonnegron1083]

I had this and I liked it a lot. I miss those days. Thank you for this

[@adamgoldsteintv]

Great job! Love informative videos like this!

[@InAnInstant]

Much love Adam!!

[@Clay3613]

You deserve more views!

[@kaymoment6486]

Love the "we didn't start the fire" refrence!

[@35mmfilmroll38]

So cool. Never heard of this Polavision. Totally visionary by that time, in my opinion. Cool video, man.

[@InAnInstant]

Totally agreed! Thanks dude!

[@larkefedifero]

MY Uncle Argus was the investure of the family. He invested in some Rooster fighting arenas, some old cheap car lots and a new Polavision outlet. Then when they lost lots of money, he was done! He made us poor. So when I went to school on Wednesday, after the outlet went bankrupt and fell apart, some kid laughed at me about it, and *I punched him in the face!* I was angry. Grrrrr...

[@joanmichel]

mindblowing info, thanks for making this video!

[@Astolfo2001]

Short videos that could only be about 3 minutes long or less.... Was the Polavision format one of the inspirations for TikTok? What really killed it and Beta was VHS.... Even when it was first released, VHS could store way more footage than Polavision and Beta. I actually find it kinda ironic that we are currently gravitating towards the Polavision approach of video length than the VHS approach when it comes to popular video content when VHS was what killed Polavision in the first place!

[@JACK-ej9hh]

I had never heard of 35mm instant film would love a video on it :)

[@InAnInstant]

Who knows, it could happen!!

[@microcentralization2137]

Its 8mm not 35mm.

[@WSNO]

another example of legacy polaroid innovation that polaroid originals NEEDS to get on like YESTERDAY. I'd shoot this stuff all the time.

[@sianavassileva403]

Great, thank you!

[@jeremystormsky93]

Man just watched all the videos and gotta say I am super interested in learning much more about the man himself, Edwin Land. I know he did a lot of cool things with the military during ww2. I'm a history buff myself and would love to learn more about polaroids hidden sort of history. Any recommendations on where to get started? ... besides this new excellent channel of course. Which is very well done I must say, sweet action man!

[@InAnInstant]

Hey man! Thank you for watching and I totally share your interest in this sort of strange history. Definitely THE place to start is with the book "A Triumph of Genius: Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War" - a huge chunk of it is about the absolutely insane lawsuit between the companies, but it lays down some serious backstory on Land and his exploits with the military. I think there are some worthy threads from that history which would justify a different video (or even a multi-parter) since Polaroid's origins go so far beyond the peel-apart film.

[@jeremystormsky93]

@@InAnInstant Thanks for the recommend! Just finishing my current book, so will be picking that up next I'd say. Since this comment I've learned a lot more about the man, and gotta say the thing that's blown my mind the most is thinking of Dr. Land as a proto Steve Jobs. The way he ran his business and what a new and crazy tech Polaroid was. (especially when you consider how old and still incredibly functional sx-70s are, that's true engineering.) It's funny how perspective and the years now make it seem nostalgic rather than ground breaking. Thanks again though for the book recommend and about to watch your new lomography review, had my eye on this camera for ages now!

[@InAnInstant]

@@jeremystormsky93 It's so true! I have a video coming up about the relationship between Edwin Land and Steve Jobs, and it's definitely strange to consider the groundbreaking nature of something that the world has passed by in many ways. But those accomplishments were groundbreaking and formative. Such a wild, largely untold legacy!

[@databits]

Totally rad video dude! Just ordered my complete system and film off eBay! Can’t wait for the disaster to arrive! 😂

[@InAnInstant]

WOW haha it's quite a collectors item dude! Beautiful shelf queen

[@databits]

@@InAnInstant - You don’t use the system every day????

[@InAnInstant]

😂

[@bgimusic]

very interesting!!

[@paulnewman9275]

I shot a couple of Polavision films about 15 years ago - despite the films being ancient about 70% of the film developed ok in the special Polavision projector - great fun but VHS madce sure Polavision was still born

[@WrongTimeline]

Non projected movies? Like in smartphones? Crazy.

[@Langkowski]

Makes you wonder how far certain technologies could have come if it hadn't been replaced by an alternative, even if this specific product had significant weaknesses. Regarding film technology, I assume there is a limit for how small each picture on the reel or cassette can be before it affects the image quality in a negative way. Either way, the concept of using film on a cassette and then watching it on a monitor is interesting. Didn't anyone else make an attempt? Unlike all other mediums that show moving pictures, the visual content on film doesn't require any conversion. Very obvious, but still fascinating in these digital times.

[@nikoskostianis4973]

How do you not have more subscribers and views?!

[@InAnInstant]

Working on that!! 😂😂

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

So what was the lifetime of exposed Polavision filmcassettes? Did the Chemicals make the whole thing chemically unstable, resulting in colour changes, fades, emulsion breakdowns and film shrinking? it's a shame that system was not fully compatible with Super 8. It certainly could have been an interesting alternative would it have come out maybe 10 years earlier. Longer playtime and more stable image would have also been a great priority. I admire the idea of the whole thing but by 1977 the writings were really on the wall with video systems getting cheaper, smaller and more available.

[@feehandube]

How much for the whole set camera and tv I have the whole set including the Carrier bag

[@andrewbarraclough9411]

just acquired 1 of these and trying to open the player up carefully - i have power, all my fuses are good but machine appears not to power up - bulb is good, but does not light - so im trying to open my machine without damaging it - wandering if there are any good websites for dismantling procedures ?

[@InAnInstant]

Yikes, probably a tall order finding anything like that, even on the world wide web. Wish I could help man, I wish you the best of luck on this journey!

[@joostdofferhoff4024]

Does it still work? Does filming expired polavision film and putting it into the device still do anything?

[@InAnInstant]

You’d have to get very very lucky to find an unopened film cartridge without bone-dry pods. Theoretically possible but very unlikely.

[@huntercompton9650]

Was there not a video about the Polaroid Now and Polaroid Originals re-brand that launched this morning?

[@Markybug-Keira-Cody]

Hunter Compton yeh where has it went ?

[@InAnInstant]

Hey Hunter! It will be back up soon, I'm just coordinating that release with the official announcement now.

[@huntercompton9650]

@@InAnInstant Ah, I thought I might be losing it. Is there an official announcement? I didn't see anything on the website or their social media outlets. A lot of people are speculating now about what is going on seeing as there is re-branding and new products without any official announcement. I hope you will present some factual information on the issue and resolve the confusion.

[@burendasan]

Ok, so it wasn’t just my imagination...! Can’t wait to see it!

[@InAnInstant]

@@huntercompton9650 Nothing official yet! But it's coming soon, the leaks were not ideal but it'll be sorted shortly. Check back soon!

[@georgholderied2088]

No sound ? The Polavision player sounds like a coffee grinder when it is running. I have one (camera and player) that I bought in 2007 with a dozen exposed film cartridges and an unexposed one. At the tome the tape was 25 years expired but part of it still worked. My girls are among the last people captured in this format. If anyone would like to trade the equipment for film contact me. www.flickr.com/photos/polapix/2073611352/

[@InAnInstant]

Wow, amazing that you were able to expose one of those cartridges so many years after it expired!

[@elvisfan961]

Georg Holderied I might be interested in the equipment!! Please email me at [e-mail]

[@AeromaticXD]

If only we could have new Polavision film... So is Polavision film usable?

[@margecistulli7723]

I still have my old Polavision cassettes and can't ever see the movies we took of the kids back then. Does anyone know anyone who might be able to resurrect these images?

[@michaelturner4457]

I think either obtain an old pplavision player, that hopefully still works. Or break apart the cartridges, so the film can be shown on a standard 8mm projector or telecine.

[@AndrewWaltonPhotography]

You get the feeling that the project was launched a decade too late. Fascinating story though.

[@InAnInstant]

Totally Andrew! Amazing sequence of events but unfortunate as who knows what might have come next for Land at Polaroid!

[@zzeeky]

I need the name of the song at the end screen

[@InAnInstant]

The song used on the intro and end screen is Observa by Isaac Joel, tho unfortunately it isn't streaming anywhere presently 😩😩😩

[@impalaman9707]

I wonder if anyone out there still owns one of these, and it still works, and they still use it? I still know people who have a working 8-track tape player, believe it or not

[@spunjbath]

The original price was $600 for the complete set. Which included the camera, the player, and a pair of lights for the camera. After it flopped, Sears bought the rights to sell them for $200. I bought a set from Sears in 1982.

[@InAnInstant]

You got a steal!

[@headwerkn]

Polavision nearly killed Polaroid but it definitely killed Eumig, who they contracted manufacture to.

[@Sabundy]

Kodak had a MASSIVE failure with disk film in the 80s. I think that cost them even more money.

[@AM-em5gc]

Hmmmm, I think you might have started the fire 🤨

[@bassybossy]

Dammit, just got my slacks back from the dry cleaner's... 🥵

[@InAnInstant]

💦

[@AeromaticXD]

you know, I don't even think the current Polaroid is worth even a CHUNK of how much money they lost due to PolaVision

[@cooperjackson614]

This was 20 years too late.

[@davesummerfield9624]

I am seeking a Polavision viewer in New Zealand if anyone is willing to send one.

[@chenen2995]

the first wotttttt i thought quadruplex from the fifties was the first instant video system

[@tomjanowski8584]

Innovation can/should never be called a failure. The failure was in the lack of interest/sales. The product, in my opinion was amazing. My greatest regret photographically was never trying Polaroid's instant slide film. I think in retrospect, Kodak, though having never gone out of business, was a bigger failure than Polaroid. Kodak was America's and the world's go to supplier for all things photographic--mostly film and to some extent cameras. For some reason, Kodak wasn't content. Kodak wasted so much time, effort , R&D and money trying to introduce and make popular new film formats. 110 film was a joke because tiny negatives produce horrible enlargements. Disc film was a repeat of the 110 failure for the same reason. APS format was a step in the right direction, but just way too late. APS introduced at the time of disc film might have proved popular, but APS was competing with digital and was never going to win. Kodak was repeatedly introducing film formats no one asked for. Of course Kodak instant film and cameras was also a disaster. Film formats were not truly innovative as the world had seen so many size formats and had already settled on 35mm and 120 as mainstays. And don't even get me started with Kodak's total failure when it comes to digital photography. From being the leader in film photography to their introduction of digital photography to bankruptcy. Kodak had stopped true innovation so long ago. Innovation in my lifetime was really more about marketing than the products themselves. I lived this. I live in Rochester NY.

[@InAnInstant]

I think it truly depends on how you define failure. Lack of interest/sales were only part of why this was a wreck. The product is incredible, yes, but the product itself does not exist in a bubble. It exists within the context by which it was created and released. The result of its release essentially ousted one of the great creative minds of the 20th century and saddled the company with decades of mediocre/safe thinking which led to its demise. I think it's fair to call that a failure. There's no doubt Kodak was also a horrific trainwreck. They went from being the 6th largest company in the world to absolutely shitting the bed when they most needed to alter their thinking. You've cited the pushing of an antiquated format that nobody asked for (and doing so far too late) as a reason for Kodak's failure - well, that's exactly what Polavision was. Other innovations (like in Kodak's case with digital) had already clearly trumped what they were about to produce with Polavision, yet they pushed it hard anyway. Needless to say nobody wins here, but at least both companies still exist and the desire for analog products persists (albeit at a exponentially lesser scale).

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

40ISO/ASA is the same as K-40, so nothing unusual and not that dark.

[@hellofrebby]

i was just given this camera from a family member who had it in the late 70s and early 80s. I’ve LOVED watching the cassettes on the projector and it was so cool to learn more about it from this video! 🤍

[@InAnInstant]

That’s so cool that you’ve got original cassettes to watch! You should record some of those, would love to see. So glad the episode filled in some backstory!