Polaroid 600 i-Type mod - PROPERLY shoot cheap i-type film in a Polaroid 600

My name is Jake and I repair instant cameras! Got a Polaroid 600 you want i-Type modded? Get in contact with me! Links below!
In the eighth episode of The Instant Camera Guy, I modify a Polaroid 600 to take AAA batteries, allowing the camera to use cheaper i-Type film!
This is the same camera that refused to power up that I fixed in a previous video! Part 1 can be seen here:
• Polaroid 600 teardown ...
Like what I do? Find this video helpful or entertaining?
Feel free to buy me a beer (or two!):
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Getting artifacts in the video? For best quality, manually select 1080p quality, as depending on your bandwidth, KZbin may default to 720p - and KZbin's 720p compression looks like garbage
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This video shows me converting a clients 600 camera to accept AAA batteries. This modification provides the camera with 6V of power, thus allowing it to take i-Type film!
I wire the battery holder in such a way that at the flick of a switch, the camera can use either AAA batteries OR the built in, internal 600 film battery.
Why do such a mod? i-Type film is cheaper, that's why!
A 5-pack of i-Type film in Australia is roughly $30 less than the equivalent 600 film.
This means you effectively get one pack for free if you shoot i-Type!
In the video, I also talk about Kratax rechargeable lithium ion AAAs. These make the perfect companion for such a mod.
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[@jungletrooper9252]

In the US, "sticky tac" was pretty common for me up until around 2016 or so. Now I never see it anymore and get excited when I see it solely for nostalgic purposes. Always loved to play with it as a kid

[@theinstantcameraguy]

I always keep it around for repair stuff Its just incredibly handy if you want to hold something still for a while Especially when the parts you are working with are weird shapes

[@lofianddiy]

Once again, I would like to congratulate you on great content and clear presentation! I really enjoyed this video!

[@theinstantcameraguy]

thank you so much! If you like the content, all I ask you do is share it around :)

[@lofianddiy]

@@theinstantcameraguy Will do!

[@Eli_Mastaine]

Finding even the 600 type film is hard here in india especially if you’re not in the metros, even in the metros it’s just hard to find film stuff. I type being the new ones are quite available You sharing your knowledge, This is a banger. Thanks for sharing this

[@IainHC1]

I really like the idea that you have hidden the switch inside the battery pack to save accidental switching!! 🙂 Genius 🙂

[@flyingo]

I’m not sure of blue tack, but we have battery holders with the switch on the end, so no switch mod needed. Thanks for this. It’s a bit of work for in essence a “low quality image” camera, but perfect for those of us who’d like to save $ on film packs for our 600 series Polaroids!

[@theinstantcameraguy]

lucky! Fortunately they are very easy to modify

[@lawltimes2]

Please tell me where you find the holder with a switch on the end

[@christopherrenouf4582]

Great video! I recently modded two Sun 600 LMS cameras for I-Type. Works fantastic! Also grabbed the same lithium ion rechargeables they work fantastic.

[@leinonlylein]

This was really interesting to watch, it's great to see that these modifications can be very easy with enough practice! One question though, you mentioned that the switch actually switches between film pack battery and external battery power. How can the film pack battery still be used if the contact tabs (on the metal bit with the screw mount) were cut off?

[@theinstantcameraguy]

I don't understand the question

[@nunotudela]

Hi. It was perfectly clear what was explained... That metal peice has nothing to do with the batery. That only prevents iType cartridges, the ones with no battery in it, to get in old model cameras. He cutted the piece to allow new generation cartridges (iType) to "get in" the camera. 😊👍

[@bytesabre]

Blu-tack exists in the UK and thus wombles probably use it

[@Michele_aka_Latente]

i wish a spectra i-type film.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

we all do :(

[@Malory-Malicious]

How much does one of these conversions normally cost? I got two of the more rounded Polaroid 600s from a charity shop (£15 for one, £10 for the other cuz the strap broke) for me and a friend and I’m curious if this conversion would be affordable or not, if not I’ll probably just use the put 600 battery on the bottom of I-type film little hack thing I’ve seen a couple KZbinrs do for whenever I wanna use the special I-type film (My one specifically is the Polaroid P 600 or Silver express model, forget which model my friend has) Haven’t really had a chance to properly test the camera nor has my friend cuz both only came with one bit of film pack in my camera (which upon checking, is an impossible specific version and says it was produced in 2010 so it is likely very dead, had one unshot polaroid inside of it, definitely dead now due to being exposed to light,) but I am getting some 600 film tomorrow to test it with so I’ll likely mention if it works or not here

[@theinstantcameraguy]

Doing the I-type battery hack you described is an excellent way to break your camera It's an utterly moronic "hack" and people should really stop sharing it As for whether or not it's affordable, this is up to you really! In my opinion it's worth spending the money to pay an expert to modify something properly I specifically don't list prices in videos so as to not date them in case prices go up. Get in contact if it's something you want :) Or, grab a soldering iron and DIY!

[@Malory-Malicious]

@@theinstantcameraguy I’ll definitely try reaching out to discuss it since I dont really trust myself with the mechanical side of things

[@gianlucab2261]

In your experience, are Polaroid 660 and 670 _ with autofocus _ having the same issue with krat0n batteries, same as SX-70? Cheers

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@gianlucab2261 typically no However you can always install a smoothing capacitor if you have issues

[@iosebaart]

I recently bought a 780, which apparently is not super popular because there are no videos about it around. Do you have any information about this model? I'm actually thinking about doing this mod myself, seems straightforward enough

[@theinstantcameraguy]

its the same camera - just for European markets Polaroid literally named the same camera like a million different things depending on the market it was sold in Its incredibly f**king annoying, since it confuses everybody It is the same camera as the 660AF inside

[@flyingo]

What are your thoughts about the quality difference in the lenses between the classics and the new iType cameras? I must have 50 or 60 old Polaroid models.. so I’ll be doing this AA battery modification to as many of my 600 series ones as I can!

[@theinstantcameraguy]

I don't have a huge amount of experience with modern i-Type cameras, since I don't particularly think any of the newer models are really worth owning yet However I will say its much of a muchness. Instant film doesn't have amazing resolution anyway, so difference to me at least are more about the 'character' of a lens rather than sharpness A modern Now will likely beat a classic 600 for sharpness, but the 660AF and 670AF are a different breed, with effectively the same lens design as the Spectra. Triple element with multiple focus zones and focusing down to 2 feet! Very sharp little things

[@LMFAO5001]

Couldnt you mount the battery box to hang off the side toward the shutter button? That way you could use the switch without rewiring it. It might not look as good but it should work and be easier for a newb like me

[@theinstantcameraguy]

You could mount it anywhere really I think it looks clean here

[@LMFAO5001]

@@theinstantcameraguyi did the battery pack mod and it worked! The flash was active and it was ejecting the dark slide. After a couple shots for testing the shutter stopped working. The flash light still goes green but it doesnt flash, the shutter doesnt click and the motors dont spin. Essentially the shutter button is not doing anything. Do you know what it could be?

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@LMFAO5001 its incredibly difficult for me to diagnose such a thing over youtube comments I have no idea from that description sadly

[@bobmalin656]

Does the newer PowerPack from Retrospekt still have Problems with the Kratax Batteries? I have one for my SLR 680.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

Yes it does. This isn't so much a problem with the back, but with the type of batteries. Truth is when they were prototyping I suggested they install smoothing capacitors in the finished backs, but they didn't listen to any of my advice. Luckily, it's an easy modification

[@lincoln3x7]

Any reason not to use a 6vol rechargeable nimh battery? (print my own case and add a switch) thanks for the video... I want to do this to a sun 600 that has a bad flash, will try and fix that at the same time I upgrade the battery. Yes we have blue tac in the US.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

If it's 6v it should work

[@Park_Jbom]

Can Polaroid Sun670 AutofocusQS do this Modify? I have this one

[@theinstantcameraguy]

yes the Sun670 can be modified like this

[@anton0000001]

@theinstantcameraguy will this method work with the 1000 land camera?

[@theinstantcameraguy]

battery-wise, yes Exposure wise? No. The camera must be further modified to compensate for the ISO difference I have a video doing just this on my channel. Check it out!

[@christopherrenouf4582]

One question, what's happening if the flash is charging twice as slow as a 600 battery pack when using AAA lithium batteries? This is what I'm experiencing after modding a Sun 600.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

I'm not sure. Maybe your gauge of wire is too thin? As long as your camera ejects film etc fine then you should be good to go

[@christopherrenouf4582]

I've modded four of these box cameras following this video and I also had long charge times on the first two cameras. The next two change over twice as quickly using the same kratax batteries. I'm suspecting the quality of my soldering work on the leads from the battery back to the camera terminals. I did a better job on the last two cameras and these are the ones that charge quickly.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@christopherrenouf4582 there are many solder-less connections inside the camera as well - such as where the + and - plug into the ribbon cables, and where the +ve goes into the shutter Possibly, if you soldered ALL these points on it would help too

[@Louicces]

Can i use AA instead of AAA?

[@theinstantcameraguy]

You can. But AA is much bigger. The AA size holder takes up way more space. Just use AAA like I show here. It's much more elegant

[@Maj7]

So can you still use 600 film on this modded camera? It looks like when you snipped off the leads, that was a point of no return to shooting 600 film, correct?

[@theinstantcameraguy]

not trying to be funny, but did you watch the whole video yet? Because I do explain this :) I wire the switch in such a way, that you can use both! With switch to the left, it'll run of AAAs. With switch to the right, it'll use the built in 600 film battery.

[@Maj7]

@@theinstantcameraguy I watched the whole video, yes. It was a great video and well done. I suppose my confusion came from you cutting the metal prongs that contact the 600 battery terminals. So I wasn't sure how it'd receive power from the 600 battery.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@Maj7 the white wire runs power up the metal prong, into the switch, then back down the black wire when the switch is set to the right. When the switch is moved to the left, power is diverted straight from the AAA batteries and into the black wire, directly powering the camera :)

[@Maj7]

@@theinstantcameraguy Thanks for this. I appreciate it, love your videos, cant wait to see more!

[@nate_0723]

How many packs of film can you shoot before needing to change the batteries? Assuming regular alkaline.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

Likely more than you could shoot in a day Total answer will vary depending on temperature, battery brand, condition of the cameras motor etc But should easily be 10+ packs

[@EliseoMartelli]

We have a thing called "Patafix" in Italy, similar to blue tack!

[@theinstantcameraguy]

interesting!

[@Tubtim3468]

May I ask if you connected the white and black wires at the switch at the same point? Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.😊❤🤟

[@monochromebluess]

Excellent presentation. You have convinced me. I have a Sun 670 and a SX-70 Pronto RF that will be heading your way soon for a double conversation. In the U.K. bluetack is freely available in every supermarket/corner shop etc.

[@Cosmiao]

No yeah, we've got blue tack in muricah, I remember seeing it at all the time during my student days.

[@carpediem673]

Had to look up "womble." Thought they must be some species of Australian marsupial :)

[@theinstantcameraguy]

No, a rare British marsupial!

[@iNerdier]

Is there a reason, other than I suppose simplicity, that you don’t use a rechargeable lipo cell with a boost converter in a small housing?

[@theinstantcameraguy]

Cost, convenience, user/field swappable batteries and the fact that the battery holder is its own housing, with no extra parts needed Everything you describe is doable, but with 5x the cost and 10x the faffing around Should a client want rechargeable batteries, they need only purchase some 1.5V buck-converted lithium ion versions - which is exactly what I do - check out the brand "Kratax". Life-changing batteries

[@senfdame528]

Wow this video is a banger. Subscribed Really cool mod and a little bit of Right-to-repair in real life. Love it Is this mod also doable on a Impulse AF?

[@theinstantcameraguy]

Technically this kind of mod will work on ANY Polaroid camera that is powered by 6V However... Impulse cameras are incredibly hard to take apart and modify compared to the regular 600 design Their construction pretty much guarantees snapping plastic to get inside them I do not recommend them as a result, and do not offer repair on them

[@senfdame528]

​@@theinstantcameraguy I see. Thanks for your answer :D

[@inpictured]

Cheap 🤣

[@theinstantcameraguy]

I mean, it is! I-type film is effectively on par with shooting medium format film these days (by the time you factor in developing costs)!

[@卡卡西-w6v]

Sorry, I want to ask a question. If the mirror inside has been left for too long and has dark spots, can it be replaced?🥲

[@theinstantcameraguy]

yes, assuming one has spares

[@卡卡西-w6v]

@@theinstantcameraguy Thank you, I understand