POLAROID SX-70 SONAR AUTOFOCUS - Trying Out a 45 Year-Old Instant Film Camera

[@MelissaBaker.]

Oh my goodness! It's such a neat little contraption you got yourself there! I love the fact that using a polaroid camera really makes you have to think before you snap. Makes you enjoy the process so much more, doesn't it? Can't wait to hear your review after you've had some time to get used to it.

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Definitely! There's a learning curve, but even when you think you're doing everything right, you never quite know what you're going to get.

[@VictorReynolds]

I remember a friend of mine had one back in the 80s and I thought it was a cool camera; I was shooting 35mm SLR then. Fast forward to 2015, where I nabbed and SX-70 Sonar at a used camera show as a birthday present to myself. I used that SX-70 until an accidental drop in 2020 broke it beyond repair. (That accident should have told me that 2020 was going to be quite a year). This year, I purchased another SX-70 Sonar as a present to myself. I later bought a case & remote shutter release for the SX-70. I love the camera, and as you said it’s an SLR. This is my film photography (with other instant cameras), for like you I cannot be putting out $$ for development and scanning. However, I still only use SX-70 film with it since I have a 600-type camera. Thanks for sharing such a great video and all the best with your SX-70!

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Cheers! I'm glad you were able to find a replacement!

[@GonzoTheRosarian]

Yes, I can understand the obsession with the SX 70, I am going down that rabbit hole myself. I just got an SX -70 Sonar, have a MiNT 670s and have another SX-70 to send for refurbishment and “souping up” to be able to shoot in manual mode. They are great cameras!

[@manatoa1]

I quite like that last self portrait of you. The effect is cool, and I like that it's not just some filter or other, but rather an artifact of the camera itself. Film, and Polaroids carry so much more weight than digital images.

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

I'm both loving and hating the unpredictability!

[@tombrown1898]

Bradley, that's cool! Back around 1977-78, my boss had an SX-70 that appeared at any occasion in the office. His camera had pig skin leather patches, but didn't have the Sonar focus. Good times. Great show today!

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Cheers! Yeah, sounds like he had the original model!

[@jonathanpicklecucumber]

I just bought a sun660 from ebay and ive loved it! I want to buy another SX-70 but i bought one from ebay for ~$100 and it didnt work and had rips in the bellows. I dont want to fork out almost 300 bucks for a refurbished one. Its a really cool display piece though

[@theretrogeek2281]

Me too I bought a one step/1000 Polaroid and was researching about Polaroid and came across the Sonar Sx70 and got one too,I recently did a re-leather and got an ever ready case and strap for it am very happy with it! 😊

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Very cool!

[@GolLeeMe]

Great to see a cool product from yesteryear still working and going strong. Always something sophisticated about the style of the SX-70. In the pantheon of element style this definitely has a place. Thank you for sharing Bradley.

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Cheers! It's such an amazing piece of analog tech!

[@robertpresley6414]

I had one years ago. It was brown leather and stainless. Wish I'd kept it.

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

You can still find them on eBay!

[@drregmonster4371]

Thanks for bringing us along down the rabbit hole.

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Any time!

[@Kwstr42]

i found one of these with sonar last year for 2.00. i saw the honeycomb looking thing and it intrigued me, after i looked it up i realized it was pretty obvious in hindsight, but i do love how it looks and im glad they still make film for it even though its pricy, it would make a good companion to my canon 90D for getting some old school looking photos. one of the negatives i keep hearing is the length, but i just laugh and look at my 90D with the battery grip attached. fits in my camera bag juuuuussstt fine lol

[@tombrown1898]

Bradley, I never knew that the SX-70 and 600 film came in B&W! That second self-portrait is really good. It looks like something out of German Expressionism, as if the film director Fritz Lang had shot it. Ain't it great when things like that happen?

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Definitely! It's been tougher for me to get good results with the B&W, but I love the look.

[@ilmago5291]

600 film was in bw at time only in few pack only sold on line;post 2009 impossible projects then Polaroid originals 2007 and now Polaroid bw sold many bw pack because at time first impossible project film developed in 41 minutes in color and in bw only in 5 minutes;only from 2007 time of development is enough rapid similar to 6 minutes for color of pre time zero version of sx 70 film;also sx 70 and spectra film (spectra discontinued in 2018)was produced in grayscale also

[@BlakesPipes]

excellent review for polaroid camera. i felt like i went back in time

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Cheers!

[@nikospapadopoulos1288]

φιλάνθρωπος !❤

[@Mehmetmoritanya]

What does sonar mean?does it use sound waves?

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Yep. It bounces sound waves off the subject to determine the focus distance.

[@michaelpicardal4885]

this reminded me i have a SLR 680 in storage; hasn't seen light in a long time; it's the version that uses 600 film...i am aware that the film is available but i'm still not interested in using it at $2 a pop...

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

Well, if you ever feel like selling it… :-)

[@michaelpicardal4885]

@@stuffandthingsyoutube i don't know.; i gotta go to that chest and see what i got. had 2 680s but sold one maybe 15 years ago; had no clue they would become a think again. i was a polaroid ho back in the day; i think i still have 2 sonars and i think 2 regular sx70s. have their clunky 1st gen digital camera. even have a minolta spectra that had film available but Impossible threw in the towel making the film. maybe a sun 600 too. original flash units; i have to open that chest i kept them in.. i'm was more interested in the pack films (model 230?); i used to do film emulsion manifestations; no clue if that film is made anymore...

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

@@michaelpicardal4885 - I have an old pack film polaroid camera too, but unfortunately, that film isn't made anymore. If you DO have a 680 in good shape, I'd definitely be interested! Though I don't know if I could afford it. haha.

[@michaelpicardal4885]

@@stuffandthingsyoutube fyi...are you aware of the fujji film instant cameras? i bought one years ago because of the sx70 demise and have yet to experiment with it...has a square format (smaller than sx70) and rectangle....their instant film is cheaper still (i think)...your video has got me thinking about instant film photography again....

[@stuffandthingsyoutube]

@@michaelpicardal4885 - from what I’ve seen, the instamax cameras are cheaper, sharper and more practical than Polaroid. I just love the sx-70 design so much!

[@patrickwilson1440]

Instant photo cameras be they Polaroid or Instax will never produce photos as sharp as those from a traditional decent or reasonable quality film camera because the film used in these cameras is low resolution film with a narrow dynamic range so even if they put high quality glass lenses on these cameras it would make a significant difference because of the film's low resolution and narrow dynamic range. Instant film has a resolution of about 10 LinePairs per millimetre whereas traditional film has much LP/mm about 80LP/mm or even higher depending on the actual type of film.

[@Argo-F-Ur-Sef]

Seems like Dr. SX-70 should pack it better for return shipping. That's disappointing.