Polaroid SX-70 

Two things bring me happiness: 1) getting an alert that my film scans are ready to be downloaded and 2) getting an alert that a new grainydays video has been uploaded. Thank you for making high quality (and hilariously low energy) film photography content.

Ok, since no one is talking about it, i’ll point it out: at 10:20 when Jason stands up, the frame behind him reads “Live, Laugh, Hard Drugs” 😂😂😂

The lesson here is, always wear safety glasses. Like all the time.

I visited my long-distant girlfriend and I only used polaroid to photograph the trip. The pictures of us and the trip. The pictures make me feel so much closer to her when we are apart, and looking at them almost make me tear up every time

“I have never had a Polaroid come out that good” was so relatable and spoke to my soul

big thing about these color Polas is to definetly, from the first second it comes out, completely protect it from light, and no, putting it in the shirt pocket or upside down on the table is mostly not enough, they need to develop for at least 15min at normal temperature in a completely dark environment, wether that be a film changing bag or something like your desk drawer. Also, NEVER shoot backlit scenes, always shoot with the direction of light. And in very bright situations it helps to use the exposure dial by just one notch towards the darken side to increase contrast and saturation. I constantly get amazing results out of my SX70 and even shoot fashion editorials with it. :)

The "Loki Visualization Crew" shirt was a hard flex.

Baxter appearences: - NONE Impostors: - 7:27 - 11:44

It is so weird, after having it restored, the outcome still varies a lot in quality. My SX-70 lets me down, when i use it in the cold, during winter. Most of the time, i leave the compensation dial in the middle. Two weeks ago in Brussels, during the evening, i took a picture of a bus station and it turned out overexposed and shaky, and that was despite all of my attempts to "darken" it. Even better, pretty much every picture on my black and white cartridge was overexposed, even when shot in a dark region. The same settings, but with color film, worked perfectly, even better. Closeups of people/friends/family is where the SX-70 really shines and in that regard, SX-70 looks imho better than 600. Pretty much always, 600 film is much more saturated than SX-70. For me, SX-70 film has a "Portra"-touch. And whoever shoots a gas station with Portra 160 should be ashamed. However, once i have arrived in UK and took a few pictures, pretty much all of them turned out fine, and i have similar high standards. Maybe i am just lucky with my second SX-70, which always worked fine. Maybe it is because the film doesn't have a long way from the Netherlands to Germany, unlike all the way to the US and degrading over there in the shelfs, instead of being fresh. I've had multiple Polaroid cameras, by far the best were the Spectras (RIP) and second, Polaroid One, were the best. The one exposes well, has a great flash (unlike the "Now") and is sleak as a Spectra, albeit not as advanced inside. The SX-70, outside during the daytime, is unbeaten, at least for me.

You could really use a frog tongue. It keeps the color from getting washed out when shooting outdoors / strong light.

You throwing the darkslide into your eye was that unexpected extra laugh that i really needed tonight. Thank you 😂

Jason, I'm curious if you're getting your Polaroid film from Polaroid directly. I'm been shooting Polaroid for a while now and I have found that the SX-70 film is really sensitive to poor storage. Amazon packs are terrible in my experience. Those from Polaroid directly are usually far better and look more like what we all hope for when shooting Polaroids.

Great video, I love seeing other photographers using instant film! I love shooting Polaroids, but I use a back that attaches to my Mamiya RB67 instead. While my brown leather SX-70 land camera is fun and quirky, I like having more exposure control, and the Mamiya glass is so pleasantly sharp that it's a perfect combo with the SX-70 film. Definitely try out the b&w version, it is a game-changer!

I got an older OneStep about a year ago and it’s just been an obsession since. I now also have a Sun 600 I bought off a coworker, a folding SX-70 that I gambled and bought untested off eBay (it works perfectly, I’m so happy, I got it for so cheap.), an Automatic 100 (still haven’t tested.), and my newest one, a OneStep+. The full manual control with the app for the OneStep+ is a complete game changer.

The SX-70 Sonar is one of my favorite cameras. I've learned to be a little strict about what light I'll shoot without a flash, and only darken the SX-70 by exactly one notch or not at all, but generally prefer the SX-70 colors to the 600. But also, shooting with my great crappy old K-Mart flash is kind of golden.

Thank you for releasing this episode on my birthday! What a treat!

OMG the dark slides are the best part of this!

Great video as always. I have lots of inconsistencies with the colour film, but the B&W is beautiful. I guess one of the main things I've learned about my SX-70 is that it takes a lot of wasted shots to get used to its meter. Even though it was a restored one from Impossible Project several years ago, I still find the exposure adjustment is a bit of a dark art.

There's two things I use the SX-70 for. 1). Freaking out people with the fact that it's a fold-out mechanical device like we're in some 70's future space-age fantasy. 2). Taking photos of people together to give to them as memories of good times. Anything else I've tried with it has always turned out a bit mediocre.

Word to Zane, I am glad that you hit him up man!! His work is awesome, love the cameras he's built for me.

"Anyway, after a requested cavity search, we were through security" had me rolling 😂

10:20 the fact that you really spent time adding that little ~Hard Drugs~ into the background, matching the font, masking your body and everything, just for one tiny joke most people probably didn't even notice

Where did you get those dark plates? its funny AF

I've been waiting this video so much (:

I love SX70. I get great results shooting with my back to the light source. Shooting portraits indoors with my back to the window and the subject facing the light always results in superb exposures.

Thank you for your content. It inspired me to shoot film and my dad gave me his old nikon f80 for that. It felt like a bounding moment, and he was very interested in shoots that i took. That you for that.

“Live, laugh, hard drugs”

yey i was waiting for you to make sx 70 content

Love the Polaroid skin upgrade 💛

The Marin Headlands are amazing for hiking and photos!

I really unironically like the circular polaroid shots.

Just moved back to Missouri, glad you didn’t drown from the humidity

We love you Jason

Agree about how hit and miss they are! But when you get it right, boy do they feel special

The photo of you with the Leica M6 is my favorite photo. Great video!

Really liked the intro. I'd be into a whole video like that. Keep experimenting!

Your dry humor has the spectrum of unicorn dysentary, which is why I've subbed today!

Yes!!! You finally made an SX-70 video

Sorry - it's just super interesting to see you tromping around a ton of the same spots I think are cool here; as well as seeing your perspective in some exact spots I've tried capturing as well. Inspiring.

What I find with both Polaroids and Instax is that you really have to re-evaluate the exposure meter's decision in many situation. Since highlights will pretty much always be blown out, I tend to accept that fact and overexpose a bit when I want details in the shadows. You don't have to turn the exposure wheel all the way to the max to see an improvement.

Thanks jason

Dude that camera leather is dope.

This channel is a hidden gem man ✨

aaah yes, another grainydays video... gobblegobblegobble

The GRAIN IS BACK!

Most Polaroid sx70 photos (from the 1970s SPECIFICALLY) fell under one of these 8 examples: 1.) Casual pics of family/friends 2.) Pics of romantic couples 3.) Iconic holiday items like Xmas tree, Thanksgiving table, etc. 4.) Pics during vacations and other outings 5.) Moments related to cherished celebrations 6.) Pics for professional documentation and other purposes 7.) Pics of your favorite car 8.) Pics of something snow covered. The main differences from today is that there were no frivolous or wasteful photos, no pics on the fly (like capturing spontaneous moments), and rarely were Polaroids used for artistic attempts at photography.

The usual great video , I struggle with my SX-70 with SX-70 film so have bought the ND filter so I can use 600 film with out any mods! I think the B&W film will suit your shooting style Moree ;-)

Hey, Jason. First: Thanks to your videos. I have been shooting SX70 quite a bit over the last months, and I have been sometimes happy and sometimes pissed about the outcome. (Also because the best pictures were the ones somebody else took - lol). I experienced the best images, when I shot in broad daylight with the sun in the back. It gives sharp and well colored pictures. As soon as it s a bit too dark or shadowy, it starting to suck. Also shadow light contrasts are not well taken - one always too dark or bright. Maybe this helps. (Shoot like the one at the airport with the sky and clouds) TLDR: Shoot in broad daylight, sun in the back. No strong contrasts.

sx70 black and white film is so good. Ive just shot a pack and when underexposed by a stop the pictures look so damn nice. Also the bw pics seem a lot sharper

Cool! Jason was at Marin Headlands!

i absolutely love polaroid.

Best instant film content creator

Now if they only bring Time Zero film I will be very happy

nothin gets me moister than an oyster like an sx-70 video

This is edited very well

1. Polaroid for the nostalgia 2. Fuji instax wide for the results

The dude in charge of custom messages on polaroid cartridges must’ve had a laugh with the ones you bought. A nice break from ‘happy birthday Tina’ and ‘BFF’s 5ever OMGGG’ i’m sure

I exclusively shoot black and white Polaroids and it honestly is a different ballgame

We already are grateful for existence

Not only are you a hard-working RU-vidr, but you're also a kind and caring grand-son. 😊😊😊

Always enjoy your videos. Polaroid do a frog tongue which you can retrofit into folding SX-70 cameras. They are cheap but I believe it does make a difference. The Polaroid 680 SLR is, in my opinion, the best option for shooting 600 film. The MiNT flash bar is also well worth it for indoor shots.

This is one of your best videos. I'm biased as a Polaroid fan, but the jokes in this video very much hit.

Just ordered sx70

"anyway, after a requested cavity search..." XD these bits crack me up fair play

woo hoo... Happy Birthday to Grandpa!!!

My wife brought one of these home from an estate auction, years ago. I promptly flogged it on Ebay. Best decision I ever made.

Very nice video, thanks

I love it.

Hey Jason, I absolutely love this video and have been viewing your videos for a long time. I have always wondered how you afford to travel so much, it seems as though you've never had a checked bag and only mooch off of your friends while traveling and making these videos. Anyway, last time you were in New York I saw you stealing a bunch of photo equipment from one of my local haunts. I tried to say hello but you were obviously in a rush. Nevertheless, I hope Baxter is doing okay.

I love Polaroid shots, more good than bad obviously. And somehow I get lucky with my images, but took a long time and lots of cake unfortunately to get to where I’m at. But once you get it, you get it wrong all over again, and that’s kinda the fun of it. Kinda…. Great video, thanks !!!!!

I have had some horrible experiences with color instant film, then I tried black and white and I have loved a lot more of the images I have gotten with instant film.

Bro these messages that they leave him in the film packs are so hilarious 😂😂

Mint flashbar is a wonderful product

It's Thrusday. Nice.

Daddy Jason is back

This is why I use Inatax film. Never disappoints.

One of the most stunning and bizarre camera designs to have ever existed

Here’s to another 90!

your loki t-shirt is quite cool

My question is, at 1:41, how is there Carpobrotus glaucescens (Native to Eastern Australia) happily and healthy growing in North America where wild Polaroid wielding Jason’s live…

100% the black and white 600 film is amazing. please see the text i just sent you for examples.

9:30 polaroid sells frog tongues for folding cameras, they're on the accessories page. maybe it's just me but they did jam the camera twice

Loved it! You really, really need to use an frog tongue to protect the film from light. The first 5 seconds are super important and letting the film eject straight in the sun is already too much. The only way to make sure all photo’s turn out perfect is to use the frog tongue. And taking 160 ISO photo’s inside is a no no. 600 is possible but it tends to go orange. Polaroid film is daylight balanced

Managed to find a working one for 70 bucks pretty hype

Definitely go B&W, it's where they got it right!!!

You can actually buy the Frog tongues and attached them to any polaroid now. I've seen them on analogue resurgence i'm pretty sure in the episode about SX-70s

Another fun video. Missed Baxter. CC

Hell yeah! Wait….did this video not start with “yo what it do?”

11:36 - kitty cat

Hi Jason, if you don’t succes as a photographer, stand up comedian is an option for sure. Today arrives an SX70 that I bought on eBay, and your video showed up, what a coincidence, or is because are we being surveilled through our devices? Great video, very entertaining.

I have the sonar and the regular SX-70, but I think the rollers in both cameras need cleaning since I always get white streaks on my polaroids. When I first got into film photography and was at the peak with my GAS, I thought these cameras were really cool, but after the novelty wore off, I also find the experience with the SX-70 frustrating. But, I still finding myself picking up the camera from time to time because opening it up (as scary as it feels) feels fun.

Jason your pictures are so strong they must be on polaROIDS haha jk they're fine

U need to diy make a lens hood,for bright outdoors. I used a hood from a rollieflex rigged it to thin strap of metal other end bend into the flash port,improves pics.

I'm surprised at how under exposed and messed up they all turned out. I have an Instax Mini Neo 90, and the photos off that thing blow the Polaroid out of the water, even though they're only credit card sized. Maybe try Instax in a future occasion?

Darn, I was hoping for your iconic 3D effect at the end with a Polaroid on the table. Still great video tho!

You could pull the back of viewfinder all the way up to unfold the camera, that's fine. No need to push the front part ;D it's on the user manual

I bought an SX-70 not too long ago and I'm excited to make some really shitty photos with it! (though admittedly, I love the design of the camera and really just bought it to sit there and look pretty most of the time lol)

Good Polaroid advice here, dream abandonment is always a good call tbh

Haha! You’re funny. I agree on most of your viewpoint regarding sx-70, but I think I prefer SX-film, probably because I’ve used it the most and I know better how to get the exposure correct vs 600

You should try out the Mint flashbar for the sx70 :)