Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera

 

From one camera that made it easy to take pictures to another camera it made it even easier! This post will be looking at the Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera.

But first let’s have a look at the Polaroid company’s history. It started in 1937 and was founded by Edwin Land and George Wheelwright III, when they entered the sunglasses business (Lusina 2021). It wasn’t until 1948, when Polaroid entered the camera industry, with the first Polaroid camera that “relied on the photographer to time the development of the film, pull out the print to burst a pod of developing chemicals, and peel away the top film. These first film prints were in sepia-tone, followed by black-and-white prints in 1950…” (Exhibitions).

According to Lusina (2021), Edwin Land came up with the idea for an instant film camera after his daughter asked why it wasn’t possible to develop film immediately after taking a picture. So Land spend years creating a new film and camera that can be developed in the camera without having to take out the film. Then by 1947 revealed that this is possible, by showing a self-portrait he took with his new instant film, then by 1948 he released a camera to go with this film: The Polaroid 95, which sold out almost immediately (Lusina 2021).

Land shows an early instant photograph at the 1947 OSA Winter Meeting.
Image Source: https://optica-org-web-afd-f9abf4byhbacgfgk.z02.azurefd.net/optica/media/optica/about/newsroom/2023/edwin_land_1.png

Polaroid 95. Image Source: https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3175/3008842759_be132d7d0f.jpg

But these cameras only took black and white photos, so Land wanted to go into colour film and “Under Land's leadership, Polaroid chemists developed new compounds – called dye developers – over the course of five thousand tests to act as both dye and developer molecules for proper colour formation of the photograph. After years of testing, Polaroid successfully debuted colour instant film in 1963…” (Bradely 2023). This new colour film was accompanied by a new camera, The Swinger in 1965 (Lusina 2021).

The Polaroid Swinger. Image Source: https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4264344415_60d2f69ff0_n.jpg

These cameras used the peel-prints, but in 1968, Land came up with the instant film we have today (Fierstein 2015) and it wasn’t until 1972, that they revealed the instant camera we know today (Exhibitions). A camera that was called "the much-ballyhooed but still mysterious Polaroid instant-picture color camera" by the Wall-Street Journal (Fierstein 2015). This was the SX-70.

But as some readers of this blog know, Polaroid was first manufactured and sold by Kodak. It started in 1934, when Land, a nineteen-year-old Harvard drop out sold his “plastic polarizer sheet” to Kodak. Then by 1943 when he came up with the first instant film, “it was his colleagues at Kodak that provided the necessary photographic chemicals, despite having no idea what Land was up to…” and in 1947 when Land introduced the Polaroid one-step system, “it was Kodak that manufactured the negatives, a function it performed for every film Polaroid introduced thereafter, including its first color film, Polacolor, released in 1963. By the mid-60s, Polaroid had become Kodak's second largest corporate customer, trailing only the tobacco companies for whom Kodak manufactured plastic cylinders for use in cigarette filters…” (Fierstein 2015).

But this partnership, didn’t last because in 1969, Kodak cut ties with Land (Blank 2024), which I go over in my Kodak Kodamatic 980L Instant Camera post.

After that the company grew and became a success, as seen on the screenshot from Purser’s (2018) timeline of Polaroid.

Polaroid's Time Line, by A, Pusher. Image Source: https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-polaroid-cameras

A collection of Polaroid cameras, by Tim Williams.
Image Source: https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2162/2107418291_020c8d7153.jpg 

But, like most things, the hype of instant cameras died, when the digital cameras joined the market in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Basically, “The convenience and quality of digital cameras made instant film less appealing. Polaroid struggled to adapt and eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2001. The original Polaroid Corporation ceased production of instant film in 2008, marking the end of an era.” (Beckton 2025)

But Polaroid did at least try to keep up, because in 1996, Polaroid released the Polaroid PDC-2000, “Polaroid’s anticipated entry to the digital market…” (Digitalkamera Museum 2025). They also released the PDC-3000 and PDC-300 (Digitalkamera Museum 2025) and many others. But it was too late because “By the time Polaroid created the PDC-2000 in 1996, the market had already turned away from them…” (Faulkner 2022).

Polaroid PDC-2000. Image Source: https://ssalemi.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/pdc.jpg

Polaroid PDC-3000. Image Source: https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/P3K/PDC3000A.GIF

Polaroid PDC-300. Image Source: https://www.digitalkameramuseum.de/media/zoo/images/Polaroid%20PDC300_5c4447d3f9dc2fcf4fde46c1195b70aa.JPG

Furthermore, Polaroid, according to Sekar (2024), “… struggled to transition from its traditional instant film business to digital technology.” Polaroid digital cameras were outdated, because the cameras “didn’t allow the user to manually change anything. There was simply no way for the user to manually change focus, exposure, shutter speed, aperture settings, metering or red-eye reduction…” (Digitalkamera Museum 2025). This meant that “Polaroid's products failed to compete with emerging technologies...” (Harmon 2022).

But this isn’t the end for Polaroid, because in “… 2017, Polaroid announced its comeback with the Polaroid Originals brand, reintroducing the classic instant film cameras and launching new models like the OneStep 2. Today, Polaroid cameras are cherished for their retro appeal and the unique aesthetic they offer. The revival has brought a new generation of photographers who appreciate the analog experience in a digital world…” (Beckton 2025).

Now let’s have a look at this post’s camera. The Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera, which was almost called “The American” (McCracken 2022).

The SX-70 was released between the years 1972-1981 and “is a historically significant camera that is one of the most distinctive looking and attractive cameras ever made.  No other company even came close to making something that looked or functioned like the SX-70.  It single handily launched the concept of integrated instant film and permanently linked the name Polaroid with that of instant film…” (Eckman 2021). It was released and showcased on a stage in 1972, where Land pulled out the camera from his pocket and while smoking a pipe took five photos back to back and with every picture amazed the audience more and more (Eckman 2021).

“The SX-70 was an immediate success and popular with beginners and professionals alike; both Ansel Adams and Andy Warhol were said to have used the SX-70…” (Edmond History Museum 2018).

The body is chrome (in Stanley’s (2018) article he states it is chrome plated thermos plastic), and leather (real leather apparently!) and came in different variations, all with minor differences (Gary 2022). Such as the Earliest SX-70 Model 1 (no split-circle version), 1972-1973, which looks exactly like the camera in this blog, which is a later Model 1 Type 1 (split-circle version), 1973-1977, the model 1 type 2, 1973-1977, the Alpha 1, 1977-1982 (Gary 2022) and many more. To see all of them please visit Instant Options’ article (2015): https://www.instantoptions.com/landlist/cameras/sx70/folding.php#:~:text=Collector's%20Note:%20There%20are%203,stores)%20versions%20were%20also%20produced. 

The camera is also a folding camera “that when folded shut was no larger than a small hard cover book…” (Eckman 2021). When it is folded it is “17.5 x 10 x 2.5 cm” (Mint) and when unfolded it is 17.5 x 10 x 12,9-13 cm. It also has quite a hefty weight to it being around 756 grams (Eckman 2021). 

Now for the front of the camera.

First looking at the lens.

The lens is a glass lens with a focal length of 116mm with a f/stop of 8 on the maximum aperture setting with a focus distance of 0.26m to infinity. The glass is also a coated 4-elements (Eckman 2021).

Which means that the lens is coated in with an element that reduces light reflection and glare or in other (or better) words: “Ordinary glass lenses transmit most of the light that hits them, but even so, about 4% of this light is lost to surface reflection. Since lenses have front and rear surfaces, this means that the overall loss of light from passing through one lens element is 8%...” (Canon) and “coating on your lens or filter reduces reflection from about 4% to about 1.5%. A good (and relatively expensive) multilayer coating can reduce it from 4% to as little as 0.2%...” (Cicala 2011).

What is also interesting is that the lens can also create a bokeh as a 50mm f/2 lens (Dmitri 2024). Bokeh is “the blurred quality or effect seen in the out-of-focus portion of a photograph” (Mariam Webster).

 The lens is also an indicator, that shows that this camera is a SX-70 Model 1 Type 1, because, unlike the Type 2, the Type 1 has “no numbers on the lens, only marked dials…” (Gary 2022).

Polaroid SX-70 Model 1 Type 2. Image Source: https://mint-camera.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/numbers.jpg

Then to the left of the lens is the shutter button and the focus wheel.

The shutter button is Electronic (Eckman 2021) and the shutter itself is a leaf shutter that is also the aperture and “Better yet, the leaf shutter/aperture’s dual-component teardrop shape openings are apparently better at rendering objects with motion blur and shallow depth of field…” (Dmitri 2024). 

The shutter speed is interesting, with Eckman (2021), stating that it is between 10 seconds to 1/175 second. But then we have Dmitri (2024) writing that it is 1/180 second, but can even go up to 1/2000 second, because “there are no dedicated aperture blades on SX-70, the 1/2,000s is an interpretation of the minimum amount of light the shutter allows onto the film plane…” and “that is not the mechanical speed of the shutter. Instead, SX-70 has its leaf shutter blades form an f/22 aperture while firing at 1/180s. f/22 lets in three stops of light less than f/8, which makes this action equivalent to a shutter firing 1/2,000s at f/8.” 

The focus wheel, well adjusts the focus. This is also where I point out why this camera is a Model 1 Type 1 and not the Early Model 1 SX-70. Both are the same with only one difference: the Type 1 has a split circle.

Off-centre Split-circle example of an SX-70. 
Image Source: https://mint-camera.com/image/sx70/focusing/split-circle-p1.jpg

According to Gary (2022): “The story is that the founder of Polaroid, Dr Edwin Land, at first disliked the idea of putting a split-circle in the viewfinder, believing that it would affect the user experience. Later on, his colleagues reported that customers were having difficulty focusing, especially in the dark. After analysing the options that were presented, Dr Edwin reluctantly accepted the idea of placing a split-circle inside the viewfinder to assist focussing, but on one condition – it couldn’t be in the center of the frame.” Meaning that the circle is off-centre.

 The Type 2 (presumably) also has a split-circle, but unlike the Type 2, the Type 1 “There is no way to focus this camera without looking through the viewfinder, and there is no depth of field scale anywhere on it…” whereas the Type 2 “would have focus distances marked around the lens…” (Eckman 2021).

Then on the right is the Lighten/Darken control and the Electric eye.

Both are used to set the exposure. But the Electric eye sets the exposure automatically when the Lighten/Darken control is set in neutral (when the white and black separation line is on the main arrow) by measuring the amount of light available.

The Lighten/Darken control is to set it manually and make the exposure lighter by turning it towards the white and darken the exposure by, can you guess? That’s right towards the dark colour!

Underneath the lens is the Picture exit slot, where the instant film is ejected out when a picture is taken.

 This is also where the Film door is located that covers the film compartment.

This is opened, by pressing down on the yellow bar (although the yellow is peeling off on this camera) that is located on the left side of the camera.

The Film door is also where the rollers are.

The SX-70 uses SX-70 film, which is a film pack with ten exposures and an ISO of 160 (Salerno 2017), that is the size of 3.5×4.2” (Dmitri 2024) and a picture area of 3.125 x 3.125” (Wikipedia). It was introduced in 1972 and the packs had to be used with batteries, according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia also points out that there were different variations of this film, such as the Time-Zero Supercolor, that sped up the developing process, the 778 for professionals and the 708 “Time Zero film without a battery, intended for use in applications such as the "Face Place" photo booth and professional or laboratory film-backs, where a battery is not needed. Time Zero was the film manufactured up until 2005, though overseas-market and some last run film packs were marked only as SX-70.”

Blank SX-70 Instant film. Image Source: 
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fpolaroid-sx70-only-spitting-out-half-images-or-empty-white-v0-ftueag5d3g8a1.jpg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D53dae8c8dfa86896311973f7fd7c0da429911542

SX-70 film package. Image Source: https://filmphotography.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/polaroid-sx-70-land-film-sofortbildfilm.jpg

SX-70 film pack. Image Source: https://www.propology.ca/uploads/1/0/5/7/10574841/7657543_orig.jpg

SX-70 Time-Zero Supercolor film. Image Source: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55a3d80ee4b026ec059a4672/1539616070926-M1U3B2Y8OI6ES9ZVB9F8/SX-70-1.jpg

The film is also easy to insert as illustrated by the manual:

Page 6 of the SX-70 manual. 

To learn how instant film works, please see my Kodak Kodamatic 980L Instant Camera post.

Then above the lens is the Flash socket, which uses a flashbar. Similar to the flip flash in the Kodak Instamatic 50 & X-15F, it is a flash with ten bulbs, five on either side. When the first five on one side is used, the user takes out the flashbar and flips it around to use the other five. 

Flashbar. Image Source: https://brooklynfilmcamera.com/cdn/shop/products/SX-70_Vintage_Flashbar_1_1120x1120.jpg?v=1629329200

Flashbar connected to a SX-70. Image Source: https://brooklynfilmcamera.com/cdn/shop/products/SX-70_Vintage_Flashbar_2_1120x1120.jpg?v=1629329200

Or in better terms “The Flashbar contains on each side five glass bulbs that are filled with magnesium wool in an oxygen-atmosphere…” which is fired off by an electric pulse (SX2pc). For a more in-depth look at the science behind it, please check out this article, by SX2pc:

http://www.sx2pc.com/flashbar.html#:~:text=The%20Flashbar%20contains%20on%20each,and%20corrects%20the%20light%2Dcolor.

Now on the left side of the camera…

Is the yellow bar and the Connector for remote shutter button, to fire off the shutter with a remote shutter.

Then on the right side…

Is the cover support, that locks in and keeps the camera from collapsing. To fold the camera back up, the user presses the middle of the support in the direction of the arrow.

And on both sides is the bellows (for more information please see my Agfa Billy Record 7.7 Pocket camera) which like the Kodak Kodamatic 980L Instant Camera is smooth and made from rubber.

On the back of the camera is the film counter.

Finally, on the top…

Is the view finder. Which is an SLR type (please see my Olympus OM 30 Film Camera post).

 The SX-70 has a fascinating SLR design and to make it short and not bore you with unnecessary details, I will give you a quote from Eckman’s (2021) article:

“Traditional SLRs typically used a solid piece of glass known as a pentaprism and some kind of textured ground glass to achieve through the lens composition, but the SX-70’s folding design had neither of those things, instead using a clever arrangement of three different mirrors and a glass eyepiece that when opened give a true representation of what will be captured on film…” and that “…the resolution of the lens is inconclusive saying that the images produced by the camera looked good, but an accurate test was hampered by 15 layers of film and the protective Mylar window covering each exposure.”

SX-70 diagram and breakdown. Image Source: https://mikeeckman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/PolaroidSX70Inside-1024x529.jpg

The only problem with the SX-70 is that it has no strap or tripod socket, or at least this camera (the Model 1 Type 1) doesn’t have, because the Alpha 1 and later SX-70 models came with these features.

Polaroid SX-70 Alpha 1. Image Source: https://mint-camera.com/image/sx70/Polaroid-SX70-Alpha-1.jpg

Now for those who want me to compare this to the Kodak Kodamatic 980L Instant Camera. All I can say is that there is no competition. The SX-70 is superior. Unlike the 980L, which is bulky and awkward to hold, the SX-70 fits in my pocket and is easy to hold. Both have similar features. The only thing that I would say the 980L has an one-up over the SX-70, is that it comes with a built-in flash. Other than that, if I had to choose, I would go SX-70 every time!

Wow, that was a lot. For such a simple camera to use it has a very complex and intricate system. It is definitely worth all the praise it got and still gets.

As always thank you for making it to the end and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did researching it.   

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List of sources:

Beckton, A. 2025. The History of Polaroid Cameras. https://www.progearsa.co.za/the-history-of-polaroid-cameras.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqlvxiLEG7Wdnma176CGTIm_sH9eSRIIF3N72TtwjMw-NErhnaK

Blank, S. 2024. Secret History – When Kodak Went to War with Polaroid. https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/#:~:text=In%201963%20when%20Polaroid%20launched,year%20to%20manufacture%20that%20film.

Bradley, S. 2023. Edwin Land and the Birth of Instant Photography. https://www.optica.org/optica_blog/2023/august/edwin_land_and_the_birth_of_instant_photography/

Canon. Lens coating. https://global.canon/en/technology/s_labo/light/003/03.html#:~:text=Most%20camera%20lenses%20are%20made,light%20to%20pass%20through%20them.

Cicala, R. 2011. All About Lens Coatings. https://www.canonrumors.com/tech-articles/all-about-lens-coatings/#:~:text=To%20a%20narcissist%20it's%20their,an%20image%20on%20the%20sensor.

DigitalKamera Museum. 2025. Polaroid PDC-2000 (1996). https://www.digitalkameramuseum.de/en/cameras/item/polaroid-pdc-2000

DigitalKamera Museum. 2025. Polaroid PDC-300 (1997). https://www.digitalkameramuseum.de/en/cameras/item/polaroid-pdc-300#:~:text=

Dmitri. 2024. Polaroid SX-70 User Guide and Review. https://www.analog.cafe/r/polaroid-sx-70-ycmp

Eckman, M. 2021. Polaroid SX-70 (1972). https://mikeeckman.com/2021/07/polaroid-sx70-1972/

Edmond History Museum. Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera. https://www.edmondhistory.org/polaroid-sx-70-land-camera/

Exhibitions. In Focus: The Evolution of the Personal Camera. https://dp.la/exhibitions/evolution-personal-camera/polaroid-era

Faulkner, M. 2022. The Fall And Rise Of Instant Cameras. https://cotswoldhipster.com/blogs/news/the-fall-and-rise-of-instant-cameras#:~:text=It%20was%20exceptionally%20expensive%20but%20was%20a,the%20sale%20of%20Polaroid%20film%20as%20of

Fierstein, R. 2015. Why executives at Kodak were so miserable when the Polaroid camera was invented. https://www.businessinsider.com/kodaks-response-to-the-polaroid-camera-2015-2

Gary. 2022. Polaroid SX-70: Model 1 vs Alpha 1. https://mint-camera.com/blog/en/polaroid-sx-70-model-1-vs-alpha-1/?srsltid=AfmBOorg7dJVwHHraGYGblaTKkyQTXYUMmyK5Z9vc4E4pCAw47SyxGOA

Harmon, A. 2022. The Rise and Fall of Polaroid: A Photographic Journey. https://galaxy.ai/youtube-summarizer/the-rise-and-fall-of-polaroid-a-photographic-journey-kZkShbQf2Y4

Instant Opinions. 2015. SX-70 Cameras. https://www.instantoptions.com/landlist/cameras/sx70/folding.php#:~:text=Collector's%20Note:%20There%20are%203,stores)%20versions%20were%20also%20produced.

Lusina, A. 2021. The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Polaroid: The Instant Photography Icon. https://petapixel.com/2021/08/25/the-rise-fall-and-revival-of-polaroid-the-instant-photography-icon/

McCracken, H. 2022. As Polaroid’s SX-70 turns 50, instant photography is booming. https://www.fastcompany.com/90744347/polaroid-sx-70

Meriam Webster. Bokeh. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bokeh#:~:text=bo%C2%B7%E2%80%8Bkeh%20%CB%88b%C5%8D%2Dk%C4%81,the%20construction%20of%20the%20lens.

Mike. Polaroid SX-70 Manual. https://butkus.org/chinon/polaroid_cameras/sx-70/sx-70.htm

Purser, A. 2018. History of Polaroid Cameras. https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-polaroid-cameras

Salerno, R. 2017. The Polaroid SX-70. https://ronnysalerno.com/queencitydiscovery/2019/07/the-polaroid-sx-70.html  

Sekar, N. 2024. Polaroid: Demand-Side Disruption. https://medium.com/@nareshnavinash/polaroid-demand-side-disruption-9a208299bca6#:~:text=instant%20film%20products.-,Decline%20and%20Struggle%20to%20Adapt,second%20bankruptcy%20filing%20in%202009.

Stanley, B. 2018. The Polaroid SX-70 - A Review of the Instant and Timeless Classic. https://www.thatvintagelens.com/blog/2018/7/9/the-polaroid-sx-70-a-review-of-the-instant-and-timeless-classic

SX2pc. About Flashbars. http://www.sx2pc.com/flashbar.html#:~:text=The%20Flashbar%20contains%20on%20each,and%20corrects%20the%20light%2Dcolor.

Wikipedia. Polaroid SX-70. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaroid_SX-70#:~:text=When%20the%20Polaroid%20SX%2D70,marked%20only%20as%20SX%2D70.