So Impossible Project had to start again, literally, from scratch. Polaroid had be using up old stocks of raw materials for several years before that finally closed their factory, so all of Polaroid's old suppliers had stopped making them years ago. So Impossible Project now had a factory full of the specialised machinery needed for the production of instant film, but what they didn't have was the chemistry. But when Polaroid announced the end of Polaroid film production, became Impossible Project (because everyone said restarting instant film production was impossible!) and in October 2008 they bought the Polaroid plant at Enschede, Netherlands for a cool $3,100,000. All the photographs in this gallery were shot on Impossible Project film.įlorian Kaps involvement with Polaroid began with the launch of in 2005, on online shop that quickly became the worlds biggest specialist supplier of Polaroid film and refurbished Polaroid cameras. He founded Impossible Project with a mission of restart production of film for Polaroid cameras. Fortunately for the rest of us, one of their number was Florian Kaps. When Polaroid announced that they would be closing the doors of the last Polaroid factory in 2008 there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst a small but loyal band of Polaroid devotees across the world. Mechanically and electronically, this Polaroid still functions flawlessly.Impossible/Polaroid retrospective 2010-2020 Cosmetically, this Spectra is in good shape with fairly average wear and tear. The film currently loaded is discontinued Polaroid stock although compatible film is still being produced by the Impossible Project, the company that purchased Polaroid’s production machinery after they exited the instant film business in 2008. As you can see from the frame counter, there’s film in it and we still use it occasionally. This particular Polaroid Spectra was purchased brand new by my father-in-law for my mother-in-law who later passed it down to my wife. Just above the frame counter on the top plate of the camera is the most important control of all: the shutter button. Next to that is the switch that enables or disables beeps from the camera, a self-timer, autofocus override for situations that confuse the sonar rangefinder system like shooting through glass, manual flash override, exposure compensation slider, socket for the remote control receiver accessory, flash cycle indicator lights and, lastly, a frame counter. Starting from the left is the units setting (meters or feet) that will be displayed within the viewfinder which can be changed with the tip of a ball-point pen. Most of the Spectra’s controls are on the back as a series of switches next to the viewfinder. Once open, a newly revealed lever on the opposite side of the camera can be pressed to open the film door for loading and unloading. To activate the lens, the switch underneath the handstrap must be pulled. The camera uses this information to adjust the Quintic 125mm f/10 lens accordingly and takes a reading from the integrated light meter (located above the viewfinder between the lens and the flash) to calculate exposure. Using its sonar-based rangefinder system (the gold-colored disc hidden behind black mesh next to the lens), the Spectra emits a series of ultra high frequency soundwaves and then uses the echo delay to calculate the subject’s distance from the camera, much like the echolocation system used by dolphins and bats. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Spectra is its use of the sonar autofocus system pioneered by the Polaroid SX-70 Sonar OneStep in the late ’70s. With this new line of cameras came a new line of instant film named Spectra/Image/1200 film which, apart from producing rectangular instead of square images, is more or less identical to existing 600 series film. The Polaroid Spectra is the first model in the Spectra System line (also known as “Image System” and the Minolta Instant Pro in overseas markets) of instant cameras introduced by Polaroid in 1986.
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