Polaroid Test Number Two
June 8, 2010
Several weeks after testing the 100 ASA Impossible Project film, I have now had the opportunity to test a couple of packs of the PX Silver Shade 600 ASA.
The first test of the 100 speed is here
It appears many of the complaints of users have been listened to by the Impossible Project, and to be honest after the outcry of the low quality of product they were shipping how could they not respond- as they were seriously in danger of losing any goodwill they had built up by being potential instant film saviours. So the website now has many more hints and tips to to get better results out of their highly tempremental and experimental film. See Here
Unfortunately they are still using that slightly Lomo cutesy approach to what is essential a flawed film, describing defects as traits to be embraced is unrealistic, describing ‘seconds’ film as special, as sensitivity to light once ejected as part of the ‘magic experience’- all this is just the usual skilled Lomography marketing hype, but photography is about results not the ad man. But at least they are acknowledging this product is not yet ready or stable- if only this could be reflected in the price, which is still very much aimed at obsessives or Urban Outfitter shopping hipsters who will buy this product no matter how many wasted shots they get.
So again, as before these tests are without using any special tricks, apart from letting the film develop in the dark (otherwise you’ll end up with nothing). The tests were shot on my reliable and accurate sx70 with an ND on, in very diffused, bounced daylight in my living room against a white wall.
Rebecca- Polaroid 600 test shots
Rebecca Test 2
First things, well the film is still very heavily sepia, and not black and white. Also having shot a whole stack of Polaroid 600 in the exact same conditions I’d dispute if this film is 600 speed, it still seems a lot quicker, and tests i shot outside from another pack also seemed a lot faster ASA.
The film in the pack I received was also not sealed on the back, each shot has white residue around the edges and the foil has lifted off of everyone of the 8 exposures.
Non-Sealed back of Polaroid
The inconsistency with the exposure is also still very apparent, the light didnt change during the ten minutes I shot these, yet they still vary a lot. I did shoot a couple with a window backlighting the subject and although I used a technique that would normally expose well with the old 600 integral the images have blown out almost completely. What is present though, when it works or more significantly in patches throughout the images, is a beautiful feeling/rendering of light, particularly on the collar of Rebeccas check shirt in front of the window. If they can get this to work across the whole image then they will really be onto something promising.
There are still a lot of red tones appearing in the shadows of the image though and the scale of the latitude isnt good in most shots, leaving me mainly with white (read yellow) and mid black/reds. Most of the shots have very heavy bands or horizontal lines across the image as well.
I tried to ‘burn’ in details on one shot with a lighter as i would with the old 600 film and the emulsion has cracked, and the image dappled, you can see this on rebeccas hair in the shot where her hands are under her chin. This is probably more user error than a film fault- but at £22 for 8 shots how does the user have time to understand how this film works.
My biggest concern still is that the images are visibly fading every day, and also they are very sensitive to light for the first hour at least from being ejected. The impractical nature of the shots not being instant is still a big stumbling block, having to shoot the film into a bag, or under a dark slide still forces me to shoot in a very different way to usual. I have deliberately left the scanning of these images until a week after shooting and there is less visible image- if they were pinned on a wall I wonder what would be there in a months time. The film is also still incredibly sensitive to temperature and not suited to the UK cold, however I did shoot a pack in sunlight on the hottest day of the year and they came out bright red, so I assume its extremes and not just cold that causes this effect.
Once again this film, if you had unlimited supplies would be a fun and useful addition to any portrait photographer but to fully understand this film could take many weeks or many packs, and even then I’d be concerned shooting it in a ‘new’ lighting situation such as outdoors, or in direct sunlight. Impossible really have started at the beginning and appear to want photographers to embrace the hit and miss techniques of the early plate origins of photography. The emulsion exposing upon contact with light should be the most predictable part of the process, but its entirely the opposite. I found it very inhibiting shooting such a fiddly product and found I was putting all my time into the individual exposure and not into directing/interacting or watching the model.
However the film does have some great qualities and when I receive more packs I will make some full comparison test under studio modelling lights with digital ISO600 shots to compare. I may be wrong about the ASA, but its a gut feeling that it seems too fast. I am worried about the archive nature of this film, but most importantly instant film should be simple, slap in a cartridge and shoot and not require you to spend hours in forums and manufacturers websites reading hints and tips.
Again, Impossible please do away with the fancy darkslides and package some simple instructions in each pack. So overall still a devoted hobbyists film, not a commercial/client product unless your budget is limitless, but an exciting introduction all the same. If you need results stick with Fuji Peel apart, but if you dont mind potentially wasting £20+ on 8 shots, that may be faded in a month go with Sliver Shade. You could find it a lot of fun to shoot and if so then I recommend you give this film a go. But seek out as many reviews as you can first as a lot of users are having wildly different experiences with this film and yours will surely be different to this. Kev.
Responses to Polaroid Test Number Two
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Arty Smokes says: I’ve been critical of the product since it was launched, but I kept giving the company “one more chance” to get it right, but every time it posts an email newsletter, another problem with the film has arisen. TIP seems to limp from one crisis to another, with the latest admission being that even if you have a nicely exposed shot, humidity will cause “killer crystals” to form and basically “eat” the photo.
When the colour stock arrives it had better bloody well not have any of the flaws of these early products, or the whole company will be dead in the water. I fear that by putting dodgy merchandise on to the market, The Impossible Project is actually going to drive people away from Polaroid.
It’s a blessing that Fuji is around, but I’d really like some new colour film for my SX-70. -
holgabot says: Im highly disenchanted with the whole Impossible Project consumer experience. The product is a hit and miss — and Im left with being made feel like its my fault. Its truly a bizarre experience. I found it very very challenging decoding the marketing language and product descriptions.
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Andy Newson says:
Good article here and something that has been on my mind of late.
I recently was lucky enough to get an SX-70 for a real bargain price and was thrilled when I found out it worked. It so happened I had a pack of Polaroid 600 film, so did the ND filter trick and the results blew me away.
But that film was shot and now I need to find some more. I purchased some expired colour film from Mr Cad, which by the way was a great service and I was really pleased with the results.
Onwards from there I felt that it was time to try this new Impossible film. B&W is not really my thing, but I had seen a few images and the dreamy tones appealed to me. So I purchased 2 packs from The Photographers’ Gallery in London for £19.99 per pack of 8 shots. One pack of the PX100 and one of the PX600.
I wanted to shoot a couple of shots off at a wedding that I was shooting, I thought it would be a really nice touch to leave the bride and groom with an instant reminder of the day and an original item to be treasured, but unfortunately I was too embarrassed to leave the pictures for them as they were just so bad, virtually non-existent images.
I found the 100 to be better (slightly), but it had the big triangle cut out of the top of the image which the 600 didn’t.
I have contacted impossible yesterday about this and I’m waiting to hear what they say, I hope they respond with a good resolution.
I’ll post some results on my blog asap and come back and link here, if that’s useful?
Cheers,
Andy -
kevin says: thanks for all the comments, yes by all means link to your shots, and that goes for others above. I want to get a fair and honest look at this film, I have very high hopes for Impossible, but it does need to be put through testing by consumers. Thanks all, Kev at Garage.
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Sam Donner says: I’m really hoping we’ll see something from the current holders of the original Polaroid brand name. I’m not overly enthusiastic - given they chose Lady GaGa as their art director. Still — there’s some visibility around Polaroid. There was a slick looking ad in Aperture - and PDN - and a few other places — so MAYBE - just maybe - they’ll come up something. I very much doubt whatever they come up with will approach what we once had with 600 or Time Zero - but my guess is it’ll be much better than what IP has produced. I can’t believe people have spent good money on such an awful product.
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Pingback: Impossible? Maybe… - andrewnewson.co.uk
Good stuff - Can’t agree more. Massively unstable and changes over time. I had a look at my orginal 2 out of 8 shots that worked out of the original PX100 and they have massive red/brown splotches across half the image - about a month old now. THese had the splitting problem too.
I went through a pack of the new PX and it was a massive improvement. so plits, smooth development but still had some random red bands that were inconsistant across the pack - so def. the film not camera. I was using a flash - half the pack was shot then put instantly into my pocket, the other half was left face down. The pocket ones seemto be much higher contrast and more black and white (although still sepia-ish) It looks like over exposure but i think i was more “push” as it was a hot night and in close proximity to my leg…
THe other half had smoother tones from dark to light, but are very red…
all in all, its better but by no means reliable or cost effective. I really want/need to use this professionally (as i know you do) but can’t risk it.
I hate HATE the marketing on this. It’s not arty, magic or fun. It is massively frustrating and expensive.