Instantly Disappointed

The first amazing thing about this was spotting it on the cheap camera shelf at Unique Thrift, where it sported a price tag of $3.99. Not bad for a camera that originally listed for $249.00. Over behind the counter they were offering a Yashica Electro 35 for $45.99 and a Minolta SLR with multiple lenses for $79.99, so the SX-70 appeared even more of a bargain.

Never mind that you can't get film for it anymore unless The Impossible Project comes through in 2010 as they project. You can be sure their product will be in the same price range as the now defunct SX-70 Blend, about $40.00 for a twin-pack of twenty images. You'd better make each of those two-dollar images count!

I love the brushed stainless steel body and the black leather trim. My SX-70 II has a white plastic body with brown vinyl "leatherette" trim that is doing what you would expect thirty-year-old brown vinyl to do: crumbling around the edges.

This particular one still had a film pack in it, with enough remaining battery power to operate the sonar autofocus, which worked like a dream. Four shots left. Tried one, came out blank. Chemicals either inert, or someone at the store had perhaps opened the film chamber and the top picture was exposed to light. Decided to take it out in optimal lighting conditions -- bright sun -- and try another one.

Unfortunately, it appears that cranking out the previous image used what was left of the battery's power. Herewith the photo I was trying to take, snapped with the Polaroid One and film reaching the end of its viability, as the slightly bilious cast reveals.

You can still buy a Polaroid One. It's a nice little camera, with a surprisingly sharp lens. Better than you might expect from a low-end consumer model. Incorporates useful features from the very nice Polaroid Spectra, erstwhile favorite of police departments nationwide. The One used to retail in the $40 range, if I recall correctly; Amazon sellers are offering Polaroid Ones at slightly higher prices, which seems not a little outrageous, considering that they are poised to become obsolete, at least for a couple of years, if not forever. I got my Polaroid One at Value World for $5.95.

Photo of the SX-70 snagged from one of the best online Polaroid resources, Jim's Polaroid Camera Collection.