Polaroid Diaries: my first film with the SX-70

Last Updated on August 14, 2021 by George Pavlopoulos

For the Polaroid aficionados, the SX-70 is definitely a cult vintage camera. As you might remember from my previous polaroid entry, I finally purchased an SX-70. Even though this instant film camera dates back to the early ’70s, the results that it can produce are stunning. Therefore, I was curious to see what kind of photos I could shoot almost half a century after the camera’s production date.

I ordered the camera straight from Polaroid Originals (but it’s also available on Amazon), and I waited impatiently for its arrival. So as you can easily imagine, I was super excited when I received it. I don’t plan to write more about the camera itself here -I’ll post a detailed review with pros and cons after shooting a couple of films. But all I can say is that the camera is beautiful and operates perfectly.

Together with the camera, I ordered four SX-70 color films. Polaroid Originals produces the SX-70 film from scratch. Since this is probably the most advanced camera Polaroid ever produced, I also wanted to see how the new film will perform. That’s an ISO 160 film, and for a polaroid camera might seem slow. However, the film delivered -in my opinion- great results.

I loaded the first film on my new SX-7o, and I started taking photos.

What you’ll see in the Polaroid Diaries: my first film with the SX-70

In this edition of the Polaroid Diaries, I decided to take a different approach. Instead of shooting two-three packs of SX-70 film and choosing the best shots, I thought of presenting every photo I took using the first film. This means that you won’t see here only the photos I liked. Instead, you will see the very first eight photos I took with the camera. For the beginners in the Polaroid world, I must mention here that the new polaroid films have 8 shots instead of 10.

I tried to experiment as much as I could with the first SX-70 film. Moreover, I wanted to determine how the film performs under low light, harsh light, close-up shots, etc. I shot these photos shortly before and shortly after the Christmas of 2020 in Athens, Greece. The weather was mild, and there was a mixture of sunny and cloudy days.

I wanted to experiment with the first film, and it was okay with me not to get the best results. After all, I wanted to see what the camera is capable of, and it made sense to shoot a variety of photos. And as you will see below, the SX-70 performed great, which raised my expectations for the next films.

Polaroid Diaries: first film with the SX-70 (Athens)

Excited as I was, I loaded the film on the vintage camera and got ready to shoot. It was a cloudy day in Athens, and I thought that this would make things more challenging. Instead of going straight outside, I decided to take a photo of flowers. I had a pot with cyclamen on my balcony. I focus, clicked, and that’s the very first polaroid I took with the SX-70.

The next day the clouds disappeared, and I thought of taking a long bike ride. I decided to have the camera with me and see if I could find some interesting spots. A couple of kilometers later, I saw the motorway. I stopped the bike on the bridge and took a photo. Fast-moving cars and trucks were running behind the wire netting. I didn’t know what to expect: will the wire netting be visible or not? I focused on infinity, and as I later saw, the wire netting became almost invisible. The photo is a bit shaky as well.

On the way home, I decided to stop at the Olympic Stadium of Athens. That’s one of the most prime spots for architecture lovers in Athens. Straight lines and modern architecture always seem to fascinate people. The sunlight was not that harsh, and I decided to shoot a photo close to the basketball stadium. I wanted to see how the lines would look in the photo. Here’s what I got.

As you probably remember, that’s the winter of 2020-21. And this means, unfortunately, one thing: lockdown. The coronavirus pandemic is still present, and in Greece, you have to wear a mask even outdoors. Barbara and I spent a couple of weeks in Greece during this time, and I thought of taking a close-up portrait of her. Barbara wore her mask, and I asked her to stand behind a fence. A mask and a jail-feel, I thought, seemed compatible with the situation we all live in. This is probably my favorite photo from the first film with the SX-70.

Shortly before returning home, I saw an empty cafe. Whatever makes life bearable is shut during the pandemic. However, the late afternoon light gave a warm feeling to this cafe. I thought of taking a photo through the window. I wanted to see how the camera will handle the reflections and the different amounts of light entering the cafe’s interior. It handled it pretty well, in my opinion.

Later the same evening, I decided to experiment a bit further with the camera. Apart from the camera, I have also bought the Mint flashbar. As I wrote in the beginning, the SX-70 film is a slow one (ISO 160). Combine this with an f/8 aperture, and you have a camera that it’s going to give you a hard time in indoor shots. The Mint flashbar is the only way to solve this problem (otherwise, for indoor shots, you should use a tripod). It was Christmas days, and I had an ornament next to the Christmas tree. This is a color film; however, the photo looks black and white. I will have to experiment further with the flash, but here’s the polaroid I got.

After seeing the result, I decided to take a different approach. Instead of using the flashbar, I placed the camera on the table and took another photo. My SX-70 doesn’t have a tripod thread; therefore, I had to be creative. One of my most favorite games as a teenager was Subbuteo. That’s a table soccer game -and I really loved it, I still do. I placed the camera on a couple of books, and I shoot a photo. The shutter remained open for a couple of seconds, and when it finally closed, the photo was ready. For a low-light polaroid, I found it rather impressive.

I shot the last photo on the film the following afternoon. One more Christmas ornament was the subject. The glass snowball had some fine details, and I wanted to see them on a polaroid. I decided to go as close as possible to it, and I probably overdid it. Some of the detail seems lost -and the proximity made the photo more blurry than I wanted it to be. No matter what, I find the colors beautiful.

And that’s it with this edition of the Polaroid Diaries and the photos from my first SX-70 film. Even though I’m going to write a very long review, I must say that I’m impressed by the capabilities of this vintage polaroid camera. The photos I got can’t compare to my polaroids with other cameras, and the lens is truly a masterpiece. What I also found interesting is that the colors seem warmer and more accurate.

I have several packs of SX-70 films, and I plan to present more Polaroid Diaries with the SX-70 this year. I just hope that these horrible restrictions will come to an end so I can take the camera with me on a journey (or even on a daily excursion). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Polaroid Diaries and my first photos with the SX-70 film.

*You can buy the newest (and freshest) films and Polaroid cameras directly at Polaroid’s official website. If you follow this link, you’ll get 10% off on your first purchase.

More Polaroids: The full Polaroid diaries, SX-70 review & My OneStep+ review

Get my Polaroid Camera on Amazon | Buy the film on Amazon

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