Last Updated on 12/16/2019 by Mark Beckenbach
If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the return of pack film through ONE INSTANT, we think this old Polaroid commercial will remind you of the medium’s good old days.
If the discontinuation of pack film was among the saddest news in the film photography world, its return through the ONE INSTANT project certainly brings some hope. The dream is to have it as readily available as current instant film formats, but while we’re waiting that out, we have a little something for all you pack film fans. Whether you’re new to the medium or simply want to relive the glory days of Polaroid pack film, we’re sure this old commercial will be interesting to you.
If you still have one of those folding Polaroid Land Cameras lying around, you will definitely have a greater appreciation for today’s stuff. A commercial from the 1960s, it specifically features the Polaroid Land Model 104, which was produced from 1965 to 1967.
As with the compilation of Kodak commercials we featured earlier, it shows just how far we’ve come with photography technology, especially instant photography. But it also reminds us of the heyday of the beloved Polaroid Land Camera models, whose hope for pack film now lies in independent, albeit small scale, efforts of companies like ONE INSTANT.
The commercial tells us that Polaroid pack films came in both color and black and white, and it would be nice to have that choice again with the next generation pack films. As for the camera itself, the Polaroid Land 104 Model was a budget version of the type 100 Polaroid Colorpack Land Cameras, and, as mentioned by Camerapedia, one of the earliest consumer models of the 100-400 series of folding pack film Land cameras. This one, in particular, has a non-folding, Polaroid-designed zone focusing system, as well as a two-element plastic lens. It also came with a black leather case.
If you’re enjoying these mini trips down memory lane, keep an eye out because we’ll be bringing some more of them for vintage camera fans and photography history nerds!
Screenshot image from the video