I believe the 553 fits a 550 back. They show up on ebay frequently & are WONDERFUL. I like them much more than the single sheet backs & the film is about 1/2 the price of single sheets. I picked up a couple of them so I can load several type of film...still cheaper than single sheet... You might find one used at a photo shop. There was a rumor last winter about the demise of the 550 style of film but my Polaroid rep has assured me it is false... for what thats worth... enjoy andy
-----Original Message----- From: pinhole-discussion-admin@p at ??????? [mailto:pinhole-discussion-admin@p at ???????]On Behalf Of Philip willarney Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2002 1:58 AM To: pinhole-discussion@p at ??????? Subject: Re: [pinhole-discussion] Polaroid Pack Film Mechanics? --- michael_georg...@trendmicro.com wrote: ..snip.. > > So, here I am with many, many boxes of Polaroid 553, > Polapan ASA100 4x5 pack > film, and no way to use it (yet). I can build a > camera out of any damn > thing, but a homemade Polaroid back presents a bit > more of a challenge. ..snip.. I'm not clear on what you've got: * 4x5 polaroid single sheet film (where each film is in a separate light tight paper sleeve)-- I think you could fake a back with this type: you dummy up a back where you slide the sheet in, the catch catches on something inside so you can (partly) pull the paper sleeve out, take your exposure, slide the paper sleeve back in, release the catch, pull the whole thing out, and use a rolling pin from the "fat" end to spread out the chemicals. I got a back to do this for $40 at the last camera show I went to. * 4x5 pack film -- I didn't know they made pack film in this size, but they apparently do! This looks like it would be harder to fabricate -- the pack itself does most of the work (keeping negative & positive separate, bringing them together as you pull the tabs out though the rollers) -- but the rollers need to be hard, clean, and pretty precise (right size, right spacing, right tension) to work well, and the places where the tabs pop out would take some thought to dummy up. Some of the cheapie polaroids used "spreader bars" rather than rollers, and this might be easier to fabricate -- basically it's two smooth slabs of metal held almost, but not quite, together with a heavy spring. The film is pulled through the bars and they pop the chemical pod and spread it out... -- Philip __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes http://autos.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Post to the list as PLAIN TEXT only - no HTML Pinhole-Discussion mailing list Pinhole-Discussion@p at ??????? unsubscribe or change your account at http://www.???????/discussion/