A Look at the Latest Color Film for Polaroid 600 Cameras from The Impossible Project
The process of instant photography is simply fascinating. Light falls through a lens onto the film, and a seemingly blank image emerges from the camera. Then, some magical chemicals work their wonders and conjure my subject from nowhere into my hand. If this process doesn’t have a touch of magic, then I don’t know what does.
Some years ago, it looked as though this moment would soon be gone, and instant photography would die out. Fortunately, things look a little better now, although there is also bad news, such as that of the Fujifilm FP3000B, but it could be much worse. In any case, Fujifilm seems to be successful with its Instax series, and instant photography is generally popular.
Of course, not everyone is now photographing with an instant camera, but the mood towards this type of photography is, in my opinion, positive. The Impossible Project has certainly contributed to this, as they have done what sounded impossible at the time and given millions of Polaroid cameras a new purpose.
Another step are the new instant films from Impossible, which were introduced in the fall of 2013. Whether these are really a step forward or a step back will be explored in this little test report.
The Impossible Color Film for 600 is designed for Polaroid 600 cameras. In my case, a Polaroid SLR 680 was used.
It is available in a normal version and an edition with colorful, silver, and gold frames.
The development time is 30 minutes at 21 degrees Celsius. At very low temperatures, problems with development can occur. After ejection, the image should be protected from light immediately and remain face down during development. You can forego this indoors, but you should still pay attention to it. There are eight pictures in a pack of the Impossible Color Film for 600.
For me, the Impossible Color Film for 600 made a good impression in my little test.
The colors really appeal to me, which is certainly the most important thing for a color film, and are miles away from the previous generations.
You must always remember that the Impossible films are not simply Polaroid films.
Impossible didn’t just buy the old factory in Enschede from Polaroid and have fresh films come off the production line at the touch of a button. There is a lot of research and development in them, and you should not forget that the first Impossible film was only introduced 3 years ago. The result is all the more impressive, I think, and it is also nice to see that they are still working on them, also in Germany, by the way.
What really bothers me personally about the Impossible Color Film for 600, however, are two points: development time and light sensitivity. 30 minutes is simply too much. “Great, an instant camera; show me the picture.” “Wait, it will take another 30 minutes.” I don’t want to have such dialogues anymore. :) However, this point is to be addressed in the next generation.
Another point is the sensitivity to light after ejection. Although you can fix this point, e.g. the Frog Tongue, but it simply complicates things and also takes away the fun if you are not sure whether the picture will be anything at all.
Of course, the Instax films/cameras are more straightforward, but in my opinion, it is still worth putting an Impossible film in your old Polaroid camera and giving the new films a chance and breathing life back into an otherwise useless object.