Polaroid Impulse Portrait

The Polaroid Impulse Portrait is an instant camera. It is designed for the Polaroid 600 format and is very similar to the “normal” Impulse. As the name suggests, it is very well suited for portrait photography. For this purpose, it has a switchable close-up lens.

The design of this camera is very different from most other 600 format instant cameras. The camera does not fold up and is therefore strongly reminiscent of the SX-70 box cameras (e.g. Polaroid 1000).

The body of the camera is made of plastic and is black with small color accents.

The Polaroid Impulse Portrait is equipped with an automatic exposure system. The photographer can influence this with the light/dark control. The Impulse has a built-in flash.

The focus of the fixed focal length, zooming is not possible, is fixed. A close-up lens can be slid in front of the lens with a switch on the top. With this, sharp shots are possible with a distance between 0.6 m and 1.2 m.

The Polaroid Impulse Portrait requires instant film for the Polaroid 600 format.
Polaroid has discontinued production, but new films for the film format are available from The Impossible Project.

In the Portrait, the 600 films from The Impossible Project can be used. For color images, for example, the Polaroid Color Film for 600* or the Polaroid B&W Film for 600* for black and white. Both films have been sold again since 2020 under the well-known brand and logo of the photo pioneer.

The battery of the Polaroid Impulse, which supplies the camera with power, is located in the film cassette. With a film change, therefore, a battery change is performed at the same time. The instant camera does not need additional batteries.

The Portrait does not have a tripod socket, nor does it have a self-timer or a connection for a cable release.