Polaroid One Step Flash

The Polaroid One Step Flash is an instant camera for Polaroid 600 film. It is part of the second generation of Polaroid 600 cameras and dates back to the 1980s.

Like the Polaroid OneStep 600, the One Step Flash has a simple design. The body of the camera is made of plastic and has rectangular corners. In the right corner is the built-in flash.

The Polaroid One Step Flash from the side with the shutter release and the lever for opening the flap for changing the film.

The back of the instant camera with the frame counter and flash ready light.

The exposure is handled by the camera itself, the photographer can only influence it with the chiaroscuro slider. There are no adjustment options for the lens either. It is a simple plastic lens with a fixed focus setting (1.2 m to infinity). Then with the Polaroid One Step Flash Closeup, there is a close-up lens.

Films for the instant camera

The Polaroid One Step Flash designed for the Polaroid 600 instant format. Polaroid no longer makes films for this format, but there are replacements from the “Polaroid successor” Impossible. Since 2020, they have also been sold again under the brand of the photo pioneer from the USA. Suitable for the One Step Flash are, among others, the Polaroid Color Film for 600* and the Polaroid B&W Film for 600*.

One should still pay attention to the fact that there are only eight shots in a package. If you see the small “2” in the frame counter, it is already time to change the film and not only at the “0”.

The power for the camera and the flash comes from a battery in the film pack. When the flash is ready, the small diode on the back changes from red to green. If you press the shutter button normally, it flashes automatically, if you want to take a picture without flash you press the lever behind the normal shutter button.

The classic Polaroid One Step Flash is black, but there are other models with the same functions but in other colors. There are also various editions with corporate branding.

• Polaroid 600 (Red and black)
• Polaroid 640 (SE) (Black with blue or red shutter)
• Polaroid Camel (Yellow and black with Camel (cigarette brand) logo)
• Polaroid Coca-Cola (Red and black with the logo of the beverage company)
• Polaroid CoolCam (Pink, neon yellow and black)
• Polaroid CoolCam 600 (Pink and light gray; Red and black)
• Polaroid Lightmixer 630 (SL) (Silver and black with “LM Program” printed on it)
• Polaroid Magical Camera (Red with black and with cartoon characters and flowers)
• Polaroid One Step Flash Ecolab (Black with the logo of “Ecolab” (supplier of products for industrial cleaning and hygiene))
• Polaroid Revue 640 (Gray and black, under the house brand “Revue” of Foto-Quelle)
• Polaroid Spirit 600 (Gray/silver with black and “Light Management System” or “LM Program” imprint, also with the rainbow stripe)
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Amtrak (like Spirit 600 with the logo of Amtrak, a railroad company from the USA)
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Fuji TV (same as Spirit 600 with rainbow stripes and the logo of “FUJI TV”, a TV station from Tokyo)
• Polaroid Spirit 600 NHK (like Spirit 600 with the logo of “NHK”, which is the only public broadcasting company in Japan)
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Amoco (Blue and black with the branding of Amoco (American Oil Company))
• Polaroid Spirit 600 CertainTeed (Blue and black with the logo of CertainTeed (North American manufacturer of building materials))
• Polaroid Spirit 600 HBO Video (Blue and black with the corresponding branding)
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Mary Kay (Pink and black with the logo of “Mary Kay” (cosmetics company from the USA))
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Norton (Blue and black with the logo and slogan “Let’s Talk Shop” of Norton (belongs like CertainTeed today to the Saint-Gobain group))
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Pepsi (Blue and black with the logo of the beverage company)
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Popsicle (Yellow and black with the logo of “Popsicle” (American ice cream manufacturer))
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Ultra Slimfast (Red and black with the imprint “Ultra Slimfast – Lose weight, stay slim and feel great” and the logo of “Ultra Slimfast” (manufacturer of diet products))
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Tokyo Digital Phone (Blue and black with the branding of “Tokyo Digital Phone” (mobile operator; now SoftBank Mobile))
• Polaroid Spirit 600 Team Campbell (Red and black with the logo of “Team Campbell”)
• Polaroid Sun 600 LMS (Gray and black with “Light Management System”)
• Polaroid Sun 600 SE (Gray and black with blue shutter release; gold and black with “50 Years of Polaroid” logo (1937 – 1987))
• Polaroid Sun 630 LMP (Gray and black with “LM Program” imprint)
• Polaroid Sun 635 QS (Gray and black with the imprint “QS Program” and the rainbow stripe)
• Polaroid Sun 635 QS SE (Red and black with the imprint “QS Program”)
• Polaroid Sun 640 (Black)
• Polaroid Sun 640 (Red and black with the logo of “Avia” (petroleum trade))
• Polaroid SuperColor Esprit (Edition of the fashion company; available in different colors)
• Polaroid Supercolor 635 (Gray and black with the “Polaroid rainbow” and the imprint “LM Program”)
• Polaroid Supercolor 635 SE (Black with blue stripe and shutter release)
• Polaroid Supercolor 635 SL (Gray and black)
• Polaroid Supercolor 645 (Black with red stripes and the imprint “LM Program”)
• Polaroid Tomy Kodomo (Light blue, yellow and pink; Without Polaroid logo)

Photo: Timothy L Brock / Unsplash