Land Camera

So I've been interested in getting a Land Camera for a little while now, also referred to as a Pack camera or Folding camera. A Land camera was the first "instant camera" and was invented by Edwin Land, founder of Polaroid. The camera was first demonstrated on February 21, 1947 in New York City by Land.

ALL Folding Pack Cameras (original style) have the following features in common:

• Pull-out front standard with scissor strut design
• Removable hinged plastic cover protects entire front of camera when camera is not in use.
• Unit focus; focus is controlled by pushing on either side of a sliding arm located near the base of the bellows struts.
• Shutter must be manually cocked; shutter release is on top of camera body.
• Has PC socket for flash (Model 360 excepted); flashgun is clipped to the top of the camera.
  

I'd been doing some research on the models of cameras and thought the Model 360 or Model 450 looked like my best bet. The 360 was an improved 350 with a better "daylight" scene setting and the production numbers were higher. So I thought it would be easier to find. The 400-series model cameras replaced the 300-series camera models. They are generally similar except for a new flash system which couples to the focusing mechanism of the camera. The 450 model also had decent production numbers. Both cameras also take film which is currently still being produced and sold. And since I want to actually try and USE the camera, that was a plus in my book.

Anyway, I had looked online and there are Land cameras for sale on ebay but I decided to wait and see if I could find one at a yard sale or something. On Saturday of last week (not this past Saturday) I wandered into an antique shop downtown. And what did I find? A Model 335 Land Camera (pictured to the left). It seemed to be in decent condition, came with a flash, the instruction manual and the original case. I looked it over, examining it, and asked the store owner questions about it. He wasn't too knowledgeable and I decided to think it over because I hadn't done research on this model camera yet. I wanted to make sure I could still get film for it. So last week I did some research on it. As with most of the 300-series models, it was produced between 1969-1971. And I could still purchase film for it. This past weekend I wandered back into the antiques store and purchased the camera. On Monday I bought some film, Fuji instant pull-apart film type FP100c (also formerly marketed under Polaroid brand type 689) and similar in general standard photo application uses to the popular Polaroid brand pull-apart film type 669. I had wanted to get some Type 665 B&W film which produces both a positive and a reusable negative. I thought that would be really cool and it is good quality film that is inexpensive. (Instant pull-apart film is not cheap by the way.) But it is not regularly sold since it requires sodium sulfite.

I haven't tested the camera out yet - first I have to replace the batteries, they were quite corroded, and clean it a bit. Then I want to make sure I use my film wisely.

I will report back.