Chapter
4
On Instant Camera And Film
Invented in 1947 by Dr.Edwin Land, the instant picture
process is unique. An instant picture camera, which
issues a
finished and permanent color print as little as one
to four
minutes after exposure, allows you not only to check
results on
the spot, rephotographing if necessary, but come up
with the best
results as well, since all the necessary adjustments
could be
made right there, on the spot. This photograph's exposure
originally made on the transparency (slide film) was
adjusted
according to the Polaroid Spectra instant photo of
Old Jaffa.
Today, there are three main types of instant picture
cameras:
cameras for integral film, cameras for peel-apart
film and
advanced instant picture cameras.
a) The majority of instant picture cameras
for integral film
are those that use integral processing, which means
that the
negative, as well as the print made within a single
piece of the
picture processing material. The film that is used
in this type
of cameras has both a negative emulsion and positive
paper in one
package. After exposing the picture, both, the negative
and
positive are tightly sandwiched together by being
pulled between
two metal rollers, and by using the chemicals at the
center
portion of the sandwich the image is transferred from
the
negative to the positive condition.
b) Cameras for peel-apart film are cameras
of the direct
vision type structure and most of them have automatic
exposure.
After exposure two tabs are pulled to draw a sandwich
of both
negative and positive paper out or your camera through
the
rollers. It requires a short wait, after you peel
the two layers
apart to come up with a finished positive and a throw-away
negative portion of the print.
c) Some models of advanced instant picture
cameras with
interchangeable lenses allow the photographer to take
care of a
variety of subjects, as well as to be more photographically
creative. This type of cameras allows for an instant
preview of
the setting or the lighting of your scene/subject,
which is of
great value to the pro photographers working in the
studio.
