William Brown 4/1/21 William Brown 4/1/21

Where to Buy Polaroid Film

You’ve got your polaroid camera, you’re feeling inspired and ready to go out and take some photos and live in all the glory that is the instant photo life, except that you don’t have any film…

Where to Buy Polaroid Film

I go through A LOT of polaroid film. And I’ve bought it from every place you can imagine trying to get the best deal, or the newest batches, or just find availability. Today’s post is a quick guide to help you find the film you need to keep your camera loaded and keep shooting!

Buy Polaroid Film Online

This is a great place to start and you can find some really good deals if you look hard enough. There are actually a lot of retailers that sell the film online so you’ll have lots of choices in products and prices. Shopping online gives you the ability to compare and get a feel for what all is out there!

Buy Polaroid Film from Amazon.com

This is the first place a lot of people go, especially if you’re an Amazing Prime member. If you just search for Polaroid Film on Amazon, you’re going to get a lot of different products pop-up, including Polaroid Papers, Instax, and others. But as you sort through, you’ll be able to find a lot of good deals!. Amazon does have some of the best pricing and carries multi-packs which aren’t easy to find in stores. Prices on amazon range from $15.99 for a single pack to around $70 for a five pack.

If you’ve got an I-Type camera (which is all of the newer/modern Polaroid cameras), here’s a great deal on a two-pack for only $29.19!

A bit of warning however, the film you might purchase from Amazon might be older stock that’s been sitting around for a while. With Polaroid film, I have found that the fresher (newer) the film, the better the results. If you’re just getting started with Polaroid, you won’t notice a difference. But if you’re going for higher quality and very specific results, you might not get the freshest batches.

Buy Polaroid Film from Polaroid.com

Getting the film directly from the manufacturer definitely has a lot of benefits. When I have ordered my Polaroid film directly from Polaroid.com, I’ve gotten amazing customer service and the freshest stock of film. They also have a lot of variety in their film offerings, a lot of different combo packs, and occasionally some specialty framed films that are a lot of fun to pick-up. I love getting film directly from Polaroid!

There are a few downsides however. Polaroid.com does not give you an opportunity to get discounted prices, BUT, they are often the exact same price as most retailers! I-Type Film from Polaroid.com comes in at $15.99 plus shipping. The other downside is that shipping can take a little while. It isn’t slow, every just takes the normal few days to arrive.

I normally order from Polaroid.com if I’m wanting the freshest possible film stock for my project. I’ve been a customer of theirs for years (since way back in the Impossible Project days), and I still buy from them on a regular basis. Also, you’re needing SX-70 film, Polaroid.com is probably going to be your best bet. It’s not in stock in any local stores and sometimes its a little hard to find on Amazon.

Buy Polaroid Film In Stores

While many of my projects are using polaroid instant film are planned in advance, there are many times when I’m using the film personally and I find that I’ve ran out. Now, there are several retailers that carry the film IN STORES!!! While several stores do carry the film, I’m only going to talk about the top three that I use on a regular basis.

Buy Polaroid Film at BestBuy

All of the BestBuy locations near me carry the film, in both I-Type and 600. BestBuy even carries multipacks if you’ve needed a whole lot of film. But in my experience, BestBuy usually has some of the oldest film packs out there. I’m not sure why, but most of the manufacture dates on packs at BestBuy are a year or more old. I’ve picked up a lot of film from them, and its competitively priced, but if its for a professional project, I generally steer clear.

Buy Polaroid Film at Target

Target stores usually have a pretty great selection of film also. But, there’s a very special reason why I stop in all of my local Targets and check out their film; Target stores will very often put Polaroid Film on sale at a discount! I’ve picked up older packs of film that haven’t sold for as little as $2.99! Most of the time, the discount isn’t that substantial, but any discount helps! Even if the film isn’t on sale, I still end up picking-up a pack or two. I mean I’m already in the store, standing in the photo section, looking at the film… I might as well buy some!

Buy Polaroid film at Wal-Mart

We get everything else there, why not get my Polaroid Film there too! Walmart’s selection is definitely the least of the in store options and they don’t really ever discount the film. Walmart gets a mention in my post today because of the convenience factor. The film is always older stock but its available when I need it. Well at least a couple of packs are. What I have found is that most stores only have two to eight packs available, so if you’re needing more you might not be in luck if you run to the Wal-Mart.

Cheap Polaroid Film

At around $16 per pack and only 8 shots per pack, $2 per phot isn’t cheap! The prices have come down over the years but getting good with your polaroid takes practice and at $2 per practice shot, you don’t want to waste a lot of film.

So where can you find cheap polaroid film - online or in stores? I would check places like Ebay.com and scroll through a lot of Amazon. I’ve found film and used cameras on Craigstlist and even Facebook. People are often getting rid of their cameras and film and you can find some really great deals in the used but never opened market.

If you’re looking in stores, I honestly have only ever found cheap polaroid film in Target stores because they discount theirs more often than anyone else. But other stores sell the film besides the three I listed. If you go into a store, check to see if they have stock and then keep an eye on their discount bins! As the film ages and new stock comes in, stores often will move their older film to the discount bins!

Conclusion

The good news is that you’ve got a lot of options! The even better news is that once you have the film you’re going to love working with it. Here’s my final breakdown on where to purchase Polaroid Film :

Amazon - Fast shipping, great price but might get older stocks

Polaroid - Slower shipping, comparable price, but will get newer/fresher film packs

Best Buy - Local pick-up, comparable price, will get older film

Target - Local pick-up, comparable to very discounted prices, film seems to be a decent age to maybe a little older

Walmart - Local pick-up at almost every location, comparable price, you will get older film.

I hope that helps you in your search for Polaroid Film! If you’re new to Polaroid and instant photography and would like a little more advice about what cameras and films to buy, check out my other blog post by CLICKING HERE!

William Brown 3/15/21 William Brown 3/15/21

Polaroid Instant Film - STOP SHAKING YOUR FILM!

Polaroid film is alive and well! Learn about all of the new products as well as the old ones! And for the love of all things film - STOP SHAKING YOUR POLAROID PICTURES!

When I was a kid, Polaroid was IT! They were THE BRAND of instant film and no one could compete. But like all really well established companies in the 1990’s, Polaroid just lost their direction and eventually would stop producing instant film all together in favor of producing really really crappy TV’s.

Without going into a really long history, a few guys bought a factory and the tools from polaroid and decided to try to preserve polaroid type film from completely disappearing. They named the venture the Impossible Project and began trying to recreate the Polaroid chemistry, which was a difficult task. I’ve been purchasing their film since the beginning and let me tell you, its come a really long way. Back then, it was not uncommon to get bad batches, frames with flaws, you couldn’t shoot in hot or cold temps at all. Couldn’t expose it to any sort of light immediately after exposure. It was a mess…. But it worked and it gave us all hope. Fast forward a few years and things are very much different!

The Impossible Project did some licensing and became Polaroid Originals and then, recently, just polaroid. The instant film has improved dramatically but its still finicky compared with the old school Polaroids.

This quick guide will help you with everything you need to know today to get started shooting Polaroid film!

The Cameras

Polaroid made a lot of cameras. And some of theme take different types of film. There was pull-apart film, integral film, spectra film, lots of different variants.. In order to know what kind of film you need, you need to start with getting the right camera!

Vintage Cameras

The best vintage camera you can get is the SX-70. They are sturdy, well build, and have a cool factor that you can’t get from any other Polaroid Camera. But, they are expensive. Even old worn out ones are expensive. If you’re gonna get a Polaroid SX-70, your best bet is to spend a little extra money and get a refurbished one. Mint, an amazing company that makes all sorts of stuff for polaroid, has a refurbished and upgraded model that I love! They upgrade all of the electronics and give this classic new life again! Check out this camera here!

If you can’t afford an SX-70, you’re in luck because Polaroid switch to manufacturing much more affordable models later on. The Polaroid 600 and subsequent 600 series cameras are cheap, affordable and easy to use. You can also get these refurbished from Polaroid! They are awesome and a lot of fun and super affordable. You can check out a refurbished 600 camera here!

Modern Cameras

Polaroid has cranked their camera production back up and they have a lot of really great and affordable cameras with some modern features like Bluetooth connectivity and the ability to shoot a more modern film type. Polaroid also makes a photo printer that allows you to print the photos on your phone directly to polaroid film! I own a ton of these cameras and I haven’t been disappointed by any of them!

Buying Film

With all of these different options for cameras, it shouldn’t surprise you that there are a few options for film. Fortunately, the breakdown on films is really easy to understand!

Polaroid SX-70 Film

Everything labeled SX-70 Film is just for the SX-70 camera. Some of the refurbished SX-70’s can actually shoot 600 type film, but when you purchase the camera it will tell you if it will take a different film type. I own an SX-70 and trust me, you can only shoot SX-70 film through it. The difference is the ISO of the film as the SX-70 is a much slower camera/film. You can pick up some film for your SX-70 HERE!

Polaroid 600 Film

The Polaroid 600 film fits all classic/old 600 type cameras. This includes a really really broad range of models. Basically, if you own an old polaroid and it isn’t an SX-70, it takes the 600 film. You can pick up a pack of 600 film HERE!

Polaroid I-Type

And lastly, if you own any modern device from the OneStep2 to the Polaroid Lab, you’re gonna want to use I-Type film. The I-Type and 600 type film packs is the battery. The old cameras require batteries to be integrated into the film packs. Polaroid now makes the cameras with rechargable batteries which saves a lot of waste! You can use 600 type film in a new camera but you cannot use an I-Type film in a classic camera. It just won’t work because there’s no battery. You can pick up a pack of I-Type film HERE!

Final Thoughts

Modern Polaroid Instant Films are still a little quirky to use. After you expose the image (click the red button) you absolutely cannot expose the image to light. As the image is ejected from the camera body, put it into something dark and allow it to remain there until it is full developed! I’ve ruined a lot of images by allowing them to be exposed to sunlight. Ambient temperature is also a huge issue, especially for me down here in Texas. The heat is not good for the film. Neither is the cold. If you’re shooting in the cold, put the film in your pocket to help keep it warm. And if you’re shooting in the heat, get your shot to the AC or at least the shade as quickly as you can!

There are a lot of great Polaroid products out there. You can browse a broad selection of their products here! Take your time and browse and have a lot of fun!

And lastly - no matter what - DO NOT SHAKE YOUR POLAROID PICTURES!!! Lay them in a cool dark place and let them develop on their own. Shaking does not help!

If you have any questions or need some help - feel free to contact me at tony@shutterjunkies.org

Polaroid is all about fun and that spur of the moment, living and enjoying life. Make the most of every shot!