In , an inventor named Edwin Land introduced a remarkable innovation to the world -- a film that developed itself in a matter of minutes.
This new instant camera technology was a huge success for Land's company, the Polaroid Corporation. Over the proceeding 50 years, the company carved out its own special niche, selling millions of instant cameras and more than a billion rolls of instant film. In this article, we'll find out what's actually happening inside instant film while you're waiting for the image to appear. While it may seem like magic, the process is really very simple.
Instant camera film is pretty much the same thing as regular camera film , with a few extra elements. Before we get to those crucial additions, let's briefly examine film photography in general.
The basic idea of film is to capture patterns of light using special chemicals. The camera briefly exposes the film to the light coming from a scene typically for a small fraction of a second , and where the light hits the film, it starts off a chemical reaction. Normal film consists of a plastic base that is coated with particles of a silver compound.
When this compound is exposed to a large number of light photons , it forms silver atoms. Black-and-white film has one layer of silver compound, while color film has three layers. In color film, the top layer is sensitive to blue light, the next layer is sensitive to green and the bottom layer is sensitive to red. When you expose the film, the sensitive grains at each layer react to light of that color, creating a chemical record of the light and color pattern.
To turn this into a picture, you have to develop the film using more chemicals. One chemical developer turns the exposed particles into metallic silver. The film is then treated with three different dye developers containing dye couplers. The three dye colors are:. Each of these dye-coupler types react with one of the color layers in the film. In ordinary print film, the dye couplers attach to particles that have been exposed.
In color slide film, the dye couplers attach to the non-exposed areas. Developed color film has a negative image -- the colors appear opposite of the colors in the original scene.
In slide film, the two dyes that attach to the unexposed area combine to form the color captured at the exposed layer. For example, if the green layer is exposed, yellow and cyan dye will attach on either side of the green layer, but the magenta dye will not attach at the green layer. The yellow and cyan combine to form green. I take it that you already have exposed the film before you assemble it with the paper and pod.
Reply 2 years ago. Hey, Did you try this? Did it work out? Thanks so much! Cheers, Kevin. Did anyone tried these instructions and had success? Are the rollers for film or did you use other kind and also, what was the gap between the roller?
Great read. Thank you. Your reply is very much appreciated. Thank you and thank you again for the article on how to do this. Hopefully I will have some success when I try this. Just want to make everything right, otherwise I'll have to use the Miniportrait to have 4 exposures on one sheet to test Don't want to spend too much time, paper and negs for testing, would be great if you could reply.
I have ordered some ISO negatives in 9x12cm and rc paper really has to be fixed before use? I would might want to start reloading old envelopes with new materials or even start a production sounds crazy I know I have experience more than 25 years in paper industry printing, bookbinding, lettershop, envelopeproduction, inlinemachinery Anyway, would be great to hear from someone who has done this practically, I have quite a lack of time for testing, want to do things right in the first step and refine I have invested now already a few days going through the web, the only description of practical use is this instructables post Next an ilford FP4 sheet is exposed on a large format camera.
The instant part is not as instant — it takes some assembly and 8 minutes, which in the Instagram age seems like eternity. The process involves aligning the reagent pod, the film and a sheet of Ilford RC paper. Udi Tirosh is the Founder and Editor in Chief of DIYPhotography, he is also a photographer, a relentless entrepreneur, a prolific inventor and a dad, not necessarily in that order. When I saw this I actually gasped a little with excitement.
Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. John Aldred is based in Scotland and photographs people in the wild and animals in the studio. You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube.
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