Taking a Picture

Step 2

Ensure that the film settings on the camera are all correctly set to match the settings on the pack of film you are using. If there are not settings that match exactly then set them to the closest available number and compensate with the lighten/darken meter. A good example is when using Fuji’s FP-100c with an iso of 100, set the camera to 75 and move the light/dark metre one notch towards darken. You may have to play with the settings to perfect.

To begin,  push down on the lever marked with the numeral ’3′ to cock the shutter.

NOTE: The Polaroid manuals instead suggest re-cocking the shutter immediately after taking a picture (hence the number ’3′), but I guess I’m just too used to the conventional wisdom that says that you should avoid storing a camera with the shutter cocked. If you think it’s easier to follow the numbers in sequence, and would rather do it that way, that’s fine too.
Next, focus the camera by pushing from side to side on the focus rail (marked with the numeral ’1′). The rangefinder (on models so equipped) will indicate proper focus by the dual images lining up in the finder.To make the exposure, press the shutter release. It’s the red button marked with the numeral ’2′.

One thing: Remember that automatic Polaroid pack cameras are capable of a much wider range of shutter speeds than most point-and-shoot type cameras. While this allows a great deal of flexibility to the photographer, it does mean that you need to use a little common sense with respect to lighting. For instance, if you’re using 75-speed color film indoors, you’ll have to keep in mind that you’ll almost certainly need a flash. The camera won’t warn you that the light level is low, and will in fact happily produce the correct shutter speed for this situation– a speed which will likely be too slow for you to hand-hold properly. [Note that you can quite reasonably use 3000-speed B&W film indoors without flash provided your camera has a Scene Selector or a "3000 ER" setting. A fairly good rule of thumb with that film is that if there's enough light for you to read comfortably, there's enough light for you to take a hand-held picture without flash.]