I have a few questions that I hope somebody may be able to answer.
Firstly, I have one of the original Graflex 'Polaroid Land Film Back',
complete with the gauge for setting the front standard back from the
infinity stops, and even the extended ground glass panel which could
be attached to the rear of the camera. I bought this several years
ago to add to the collection, but I've never really looked at it until
now, and I've only just worked out how to open it. I've used both
sheet and pack Polaroid film, but I cannot work out how this old roll
system worked; I've never even seen a roll film, I do have one, but
it's still sealed, and I want to keep it that way.
The back seems to be basically a standard folding Polaroid camera of
the era (heavy) with the front removed, and a Graflok type mounting
plate fitted in its place. There is a recess in the centre of the
top; is this where the viewfinder was fitted in the complete camera?
There's also a smaller recess to the left of this, with what looks
like a blanked off slot, what was this for? I assume that it's
something else that was used on the complete camera, but not on the
Graflex version.
There's a curved metal flap at the right-hand end, which covers a
slot. The right two-thirds or so of the back is a flap, which can be
opened, but the inside of it doesn't look like a pressure plate, it's
got ridges on it. Also, there's solid metal be hind it, so the film
couldn't be exposed here. There's a round button, which seems to be
referred to as the 'film release', and the notes inside the flap
mention the 'cutter', but I can't see where this is.
If I remove the darkslide then I can release a small catch, and the
whole of the back (the back of the back, if you see what I mean,
opens, to reveal a space which looks like it could hold a roll, and a
pair of processing rollers. The part which was underneath the first
flap, with one of the rollers attached to it, can now be opened, hinge
in the right, to reveal an empty spool at the right end, with no means
of driving it, so I assume that it's a feed spool.
Now I can see the exposure aperture, and the pressure plate, which is
attached to the part that I just opened. Were there two separate
spools, one for the negative, and one for the print? If so, it looks
like the negative may have fed from the small spool on the right,
across the exposure aperture, then turned back around the lower
processing roller, and brought into contact with the print material
fed from a roll in the space on the left. In this case where did the
developer come from? Surely they didn't roll up the strip on print
material with pods attached to it at intervals, did they? I assume
that the small curved flap covering the slot at the right-hand end is
where the material comes out, but what is the large flap in the back
for? Did the development take place here, or outside the back? Did
you pull something out of the slot to bring the two materials into
contact, and then pull again to get the print and negative out of the
back, or did you open the large flap, and peel the print off the
negative there?
I've read that the model 500 sheet film holder can be used with
current sheet film, but that care has to be taken not to pull the
packet out too far, as there is nothing to stop it coming right out,
as there is in the 545 and later holders. Was it always like this, or
was there a different type of sheet film available at one time? If
there was, how did it differ from the current type?
Finally, when were the roll, pack and sheet systems introduced, and
when was the roll material discontinued? There seem to be holders for
all three systems of considerable age, so it looks like all three were
in concurrent use for a considerable time.
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