Polaroid OneStep 2 Review

Polaroid is back ?! This is the new Polaroid One Step2 made by Polaroid Originals (originally The Impossible Project ) but we will get into that in a bit. This is the much younger brother of the Polaroid OneStep Sx-70 from 1977, this is the first Polaroid camera in 12 years.  I was so excited to hear about this camera coming out because it is a direct competitor of Fuji Instax and it really a great step to know that Polaroid was here to stay. 

So some back story is needed, Impossible Project acquired majority stock in Polaroid back in May 2017 which was great news for the Impossible Project. Fast forward to September 2017 and Polaroid is announcing a new sub-company "Polaroid Originals" meaning an end of The Impossible Project.  With that announcement there were price reductions from Impossible Projects prices and the biggest announcement was the Polaroid OneStep 2 of $99 USD that would ship October 2017. 

I could not pre-order this camera any faster because I wanted to support Polaroid Originals and the fact that this was anew instant camera with Polaroids name one it. With the hopeful success of this camera that would open more opportunity for Polaroid Originals to come out with a more Pro Instant camera. 

Overview 

With this being a modern version of the original OneStep Sx-70 what could be different in this OneStep 2? Well, a whole lot! With it being a camera being produced in 2017 there are a lot of modern advances. The biggest one is the built-in Lithium-battery, which means the film packs for this camera do not have a battery in it making the film cheaper, which is a major selling point for this camera. With that built-in battery, the camera is good on a full charge for about 20 packs of film. I have only charged the camera twice since I got it, one right out of the box and another after having it for a few weeks and wanted a full battery for a trip.The OneStep 2 has a build in flash that is pretty good and bright and has an override button that you have to press simultaneously with the shutter button. 

The camera has a 106mm plastic fixed lens with a focusing distance of 2 feet to infinity. The lens is pretty sharp but since it is a lens that focus is based on the distance it has its limits and it has its sweet spot which I have found it being around 4-10ft. The self-timer button is next to the top of the flash is an 8-second timer that has a blinking LED light right under the self-timer button. It is funny that it is an 8-second timer and not 10 or 5 seconds but the 8 seconds mirrors the number of photos in a pack of polaroids. Next to the lens in the bottom right corner is the light meter which is pretty good compared to the older Polaroids, which is expected since it is a brand new camera. The Light meter does a very good job and doesn't get very fooled too often. I have noticed that I have not touched the light and darken slider much other on very bright sunlight. Once you get used to the camera and the film you will get a feel if you need the flash or not or if you need to use the lighten darken wheel. The camera has a built-in frog tongue that stays on the frame once it's ejected to save it from getting burned from the light. 

insert close ups of camera 

The viewfinder of this camera is very different from any box style camera Polaroid has produced. Most Polaroid 600 cameras and Spectra cameras the viewfinders have this long protruding viewfinder but on the OneStep 2, it is missing for some reason. At first, I thought it wasn't that big of a deal but after using it for a few months I have noticed it being kind of an annoyance. One being that you have to put your eye very close to the viewfinder to get a full view of the frame and then you do that you end up tilting the camera a tad back and you change your framing and the subject matter of the photo is lower than you wanted it to be. When you tilt the camera the lens angles up but the viewfinder stays parallel and it's just something to keep in mind while shooting. 

The top of the camera has not much going on other than the rather unusual but very modern frame counter. The counter is made up of eight lights that light up for the number of frames you have in the camera. The counter does have a dual purpose of showing the battery life of the camera. By holding the flash button and turning on the camera it will indicate how much battery the camera has left. 

The bottom of the camera has camera has a standard tripod socket (plastic no metal thread insert). Also on the bottom of the camera, it has shooing instructions, which reminds me of the older land cameras that had the same.

The Handling

The handling of the camera is almost the same as any other 600 cameras that Polaroid has made. There is nothing really that sticks out to write home about but I think the main thing that I am glad they thought about is the flash override. Most of the time you will be needing the flash but outside in the bright sun, it's nice to turn it off and get some lovely shots of natural light. The way they designed it is that you will have to press both the shutter button and the flash off button while you take a picture. All the function buttons on the camera see to be in the right spot and it doesn't take much guesswork to find them while your eye is up to the viewfinder. I do think the camera is well made but I do think there are some downsides to the material that they used. Overall I think if you have used a Polaroid 600 camera before this will be second nature to you. 

The Not So Good

I will preface with this with some kind comments on the camera, I absolutely do love it and I was so happy to see it released but after using it for a solid three to five months I almost forgot about buying it and the fact that I even had it, I just started using my Polaroid Sx-70. I really wish the lens was not plastic or at least a better plastic but I would have loved glass.  The plastic the camera is made out of is awful, not in terms of build quality but the camera is an oil magnate and if you have dirty hands or a greasy face it will start to stain the camera. I think the biggest downfall of the camera is the viewfinder, I think they missed the mark on that one with design over function. It is really not glasses friendly, and you tend to tilt the camera back and up. This would have been easily fixed if they had a viewfinder just like the Polaroid 600 cameras. With leaks the past few days (May 29th,2018) it seems that Polaroid Originals has seemed to fix that with making an updated OneStep 2 with a viewfinder. I have read that some people harvested viewfinders off dead Polaroid 600s or used craft paper to make a viewfinder. I think they should have made the tripod socket metal instead of plastic and the strap that came with it was awful it broke the first week I had the camera. Now yes, I know this is a brand new camera and you can not get everything right on the first go and I do think this is a huge win for them(Polaroid Originals ) and I really hope they expand on the I-type cameras/film and make something for the "professional". I am excited for what is next. 

(June 4, 2018)As you can see above Polaroid Originals has updated the camera with a viewfinder to fix the issues and complaints that people have had about it. Funny enough they have raised the price $20USD for it. Also, it is not an entirely new back it's just an add-on. Above Images from Polaroid Originals Website. 

Images

The images are shown below where all shot with the Polaroid OneStep 2 and all scanned with the Epson v700 in Epson Scan. The film used was all Polaroid I-Type film both in color and black and white.

Conclusion 

I do really enjoy this camera and It was great to see The Impossible Project become Polaroid Originals and have them come out with a camera right out of the gate. It was amazing that they brought the price down for the film that really makes it a very solid competitor to Fuji Instax. I think the thing that makes me most upset is the the way Polaroid Originals Marketing is going and how its not as "for the users" like how The Impossible Project was and it makes sense to me, I just don't want to see what was invested in to The Impossible Project be lost in this new company.

With that all being said, I think this camera was a home run for them and it has really gotten a lot of people that are just getting into instant film, a camera that is great for beginners and help fund this company to make more things for people that are really into it. That's how I really see it is this camera was made to compete with Fuji Instax and to get people to fully invest in Polaroid Originals. I am happy the film for this camera is much cheaper but this will not be my full-time camera for instant photos, I will always grab my Sx-70 before this. I really hope they make something with more manual controls and that uses this I-Type film.

I think if you are looking for your first Polaroid camera I think this is the better route to go and get something brand new. My hats off to Polaroid Originals and I hope more is to come!

Cheers. 

Leica R7 Review

Remember when I said the Leica Mini was my first taste of Leica? Well, I finally upgraded to the Leica R7. An opportunity arose that I got a chance to have a Leica R7 on loan for a while with an Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8 lens. I have been daily shooting this set up for the last nine months and what I can say its been amazing. The months prior to that I was mainly shooting Point and Shoots like the Leica Mini and Contax TVS I. It was nice to get back to an SLR with all manual control and something a little more robust. I honestly don't think I have put this camera down since I've had it, and it has either been in my hand or bag every day.

Camera Overview

excuse the gaffers tape residue . I usually keep the logos covered. Also there is a filter on for the Cine Still 800T film. And yes that is a Gordy's camera strap I have used for two years on every camera.

 The R system was Leicas way of getting in the SLR game when a lot of professionals where choosing SLRs over the Leica M series so why not just make your own SLR line, right? The Leica R7 is part of Leica's SLR line up and this is the seventh iteration that came out between 1992-1997 and was one of Leica's most advanced cameras ever. Now it wasn't the most advanced at the time considering it had no Autofocus, no auto-rewind or auto-advance, but that's the Leica way. The Leica R7 dose has some automated features with Aperture priority, Shutter priority, and Program mode. The maximum shutter speed of the Leica is 1/2000th of a second with a low shutter speed of 4seconds and bulb but the only downside is the low sync speed of 1/100th of a second. On the other side of the top plate, it has an exposure compensation dial built in with the ISO dial that goes from +3 to -3 and the ISO is is a scale of 200-12800. with those dials came some safety features of them locking inlace so they won't get bumped by accident and the shutter speed dial is a bit stiff but smooth. Now the Leica R7 has all the standard SLR features from the depth-of-field preview and self-timer and tripod mount on the baseplate. The light meter of the camera is quite good and informative with .05 increments to help get the precise exposure. Speaking of exposure the meter in manual mode is a spot meter and in A, T or P it has Full Field Integral mode that is the equivalent of Nikon's Matrix metering mode.  The meter displays the mode you are shooting in the bottom left corner, to the right of that is the aperture then the shutter speed. On the left side of the camera new, the lens is a button/switch that is a light that lights up the aperture in low light to make it easier to read. The camera is covered in plastic, which doesn't really seem Leica like but under each plastic, bob is metal which makes it feel really solid and tank like.

to adjust the iso you have to hold down the iso button and twist the dial to desired iso.  To operate the exposure compensation dial you move the +/- to down and to side and then move the switch on the top left of the dial to move the wheel.

located on the shutter dial is the off button.  The button the top of the dial with push and moved to the right changed the shooting mode. The R7 also has a cable release thread.

a shot of the back loaded up with some Cine Still 800T. First time shooting that.

A view from the viewfinder. It is not very cluttered and its bright and the meter info is clear and cleanly layed out for you. You can also see that is it +0.5 over exposed and when exposed properly you will get a red dot in the middle.

The Handling 

The Leica R7 feels quite amazing in the hands it's an extremely solid camera that has some heft to it that makes it feel like a serious camera. The grip of the R7 is quite good, on the back of the film back is a protruding thumb rest that seems like it helps with the grip of the camera. Then I also use the film advance lever has a thumb rest as well because the camera is a bit heavy and you need the extra rest for your thumb. The shutter speed dial sticks out enough that this perfect to use with one hand finger without moving the camera from your eye.  The viewfinder is pretty bright but not overly bright and its accurate of course since its an SLR. Honestly, it really performs like any other SLR camera.

The Not So Good

Shooting a camera every day for a long period of time you really get to know the ins and outs of the camera and the minor annoyances that come with it. Now, none of these are deal breakers for me, but they are just really just fucking annoying but you get used to it. First of all this camera is fucking heavy, about 36.95oz with the 28mm on it compared to my F3 that is 33.40 with a 50mm series E lens mounted on it. Now, 3.55 doesn't sound like a lot but lugging this thing around for 6 hours really takes a toll on your wrist but its a nice workout! Second, the fact that this camera takes 4 LR44 batteries... It seems really excessive because most film SLRs take one or two tops but in the manual, it says it takes four batteries to prevent frequently changing batteries. With that being said the batteries lasted from November to just about a month ago when I was going out to shoot and the camera batteries died and rendered the camera's shutter to only operate on Bulb or 100. Lastly, the film advance lever is probably the least well- constructed part of the camera, it doesn't feel solid compared to the rest of the camera. I have only had the camera fail on me twice once was with the batteries dying and the other was when the advance leaver went limp when I was loading the film but I believe that was user error when I was loading the film in.

Images

All images were taken with the Leica R7 and the 28mm Elmarit lens on it. For right now I have only shot black and white with this camera and when I finish the Cine Still 800T I will add those images to this! Sidenote: all shot by zone focusing. These images are from a recent trip to Boston's Haymarket, which is a current series I am working on. Also my "through the blinds" series and "All'estremità Nord"

Conclusion 

The Leica R system is honestly a fantastic system and it is/was underrated towards the M system and other SLRs but, it is outstanding. The R7 is a very robust camera and it's heavy and clunky but there is just something about it that has kept me shooting with it for the last few months and it's the lenses. Yes, this was a review of the camera but the Leica glass that attached to it makes the camera. I know people converting these lenses to other mounts that's how good they are. But back to the camera, it's a really solid camera that I haven't been able to put down in the past months. It is an extremely versatile camera that I have shot in all types of situations and conditions and it has only let me down once or twice but what camera hasn't? I would highly recommend the Leica R system whether it is this R7 or any of the others. Yes, you are getting the full Leica experience with less is more and in this sense, the less is perfect for me. This camera is smooth as jazz and a camera that I am glad I have gotten to shoot it and  I think this is one of the best SLRs I have shot next to the Nikon F3. Now it may seem as if I have my Leica goggles on and Leica is the best ever but that's not my sole reason for liking this camera at all, it just simply preforms. With that being said is this the end all be all for my SLR needs and the answer is no, in a heartbeat I believe I would go back to my Nikon F3 if I had a 28mm and then just for the viewfinder alone. But that's not the case and I don't see myself putting this camera down anytime soon.

Cheers.