The email from Polaroid Originals early last month opened with “Dear Spectra photographers” and without having to read further, I knew what was coming.
The enterprise that had resurrected the Polaroid line of integral film had written to say they were ending production of its Spectra film. That company, predicated on Polaroid founder Edwin Land’s tenet imploring “Don’t do anything that someone else can do. Don’t undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible” was telling me they were punting on the wide-format film, citing the Spectra camera’s age and poor performance with their film. Why my 40-something-year-old SX-70 Alpha One can still spit out an image, but much my younger Spectra cameras cannot seems a bit incongruous. A pesky point, I know, but one left un-addressed in their news release.
Frankly, I put the responsibility of the Spectra failure squarely on the shoulders of Polaroid/Impossible. Their Spectra frame stock and chemical pods never came close to the specifications of original Spectra film. A Spectra photo, circa 2008, had the thickness of an index card. The rebooted film and subsequent photo were, at times, thick as a credit card. And as a result, the new film taxed Spectra cameras beyond their engineered tolerances. So confident was the original Polaroid Corp. in the Spectra Pro camera, they gave it a lifetime warranty. It said so on the box it came in when I bought it in 1997 (and yeah, I still have that box).
Production of the SX-70 and 600 Polaroid Originals films will presumably continue, as will the development and sale of special edition films–“Festive Red,” anyone?–and cameras–you too can buy your very own “Stranger Things” camera.
It appears some Things are less impossible than others.
I do have one pack of Spectra film in the ‘fridge. I’ll probably wait until spring to use it. But my trusty Spectra Pro, that quirky/cool Pro Cam, and that behemoth of a camera, the Macro 5, their fates are sealed. In the interim, I’ll be saving my pennies for this bad boy from Mint Camera. I hope to continue to shoot the Polaroid SX-70 and SLR 690, but from here on out, I’ll be pulling for Team Instax.
Here’s the release from Polaroid Orignals’ announcing the end of production for Spectra film:
