C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →instant
The Polaroid 600 OneStep (1981) is the original camera of Polaroid's 600-series line, which became the dominant consumer instant film system of the 1980s. Where the SX-70 was an engineering showpiece — folding steel body, glass optics, manual focus — the 600 OneStep is deliberately simple: a fixed-focus plastic box with an integrated electronic flash, automatic exposure, and a bright optical viewfinder. It uses the new ISO 640 600 film (six stops faster than SX-70's ISO 100), enabling flash-free shots in moderate indoor light and dramatically reducing the exposure time required.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the — format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Develop — film
We're growing the lab directory near you. Browse all labs.
Before you buy used
About this camera
The camera that made instant photography ordinary — Polaroid's mass-market plastic box that put integral instant prints in millions of households through the 1980s and 1990s.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 600 integral instant film (ISO 640) |
| Lens | ~116mm f/11 equivalent, fixed focus (zone ~1 m to infinity) |
| Years | 1981–1997 (various 600-series models ongoing) |
| Shutter | Auto: ~1/4s – 1/125s, electronic leaf |
| Flash | Built-in electronic flash (auto-fires in low light) |
| Meter | CdS coupled |
| Modes | Auto only |
| Viewfinder | Optical, fixed |
| Battery | In every 600 film pack |
Polaroid launched the 600 system in 1981 as a deliberate mass-market pivot. The SX-70 had succeeded among enthusiasts and design-conscious buyers but its price (around $180 in 1972 dollars) kept it aspirational. Edwin Land's successor management wanted instant photography to be genuinely democratic — affordable hardware, cheap packs, universal availability.
The 600 OneStep launched at a retail price of approximately $25–30, later dropping further. The ISO 640 film was the key innovation: at six stops faster than SX-70 film, it allowed the camera to use a slower fixed lens and simpler autoexposure while still producing usable prints indoors. The built-in flash — absent from the SX-70's original design — eliminated the need for flashbar accessories.
Through the 1980s and 1990s the 600 became ubiquitous. It was the camera of office parties, holiday gatherings, high-school yearbook committees. The distinctive rectangular prints with white border (and wider bottom border bearing the image's "breathing room") became a cultural artifact. When digital photography began displacing film in the early 2000s, Polaroid struggled; the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and again in 2008. The 600 OneStep line ended, but 600 film remained in production through licensed manufacturers. The Impossible Project (2010) and later Polaroid Originals (2017) revived 600 film; the "Now" camera (2020) is the spiritual descendant.
The 600 OneStep democratized instant photography. The SX-70 was a luxury object; the 600 OneStep was a party favor. It expanded Polaroid's user base by an order of magnitude and cemented the company's dominance of consumer instant film through the 1980s. The distinctive square-ish 600 print format — slightly wider than the SX-70 frame — is what most people picture when they think "Polaroid photo."
The camera's fixed-focus, auto-flash design made it nearly goof-proof at typical social distances. This reliability, combined with near-zero operating skill requirements, made it the reference point for all subsequent instant cameras targeting mainstream buyers.
Lens is fixed (no focus adjustment). No accessories beyond 600 film packs. Various 600-series cameras added sonar autofocus (660 AF), date-stamp printing (640), or coloured housings; the OneStep is the unadorned base model. Current Polaroid 600 film is compatible with all 600-series cameras.
Polaroid 600 OneStep
Image coming soon