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.
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The Polaroid 660 AF is a 600-format integral instant camera distinguished by its sonar autofocus system - an ultrasonic transducer mounted on the front face that pings a sound pulse and reads the return to calculate subject distance. Released in 1981 alongside or shortly after the introduction of 600-series film, the 660 AF brought to the consumer 600-format line the same sonar focus technology that had previously appeared in the higher-end SX-70 Sonar OneStep. The rest of the specification is a standard first-generation 600 camera: automatic exposure, built-in electronic flash, and a fold-out clamshell body that protects the lens when closed.
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C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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About this camera
The first 600-series camera with sonar autofocus - Polaroid's ultrasonic rangefinder in a consumer clamshell.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | Polaroid 600 integral instant film |
| Lens | Fixed; ~116mm equivalent |
| Focus | Sonar autofocus (~0.6 m to infinity) |
| Shutter | Auto electronic leaf; ~4s - 1/200s |
| Meter | Silicon photodiode, auto |
| Flash | Built-in electronic flash, fires automatically |
| ISO | 600 (film-in-pack, fixed) |
| Battery | In every film pack |
| Years | 1981 - ~mid-1980s |
Polaroid launched 600-series film in 1981 as a successor to the original SX-70 integral film. The 600 format used the same physical cartridge dimensions as SX-70 film but with a significantly higher ISO (600 vs 100), allowing cameras to use a smaller, more power-efficient flash and still achieve correct exposure in a wider range of conditions. The 660 AF was among the earliest cameras designed for this new film. Sonar autofocus had debuted in the SX-70 Sonar OneStep in 1978; bringing the technology into the 600-format consumer line reflected Polaroid's strategy of cascading premium features downward. The 660 AF was succeeded by a proliferation of 600-series bodies through the 1980s and 1990s, most of which dropped sonar in favour of fixed-focus designs to reduce cost.
The 660 AF sits at the origin of the 600-series lineage - the format that produced more Polaroid cameras than any other and that Polaroid Originals / Polaroid B.V. chose to continue when they revived instant film production in the 2010s. Every 600-format camera made since inherits decisions made in 1981.
The sonar autofocus system itself is worth understanding: unlike the passive rangefinders in cameras of the era, sonar focus is active and does not require contrast or light to operate. It fails in specific, unusual circumstances - shooting through glass (the pulse reflects off the pane), photographing mesh or grilles, and aiming at very soft surfaces that absorb ultrasonic waves - but for standard portrait and group photography it works reliably and quickly. Polaroid's version predated the widespread adoption of passive AF in 35mm cameras and was more robust in low light than the early phase-detect systems in contemporaneous 35mm compacts.
Lens is fixed. The built-in flash is mandatory for the camera's auto-exposure circuit; it cannot be disabled without modifying the camera. There is no hotshoe or sync port for external flash. Standard 600-format film is fully available from Polaroid (successor company) and Impossible Project / Polaroid Originals stock; the format is the most actively produced instant film as of 2026.
Polaroid 660 AF
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