Polaroid 660 Sun1981

History

Polaroid's 600-series integral film was introduced in 1981 as a step up from the SX-70 system. Where SX-70 film was rated at approximately ISO 150 and required a separate flash bar for most indoor use, 600 film was rated at ISO 600 - two stops faster - and Polaroid designed the 600-series cameras with integral flash units that folded into the body. The battery was embedded in each film pack, eliminating the separate battery compartment that other Polaroid systems required and simplifying the user experience considerably.

The original 600-series cameras were fixed-focus designs. The Sun 660 AF applied Polaroid's SonarFocus technology - first introduced on the SX-70 Sonar in 1978 - to the 600-series format. The SonarFocus system used a piezoelectric transducer to emit a burst of ultrasonic sound, measured the time for the echo to return, and translated that into a lens position. The system was effective within its design range and handled the most common consumer photography scenarios - portraits at 1-4 metres - reliably. It did not function well through glass (the transducer measured the glass surface rather than the subject behind it) and was occasionally confused by highly absorbent surfaces.

Polaroid manufactured the 660 through the mid-1980s alongside a range of other 600-series cameras at different price and feature points, from the budget-tier OneStep 600 to the higher-end Impulse with its more refined body design. The 600-series camera line remained in production until Polaroid's bankruptcy in 2001. The Impossible Project (later rebranded as Polaroid Originals, now trading under the Polaroid brand) revived 600 integral film production from approximately 2010 onward, making all surviving 600-series cameras shootable again with new film.

Why It Matters

The Sun 660 AF represents the democratisation of autofocus in consumer photography. In 1981, autofocus was a premium feature appearing in compact 35mm cameras like the Konica C35 AF (1977) and the Polaroid SX-70 Sonar (1978); extending it to the mass-market 600-series instant camera made the technology accessible to casual snapshooters at a mainstream price point.

For contemporary film photographers, the 660 occupies a practical niche: it is one of the cheapest routes to functional 600-format instant photography with genuine autofocus. The camera is mechanically simple, requires no battery beyond what the film pack provides, and produces the same 600-film print as the premium Polaroid Now or I-2 cameras that Polaroid Originals sells at much higher prices. The sonar system, while not precise by modern standards, noticeably outperforms the fixed-focus cheaper 600 cameras when shooting subjects at variable distances.

The 660 is also notable as part of the industrial design era when Polaroid was at its commercial peak - the early-to-mid 1980s - and the camera's angular, wedge-shaped body reflects the period's consumer electronics aesthetic rather than the rounder designs of later Polaroid products.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• The 600-series cameras were the dominant Polaroid product of the 1980s and appear extensively in period documentation photography, family snapshots, and journalism. Specific attribution of fine-art work to the 660 model versus other 600-series cameras is not readily established.
• Jean-Michel Basquiat was photographed in the early 1980s with Polaroid equipment; the specific model is unconfirmed.
• The 600-series cameras, including the 660, appear as props and photographic instruments in 1980s feature films and television productions reflecting the period's consumer culture.
• Contemporary instant film photographers use the 660 as an affordable alternative to the modern Polaroid Now when the sonar AF functionality is required; several film photography communities document its practical performance against both modern equivalents and peer 600-series models.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Polaroid 660 - model identification and specifications.
• Wikipedia: Polaroid 600 - 600-series format and camera lineage.
• Christopher Bonanos, Instant: The Story of Polaroid (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012) - corporate context for the 600-series launch and the SonarFocus technology's origins in the SX-70 Sonar.
• Polaroid Originals / Polaroid (polaroid.com) - current 600 film compatibility and availability information; confirmed compatibility with original 600-series hardware.