Polaroid SX-70 Onyx1981

History

The SX-70 was introduced in 1972 as Polaroid's most ambitious consumer product to that point: a folding single-lens-reflex camera using a then-novel integral film system in which the print self-developed without any peel-apart step. Edwin Land introduced it personally at a shareholders meeting and it became a sustained critical and commercial success. Over its production life, Polaroid released numerous SX-70 variants - the original chrome-and-tan leatherette, the black Model 2, the Sonar autofocus version, and a series of limited-edition bodies.

The Onyx appeared near the end of the SX-70's active commercial life, around 1981, when Polaroid was already developing the successor 600-speed integral film system. By that point the core SX-70 mechanism was well-proven and the main avenue for product differentiation was cosmetic. The smoked transparent shell of the Onyx was a radical departure from every prior SX-70 body: rather than leather, chrome, or painted surfaces, the body panels were molded in dark translucent polycarbonate that revealed the structural skeleton and some mechanical components beneath.

Production was limited - exact figures are not reliably documented - and the Onyx was sold at a premium price point reflecting its limited-edition positioning. It was discontinued as Polaroid transitioned its focus to the 600-series cameras in the early 1980s.

Why It Matters

The Onyx is the most visually dramatic SX-70 variant ever produced and one of the most striking camera designs of the early 1980s. At a moment when consumer electronics were moving toward uniform black plastic boxes, Polaroid chose to make the mechanism itself the visual statement, anticipating the "see-through" industrial design trend that would emerge more broadly in technology products a decade later.

As a photographic tool the Onyx performs identically to any other late-model SX-70: it is an excellent manual-focus folding SLR producing the distinctive SX-70 print with its particular tonal palette and surface quality. The camera was used by a generation of photographers who found that SX-70 prints - with their soft, layered appearance and square format - offered something no conventional film could replicate. Andy Warhol was among the most publicly associated names with SX-70 photography in general, using the format extensively for his documentary and artistic work; the question of which SX-70 variants Warhol used specifically is not well documented.

The Onyx is now firmly a collector's object. Working specimens in good cosmetic condition are sought after both for use and display, and command prices well above standard SX-70 models.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Andy Warhol used the SX-70 format extensively throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s for daily documentary work, Polaroid portraiture of celebrities, and source material for paintings; specific use of the Onyx variant is not confirmed in the published record.
• Lucas Samaras made SX-70 photographic manipulation (Photo-Transformations) a significant body of work from 1973 onward, exploiting the wet-chemistry phase of SX-70 development; he used standard production SX-70 cameras and the relationship to the Onyx is not documented.
• The Onyx appeared in specialty photography and camera retail publications in 1981 as a design object as much as a photographic tool.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Polaroid SX-70 - SX-70 system overview, variant list, and specifications.
• Wikipedia: Polaroid SX-70 - history, production variants, and cultural context.
• Christopher Bonanos, Instant: The Story of Polaroid (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012) - detailed account of the SX-70 development, launch, and Edwin Land's involvement; covers the variant landscape of the late SX-70 era.