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 Square Shooter is an entry-level instant camera introduced in 1971, designed to use the 80-series pack film (including Type 87 peel-apart and Polacolor 88 color film). It represents the company's push to simplify and cheapen the folding pack-film camera design after the more complex Highlander 80-series cameras of the late 1950s and 1960s. The body is plastic throughout, the exposure system is fully automated via an electric eye, and the camera requires no user-set focus — it is a true point-and-shoot instant camera aimed at consumers with no photographic experience. Its successor, the Square Shooter 2, followed within a few years with minor refinements.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the pack-film 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.
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About this camera
The 1971 plastic pack-film camera that brought Polaroid's folding instant format to the mass market.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 80-series pack film (Type 87 / Polacolor 88) |
| Print size | ~8.3 x 8.6 cm (peel-apart) |
| Lens | Fixed plastic lens; focal length ~ |
| Focus | Fixed / zone |
| Shutter | Electronic leaf; speeds ~ |
| Exposure | Program auto (electric eye); lighten/darken dial |
| Flash | Flashcube socket |
| Year introduced | 1971 |
Polaroid's pack-film camera line began in earnest with the 100-series cameras in 1963, which used the newly developed peel-apart pack film and replaced the earlier roll-film Land cameras. The 80-series occupied a lower price tier aimed at budget-conscious buyers. The Highlander 80B (1957) had established the folding form factor for the 80-series, and through the 1960s successive refinements kept this product tier alive alongside the more prestigious 100-series.
By 1971, Polaroid wanted to reduce manufacturing cost further. The Square Shooter replaced the earlier metal-bodied 80-series cameras with an all-plastic body, eliminating the metal bellows and die-cast components of earlier models. The automatic electric-eye exposure system required no user adjustment beyond a lighten/darken compensation dial. The flashcube socket was the standard flash interface of the era, compatible with disposable flashcubes available at any drugstore.
The 80-series pack film line was phased out through the mid-1970s as Polaroid consolidated around the 600-series integral film system. The Square Shooter 2 succeeded this model with minor updates before the entire pack-film 80-series was discontinued.
The Square Shooter illustrates Polaroid's strategy of using manufacturing simplification to expand the market for instant photography. Where the Highlander cameras retained metal construction and a degree of user control, the Square Shooter committed entirely to automation and plastic — a philosophy that would define the 600-series cameras of the 1980s.
The camera also represents the tail end of peel-apart pack film's mass-market presence. Once integral film (SX-70, then 600) eliminated the peel-apart waste step, peel-apart cameras became a niche for professionals and enthusiasts rather than casual consumers. The Square Shooter was aimed squarely at consumers who wanted photographs without any photographic knowledge whatsoever.
Polaroid Square Shooter
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