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 SX-70 Model 2 is a direct cost-reduction variant of the original SX-70 Alpha 1, introduced in 1974 to bring the folding SLR instant camera to a broader market. Where the Alpha 1 used a chrome-plated zinc top plate and genuine leather panels, the Model 2 substituted white ABS plastic for both - a visually distinctive camera that trades prestige for accessibility. The core optical and electronic system is identical to its predecessor: the same 116mm f/8 four-element glass lens, the same CdS autoexposure meter, and the same motorized ejection mechanism.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the sx-70 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 →Develop sx-70 film
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The people's SX-70 - same folding SLR mechanism, white plastic body, lower price.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | SX-70 integral instant film |
| Lens | 116mm f/8, 4 elements / 4 groups, glass |
| Years | 1974-1977 |
| Shutter | Auto: ~10s - 1/180s, electronic leaf |
| Meter | CdS, coupled |
| Focus | Manual, split-prism aid |
| Body | White ABS plastic; folds flat to ~25 mm |
| Battery | In every film pack |
Polaroid released the Model 2 approximately two years after the Alpha 1 debuted. The company needed to move SX-70 technology into lower retail price tiers without cannibalizing the flagship's prestige positioning. The solution was a body swap: replace the machined and plated metal panels with molded plastic, and drop the leatherette. The white colorway was not incidental - it aligned with Polaroid's mid-1970s design language, shared with contemporaneous consumer electronics. The Model 2 ran until roughly 1977, when it was succeeded by the Model 3, a further simplification. The Alpha 1 continued in parallel for consumers who wanted the premium look.
The Model 2 occupies a quiet but real place in the SX-70 story: it was the version most families actually owned. The Alpha 1 appeared in design retrospectives and museum collections; the Model 2 appeared on kitchen counters and in vacation snapshots. In that sense it fulfilled Edwin Land's stated goal - instant photography as a democratized, everyday act rather than a luxury. The white-body aesthetic has aged distinctively: collectors now seek it out precisely for its period look, separate from the more-famous chrome variant.
The Model 2 demonstrates how little the mechanism mattered to the experience: optically and electronically equivalent to the Alpha 1, it produced the same prints, the same SX-70 color palette, the same slow development ritual.
Lens is fixed. Accessories are identical to the Alpha 1: original Polaroid flashbar (10 disposable flashbulbs per bar), Polatronic electronic flash (rare), close-up lens kit, tripod socket adapter. ND filter inserts for using 600-speed film (ISO 640) in SX-70 cameras (rated ISO 100) are sold by Polaroid Originals and third parties.
Polaroid SX-70 Model 2
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