The Inner Workings Of The First SLR Polaroid, Explained

The Lytro might be the new gimmicky camera du jour (and that’s cool, because it looks awesome), but the Polaroid was the original gimmicky camera with its print film that developed into photos instantly. Surely people had trouble wrapping their heads around this in 1972.

Thankfully, Polaroid commissioned Charles and Ray Eames’s studio to put together an orientation video on what the Polaroid SX-70 was and how it worked. Giving it their own impeccable touch, the video is filled with elegant graphic design work and a cinematic style all their own (check the work at ~5:00).

As for the camera itself, the SX-70 was the first polaroid to implement a single lens reflex design, which, as you may know, allows the photographer to see exactly what passes through the lens (and in the case of the SX-70, onto the film). Designed by Edwin Land, the SX-70 was one of Polaroids more popular and lasting cameras, appearing in various iterations through the ’80s. On top of that, it had a really neat folding design, giving it a degree of portability and novelty (for its time). [Motherboard.tv]