Media Archaeology: Polaroid Sun 660 Autofocus Instant Pack Film

Amongst all the objects and equipment stored at the Kerr Hall museum of dead media hardware, a familiar logo drew me into the object I chose. An old camera labeled as the “Polaroid Sun 660 Autofocus Instant pack film”. The instant camera is made of a black plastic and it looks pretty bulky when compared to modern day cameras. The top part of the camera folds in to protect the flash when it isn’t being used. It clicks into place and there is no button needed to open and close. The flash was meant to be used for both indoor and outdoor shots is found on the top next to the “Polaroid” logo, there is a piece sticking out the back where you would look into as you take the picture, and finally, the slot for the picture to come out at the bottom, with a film shade, which shield each picture from being exposed to the light as they come out, it rolls out with the picture, then snaps back. The camera also came with a neck strap that was black.

This camera first came out in 1982 at a point where the Polaroid company was peaking. The man behind the polaroid corporation was Edwin Herbert Land. Fascinated by light and drawn to the effects on it by natural polarisation, he ended up basically creating and perfecting instant photography. This camera attracted people because it included automatic flash and sonar autofocus. This camera requires 600 film, other film won’t work with the camera, and these film cartridges included for the first time a high energy battery that powered both the film pack and the camera so it doesn’t need additional batteries. There was also an indicator that would say, in numbers, how many pictures the camera had left. When a picture is taken, the camera sends sound waves, not loud enough for us to hear, to the central part of the scene. An internal disk with four lenses starts to turn at the same time. Inside, a tiny computer measures the time it takes for the sound to reach your subject. The lens will then put your subject into sharp focus at that distance and lock into place as explained in the camera’s manual. To take a picture you would open the top part, where the flash is, and when an indicating green light shows, press down the red button on the right down corner. This button must be held for around 30 seconds and then a picture will come out. The white framed picture should be kept away from sunlight for the first 40 seconds so it can properly develop, the manual also advices to put the picture in a warm pocket for a minute for the best results. . After each picture the flash would take about 3 seconds to recharge and the green light will appear again. With the new automatic flash, the best results were taken from 2 to 14 feet away and near a light colored background.

This camera was popular in the 80’s and to many represented youth, adventure and fun since it captured candid moments and allowed for people to collect their memories as they went. The pictures would come out with the colors faded but people liked having the pictures right away. In times when social media didn’t exist, it was a new experience to be able to instantly share pictures with their friends or families. It isn’t clear what exactly came to replace polaroid cameras like this. It could be said the evolution of digital cameras made instant cameras less convenient and more expensive and on the other side of things, it could also be said social media replaced the need for the pictures to be printed immediately to be shared, since now people could share their pictures digitally by pressing a couple buttons. It wasn’t just the concept of being an instant camera that made this object end up as “dead media”, the huge improvements in quality focus and flashes the newer cameras had made it fall behind. However, although not this specific model, instant cameras are still relevant today. New models created by the brand Fujifilm blew up and became popular around 2013 bringing on a new wave of models resembling old instant cameras to supply the sudden come back of the instant pictures, this time as a “vintage” style rather than the newest technology.