From: mkuhn@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (Martin W Kuhn)
Subject: Re: Polorid/Land cameras
Organization: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 16:15:24 GMT

In article <Bz9u7u.44o@cup.hp.com> markt@cup.hp.com (Mark Thompson) writes:
>Yesterday I was in my favorite photo supply store, The Looking Glass in BK,
...
>really excited about so I payed attention.  He only paid $5 for it, so if it
>was a 195 he really made out.  Some other guy said that he saw some more 
>there so I headed out and picked one up for myself.
Yeah, quite a bargain if it was a Model 195...  sigh...
 
>What I ended up with was a model 420.  It looks rather cool for what was
>sort of a point and shoot. You do have to focus but it looks like it has
>some sort of automatic exposure system that controls the shutter.  It runs
>on a 3v battery.  I guess the lens is plastic, but most of the rest of the
>construction is pretty good.  
Yes, the 420 has a so-so two-element plastic lens.  (about 124mm, f/8.8 --
I don't have the full specs with me)

>What I'm wondering is; what do people know about this camera and the whole
>line of cameras. 
Well, I consider myself a collector of Land cameras; I think I can help.

> I called a pro camera store and they cary the film.  8 exp.
>cost $9.47.  
That's about right for Polacolor (108/668); B&W Land films (107/667) are
cheaper. (and really good quality for their speed, IMHO)

>I'm also wondering what anyone knows about the different features of the
>cameras.  I had a choice of the 420 220 or 250 and didn't know what the
>differences were.  Ofcourse if there was a 195 i would have taken it since
>it has a glass lens and manual shutter and fstops, but what were the
>different features between these other models.

Well, the 420 is the cheapest of the "400" (the last) line of folding pack
cameras.  Basically all the folding pack cameras of the 100, 200, 300, and
400 lines are made up of some combination of 2 possible lenses, 2 possible
shutters, 3 possible view/rangefinder modules, and 2 different body materials.
(the ProPack models, the 180 and 195, are exceptions to this rule)

Also, the 400 series and the 360 have different flash arrangements than the
others; the 360 came with a special dedicated electronic flash, and the
"400" series cameras have a clever distance-compensating flash using 
Hi-Power flashcubes, while the rest have flashguns using M3 flashbulbs.
(Hopefully your 420 came with its accessory flashgun)

Anyway, back to the original question:
(I don't have a reference with me, but I think this should be close)

420:  Two-element plastic lens, electronic shutter with only 2 film speed
      settings, and fixed aperture for each film setting, viewfinder module
      with no rangefinder, but has weird distance estimator for taking 
      pictures of people.  (This may likely be wrong-- now that I think about
      it, I think the 420 has the two-window rangefinder... anyway...)
      Plastic body with no tripod socket.  Also has mechanical development
      timer (I think)
 
220:  Same as above, but definitely has two-window rangefinder.  No timer.

250:  3-element glass lens, electronic shutter with 4 speed settings (though
      two of them aren't really useful except for exposure comp. and/or 
      depth-of-field tinkering)  with 2 aperture settings for each speed
      (Great 'cause you can shoot wide open with 3000 speed B&W film),
      "Deluxe" single-window Zeiss rangefinder, and metal body with tripod
      socket.  Rangefinder folds down into case.   Oh, yeah, it also has an
      electronic developing timer that automatically starts when you pull the
      yellow tab...
      
So, anyway, you probably should have chosen the 250...  :-)
 
But, even the 420 isn't so bad.  The lens quality difference won't show up
so much in the regular size prints, and the only really useful thing you
lose with the cheap shutter is the aforementioned ablility to shoot wide
open at ASA 3000.  The flashgun is interesting, and it is easier to find
flashcubes these days than M3 bulbs, so that's a plus.   At least automatic
time exposures (to about 10 seconds) still work on the "cheap" shutter...


BTW, hope yours came with instructions; if you've never used a Polaroid
Pack camera before, you may be somewhat confused.  Also, I hope the battery
is still good; seems about the only way to get batteries for these things
is to either a) find another pack camera with a good battery, or b)
build a battery pack out of N cells.

 
Anyway, have fun!
                   --Marty
       


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