How To: Start a Vintage Polaroid Camera Collection

A crash course in building your own instant camera collection

By Erik Karstan Smith

Even if you didn’t grow up in the ’70s, you’re likely familiar with the Polaroid cameras that spit film out the front and, like magic, developed an image before your eyes. Polaroid provided instant gratification for the photographer and subject and because of The Impossible Project, the Polaroid FotoLab and the newly opened Polaroid Museum in Las Vegas, a new generation is discovering the joys of instant photography.

 

When I heard The Impossible Project was resurrecting instant film for Dr. Land’s instant camera I decided to open the Dr. Frankenroid eBay store. I wanted to educate people—who might just be discovering the joys of instant photography—about the use, value and variety of these old cameras.

 

I started seriously collecting in 2008, the same year I opened my store. I currently own over 100 rare cameras and accessories. Dr. Frankenroid is technically an eBay store, but it’s also an online museum of Polaroid cameras and ephemera that allows people to see the variety and valuation of these cameras with their accessories in entire kits.  Many of the most rare items in my store are actually priced to 'not sell'.

 

Polaroid produced millions of cameras around the world, but only a fraction of them have any real monetary value. However, a careful eye at a garage sale or local Goodwill can turn a small investment into a tidy return. I’ve met many people who have found box style 600 cameras (more on that later) at a garage sale or thrift store for $10 that ended up being worth hundreds. 

 

Be Realistic About Your Budget

Polaroid collecting as a hobby can be very expensive. It’s hard to say how much I’ve spent collecting over the past eight years. My advice to new collectors is to keep it simple. You can have a nice display of common cameras for $1000 and have a lot more fun with those than with a more expensive collection that you’re afraid to use. The Land List by Martin Kuhn is a great free resource and way to really do your homework before you dive in. Consider this a crash course in Polaroid camera collecting.

 

Condition Matters

Having a mint condition camera with the box and original documentation will always increase its value, but a camera in any condition will always be more valuable than a damaged one. If the camera is broken or untested, it will probably cost more for a repair than to just purchase another camera. Non-working cameras can be desireable to interior designers or other people just looking for a decoration, though, so a particularly pretty or interesting-looking Polaroid camera can still have value if you know who wants it.

 

Get to Know the Camera Types

There are three basic categories of Polaroid cameras: roll film cameras, pack film cameras and integral film cameras. Within each of these categories there are a variety of valuable models and prototypes.

 

The Model One Hundred is one of the most rare cameras and typically costs at least $1000.

 

Roll Film Cameras: These are the first instant cameras produced by Polaroid, but film was discontinued in the ’70s and for the most part they are obsolete. The Model One Hundred is the rarest of the roll film cameras, but is very difficult to find. I wouldn’t sell mine for under $1000 There are artisans who professionally convert these beautiful old cameras to use modern integral film and Fuji pack film.  I suggest Jason at Wolf-Industry or Nate at Option8. My favorite cameras for conversion are the 110a, 110b, 120 and 900 electric eye, these range in price starting at $500 for a 900 Electric Eye to $1500 for a 120.