Polaroid Land Camera 100 ad in LIFE
Toronto. Jack Roy used the stage name of Rodney Dangerfield. As Dangerfield, his catch phrase was, “I don’t get no respect”. The vast majority of professional and amateur photographers viewed Polaroid in the same light. Polaroid had very innovative cameras and processes but you were locked into one media supplier and no interchangeable lenses. Later on, Polaroid backs became available allowing the use of any camera with a removable back that supported Polaroid.
The Polaroid colour material quickly shifted to 50 second processing. The camera 100 was a marvel of technology using Polaroid color packs or ASA 3000 black and white packs. Rather expensive, but showing results in under a minute. Prints could be copied to make different sizes or duplicates. Polaroid cameras were the epitome of automation. Much like today’s even simpler to use smartphone cameras.
Thanks to George Dunbar for noting this wonderful advertisement (pp65-7) in the September 20th, 1963 edition of LIFE magazine. Note: Anyone can browse many of the older magazine thanks to Google Books. Into photographic history and have no magazine back issues? Try George’s route to see the old advertisements and see how we lived last century. Of course you can attend our auctions and fairs when they resume and possibly find some old back issues.
