The Impossible Project PX680: First Impressions
So if you didn’t hear yet (and even if you did) The Impossible Project released a new film for its Pioneer members to purchase. (Pioneer members are those who have signed up to the Pioneer program after having purchased ten packs of TIP film.) It’s a color film for 600-series cameras, and it supposedly relieves a lot of the headaches of previous films:
- Unlike the previous Color Shade films, the PX680 film is supposed to be capable of exhibiting a fairly complete color palette.
- Unless you’re shooting in bright sunlight, supposedly there will be no need to shield the PX680 print from light.
- There are supposedly no temperature tricks (heating, cooling to specific temperatures during development) to learn for PX680.
- Apparently none of the test images shot on PX680 by The Impossible Project have degraded over time.
I had just earned the necessary points to become a Pioneer member a few days prior, so I had very little free cash to spend on the PX680 film packs, so I picked up two and have been working through them very slowly. Also, since my OneStep Closeup camera was previously rendered non-functional by my poodle pup, I purchased a Polaroid Impulse AF camera through the Film Photography Store, a small online shop that helps to support my favorite downloadable show, the Film Photography Podcast.
Well, my first results have been mixed. First off, every shot I’ve taken has indeed been better than any shot I’ve made on either the First Flush of Color Shade film (PX70) or the second version exclusive to SX-70 cameras (PX70 Push!). I think I’ll let the results speak for themselves:
The Worst:
Oddly enough, both shots I’ve taken outdoors have left a lot to be desired. To be safe, I shielded the film from light anyway, and I threw it into the Polaroid Impulse carrying bag.
First, a cloudy shot:
Next, a shot taken in sunlight:
The Better:
It seems that the best shots I’ve taken have been indoors in low light, taking full advantage of the built-in camera flash:
The Best:
I found that the best practice is to scan them, then do an auto exposure, which will sort out the color balance for you. To prevent it from going over the top, I set a white point to the frame of the print. The downside, of course, is that the print doesn’t actually look like this. But it does make for some cool online images:
So there you have it. Obviously with how different the corrected scans look and with the outdoor shots being so poor, there is still room for improvement. Even if there’s something I’m not doing correctly, I’m just shooting Polaroids, so there’s a degree of usability that can be improved. Nevertheless, I’m really excited with how far The Impossible Project has come in a year. Way to go, guys. Keep up the good work.
