Film Alternatives for Polaroid Rollfilm Cameras

For cameras designed for 40-series films:

Got an old Polaroid camera that uses the old 40-series rollfilms..?

Great! They can be lots of fun. Unfortunately, since Polaroid discontinued the last of the rollfilm types in 1991, this presents a bit of a problem. Some possible solutions include:

• Find some outdated Polaroid rollfilm:
  This is more difficult than it sounds, and is complicated by the fact that even if the film you find has been kept refrigerated, it's still going to be reaching the end of its useful life soon. (Even so, back in 1998 I shot a few pictures with some 1987-dated Type 47, and they didn't turn out too badly at all (I developed 'em for two minutes to eeke out what contrast I could get)).
• Convert your camera to use packfilm:
  There are several companies (most notably Four Designs, Inc.) that will convert Model 110A/B and 120 Pathfinders to packfilm. I've also seen some "homemade" conversion attempts. Unfortunately, some of the latter didn't look quite so good in my opinion. In either case, this does involve permanently altering your camera, and really isn't cost-effective to try for anything other than the professional Pathfinder cameras. Due to popular demand, I've (finally) put together a set of do-it-yourself conversion tips and instructions for those of you adventurous enough to want to try to convert your own camera.
• Use some other kind of film in your camera:
  I've investigated this a bit, and it's actually more feasible than one might think. ...But it's really only worthwhile for the most infrequent of hobbyist applications, and hardly presents a "picture in a minute" solution. But, hey, it gives you something to do with your old Polaroid camera rather than clutter your closet. Consider the following alternatives...

Alternate film solution #1: 4x5 sheet film

Do your own darkroom work and shoot 35mm exclusively? How'd you like to try your hand with a really big negative using conventional photographic materials for next to nothing in hardware cost..? Just get yourself some 4x5 sheet film, and load up that old Polaroid rollfilm camera! A single 4x5 sheet fits perfectly in the film channel of Polaroid cameras designed for 40-series films, and is easy to load/unload in a darkroom or changing bag. Of course, you'll only get to use a 3.25" x 4.25" section of the 4x5 sheet, but, hey, it's cheaper than even an old Speed Graphic. Process the film in the dark in trays, and you won't even need to buy a film processing tank. For printing, you could do contact prints, or, if you've at least got an enlarger capable of 6x7 cm medium format, you could cut the negs to fit, but you'd lose part of the reason for having the big negatives in the first place. Or you could shoot color transparency film, and mount the slides in a clear lucite 'box' frame-- these can look really nice if you can get them in front of some diffuse lighting.

Oh, and before you ask-- if you've never used 4x5 film before, you might be confused how to tell which side is the emlusion side when handling it in the dark. 4x5 film has identification notches near one corner of the film. If you're holding the camera horizontally with the back completely open, the notches should be near the upper right-hand corner along the right-hand edge of the film.

Alternate film solution #2: Individual sheets taken from Polaroid pack film

OK, so you don't have a darkroom, and if you say that if you wanted to shoot negs in a Polaroid camera, you'd use Type 665 in a packfilm camera. Besides, you wanted an "instant" print, right? Well, you can! Sorta. Follow this link for detailed instructions on how to use pack film sheets in an unmodified rollfilm camera!

For cameras designed for 30-series films:

Alternate film solution: 120 roll film

Thanks to John Pouncey, here's a way to use conventional 120 roll film in your Highlander or J33 camera without any modifications. Follow this link for detailed instructions on using 120 film in these cameras.