One thing I forgot to mention in the video - on accounts of they are stupidly rare - is that there IS a filter set that clips on to the front of a Polaroid Impulse camera that gives the camera a few 'special effects', such as prisms, partial blur etc The Spectra series also had such a filter set, however the Spectra filters are far more common to find In summary: unless you absolutely MUST have a self timer, or possess a very rare set of OEM filters, the Impulse really has no reason to exist
I have two, one takes terrible pictures (AF not working properly I think) and the other takes very good photos. It's my favourite Polaroid. Love the timer.
the timer really is the only reason to own one of these things. The Impulse AF definitely gets a pass mark purely on timer alone As for the rest of the Impulse series... there is barely any reason for them to exist
You're not wrong. There really wasn't a point to these cameras. It's not smaller than a box camera, it has the same features, the flash can never be turned off, and repairing an impulse is an absolute nightmare. BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE IMPULSE! Sometimes, just a different form factor can make all the difference. The impulse is most definitely one of my favorites!
A passionate man with a passionate take! I LOVE my Impulse AF because of not only the self timer and tripod mount but because of the fast acting shutter release. I’ve hit that button with almost every finger haha it’s so light and allows me to stay steady where the shutter release in most classic 600s I tend to shake a bit when my index finger pulls in that shudder release.
You forgot about the *significantly* bigger viewfinder on the Impulse AF vs the Sun 660 (for example). Does it make it better than the 600 series of cameras? Probably not, but it's hard not to have a soft spot for the Impulse. It's just too bad it was a two steps forward and three steps back type of design.
@@floydtron this is a good point, but one that Polaroid themselves seemed to forget about. All 600 cameras after the impulse went back to the same early viewfinder design lol Definitely some odd engineering choices for sure
I have a set of creative filters for my Impulse AF SE. It was the only 600 camera that came with these until the New Polaroid came out with the new cameras. I love the funky colors of this series. The self-timer was a win for this. Now, for the Pronto! RF... that's another story.
I love my Impulse. I have the regular one without AF. Honestly the image quality is just as good as my sx-70. It's pretty impressive to be honest. Sometimes I just put a black tape over the flash so I can shoot with just ambient light.
I just bought two Impulses, one AF and one SE for $30, mainlt just to have in my collection, the sea blue color is awesome! As for usability... I have the Now+ Gen 2 for 99% of my use cases.
Good looking and unfixable. I think I’ve had some exes describe me that way. All kidding aside, I like to have an Impulse AF around because they’re a good camera for friends and family to play around with at gatherings. Big viewfinder, timer, and the flash always being on keeps things simple. I think it’s why the basic Instax models now have the flash always on by default-too many people don’t realize how much light instant film needs, and come away with blurry, disappointing photos. Also, it just looks really cool. The AF model reminds me of the Ferrari Testarossa.
Thats one of the best box cameras... Takes clear and bright images - better than my 660 which I also have. Yes it's plastic without any bolt, but it's easy to repair and has lots of room inside for mods. Open it 5 times and you will know how to do it without damaging anything.
If your 660AF isnt taking photos of the same quality then it may need a service, or its flash output adjusted Image quality between the two models should be identical
@@pokulan I need to look into it... but the aperture value used by a 600/Impulse camera should change according to ambient light sources, and should often be smaller than f9 f9 is just the maximum, and would apply in a dark scene with AF set to a far distance A close up photo in bright light for example may stop down to close to f45 The cameras really should be very similar to one another
@@theinstantcameraguy Yes its a variable. But AF has pcs lense where normal Impulse don't. I'm not sure about 660. Still my impressions are that Impulse AF has as sharp images as sx70.
@@pokulan yes I'm not comparing the Impulse AF to a standard Impulse though I am comparing to the 660AF Both the Impulse AF and the 660AF have a triple element plastic lens system with variable middle elements that work in the same way. Image quality should be nearly identical between the two models. But... I'm struggling to find a primary data source for aperture on both cameras. The repair manual for the later 600AF says aperture is f12, one person says the Impulse is f9, another says a 600 is f14 and the Land List thinks f9 for the 660AF too lol Sadly factory documentation of the Impulse is not something I have much of, and the online manuals are not very helpful. I need to find an original copy I think
Hi, thank you for all of your videos, very helpful. Really hard to find info about repairing Polaroid cameras. I have a question regarding a Polaroid impulse AF that I try to repair. Basically it makes a noise like a clap when I am turning it on but it doesn’t eject the film or do something else. I managed to open it , verify the components I had access to, motor works fine if i apply 6v at the terminals, flash works if I wind manually the gears…If you have any idea I would highly appreciate your answer. So basically everything works but the system doesn’t.
I live near the old Polaroid H.Q. and had a friend who worked there. I was a huge Polaroid fan, but I'm done with it for now. Every product I've tried has been a total disappointment.
I love my Impulse AF, it was my first Polaroid camera and it is super simple to use and takes great pictures. Great first camera. But yeah, it's nearly impossible to repair/modify. I wanted to I-Type mod it like I had with my other 600 cameras, but I abandoned that when I found out how hard to take apart these are.
I think it looks pretty cool in the grand scheme of things But it wasn't until I did this video that I realized how comparatively crippled the Impulse AF is in so many ways when compared to the 660AF
I collected every color. The flash on my grey one (with Spectra remote port) stopped working. The first charge after a while of disuse takes the normal amount of time, but after that, it turns green instantly after firing. I guess I'll use that one to practice spray painting it yellow.
You can not like them, but my Impulse AF takes such sharp photos, and the view finder is so good. The only issue is that Instax film is so much better than Polaroid now I hardly use it.
Can you fix modern polaroids or only classic ones? I have a polaroid now with a fucked up button (plastic looks melted), missing spring for the button and film gets stuck and doesnt go through the door
@@theinstantcameraguy the only part missing is the plastic button and the tiny spring for it, besides that the camera is "intact" I dont know where to find parts for it, i'd like it fixed rather than donate it because it is a present for my gf, I bought it second hand and it is spray painted
I used to had a impulse Af, in fact i think it looks rather neet and quirky, I loved it. Unfortunately it broke up miserably, it went berserk and spit out all the film and other faulty electronics, I tryed to fix it but hard work indeed (Im not a clumsy type of person i tend to do this kind of things) when it finaly died i bought a SX70 and i will never look back i coudnt be more happy.
My issue with the 600 series is that so many of them have issues with their capacitors. Out of the ten 660s I own, about half can't fire their flash reliably or quickly. None of the Impulse AF cameras I have has that issue. My guess is that the Impulse AF uses better quality capacitors than the 660 cameras. BTW, you mentioned that the Impulse AF has easy terminal access, so does the 660, if you snap out the plastic clip that holds the strap in place. I noticed that you mod the battery packs by drilling a hole in the camera, why not through the terminal via the strap clip?
@@haxuco because my method is much cleaner, and I can access the rest of the inside of the camera to clean it while I'm in there Snapping out a clip and running external wires is a totally cringe way to mod the camera when it's otherwise super easy to take apart All 600 series use high quality Rubycon capacitors. It's highly unlikely that the capacitor has failed. It's much more likely to be one of the numerous other components or ICs The early "manual charge" 600 series do seem to be slightly less reliable than later models, but otherwise the reliability of later auto charge 600s is identical to the impulse
i just picked up this polaroid at a liquidation/thrift store in canada, it's my first polaroid and was lucky to find some 600 film at my local best buy.. however it was expensive for the film.. more than what the camera costed me, so if you were to make a guide on how to open up one of these bad boys i'd love to see it and try it myself for a i type film conversion. couldn't find any videos on youtube of a teardown of one of these cameras and i would greatly appriciate it
You don't have to make a conversion. As long as you're in total darkness (I use a blanket for good measure), you can slip I-Type into a 600 cartridge for the same effect. It works as intended.
@@theinstantcameraguy wait are they harder to get inside of? I’ve never opened an sx70 or a real Walkman but iPod minis are actually the easiest ones to break apart and upgrade x3
the one thing i like about the impulse is one thing i dislike about the impulse, it stores flash charge a bit longer and better than the regular 600s so you can take a photo "on impulse" as i remember the polaroid sales rep sold it to my family backintheday BUT it needs a little more juice to run and its a very shoot your casette empty in a month type of camera and low voltage casettes makes it do all sorts of weird things like yours did. however it is my preffered grab and go, and my collection that i use most oftern is my 680 SE (another one of your very disliked cameras that i disagree with your opinion on) 660 AF 50th, SX-70 Time Zero AF Model 2 thats good for the *one* time a year you can get film for it, and a one step 2 first gen without the viewfinder barrel thats more a showpiece. out of all of those ill grab my impulse for just some general fun "filmwaste" shots
I know there are mechanical self timers for SX-70 box cameras, but I'm not sure I've ever seen one for a 600 It's definitely possible to mod a self timer into one I would just need to figure out how. It's not something I have ever played with. But I saw a guy in China do one
The Procam and Spectra 1200FF are possibly even greater examples of "thanks I hate it" than the Impulse is I lusted after the Procam for so long back in the day, only to finally get one and go "ewww brutha, what's that"
For the ipod comparison, big oof. From personal experience, once you get the hang of opening a 6/7th gen it's rlly not that bad. But granted they make special tools for opening them. And then sometimes it's still easy to scratch the metal or permanently bend one of the clips if you're not taking your time and being careful! Whenever I'm repairing a client's 6/7th gen I always give that disclaimer, but usually their back/face plates are so beat up they either want new ones anyway or don't really care. Better to always say something to cover your ass tho
The issue is it's easy to slip and scuff a plastic panel, or deform the plastic using a spludger It's practically impossible to deform a classic 600, but the Impulse is much more difficult It's just super annoying to have a later revision of a product which is inferior in so many ways
@@theinstantcameraguy I believe it. Not tryna knock you or anything, I know ipods more than polaroids. Your decision to not work on the impulse is like mine to not work on the nano, both stupid easy to break
He’s talking about how he has no idea how to overhaul or repair this camera. Its different viewfinder is much more complicated to clean. With the Impulse, there’s a lot going on-you need to open it up, disconnect the flash, and look for the clips holding the flash assembly together. The electronics inside are different, and overhauling a Square 600 is much easier. This guy just can’t handle the Impulse properly, and that’s why he doesn’t like these cameras. 😂 That said, the Impulse is a great camera when it comes to non-SLR models, and it’s much more reliable than the 660AF! BTW, battery mode looks awful you just destroying old cameras just because you love the AAA batteries -.-
![[UNCUT] เก็บ "สจ.โต้ง" เอี่ยวมาเฟีย รู้ตัวคนบงการ ก่อนสั่งลั่นไก I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 13 ธ.ค.67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/o-J_p62D40w/mqdefault.jpg)
One thing I forgot to mention in the video - on accounts of they are stupidly rare - is that there IS a filter set that clips on to the front of a Polaroid Impulse camera that gives the camera a few 'special effects', such as prisms, partial blur etc
The Spectra series also had such a filter set, however the Spectra filters are far more common to find
In summary: unless you absolutely MUST have a self timer, or possess a very rare set of OEM filters, the Impulse really has no reason to exist
I have two, one takes terrible pictures (AF not working properly I think) and the other takes very good photos. It's my favourite Polaroid. Love the timer.
the timer really is the only reason to own one of these things. The Impulse AF definitely gets a pass mark purely on timer alone
As for the rest of the Impulse series... there is barely any reason for them to exist
I have two, and both of their autofocus doesn’t work, so they are shelf pieces these days.
@@ytthrowaway4584 I don't plan on repairing mine either when it goes. I paid $30 (Canadian, so $22 US), a bargain for me so far.
You're not wrong. There really wasn't a point to these cameras. It's not smaller than a box camera, it has the same features, the flash can never be turned off, and repairing an impulse is an absolute nightmare. BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE IMPULSE! Sometimes, just a different form factor can make all the difference. The impulse is most definitely one of my favorites!
I honestly alternate between:
"I kinda like the formfactor"
and
"cheeseburger hold is dumb"
The ergonomics are kinda odd in my hands tbh
@@theinstantcameraguythe cheeseburger hold is my favorite
A passionate man with a passionate take! I LOVE my Impulse AF because of not only the self timer and tripod mount but because of the fast acting shutter release. I’ve hit that button with almost every finger haha it’s so light and allows me to stay steady where the shutter release in most classic 600s I tend to shake a bit when my index finger pulls in that shudder release.
You forgot about the *significantly* bigger viewfinder on the Impulse AF vs the Sun 660 (for example).
Does it make it better than the 600 series of cameras? Probably not, but it's hard not to have a soft spot for the Impulse. It's just too bad it was a two steps forward and three steps back type of design.
@@floydtron this is a good point, but one that Polaroid themselves seemed to forget about. All 600 cameras after the impulse went back to the same early viewfinder design lol
Definitely some odd engineering choices for sure
I have a set of creative filters for my Impulse AF SE. It was the only 600 camera that came with these until the New Polaroid came out with the new cameras. I love the funky colors of this series. The self-timer was a win for this.
Now, for the Pronto! RF... that's another story.
That filter set is rather rare!
I hardly ever see them come up for sale
I totally forgot it existed until after I posted the video
I love my Impulse. I have the regular one without AF. Honestly the image quality is just as good as my sx-70. It's pretty impressive to be honest. Sometimes I just put a black tape over the flash so I can shoot with just ambient light.
@@scottchayse6759 oh quality wise they are great
And great bang for buck
I just bought two Impulses, one AF and one SE for $30, mainlt just to have in my collection, the sea blue color is awesome! As for usability... I have the Now+ Gen 2 for 99% of my use cases.
Good looking and unfixable. I think I’ve had some exes describe me that way.
All kidding aside, I like to have an Impulse AF around because they’re a good camera for friends and family to play around with at gatherings. Big viewfinder, timer, and the flash always being on keeps things simple. I think it’s why the basic Instax models now have the flash always on by default-too many people don’t realize how much light instant film needs, and come away with blurry, disappointing photos.
Also, it just looks really cool. The AF model reminds me of the Ferrari Testarossa.
Thats one of the best box cameras... Takes clear and bright images - better than my 660 which I also have. Yes it's plastic without any bolt, but it's easy to repair and has lots of room inside for mods. Open it 5 times and you will know how to do it without damaging anything.
If your 660AF isnt taking photos of the same quality then it may need a service, or its flash output adjusted
Image quality between the two models should be identical
@@theinstantcameraguy Yes flash might be wore out. But remember Impulse has f9 and 660 has f11
@@pokulan I need to look into it... but the aperture value used by a 600/Impulse camera should change according to ambient light sources, and should often be smaller than f9
f9 is just the maximum, and would apply in a dark scene with AF set to a far distance
A close up photo in bright light for example may stop down to close to f45
The cameras really should be very similar to one another
@@theinstantcameraguy Yes its a variable. But AF has pcs lense where normal Impulse don't. I'm not sure about 660.
Still my impressions are that Impulse AF has as sharp images as sx70.
@@pokulan yes
I'm not comparing the Impulse AF to a standard Impulse though
I am comparing to the 660AF
Both the Impulse AF and the 660AF have a triple element plastic lens system with variable middle elements that work in the same way. Image quality should be nearly identical between the two models.
But... I'm struggling to find a primary data source for aperture on both cameras. The repair manual for the later 600AF says aperture is f12, one person says the Impulse is f9, another says a 600 is f14 and the Land List thinks f9 for the 660AF too lol
Sadly factory documentation of the Impulse is not something I have much of, and the online manuals are not very helpful. I need to find an original copy I think
Hi, thank you for all of your videos, very helpful. Really hard to find info about repairing Polaroid cameras. I have a question regarding a Polaroid impulse AF that I try to repair. Basically it makes a noise like a clap when I am turning it on but it doesn’t eject the film or do something else. I managed to open it , verify the components I had access to, motor works fine if i apply 6v at the terminals, flash works if I wind manually the gears…If you have any idea I would highly appreciate your answer. So basically everything works but the system doesn’t.
I live near the old Polaroid H.Q. and had a friend who worked there. I was a huge Polaroid fan, but I'm done with it for now. Every product I've tried has been a total disappointment.
I love my Impulse AF, it was my first Polaroid camera and it is super simple to use and takes great pictures. Great first camera.
But yeah, it's nearly impossible to repair/modify. I wanted to I-Type mod it like I had with my other 600 cameras, but I abandoned that when I found out how hard to take apart these are.
Absolutely love how ugly the Impulse is, hope to collect some of their more rare color ways someday! Love the video!
I think it looks pretty cool in the grand scheme of things
But it wasn't until I did this video that I realized how comparatively crippled the Impulse AF is in so many ways when compared to the 660AF
I collected every color. The flash on my grey one (with Spectra remote port) stopped working. The first charge after a while of disuse takes the normal amount of time, but after that, it turns green instantly after firing. I guess I'll use that one to practice spray painting it yellow.
If you’re ever inside the thing that’s just a capacitor I think
You can not like them, but my Impulse AF takes such sharp photos, and the view finder is so good. The only issue is that Instax film is so much better than Polaroid now I hardly use it.
Can you fix modern polaroids or only classic ones? I have a polaroid now with a fucked up button (plastic looks melted), missing spring for the button and film gets stuck and doesnt go through the door
with parts - yes
If not, feel free to donate it to the channel for parts!
@@theinstantcameraguy the only part missing is the plastic button and the tiny spring for it, besides that the camera is "intact" I dont know where to find parts for it, i'd like it fixed rather than donate it because it is a present for my gf, I bought it second hand and it is spray painted
I used to had a impulse Af, in fact i think it looks rather neet and quirky, I loved it. Unfortunately it broke up miserably, it went berserk and spit out all the film and other faulty electronics, I tryed to fix it but hard work indeed (Im not a clumsy type of person i tend to do this kind of things) when it finaly died i bought a SX70 and i will never look back i coudnt be more happy.
[Press F to pay respects]
My issue with the 600 series is that so many of them have issues with their capacitors. Out of the ten 660s I own, about half can't fire their flash reliably or quickly. None of the Impulse AF cameras I have has that issue. My guess is that the Impulse AF uses better quality capacitors than the 660 cameras.
BTW, you mentioned that the Impulse AF has easy terminal access, so does the 660, if you snap out the plastic clip that holds the strap in place. I noticed that you mod the battery packs by drilling a hole in the camera, why not through the terminal via the strap clip?
@@haxuco because my method is much cleaner, and I can access the rest of the inside of the camera to clean it while I'm in there
Snapping out a clip and running external wires is a totally cringe way to mod the camera when it's otherwise super easy to take apart
All 600 series use high quality Rubycon capacitors. It's highly unlikely that the capacitor has failed. It's much more likely to be one of the numerous other components or ICs
The early "manual charge" 600 series do seem to be slightly less reliable than later models, but otherwise the reliability of later auto charge 600s is identical to the impulse
i just picked up this polaroid at a liquidation/thrift store in canada, it's my first polaroid and was lucky to find some 600 film at my local best buy.. however it was expensive for the film.. more than what the camera costed me, so if you were to make a guide on how to open up one of these bad boys i'd love to see it and try it myself for a i type film conversion. couldn't find any videos on youtube of a teardown of one of these cameras and i would greatly appriciate it
You don't have to make a conversion. As long as you're in total darkness (I use a blanket for good measure), you can slip I-Type into a 600 cartridge for the same effect. It works as intended.
I want one just to have. Would you consider the original sx70 one step like an iPod Mini then? XD
@@fenixlolnope361 I think an original Onestep is a Walkman lol
@@theinstantcameraguy wait are they harder to get inside of? I’ve never opened an sx70 or a real Walkman but iPod minis are actually the easiest ones to break apart and upgrade x3
@@fenixlolnope361 Onesteps and walkmans are easy
the one thing i like about the impulse is one thing i dislike about the impulse, it stores flash charge a bit longer and better than the regular 600s so you can take a photo "on impulse" as i remember the polaroid sales rep sold it to my family backintheday BUT it needs a little more juice to run and its a very shoot your casette empty in a month type of camera and low voltage casettes makes it do all sorts of weird things like yours did. however it is my preffered grab and go, and my collection that i use most oftern is my 680 SE (another one of your very disliked cameras that i disagree with your opinion on) 660 AF 50th, SX-70 Time Zero AF Model 2 thats good for the *one* time a year you can get film for it, and a one step 2 first gen without the viewfinder barrel thats more a showpiece. out of all of those ill grab my impulse for just some general fun "filmwaste" shots
If only there was a self-timer accessory for 600 cameras. Do you think you could mod a self-timer button/switch on a 660?
I know there are mechanical self timers for SX-70 box cameras, but I'm not sure I've ever seen one for a 600
It's definitely possible to mod a self timer into one
I would just need to figure out how. It's not something I have ever played with. But I saw a guy in China do one
I have one, got it for about A$17. It's nice.
for $17 the price is great!
I’ve one it takes great pictures
If you invented a battery pack for the Impulse I'd be interested
@@therhett17 keep your eyes peeled on the channel
Imagine trying to open up a Spectra Pro for a video… The PTSD 😂
The Procam and Spectra 1200FF are possibly even greater examples of "thanks I hate it" than the Impulse is
I lusted after the Procam for so long back in the day, only to finally get one and go "ewww brutha, what's that"
I'm offended and appalled. Great video lol
I'm breaking up with you over this.
@@th1649 I'm sorry bb
For the ipod comparison, big oof. From personal experience, once you get the hang of opening a 6/7th gen it's rlly not that bad. But granted they make special tools for opening them.
And then sometimes it's still easy to scratch the metal or permanently bend one of the clips if you're not taking your time and being careful! Whenever I'm repairing a client's 6/7th gen I always give that disclaimer, but usually their back/face plates are so beat up they either want new ones anyway or don't really care. Better to always say something to cover your ass tho
The issue is it's easy to slip and scuff a plastic panel, or deform the plastic using a spludger
It's practically impossible to deform a classic 600, but the Impulse is much more difficult
It's just super annoying to have a later revision of a product which is inferior in so many ways
@@theinstantcameraguy I believe it. Not tryna knock you or anything, I know ipods more than polaroids. Your decision to not work on the impulse is like mine to not work on the nano, both stupid easy to break
He’s talking about how he has no idea how to overhaul or repair this camera. Its different viewfinder is much more complicated to clean. With the Impulse, there’s a lot going on-you need to open it up, disconnect the flash, and look for the clips holding the flash assembly together. The electronics inside are different, and overhauling a Square 600 is much easier. This guy just can’t handle the Impulse properly, and that’s why he doesn’t like these cameras. 😂
That said, the Impulse is a great camera when it comes to non-SLR models, and it’s much more reliable than the 660AF!
BTW, battery mode looks awful you just destroying old cameras just because you love the AAA batteries -.-
@@FreakSez how to tell me you have very low self esteem without telling me you have low self esteem
12:05 Crossover when??
I'm down whenever Wade is