1972
Instant SLR
Folds to one inch

Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera

Name: Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera
Brand: Polaroid Corporation
SKU: SHOP_CAM_VINT_POLAROID_SX70_20260605
Price: 1600.0 AED
Availability: InStock

The only single-lens reflex you can fold flat and slide in a jacket pocket.

The SX-70 is the camera that made instant photography fold flat. Edwin Land's brief was absurd on its face: a true reflex camera, focusing and metering through one glass lens, that collapses to the thickness of a slab of chocolate and spits a finished, self-developing print out the front. Open it and a whole optical path unfolds: the body racks up into a wedge, a stack of mirrors and a Fresnel screen carry the image up to the eyepiece, and you focus the 116mm f/8 lens by thumbing a wheel on the front, watching it snap in through the finder.

Everything after the shutter press is theatre. The mirror slaps, the leaf shutter shwinks, and the motor whirs as a pair of rollers squeeze the integral print through the slot and into your hand: no peeling, no timing, no waste sheet. The Electric Eye runs the exposure on its own; your only input is the lighten/darken wheel for tricky light. Then the whole thing presses shut into a leather-and-chrome brick you can pocket.

It rewards good light and a steady hand: the fixed f/8 lens loves a bright day, and the close-focus down to ten inches is its signature trick: a face or an object rendered with a shallow, dreamy fall-off no boxy OneStep can touch. Fifty years on, a working SX-70 still feels like a small piece of engineering science fiction.

Match

Who this is for

Good for

close-up portraits
instant prints with shallow falloff
collectors
people who love a mechanical ritual
carrying flat in a pocket

Character

What it feels like to shoot

Shoot one and the ritual is the point. Folding it open feels like arming something; the focus wheel is precise but the f/8 finder is dim, so you hunt a little in low light, and shooters who wear glasses fight the eyepiece. The reward is the close-up: racked down to ten inches the SX-70 renders a face or an object with a shallow, dreamy fall-off no boxy OneStep can touch. The print emerging with that motorised whir is the most satisfying sound in instant photography.

The quirks are real and worth knowing. The film is expensive and unforgiving, the original has no built-in flash, and the bellows must not be squeezed when you hold it. Original chrome-and-leather bodies are the ones to seek; later versions in black or white plastic, and the Sonar autofocus models, wear a 'SONAR' badge on the front and trade some of that jewel-like feel for convenience.

Born 1972

History of the Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera

The SX-70 was the first instant SLR and the first camera to use Polaroid's integral film, the self-contained pack that develops in the open air with no peel-apart negative. Edwin Land drove the project; Henry Dreyfuss's firm shaped the final chrome-and-leather body. It spawned a long line (the budget plastic Model 2 and Model 3, the Alpha 1 with its tripod socket and strap lugs, the SE, and from 1978 the Sonar OneStep models that added ultrasonic autofocus), and its integral-film idea became the template for every Polaroid that followed, right up to the instant film Polaroid still makes today.

Technical specifications

MFG. 1972 – 1981

Format

Instant SLR (SX-70 integral film)

Manufacturer

Polaroid Corporation · United States

Production

1972 – 1981

Lens

116mm f/8 four-element fixed glass lens, focusing to 10.4 in (26.4 cm)

Metering

Polaroid 'Electric Eye' automatic exposure: a photocell sets the electronic shutter; a thumbwheel on the left of the deck lightens or darkens by up to about a stop and a half

Viewfinder

Single-lens reflex: you compose and focus through the taking lens, the light folded by a stack of mirrors and a Fresnel screen up into the pop-up eyepiece. Original bodies used a plain matte screen; later ones added a split-image focusing aid

Shutter

Electronically timed leaf shutter, roughly 1/175 s down to more than 10 seconds, set automatically

ISO range

Fixed to the film: original SX-70 integral film was rated about ISO 160 (modern Polaroid i-Type/SX-70 stock runs near ISO 160)

Flash sync

Flashbar / disposable bulb array (no electronic hot shoe on the original)

Exposure modes

Automatic (Electric Eye) with lighten/darken override

Dimensions

Folded approx. 100 x 175 x 25 mm (a flat slab roughly one inch thick); rises into the reflex wedge when opened

Weight

640 g

Power

None to buy: every SX-70 film pack carries its own battery.

Backed by GPP

Service & guarantees

Every analog camera ships through our bench

This unit has been fully serviced and CLA'd: cleaned, lubricated and adjusted, with shutter, meter and light seals checked, and it is in confirmed working order. Inspected at GPP; ask us about this exact body.

CLA'd by GPP: shutter speeds checked, light seals replaced where needed, meter calibrated against a known reference.
7-day functional return: if it doesn't work as we declared on this listing, we exchange or refund. Wear-and-tear consistent with the listed condition isn't returnable.
UAE & worldwide shipping: Dubai same-day before 12 PM (AED 50), UAE-wide in 2–3 business days (AED 40), international tracked in 5–10 business days (calculated at checkout). Insurance can be added on request. Customs and import duties are the buyer's responsibility on international orders. Full shipping policy.
Walk in to inspect: Warehouse D36, Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz, Dubai. Mon–Sat, 10am–7pm. Bring a roll if you'd like to test-fire on the spot.

Questions

Things people ask

What film does it take?

Standard 35mm film. We carry the widest selection in the Middle East: colour, B&W, and slide across consumer, professional, and cinema stocks. Need a recommendation for this body? Just ask us.

Is the camera serviced before sale?

Yes. Every analog camera at GPP goes through our bench before it goes on the listing. Shutter speeds verified, light seals replaced where needed, meter calibrated against a reference.

What's your return policy?

7-day functional return. If anything we declared isn't working as described, contact us within 7 days of receipt for a full refund or exchange.

Can GPP develop and scan the photos I shoot with this?

Yes. Our in-house film lab handles colour, B&W, and slide development with scanning. 24-48 hour rush available. More on the film lab.

Can I see the camera before I buy?

Always welcome. Visit Warehouse D36, Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz, Dubai. Open Monday to Saturday, 10am–7pm.