Building a Polaroid Back for the Mamiya RB67

There's nothing quite like the feel of a Polaroid image in your hands. If you've run out of FP-100C and long for the days of shooting instant film on your medium format rig, all hope is not lost.

In this video, the wonderful Jess Hobbs shows us how to assemble the Analogue Studio conversion kit for the Mamiya RB67. Once complete, the kit enables you to shoot Polaroid integral film with your RB67. It's not quite the same as pack film, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Jess runs through all the items that you'll need for this project, most of which you'll find around the house. The two big-ticket items are the conversion kit and an Impossible Instant Lab. Jess provides an overview of what's involved, stressing that this is not a detailed how-to video. I was a little shocked to discover that part of the process is ripping apart the Instant Lab — something definitely not for the faint-hearted.

What I really like about this video is the way that Jess overcomes an issue she had while assembling the kit, but still manages to get back on track with some innovative thinking. The video finishes up with Jess and her RB67 in the field, shooting wonderful Polaroids in rural Canada.

Have you shot Polaroids with your medium format rig? Which conversion kit did you use? Were you happy with the results?

Matt Murray is a travel and portrait photographer from Brisbane, Australia.

Matt loves shooting with compact cameras: both film and digital. His YouTube features reviews of film cameras, film stocks, and travel photography with the Ricoh GR III, Fujifilm X100V, and Olympus OM-1.

See more of Matt's photography and writing on his Substack.

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2 Comments

That was fun to watch. She is a refreshing personality. Great results too, did not expect that. Thanks!

She certainly is! I love watching Jess's videos :)