I took a long lunch hour to visit my friend Dylan and family again so I could try out the the Polaroid 550 back that I got that morning from the Mail-Santa.

Now that 8x10 Polaroids are no longer being made*, the 4x5 Fujifilm is the largest instant peel-apart film you can get until someone rescues the larger format from oblivion.

The size difference between this and the medium format Fuji instant that I normally use with my 6x7 system is not huge but it is still significant: about a thousand more pixels square to work with on my scanner. As for the back, it works the same way as other Polaroid pack-film backs; only slightly larger. In measurement terms this is 3 1/4 x 4 1/4" vs 4" x 5".

Of course, I also used the instant print for its intended purpose and that is to provide a quick preview of the exposure and lighting situation before committing to a negative. Though really there is nothing complex here since it was just window light (with silk diffusing it held helpfully by relatives). I just needed to see if this thing worked before giving feedback on that nasty auction site.

Some time today, I'll develop a couple more shots and we'll see how much the instant preview helped.

*barring any success from The Impossible Project.