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The Polaroid Automatic 100 Land Camera is the first model in Polaroid’s 100-400 series of folding rangefinder cameras, produced from 1963 to 1966, and holds historical significance as the first mass-produced camera to feature an electronic shutter, as well as the first Polaroid camera to use pack film. Named after Polaroid co-founder Edwin Land, it introduced a faster, simplified instant photography workflow that made it a consumer favorite at the time of its release.
Optically, the camera uses a 3-element glass lens with a 114mm focal length and f/8.8 maximum aperture, delivering notably sharp results for a folding instant camera of its era. The electronic shutter offers a wide range from 10 seconds to 1/1200 second, with fully automatic aperture-priority exposure controlled by an electric eye. A scene selector switch provides two different aperture settings per film speed setting, giving photographers some manual influence over exposure in tricky lighting situations, with settings available for film speeds of 75, 150, 300, and 3000 ASA.
The camera features a folding bellows design that collapses into the body for compact storage, along with a hinged viewfinder assembly using separate windows for composing and focusing, a design later replaced by a combined Zeiss Ikon rangefinder/viewfinder in higher-tier models within the same series. The viewfinder includes projected framelines with automatic parallax compensation to aid accurate composition.
The Automatic 100 was the first Polaroid camera to use 100-series pack film, a flat, drop-in film pack that simplified loading compared to Polaroid’s earlier roll-film cameras, producing prints with an image size of approximately 2 7/8 x 3 3/4 inches. The camera runs on a 532 3V battery to power its electronic shutter and light meter.
Key Features
– Folding rangefinder instant camera (100-400 series, first model)
– 3-element glass lens, 114mm f/8.8
– Electronic shutter (10 sec to 1/1200 sec) — first mass-produced camera with this feature
– Automatic (aperture-priority) exposure with electric eye
– Scene selector switch (two aperture settings per film speed)
– Film speed settings: 75, 150, 300, and 3000 ASA
– Separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows with parallax-compensated framelines
– Folding bellows design for compact storage
– Uses 100-series pack film (first Polaroid camera to do so)
– Powered by 532 3V battery
