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Friday Slide Show: The Speedliner
28 June 2024
It was destined for disposal. You haven't been able to buy film for it since 1992 and that's probably a blessing because the instant film you once could buy was no prize. But at the last minute, we took it home.
On the Vintage Camera Lab site, the Polaroid Model 95A is detailed (reformatted for readabilitu):
Dubbed the "Speedliner," the Model 95A features a homegrown 130mm f8.8 lens mated to a rotary shutter capable of speeds ranging from 1/12 to 1/100 and Bulb.
In order to set exposure, the metal gear on the corner of the lens board can be rotated to select one of eight numbered exposure presets (#8 being the fastest shutter speed with the widest aperture and #1 being the slowest with the narrowest) as indicated in the window located directly above the lens.
To engage Bulb mode, flick the switch located underneath the lens from "I" to "B" then either hold the shutter button (located on the user's right-hand side of the lens board) down or screw a cable release into the socket directly above it.
For composition, users have two choices: flip up the optical viewfinder located on the body or pull the wire frame finder out from behind the lens board.
For low light photography, the 95A is compatible with flash bulbs (through the terminal located below the lens) and electronic flash units (via the sync socket found on the top of the lens board), both of which can be mounted next to the viewfinder.
There were a couple of electonic flash units (one with a diffuser) and a small flash attachment for bulbs include in the handsome leather case.
More interesting to us, though, were the two filters. An orange filter and a neutral density filter. There was also a lens shade with a felt interior held on by friction.
We were about done with the photo session when we noticed a small object mostly hidden by the elastic strap holding it in the case. It was a light meter, made in Germany.
In 1954, the 95A went for about $780 in today's dollars ($89.75 then). You can find them for about $25 now.
It took Polaroid 40 Series Rollfilm, which peeled apart after processing and required a pink waxy coating to be applied shortly after. Here's a video showing how the process works:
We shuddered watching that, rattled by memories of processing our first "instant" photos.
But we enjoyed taking photos of the Model 95A. With an iPhone.
