2026-06-09 Polaroid J33 Camera

The Polaroid J33 was the camera that replaced the earlier “80” series of twin-roll cameras in 1961. These electric-eye cameras were made until 1963. They used ASA 3000 Black and White film that made 5.4 x 7.3 cm (2⅛  by 2⅞ inch) prints. The prints had to be coated with a clear solution after they were peeled out of the camera. We will return to the film—particularly in respect to the advantages when using flash—soon.
    For now we should comment on the surprising drum shaped rotary shutter this camera used. This “shutter” provided speeds from 15th to 1000 sec. Unlike almost every other camera, the J33 hasn’t taken the photograph when you hear the shutter “click”. The click is the release of the drum and sometime after that the exposure is made. This is stressed in the printed instructions—so must have been a quite a problem training new owners how to operate the camera.
    The camera’s lens is simple and operates at a fairly small aperture as a matter of trying to tame that awesomely fast film. As a result the camera has just two focus choices. When initially pulled open the camera will capture everything over 5 feet.

    Pulling the camera bellows to a slightly further detent will allow you to capture items from 3 to 5 feet. Correction in the viewfinder helps you frame close-ups. It is cleverly handled with a single square in the top left corner of the frame. The close-up frame is everything—down and right—you see touching the lower right corner of the inset square. 
    Past erecting the camera’s bellows and framing the shot here are quite a few steps to make a photograph. To see if you can take a picture, you have to check the pointer displayed in a small cut-out in a projection on the front standard (visible in your viewfinder). 

    A red needle will show against a clear arrowhead. If the pointer is not visible, or shows to the left of the center, you can shoot. If the pointer is in the center or to the right of the center you must use flash.

    When you shoot—pushing a large red button marked 1—you immediately cock the shutter with a front mounted white button labelled 2. Then you throw a blue lever labelled 3 on the back of the camera (up near the viewfinder).

    Nothing has been done to start the film processing yet. You are simply setting up the pulling of the film to start its processing. Holding the camera exactly as instructed you lift the cutter bar, pull the paper film backing horizontally out of the camera, lower the cutter bar and then rip the protruding strip off. 
    All this has started the film processing inside the camera. After the proscribed developing time you can open the camera back’s inset print door and lift the print out of the camera. This print has to dry, be straightened if curled and then be coated with the supplied lacquer.

    Now on to the flash!

    There is a built-in flash that takes AG-1 flashbulbs. To truly master the flash possibilities of the J33 with ASA 3000 film takes pages in the instruction book. 

    To cover some of the points—

1. usually—when in rooms with ceilings no higher than 12 feet—you would use bounce flash.
2. you can point the swivel flash at a 45º angle to combine bounce with reflection off a nearby wall.
3. you can use the flash direct when you can’t bounce—when you are outside—but the Lighten/darken control must be adjusted this way —

Extreme darken 2 m / 6-7 feet
Mid-mark Darken 3 m / 8-10 feet
Normal         4 m / 11-14 feet
Mid-mark lighten 5 m / 15-20 feet
Extreme lighten over  6 m / 20 feet

For extreme close-ups at about a meter (3-5) feet you would rotate the flash reflector to the aforementioned 45º angle and twist the bulb’s reflector so the light comes from a single drilled small hole. The Lighten / Darken control has to be set to “Lighten”

Not much mention can be found about using this camera with the promised colour film. There is a yellow dot on the camera’s lens surround that will be used as the footage point on a provided scale for direct flash. 

    The J33 can be used with 120 film if you can master a couple of techniques. 
In the light you have to attach a 120 roll of film to a take-up spool.

 

    Open the camera’s back to expose the twin wells the Polaroid roll film set in. 
    In the dark wind the 120 film until the film is stretching between the spools and place the film into the camera’s film wells.

Close the intermediate "flap" and then close the camera back. You are ready to take a photograph.
    After the first photo you have to return to the dark to open the camera’s back to wind the film on for the next shot.
    There is the little problem of how to expose 120 roll film using a camera basically built around ASA 3000 film. There was a conversion kit so the colour film could be used but it is pretty hard to find. So you have to find ISO 3000 120 roll film or maybe expose each frame at least five times to get a correct exposure. Or use neutral density filters…

    Of course direct flash with the bulb’s reflector pointing right at the subject might work too!

    The camera came in a leather shoulder case.

    The case also had this business card—