Polaroid SX-70

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Introduced in 1972 by Polaroid co-founder Dr. Edwin Land, the Polaroid SX-70 was the first folding single-lens reflex (SLR) camera to use self-developing integral film. Eliminating the messy peel-apart waste of earlier instant cameras, the SX-70 ejected a dry, white-bordered print that developed automatically in daylight. Named 'SX-70' from Edwin Land's Special Experiment No. 70 notebook, the project required massive R&D investment—reported at roughly $750 million in 1970s dollars—to fold a reflex optical path flat enough for a jacket pocket. Land famously ordered 10,000 red and yellow Kees Nelis tulips from the Netherlands for the April 1972 shareholders' meeting demonstration. Charles and Ray Eames produced a 1972 short film explaining the SX-70's mechanics and design. Folding metal-and-leather SLR body (680 g) with a 116 mm lens, 0.30 m minimum focusing distance, and custom Fairchild/Texas Instruments control electronics.

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