How much is a Polaroid SX-70 worth?
The folding SX-70 is a specific Polaroid, and it needs film and a camera that ejects. A dead leather skin and a cracked shutter are the condition.
The SX-70 is Polaroid’s folding single-lens-reflex instant camera, sold from the 1970s, with later models and a sonar autofocus version. It is not every Polaroid box camera, and it is not an Instax. The thrift and estate version is a folding body with a peeling leatherette, a mirror you should not touch, and no proof it ejects film. Film for the format has been revived by specialist makers and the availability changes, so check that you can buy film before you treat the camera as a user. A camera with no film supply is a sculpture. A camera that eats expensive film and fails to eject is a loss.
This page will not quote a body price. Sold comps separate tested cameras from untested, sonar from manual focus, and clean skins from peeling ones. The model plate is inside. The buying-used guide applies: the “new” comparison is a current instant camera plus its film, not a fantasy 1974 retail. The photo Worth can take of the closed body is not a test.
What to look for
- The model
- Open it carefully. SX-70, Model 2, sonar, and later SLR variants are marked. A OneStep is a different, non-folding camera. If it does not fold flat into a flat pack, it is not an SX-70. Do not force a swollen pack.
- The skin
- The leatherette peels at the edges and on the door. Shrinkage that pulls at the seam is condition. A camera that has been recovered in new material is recovered. Say so. Original peeling is more honest than a gluey half-repair.
- The glass and bellows
- Look at the lens for fungus and cleaning marks, and at the bellows for pinholes if you can see them with a light. A cracked eyepiece and a corroded battery contact in the film door are the usual faults. The film pack is the battery on many of these. No pack, no power.
- A test
- The real test is a pack of the correct film: it opens, meters, ejects, and the picture develops. If you did not run that test, the camera is untested. Untested is a legitimate word and a lower price.
What moves the price
- Tested ejection
- A camera that ejected a frame is worth the user market. A camera that was not tested is a gamble, and the film to gamble is not cheap. Put the word untested in the title or put the test photo in the listing. Do not do neither.
- Variant
- Sonar autofocus and the earlier manual-focus bodies have different buyers. Chrome and colored specials need their own comps. A Model 2 with a plastic skin is not a deluxe chrome body.
- Condition of the skin and glass
- Peeling can be repaired by people who do that work, and the repair has a cost. Fungus in the lens may not be worth the repair. Show both. A pretty closed photo hides the door.
- Film supply
- If the film is unavailable or priced like a luxury the week you sell, say what film it takes and let the buyer decide. Do not imply it uses Instax. It does not.
Where to sell
- eBay
- Tested cameras with a photo of an ejected frame, or untested with that word. Pack the folding body so the latch cannot pop. A crushed SX-70 is a refund of a delicate object.
- Local
- Good for untested bodies and for cameras with heavy peeling, so the buyer can open the door and look at the contacts.
- Pass
- A swollen, locked, or badly impacted body is a parts camera. Do not pay a tested price for one you cannot open.
What a photo can settle
Closed, open, the model marks, the lens, the film door contacts, and the peeling. Worth can recognize a folding SX-70. It cannot know the camera ejects, and it cannot see fungus behind a dirty viewfinder if you did not photograph the glass.
Questions
- Does an SX-70 use the film I see at the drugstore?
- Usually no. It takes SX-70 film, which is a specific integral film, not Instax and not every modern Polaroid pack. Check the current film maker’s compatibility list before you buy a camera to use. Stocks change.
- The leather is peeling. Is the camera dead?
- The skin is cosmetic and structural only in the sense that shrinkage can stress the covering. The camera can still work. Disclose the peel. A test still matters more than the skin.
- Should I open the shutter myself?
- Do not take the camera apart to look impressive. The mirror and the shutter are easy to damage. Open the folding body the way it was designed, look at the lens, and stop. A repair tech is cheaper than a broken SX-70 you caused.