Polaroid 500 Instant Film which is also known as Polaroid Captiva film is the instant film type used to Polaroid Captiva SLR Cameras and Also Polaroid JoyCam. Both these cameras were released in 1992 – 1998 and still you can found in Penny shops and also online stores like E-bay. People tempted to buy these cameras because these models now avaliable for dert cheap. You can find a Polaroid JoyCam for less than 10$ in eBay. But The problem is Film for these camera are no longer available. Well Expired Polaroid 500 Film can be bought from some online stores but you can’t be sure those are dead or still workable. Also one of these Captiva film pack would cost you more than 20$ USD minimum. So it’s could be probably waste of money buying one of these cameras unless you want it as a collectable.
People buy Polarod JoyCams without checking if there are film available for these and end up with worthless camera. You can find many ask in Yahoo Answers questions like “Where can I find Polaroid 500 film ?” or “Is fuji instax mini film compatible with a polaroid joycam?“. The answer is no for both questions. There are no alternative for Polaroid 500 film. Fujifilm Instax Mini film is not compatible with Polaroid JoyCam. Also Impossible Project Do not make alternative film for type 500 instant film.
Expired Polaroid Captiva 500 Film
You can find expired Polaroid Captiva 500 Film pack at Amazon where probably the best place to buy these film because these instant film packs has to be kept in cold storage and They do have very good return policy. In Places like eBay they do not offer returns for used or expired items. Also You can’t be sure about how careful they were about storing these film. You can end up with film pack with a dead battery or chemicals leaked inside the pack.
These old film packs on sale for insane prices. Many buy these old packs to find later these don’t work at all. You might want to rethink if you plan to buy any. But, if you are big fan of Captiva cameras then it’s a worth taking the risk. You might get lucky and find a good pack.
Impossible Project Alternative for Polaroid 500 Film
Unfortunately there Impossible Project doesn’t have an alternative for this type. you can’t expect they would ever have either. They only able to salvage machinery for only 3 types of Polaroid film. Type 500 was not among those. 500 film machinery were long gone by that time.
Find an alternative Instant camera
So if you still need a Camera like Polaroid JoyCam then buy a Fujifilm Instax Mini camera model like Instax Mini 90, Instax Mini 8 or the latest one, Instax Mini 70 camera. These camera cost you around 65$ – 100$ depending on model ( Instax 90s is around 150 USD) also film cost you only 0.75$ per shot ! Available an most of camera stores and Photo quality is miles beyond old Polaroid film types like Type 600 or Type 500. You can Credit card size photos and easy to use.
Also now Polaroid has some new instant digital camera models too. These cameras use new Polaroid instant film which is called Zink paper (Zero Ink). Film cost is very low too. There is Polaroid Snap Instant photo camera which cost you less than $100 and There is Polaroid Z340 which is around $250. Z340 camera use bigger 3×4 format photo paper.
Few months ago I bought a Polaroid JoyCam from ebay and thought would find used Polaroid captiva film packs for cheap. Took me a while to realize how wrong I was. There are no cheap used Polaroid film. and Polaroid 500 film packs are long ago. I found few sellers who offer these packs at ebay but for insane prices.
I don’t want to use it everyday just want to see if it’s working or not and also how these photos really look. I guess it’s not gonna happen. Still I only paid less than $10 for this Polaroid Joycam so It’s a nice addition to my antique camera collection.
Yeah. Sadly there are no alternatives for Polaroid 500 film. It’s a unique and small film type so can’t alter the cam to take another type of film either. There was a rumor Impossible Project might start building film for these Joycams but it’s a rumor only. Impossible Project doesn’t have machinery start production line for these type 500 film.
If you want an instant photo camera for daily use and for regular stuff then check these new models like Polaroid Snap, Instax Mini 70 etc. These cameras provide better quality images and film packs are lot cheaper. Also available everywhere.
I nearly bought one of those Joy cams from a Yard Sale. I thought it’s an new Polaroid camera but the guy told me it’s at least 15 years old. I think it might be nice find for an vintage camera collector or one of those Polaroid camera collectors. But I don’t want a camera which doesn’t have film available for it.
Sorry to say Sandra but those Joycams are good as dead. I don’t think it’s worth buying those decades-old film and nobody going to make Polaroid 500 film ever again. Also, it’s not a quite Polaroid camera either. Photo prints were not even good as Polaroid 600 photos. Anyone who has one of those Polaroid Joycams, it’s time to retire it and look for a new instant camera. There are plenty of cheap instant cameras out there in the market.
When I saw this page on Google I really hoped I would get some Captiva film. I guess finally I have to give up the search for Polaroid 500 film and let my Polaroid Joycam start its full retirement among other vintage Instant cameras which has no film available anymore. Polaroid Joycam is not exactly a high quality or an amazing camera. It’s pretty much like one of those disposable 35mm cameras. But it’s a unique model among Polaroid beauties. I have been searching for Polaroid 500 film packs for a long time without success. Found few on eBay but that old expired film looks bit suspicious and asking for an outrageous price. Hmm, another camera is going to be among those old relics.