Which Polaroid Land Cameras Have Glass Lenses Metal Body and Zeiss Ikon Rangefinder? – Complete Guide

People often ask, which Polaroid land cameras have glass lenses metal body, and Zeiss Ikon rangefinder?

Let’s find out!

Which Polaroid Land Cameras Have Glass Lenses Metal Body and Zeiss Ikon Rangefinder?

Pratica PLC2/ PLC3 are Polaroid Land Cameras that have glass lenses, metal bodies, and a Zeiss Ikon rangefinder. They were made in the UK from 1980 to 1984.

Viewfinder & Rangefinder Variants

There are several different kinds of view and rangefinder systems for folding camera models, but the most common kind is a two-window system where the user first uses a smaller circular or square rangefinder screen to focus, and then later uses a larger non-parallel viewing window.

This viewfinder style has been around since the beginning of the rangefinder line but was eventually phased out in favor of an EVF. It continued to be utilized on some lower-end models until recently.

The second, and least common, kind of viewfinder system was a single-window non-rangefinder variant. It had a focusing system similar to the rangefinder system, but instead of having a rangefinder window, it had a single vertical mark that traveled up and down to indicate where the subject’s distance from the camera would be when focused.

With its focus-on-the-subject view, this viewfinder’s parallax correction feature makes it easy to judge whether the subject has been correctly framed at various shooting distances. It also comes with illustrated instructions on how to get the most out of the focusing mechanism.

The third type of optical viewfinder commonly found in the Nikon F line of cameras is a high-quality Zeiss Ikon designed, single window, parallax corrected combination range, and viewfinder.

Polaroid 100 Land Camera Review — Joseph Saunders Photography

This is the Polaroid 100L and it was Polaroid’s very first roll-and-shoot instant movie camera that was made in 1963-66. We bought this one off eBay for about $30 USD and it comes with its original leather case. So far we have only used one roll of 120 formats and it worked perfectly fine.

Camera Features and Functions

The Polaroid Landscape 100 has a lot of nice things about it that we didn’t have in our other digital SLR. The 100 has a viewfinder focus screen which is very good and then a frame line display for composing your picture.

So you have two screens to look through before taking your photo, which can be a little annoying but trust me it’s not too bad.

The 100 has an f8.8 3-element glass zoom lens that is really sharp also like the Leica Mini we bought it for that reason and also among other reasons because my other digital SLR has a 210 mm f4.5 zoom lens that is pretty much useless.

Now the auto shutter speed is between 10 seconds to 1/12000th of a second and is in manual mode but the great thing about the 100 is the scene selector.

With this, it gives u 2 different apertures for every type of shooting situation which is extremely helpful in difficult shooting conditions since the autofocus eye of these cameras gets fooled easily but We’ve had no problems with it.

You have quite a few options for ASA settings 75, 150, 300, and 3000 but for the majority you’ll probably be shooting at 75 or 3000.

Also, you have the lights and dark wheel which is the cameras’expoeration compensator with a range of -3 to +3. Another one of the reasons for buying this 100 is the tripod socket on the bottom of it which will come in handy if you’re doing long exposures or group photos with the help of a friend or a self-timed remote release.

Lastly, the 100 is completely made out of metal so it weighs a ton but it’s built like a brick house and I’d take this over its sister models and brothers any time.

Battery Conversion

Now, this is something we would highly suggest if you’re planning on taking your DSLR out into the field.  Take the battery out of the back of the body and replace it with a fresh set of AA alkaline cells.

Why? Because the factory-installed rechargeable lithium-ion battery inside the body can only hold so much power before it starts to degrade. And once degraded, it won’t charge anymore.

So, if you’re shooting in low light situations where you’ll need to shoot for hours on end, then you should definitely consider replacing the battery with fresh alkalines.

But what about those times when you just need to get a quick shot off? Well, that’s where the third-party battery packs come in handy. They allow you to quickly swap out the depleted battery for a fully charged one without having to remove the entire battery pack from the body.

If you’re going to use this method, just remember that it won’t last forever and may eventually fall off. However, if you want to permanently attach it, then look into Option 8’s method.

Conclusion

Overall, we think this is a good camera to use and to buy. It has some advantages and disadvantages. We’d suggest buying it if you’re looking for something new.

One is the glass lenses and the range finder but if you want a good range finder and no double viewfinders get the 250 that has the ZEISS Ikon Range Finder (ZEISS is nice!)!

Also, the two aperture setting per ASA setting is quite handy in tricky lighting situations. And finally, the fact that it is metal, even though it weighs a ton, it doesn’t feel cheap at all and it will stand up to anywhere you bring it.

We hope that this guide has been useful. If you have any questions please let us know in the comments below.