Polaroid i-Type B&W

The i-Type B&W is the monochrome version for the current Polaroid Now camera system. Same pack-without-battery design as the i-Type Color; same incompatibility with older 600-series bodies that pull power from the pack. The emulsion is ISO 640, high contrast, slow to develop fully.

Contrast is the defining characteristic. In the zone system sense, this emulsion compresses the lower zones quickly and clips the upper zones early. Zone V (middle gray) renders fine; below zone III and above zone VII the detail falls off fast. For street photography and environmental portraits where graphic punch matters more than tonal nuance, that contrast works. For anything requiring shadow detail or smooth highlight gradation, it is the wrong tool.

The Polaroid Now's built-in flash fires automatically in low light, which gives you a different look than forced manual shooting. Flash-lit i-Type B&W has the flat, even quality of on-axis light, which reads as documentary. Available-light shots with the flash disabled or in situations bright enough to keep it off look grainier and moodier; the higher contrast accentuates the limited shadow detail.

Reciprocity exponent is 1.0, and Zone Light Meter applies that calculation past one second. In practical terms, the Now camera will hold the shutter open for several seconds in very dark scenes before the auto-exposure system gives up. At those exposure lengths, Zone Light Meter's correction is applied, though the flat 1.0 exponent means the correction is linear rather than the accelerating correction you see in conventional silver-grain films. Development: 5 to 10 minutes by Polaroid's spec, longer in cold conditions.