Impossible B&W 2.0 Film for 600

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Pros Images emerge quickly and fully develop in five minutes. High-contrast look.

Cons Expensive. Prints take on a sepia tint over time. Bottom Line The Impossible B&W 2.0 Film for 600 is a huge step forward when compared with the company's first-generation monochrome instant film. It delivers more consistent results with higher contrast, but it's pricey.

By Jim Fisher Impossible has been doing its best to keep old Polaroid cameras shooting with reformulated instant film. I took a look at some of the first-generation films last year, and while I preferred the black and white to the color, there were still issues: long development times, the need to shield the film from light as it exits the camera, and inconsistent results in terms of exposure. The new B&W 2.0 Film ($23.49 per eight-shot pack) is a huge step forward, with a more modern high-contrast look, more consistent results, and an image that instantly starts to develop in front of your eyes. Its major drawback is cost—it's just under $3 per shot—and photos can take on a sepia tint as time passes. But if you're willing to pay for it, and don't mind a tinted image, you'll be happy with the results.

The film is currently available for 600 series cameras, which means that its sensitivity to light is rated at ISO 640. If you've got an SX-70, you can employ a neutral density filter to use 600 film in your camera, or just wait for Impossible to release the film in an ISO 125 sensitivity version that will meter properly in an SX-70. Impossible is selling it with a white, black, or silver border.

I used the film with an old Polaroid Autofocus 660 camera. When I tested the same camera with first-generation monochrome film, I found that exposures could be a bit inconsistent. Some of my outdoor shots were noticeably overexposed, and while indoor shots illuminated with the flash were better, they had a low-contrast look. In addition, haze could be an issue if I didn't manage to perfectly block light from hitting the film as it developed. I do appreciate the lower contrast that the older film shows—it'd be great if Impossible ended up marketing both low-contrast and high-contrast monochrome films to suit different tastes.

With the new film I was still contending with a bit of overexposure for outdoor shots (the camera does have a slider to dial in negative or positive exposure compensation, but I left it set at the standard value when shooting). That said, I was able to shoot the last frame in a first-generation film pack (above) and switch to the new 2.0 film to shoot an identical scene, shown below. The new film did a much better job preserving highlight details, and showed deeper blacks as well. And, best of all, you don't have to block it from light as it develops—the image starts to emerge in a matter of seconds after it ejects from the camera, and fully develops in five minutes.

My images were strictly black and white, without tint, for at least a few days after shooting. I shot a bunch of images on a Friday and Saturday, and digitized them the next day. But when I went back to review the original shots for this review about two weeks later, the photos had taken on a slight, but noticeable, brown tint—essentially a sepia tone. They were stored at room temperature in a box, along with the single first-generation image I shot along with the bunch. The first-gen shot was still strictly black and white, without any tint. Whether or not this sepia look is a plus or minus is a personal preference, but for a film billed as black and white, it's a downside in my eyes.

You're not limited to using the film in a camera. It can also be paired with the Instant Lab Universal. The Instant Lab uses your smartphone or tablet's screen to project images onto the film, which may appeal to photographers who want to be selective about what photos are presented.

In a world that's built more on sharing photos online than physical photo albums and gallery exhibitions, you'll likely want to digitize your instant photos. Impossible has an app for Android and iOS devices that makes it easy to use your phone's camera to do so, although the quality leaves a bit to be desired. You can also use a flatbed scanner, but unless you use some sort of spacer to keep the film from physically coming in contact with the scanner glass, you'll have to content with Newton's rings. For the images in this review, I used a Nikon D810 mounted on a tripod, with a macro lens pointing straight down onto a table, and an Elinchrom monolight shooting through an umbrella to illuminate the scene.

Given its cost per shot, the Impossible B&W 2.0 Film for 600 isn't for the casual shooter, and unless you have deep pockets, it's not for high volume use. But if you're a fan of the look that instant film can produce, and have an affinity for old Polaroid cameras, it's worth the cost of entry. It shows more contrast than the first-generation film, does a better job preserving highlights, and develops quickly. The real sticking point for some shooters may be the sepia tint that images develop over time. If you're looking to just digitize and share images online, it's not a big deal—desaturating a photo is a simple matter—but if you want to preserve images in albums or exhibit in a gallery, you may be turned off by the look. But, even with that issue (or feature, depending on your point of view), the B&W 2.0 Film is a unique product in the marketplace, and a very charming one at that. It's expensive, but it's worth trying if you're an instant film aficionado.

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