Instant film camera · 1997

Polaroid Spice Cam

The Polaroid Spice Cam is an instant film camera from 1997 that exposes a 79 × 79 mm frame on Polaroid integral. Its crop factor is 0.39× — wider than full frame, so a 50 mm lens frames like 19 mm. Every number below is calculated for this exact film format.

Polaroid integral0.39× crop
Polaroid Spice Cam camera
Photo: Ryan.WadeMc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
0.39×
Crop factor
79.0×79.0 mm
Image area
6241 mm²
Area · 722% of full frame
1997
Release year

Specifications#

Model
Spice Cam
Released
1997
Film format
Polaroid integral
Image area
79.0 × 79.0 mm
Crop factor
0.39×
Predecessor
Polaroid OneStep
Launch price
$39.99

Specifications merged from Wikipedia. Spot an error? Tell us.

Sensor size compared#

Polaroid Spice CamMedium format 44 × 33 mmFull frame (35 mm)
The Polaroid Spice Cam frame (highlighted) drawn to scale against common formats. Its area is 722% of a full-frame sensor.

Focal length equivalents & field of view#

Multiply any focal length by 0.39 to get the full-frame field of view. For fixed-lens cameras use the real focal length printed on the lens (e.g. “6.1–18.3 mm”), not the 35 mm equivalent.

Lens on this cameraFull-frame equivalentHorizontalVerticalDiagonal
28 mm11 mm109.3°109.3°126.8°
32 mm12 mm102.0°102.0°120.4°
35 mm14 mm96.9°96.9°115.9°
45 mm17 mm82.6°82.6°102.3°
55 mm21 mm71.4°71.4°90.9°
63 mm24 mm64.2°64.2°83.1°
80 mm31 mm52.6°52.6°69.9°
90 mm35 mm47.4°47.4°63.7°
110 mm43 mm39.5°39.5°53.8°
120 mm46 mm36.4°36.4°49.9°
150 mm58 mm29.5°29.5°40.9°
180 mm70 mm24.8°24.8°34.5°
250 mm97 mm18.0°18.0°25.2°
350 mm136 mm12.9°12.9°18.1°

Depth of field table#

Total depth of field at each subject distance, using a circle of confusion of 77.5 µm (the 0.030 mm full-frame standard scaled by the crop factor).

FocalAperture50.0 cm1.00 m2.00 m3.00 m5.00 m10.0 mHyperfocal
56 mmf/1.82.0 cm8.4 cm34.8 cm79.9 cm2.31 m11.0 m22.5 m
56 mmf/2.83.1 cm13.1 cm54.8 cm1.27 m3.87 m26.1 m14.5 m
56 mmf/44.4 cm18.8 cm79.8 cm1.91 m6.42 m568 m10.2 m
56 mmf/88.8 cm38.7 cm1.80 m5.28 m215 m∞5.12 m
112 mmf/1.80.4 cm2.0 cm8.4 cm19.3 cm54.5 cm2.23 m90.1 m
112 mmf/2.80.7 cm3.1 cm13.1 cm30.0 cm85.1 cm3.52 m57.9 m
112 mmf/41.0 cm4.4 cm18.7 cm43.0 cm1.23 m5.20 m40.6 m
112 mmf/81.9 cm8.8 cm37.6 cm87.4 cm2.56 m12.8 m20.4 m
190 mmf/1.80.1 cm0.6 cm2.8 cm6.5 cm18.6 cm75.9 cm259 m
190 mmf/2.80.2 cm1.0 cm4.4 cm10.1 cm28.9 cm1.18 m167 m
190 mmf/40.3 cm1.4 cm6.2 cm14.5 cm41.4 cm1.70 m117 m
190 mmf/80.5 cm2.8 cm12.4 cm29.0 cm83.1 cm3.47 m58.4 m
314 mmf/1.80.0 cm0.2 cm1.0 cm2.3 cm6.6 cm27.4 cm707 m
314 mmf/2.80.0 cm0.3 cm1.5 cm3.5 cm10.3 cm42.6 cm455 m
314 mmf/40.1 cm0.4 cm2.1 cm5.1 cm14.7 cm60.9 cm319 m
314 mmf/80.1 cm0.9 cm4.2 cm10.1 cm29.5 cm1.22 m159 m

Equivalent aperture#

Exposure is identical at the same f-number on any format; equivalence only describes depth of field and total light.

Aperture on this cameraFull-frame equivalent (depth of field)Hyperfocal at 112 mm
f/1.2f/0.5135 m
f/1.4f/0.5116 m
f/1.8f/0.790.1 m
f/2f/0.881.1 m
f/2.8f/1.157.9 m
f/4f/1.540.6 m
f/5.6f/2.229.0 m
f/8f/3.120.4 m

Night-sky exposure limits#

Longest exposure before stars trail. The NPF rule accounts for pixel pitch and is stricter than the classic 500 rule — use it for pin-sharp stars on high-resolution sensors. (NPF needs a known resolution and is omitted here.)

Focal length500 rule
36 mm (14 mm eq.)35.9 s
52 mm (20 mm eq.)24.8 s
62 mm (24 mm eq.)20.8 s
90 mm (35 mm eq.)14.3 s
129 mm (50 mm eq.)10.0 s

Open the NPF / 500 rule calculator →

Handheld shutter speed guide#

The reciprocal rule uses the equivalent focal length. High-resolution sensors may need one stop faster than this for pixel-sharp results.

Focal lengthNo stabilisation (1/equiv. focal)With 3-stop ISWith 5-stop IBIS
62 mm1/25 s0.3 s1.3 s
129 mm1/50 s1/6 s0.6 s
258 mm1/100 s1/13 s0.3 s
516 mm1/200 s1/25 s1/6 s

Frequently asked questions#

What is the crop factor of the Polaroid Spice Cam?

The Polaroid Spice Cam has a crop factor of 0.39× relative to 35 mm full frame (diagonal 111.7 mm vs 43.3 mm).

What size is the Polaroid Spice Cam frame?

79.0 × 79.0 mm (Polaroid integral), an area of 6241 mm² — 722% of full frame.

How long can I expose the night sky with the Polaroid Spice Cam?

With a 52 mm lens (20 mm equivalent) the 500 rule gives 25 s.

Sources & licences#

Last updated October 03, 2026 · How we calculate · Sources

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