Rare Medium

Rare Medium is a rare find. Great professional advice and superior repair and sales of Polaroid cameras and schwag. The shop is tucked into a cool neighborhood which adds to the experience. Go here for the real deal polaroid everything.

I really enjoyed my visit to this shop. The owner Cory was very knowledgable and looked at my old landscape Polaroid and gave ma a great estimate on making it a working model. He had some great pieces to see and sells all the film I would need and stores in a fridge which is amazing to me. He knows his stuff and I walked away with a new Diana F+ instant 55 mm that will let me do some lomo 120 and instax. Major win. I would recommend this shop to anyone who loves Polaroid products and great service.

Again, excellent service and information and prices that beat EBAY or anything else. I love to learn from Cory, and he is very patient and willing to help.

The guy there was super informative and helpful. I bought a Polaroid camera at goodwill and he tested it for me and I found out it was broken so I’m able to return it and now I will be going back to buy one of his cameras that he tests for quality and makes sure they work properly.

Great business. Guy running it was so salty, I loved it. I am a noob so fair play.
Will definitely return for more film and fun times.

Knowledgable for sure but HORRIBLE customer service!
I will definitely be looking for somewhere else to buy a Polaroid camera.
They’re too slow and very rude.

Stopped by today after having some troubles with my SX-​70 purchased online. The owner was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He was able to quickly diagnose that my camera hadn’t been serviced as said, took it apart, and brought it back to as good condition as can be had for this vintage camera. He even shared lots of information on shooting and servicing these Polaroids as he worked, which made for good conversation.
He was friendly, professional, and will definitely earn lots of return business from me as I explore Seattle with my camera. I can’t thank him enough for all of his hard work on my camera today!

I tried so hard to shop local. I live in olympia. Getting to your store was not cheap or convenient. Which I guess isn’t your problem. But for God sake. Your sign from the street says open. Online says your open. This has happened twice that I’ve traveled to your store and you were out for personal reasons. Again not your problem but I was excited to shop at your store. I won’t be wasting my time again. Thanks.

Rare Medium is one of those stores that makes a neighborhood cooler — an independent niche retailer with an owner that is super helpful and knowledgeable. Film, cameras, art, and accessories for Polaroid fans — pros and novices.

As an avid film photographer who had, at most, merely coveted Polaroid cameras from afar, finding an accidentally overlooked, pristine condition Polaroid 101 land camera at the Kent Goodwill outlet felt like something out of a dream… until I began to read the reviews online! Half of the articles claimed it to be a worthless pile of junk, and almost the entirety of the other half said that, while not necessarily a worthless pile of junk, it certainly wasn’t worth the trouble.
Yet I couldn’t bear to toss it! I had always wanted a Polaroid, having grown up in the early nineties (yikes), and this instrument seemed to combine my love of the wide format bellows cameras with my somewhat ridiculous childhood dream of finally having *my* own Polaroid. But what to do, what to do…
I Unilocaled Polaroid, found Rare Medium, and met Cory, the owner, who checked out my camera’s mechanics, fixed my shutter, and (very patiently) helped me learn to shoot in a brave new medium (for me, of course :) His store has not just film for all kinds of Polaroid cameras through the decades, but also accessories (I just bought the portrait lens and viewfinder goggles for my treasured find last week)…BUT it ALSO has a really interesting and creative museum-​like display of Polaroids through the decades and a rotating gallery of stunning Polaroids on the wall. I couldn’t imagine anyone, regardless of photographic or artistic background, walking into this store without immediately being struck with the desire to begin shooting with their own Polaroid.
Most importantly, Cory is extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and is the kind of business owner who cares so much about their passion that they will keep the store open late just to explain Polaroids to a complete Polaroid newbie like me or to avert the absolute disaster of a ripped tab on one’s film so that the entire pack doesn’t go to waste. I’m sure I could get my film cheaper online, but with a store like this, why on earth would I ever want to? I highly recommend wandering in – with or without a Polaroid.

I have always loved taking pictures, and film photography has traditionally been my go-​to. The snap and wind, and never really knowing what you were going to end up with until the film was processed. That was, UNTIL I discovered RARE MEDIUM…
This place is legit. Owned and operated by skilled photographers, and what I like to refer to as CAMERA MAGICIANS.
Don’t have a polaroid? Oh that’s not a problem because Rare Medium has you covered! Oh, you can’t find film? Yeah, that’s a drag. Oh wait, Rare Medium has you covered! Oh, you don’t know how to operate the camera? Oh yeah, well guess what?! Rare Medium has you covered.
Seriously, stop reading my cheeky review and go into the place already.

Polaroid heaven!!! The store stocks an amazing selection of vintage cameras, cool mods, and accessories! Owner is super friendly, incredibly knowledgable and totally helpful. If you are in Seattle you’ve gotta stop in here!