A bad polaroid day

[robert blu]

I just received a few Impossible B&W films for my SX70. I took out the camera and...it does not work anymore. Something in the viewfinder ore in the mirror mechanism does not work. I cannot fold it anymore and I cannot see through it. Black, real black :bang: Already brought the camers to the lab which usually takes care of my old cameras but they will close for holidays next week till september. And just said that it is very unlikely they could repair it 😡
robert
PS: I still have the 600, the 340 and the pinhole polaroid...

 

[giulio stucchi]

Ciao Roberto,
rispondo in italiano...se non si chiude e vedi "nero" direi che lo specchio si é bloccato "aperto" nella parte alta dell´interno macchina.
Puoi provare a toccarlo e farlo scattare facendo pressione attraverso la gomma della camera oscura. non é detto che si sblocchi e non si riblocchi piú ma se non ricordo male anni fa una della tante sx70 che mi erano capitate sotto mano aveva lo stesso problema, per un pó ha funzionato dopo questo tipo di "riparazione" ma non é durata tanto 🙂 buona fortuna!
Giulio

 

[charjohncarter]

Too bad you are in Italy, I have a Polaroid One Step Close up with flash you could have. It is perfect and I would like it out of the house. Free except for postage.

 

[Godfrey]

Call the Impossible Project folks. I believe they have a list of shops that can do repairs/refurbishment on the SX-70 for you. Although you can still find very nice condition ones from Ebay for around $70-100 from the USA.

G

 

[robert blu]

Grazie Giulio, ho provato il tuo suggerimento ma no ha funzionato. Anch'io credo, deduco che lo specchio si sia bloccato. Non ho mai visto il meccanismo interno e non ho idea se qualcosa si sia rotto.
robert

 

[robert blu]

@ charjohncarte: Thanks John for your offer, but too far away.
@ Godfrey: yes, I'll contact them. Meantime I'm looking for another camera, just in case.

What is bad is "this" sx70 was a present from a friend who died a few years ago and a good memories are tied.

 

[vdonovan]

Robert, the problem is that the mirror is locked up. This can happen when someone takes a shot on a film pack with an almost-dead battery.

First thing to do is to clean the battery contacts. Open the film door, spray some contact cleaner on a toothbrush, and then clean the copper contacts on the bottom of the film compartment with the brush. You might need to do this several times over a period of days if they are dirty, or you may not need to do it at all.

Next, insert a fresh film pack, like the one you just got from Impossible. This should make the mirror go back down. If not, hit the shutter release, which also should help.

If this doesn't work, then the camera is indeed broked. We send ours to Aperture in Cleveland for repair.

Good luck!

I just received a few Impossible B&W films for my SX70. I took out the camera and...it does not work anymore. Something in the viewfinder ore in the mirror mechanism does not work. I cannot fold it anymore and I cannot see through it. Black, real black :bang: Already brought the camers to the lab which usually takes care of my old cameras but they will close for holidays next week till september. And just said that it is very unlikely they could repair it 😡
robert
PS: I still have the 600, the 340 and the pinhole polaroid...

 

[dave lackey]

Wow, Vince, that sounds great!

There is hope for Robert's SX70 after all!

 

[Godfrey]

{battery issues} .. Next, insert a fresh film pack, like the one you just got from Impossible. ...

Indeed. I keep a couple of recently used film-packs around so I can cycle/test my cameras without wasting film (at about $4 a shot, wasting film is an expensive habit). The batteries usually last about ten times as long as the 8 shots in the IP film pack call for.

And yes, these cameras are becoming old and getting a little more prone to problems. I recently acquired another SX-70 and an SX-70 Sonar. The Sonar seems to be in perfect shape, the standard SX-70 needed a tweak to the film door latch so that it closed properly again (it had become loose and jiggled around a bit).

I'll test them both in the next week or so, but they seem to operate well and I can have them as backups when needed.

G