Problem with SX-70 ejecting film

[mdwsta4]

Recently picked up an SX-70 which appears to be in great condition. When I put a fresh pack of Impossible film into it the camera ejects the dark slide no problem. However, when I go to shoot a frame, the mirror gets stuck in the up position and a print does not pop out. Only way to fix it is to pull the pack at which point the shutter resets itself. If I don't put in a fresh pack and/or replace the dark slide, when putting the pack back in the camera it will spit out the first piece of film so I don't think the problem is the pick arm. It does not matter how hard or how long I press the shutter button (this seems to be the only comment I can find online regarding a fix for this issue).

Am hoping for some suggestions on how to fix the problem. Stumbled upon these two videos on YouTube which appear to be the exact same problem. Any help?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCS8U7oKkfY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBlQlIUnpo


Thanks!
Matt

 

[BillBingham2]

Feels like a battery issue. I'm not sure but I remember something about impossible project and batteries (they used to be built into the film pack I think).

Mine was an Onyx and it was fun having a camera with the top cover see through....

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

B2 (;->

 

[Blind_spark]

Sorry for your frustration!

It does not matter how hard or how long I press the shutter button (this seems to be the only comment I can find online regarding a fix for this issue).

If it's like the videos it's probably an electrical problem with your camera. It's doubtful that, if the fresnel/mirror seems to "slap" the back of the camera and the shutter opens like in the videos, that not holding the button is the issue here.

A working SX-70 shutter maxes out at ~14 seconds, but I've had a few poor preformers that went as long as 30 seconds. So in good lighting (or pointed directly at a light-source) put the film in the camera, eject the darkslide, press the shutter, and see if it ejects the film after that span of time. If it does, that camera is working but has a degraded electric eye. If not, something is electrically amiss elsewhere.

In any case, try to find one that works or send in the one you have to be repaired. Hope that helps!

EDIT: You can use an empty film pack as well, as long as it has an ok battery - the camera doesn't know any better =).

 

[robert blu]

I'm not a real expertise but is the pack of film fresh? The battery is contained in the film pack and if this is old it's possible the battery has power to eject the first frame but than has no more power for the others photos. Just my idea, suggestions from Blind spark makes sense as well.

Good luck!

robert

 

[madNbad]

Send it to Second Shot SX70 Service. For not a big investment Matt Widman will give it a good CLA and fix any problems.

 

[mdwsta4]

Thank you all for the replies. The film pack is fresh directly from IP so the battery should not be an issue. The camera can spit out a dark slide (or top print if I remove the dark slide) without issue every time I insert it into the camera. If the battery were bad, would the camera still do this?

The first time I went out and attempted to take a test shot the camera definitely would have sat for more than 30 seconds while I tried to press the shutter button again and again and overall fumble around with the camera trying to get it to work.

Unfortunately I do not have any empty film packs (another default response by seemingly everyone online). Chances are 2-3 of the shots on my current pack are now ruined so between the dark slide and the top few prints I've more or less been treating this pack like it's empty.

I'll ask around for quotes to repair it and be on the lookout for another working camera. Thanks.

 

[BLKRCAT]

clean the terminals inside the camera.

If that doesn't work then it could be an issue with the circuitry of the camera. I had a model 1 die from this. If dead, its dead and is only good for parts.

 

[Mackinaw]

Both IP and Mint service/repair the SX-70. From what I understand, both do top-notch work.

Jim B.