5x4 Polaroid back problems.

Fourtoes · May 23, 2010

Ok I got hold of a 545i holder and some t55 film to give my new MPP VII a go this weekend.

Do you think I can even get film to load into it? Can I heck.

Followed all instructions on holder. Arm at L position, rollers are all clean. The end of the film gets just past the rollers and then just stops tight.

The only thing I can think of is that the film release button R is jammed. At the moment it is in rather than out. Is this correct. It doesnt change if I move the arm from L to P as I assumed it should.

The two metal clips/clamps at the other end of the holder that I assume hold the end of the metal strip on the polaroid film in place are in the down position.

I hope you guys understand what I mean and can shed some light on a rather crappy reintroduction to film photography.

Thanks in advance.

Tony

KenS · May 23, 2010

Fourtoes said:
Ok I got hold of a 545i holder and some t55 film to give my new MPP VII a go this weekend.

Do you think I can even get film to load into it? Can I heck.

(snip)
Tony

Tony,

You probably have an 'end clip' from a previous film envelope stuck down in the end of the holder that is preventing the holder from 'catching' the bottom end of the 'new' envelope you are trying to insert. A pair of 'fine' pliers should assist in its removal. The 'captured end clip' is NOT that obvious to see... you may have to disassemble... but it can be often done with fine pliers without such drastic action.

The first time I encountered the same problem, I was almost driven to distraction.

Ken

Fourtoes · May 23, 2010

I can see the two holes with the metal clips/teeth that must hold on to the end clip of the film. There doesnt seem to be anything beyond that.

Any ideas how I take it apart. I can remove the rollers adn theres two screws near that.
There ar also 3 micro screws in the film plane area. Anything else I should know before I rip it all apart?

BenZucker · May 23, 2010

ok, put the holder on the table with the film side facing you, put one hand on the flat part of the holder, use the other to lift open the rounded part (with the roller), this will expose the rollers. you can then undo the hooks on either end of the top roller to lift it open and make sure everything is clean in there. After that look on the side of the holder. there is a clip on each of the long sides of the holder that keep it pressed together, with your finger nail you can pull these clips off (start pulling from the side that faces the lens) after you pop these off you can lift off about half of the holder. this is where you will see if there is anything stuck in the bottom of the holder (perhaps a clip from an old packet of film,etc) Hope fully this made sense. you should be able to figure out whats going on after you take it apart a bit. its not as involved as it sounds.....

Fourtoes · May 23, 2010

Ben you are a star. Those clips I hadnt noticed. I have done as you suggested and the R button just popped out. On moving the arm from L to P and back the R button pops back out again.
Excellent.

Now off to waste another sheet of t55.

back in a mo.

Fourtoes · May 23, 2010

Ok I hate it.

Film went in easy straight away. Click at the end. Set up and pull out the envelope.

Now here a question does just the one side of the envelope pull out or both sides?
Both came out. So I expose and try to push envelope back in. Goes most of the way and the last inch just gets stuck.

Oh the wonders of digital imagery.

At this rate I wont have any polaroid left so it'll not matter at all.

My other question is maybe I have a dodgy batch of t55.
The way its loaded it looks as if it it exposes through the positive onto the negative. Surely this is backwards. It should expose through the -ve film onto the +ve paper??

Rick A · May 23, 2010

Fourtoes said:
Ok I hate it.

Film went in easy straight away. Click at the end. Set up and pull out the envelope.

Now here a question does just the one side of the envelope pull out or both sides?
Both came out. So I expose and try to push envelope back in. Goes most of the way and the last inch just gets stuck.

Oh the wonders of digital imagery.

At this rate I wont have any polaroid left so it'll not matter at all.

My other question is maybe I have a dodgy batch of t55.
The way its loaded it looks as if it it exposes through the positive onto the negative. Surely this is backwards. It should expose through the -ve film onto the +ve paper??

Both sides should come out and stop without seperating from the rest of the assembly. After the shot, push the envelope back in, then switch the lever to P , while holding the lever with your thumb, steadily pul the envelope out. Let the film develope according to the time/temp chart on it, then peel apart, and marvel at the magic of it all.

BenZucker · May 23, 2010

ok, this is how it works, you push in the film till it clicks. the click is the clip locking into the holder . when you pull the paper tab up the negitive is the only thing that stays in the holder to be exposed. you expose the film, push the paper sleeve back down, flip the leaver to process (which also hits the "r" button) the r button is what releases the clip and allowes the whole packet to move out of the holder as one unit. make sure that you are loading the film in the right way (it says on it that (this side faces lens) on only one side of it, so be sure that you have it right.

Fourtoes · May 23, 2010

Hi Rick,

Both sides did come out, so thats ok. But couldnt get it all the way back in.
After switching to P and pulling out the envelope comes out closesly followed by the negative seperately.

All replies greatly appreciated.

Fourtoes · May 23, 2010

Ok, Had another go.

Worked fine. Envelope out and then pushed ALL the way back in, switch to P and pulled, came out as one piece. Shame it was overexposed?...........Back to the drawing board tomorrow.

Thanks for the help people.
I'll let you know how I get on.

MVNelson · May 23, 2010

I think you are getting your R ,L and P steps out of sequence. The big thing is to be sure that when you Load (L) is open and the film goes all the way in and latches at the end. This does required a pretty good push at the end of sliding it in. You must then slide the envelope out by just holding the the tab on the card that says pull here. Then expose. Then really push the envelope very firmly back in(not daintily) then switch the lever to release and carefully slide the entire assembly out . There is a "how to " on the web but I forgot the site name. Google will get you there ....

John Koehrer · May 23, 2010

Don't you love the little "gotcha's" with unfamiliar stuff?

Fourtoes · May 23, 2010

MVNelson. Nope got the right sequence. Its written on the back of the polaroid holder.

John - Gotchs's is a great way of putting it.

I'll have another crack at it tomorrow. It all seems to be working correctly, now just got to get a proper exposure and dev. Thats assuming that the film is ok. I was told it was stored flat and refridgerated.......but then who knows.

Thanks for the help again.

bdial · May 23, 2010

Keep in mind that if you're exposing for the negative (why else shoot 55?), the print will look light (over exposed).

Also, by now most T55 is probably well on it's way toward dodgyness, of the last thee sheets I tried to shoot only one was successful, and that was a couple of years ago. The other two stuck to the inside of the envelope and I couldn't pull it out to make the exposures.

Another tip, for most cameras, it's easier to process with the holder off the camera. Push the envelope down, take the holder out of the camera, then switch the lever to P and pull the envelope. Finally, if you're not near a convienient place for clearing the neg, you can extract the envelope without processing, then do the processing when you get back to home base. Of course, you loose the instant feedback that way.

sarahfoto · May 23, 2010

Fourtoes, you have my sympathie...I bought a dodgy holder on ebay where the end clip of the polaroid gets stuck all the time. All joyful to try my new toy I wasted many fiftyfives before figuring out the problem. It didn't help that I thought it a great idea to try pinhole polaroids in the evening after a few glasses of wine. Finally after some great instructions from Apug readers I took the holder apart and together again and figured out part of the problem. The packet of Polaroid 55 are still in my fridge and I don't dare to open to see how few are left...
Good luck!
-Sarah

BenZucker · May 23, 2010

just so you know, with type 55, you want the print to be a bit overexposed if your goal is to get a good neg to print from.

Fourtoes · May 23, 2010

I was thinking of rating it at iso 40.

And Sarahfoto if your not using that t55 please feel free to send it my way.......

sarahfoto · May 23, 2010

Sorry Fourtoes I am working on my curage and this week I found a new tenat for my darkroom who happens to own a large format camera so maybe, just maybe, I might dare to touch that scary box very soon...
Sarah

Fourtoes · May 23, 2010

Worth a try.

Fourtoes · May 24, 2010

Thanks people. this morning I managed to exposure a sheet of t55 properly with the 545i back. Only took 4 attempts. So I shant be wasting anymore film...phew. (hopefully)

Granted this mornings shot was nothing special just the back yard thorugh my kitchen window.

The +ve image, do I wipe all the crap from around the edges or just let it dry as is. And then caot with this rub on waxy stuff that came with it?

BrianShaw · May 24, 2010

Only 4 sheet to get it right... that's not bad. I remember "wasting" more than that! It's all a learning experience. It's just too bad that it is now more expensive than ever before!

The goop should have come off with the separator paper. If not, wipe it off... it's a nasty, caustic stuff that probably doesn't get any friendlier with age. It should wipe off with the coater. If you don't coat the print it will start degrading rather quickly.

BrianShaw · May 24, 2010

Oh... and a hearty congratualtions to you on your success.

bdial · May 24, 2010

Don't use the coater on the negative, it needs to go into a sodium sulfite solution. The print may not look like much if the neg is properly exposed, so coating it probably won't matter.

Fourtoes · May 24, 2010

The -ve I just soaked in salt water, just to see what happened as I have no Sodium Sulfite.
The water turned a purple colour and the neg looks pretty good.

Thanks again for the help.

Anscojohn · May 24, 2010

Fourtoes said:
Hi Rick,

Both sides did come out, so thats ok. But couldnt get it all the way back in.
After switching to P and pulling out the envelope comes out closesly followed by the negative seperately.

All replies greatly appreciated.

***********
Take it from a user of the old MP-4 copy camera. When putting the film in, use both hands, one on the top and one on the bottom of the sheets. Kind of "walk" the sheets in, using small increments, to obviate crinkling the paper. Do the same after the film has been exposed and you are putting the cover sheets back in.

5x4 Polaroid back problems.

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