Shutter of a Quad polaroid passport camera

arnoud bakker · May 2, 2024

hello you all,

I bought this quad camera , actually to use the
huge shutter for ulf projects,
for now the 4 lenses are connected to it, but does anybody have an idea how to remove the shutter,
and... is it usable for 1 lens, the construction looks a little odd to me...
Anny one ever tried this?

Donald Qualls · May 2, 2024

I believe there are four separate shutter leaf sets in that shutter, and possibly no aperture control. The passport cameras were intended to be used with controlled lighting and to make the four exposures one at a time -- so the four shutters will trip independently or sequentially.

arnoud bakker · May 2, 2024

aperture is in the lenses from 6.3 to 22, the shutters can be separated by covering the lens, but the shutter opens at all of them, not separately , they open and close from the inside out, actually it is one big shutter, but... is there an ax in the middle, or is it one big shutter divided in 4 lenses?

Don_ih · May 2, 2024

Perhaps, since you bought it, you could show some pictures of the shutter?

I have an ID camera that has two shutters - so that's in line with what Donald said.

Donald Qualls · May 3, 2024

Okay, there may have been different setups on different passport cameras. Certainly some could have been set up to make two or four images at once, since passport submission has at times required two copies of the same image (one to go into the physical passport and the other to go on file).

If the shutter opens from the center out, and then closes the same way (center out) it might well be a set of four angled slots in a single rotating disk. That would be the simplest, most reliable, and least expensive way to make it (IMO).

xya · May 3, 2024

Have a look at this website https://www.polamad.com/polaroidshop-studioexpress.html it gives you an idea how many setups there have been...

ic-racer · May 3, 2024

Pictures?

Dan Fromm · May 3, 2024

xya said:
Have a look at this website https://www.polamad.com/polaroidshop-studioexpress.html it gives you an idea how many setups there have been...

That's nice, I guess, but the photos don't show the cameras' internals so give us no information about how many shutters each camera variant has, or how large they are.

OP, my first reaction, very unkind, is that you're hallucinating. This is unkind and may be wrong. Please post a photo of as much of the shutter assembly as you can see.

Luckless · May 3, 2024

If you can figure out which specific model you have, you can try searching for a related repair manual for an overview of what's inside without having to disassemble it.

Shutter Cocking Lever; Removal; Replacing Shutter Cocking Lever - Polaroid M402b Repair Manual [Page 20]

Polaroid M402b Manual Online: shutter cocking lever, Removal, Replacing Shutter Cocking Lever. Removal 1. Remove The Front Cover Assembly (Figure 2-1). 2. Using A Pair Of Small Needle Nose Pliers, Gently Remove The Clip And Washer That Secure The Return Spring To The Plastic Post At...

www.manualslib.com

From the image in the above link, it looks like the M402bMiniPortrait Camera for example uses a single plate with holes for each lens, and a fixed single speed shutter. But I've only quickly skimmed through it.

xya · May 4, 2024

I have the repair manuals of quite some Miniportrait cameras. I can't publish them here as I don't know anything about the copyright of these. AFAIK the New Polaroid Company claims to have bought ALL copyright from the old company and they are a PITA concerning copyright (I'm part of a french Polaroid forum and they have caused us severe headaches).

The Miniportrait series is the later series with some advanced features, but the basics seem to be the same. There are 2 different approaches to get the 4 (or 2) passport photos. One consists of an assembly of 4 blades with 4 square or polygonal openings which are shifted against each other to make aperture and shutter.

The other approach are rotating disks with aperture holes and shutter blades. The axis is in the middle, so you can't make a big shutter of either approach.

I think I have a spare part assembly somewhere in my cases, there are more than 100. I will try to look for this within the next 2 weeks, but I cant promise anything...

arnoud bakker · May 5, 2024

this is the camera, on the explodedview it looks like one big shutter, and it can operate like one. But I feel insecure about the perforated frame in front and on the back of the shutterleafs. the Sutter might not close entirely... ( and I'm afraid to ruin it... )any suggestions? it is a total different shutter than most of my passport cameras .

Don_ih · May 5, 2024

That is indeed one large shutter. The metal with the 4 holes is merely a mask so probably comes out very easily. I say strip it down - it's pretty much useless as a camera on its own. If you can make use of the shutter, rescue it.

Don_ih · May 5, 2024

arnoud bakker said:
the Sutter might not close entirely.

I think it does. I think that is a Number 5 Ilex shutter.

xya · May 5, 2024

Yes, this is completely different from Polaroid cameras and it seems to be a large shutter that closes entirely. So go for it...

Dan Fromm · May 5, 2024

Don_ih said:
I think it does. I think that is a Number 5 Ilex shutter.

View attachment 369794

Agreed. Nowadays used #5 Ilexes are quite expensive. I doubt they were inexpensive when new. That the camera maker chose to use them is surprising.

I suspect that it has no diaphragm, so will be most useful with lenses in barrel that have diaphragms. I have a similar Compound #5, well, not exactly, it is "cock and shoot" while the Ilex is self-cocking, but the idea is the same.

arnoud bakker · May 17, 2024

no, the shutterblades are adapted....

Hewa · May 30, 2024

You can find quite some more info on this camera on camera-wiki.org. This camera was sort of the incentive for Cambo in Kampen, the Netherlands to design a much lower cost shutter mechanism for this passport photo business, and resulted is their Cambo Multishot cameras, later Polaroid MiniPortrait cameras.

arnoud bakker · May 31, 2024

Dank je Hewa,
Ik had deze site in de tussentijd reeds gevonden, onderzoek in de camera heeft uitgewezen dat de sluiterlamellen aangepast zijn, te klein om zonder het '4-gaten passepartout' te kunnen functioneren.
ik heb de sluiter open gehad, en het oogt allemaal net te complex om er 1 bruikbare grote sluiter van te maken... dan moet ik zelf sluiter lamellen gaan maken... ( kan dat overigens? weet jij dat? dat je met een bouwtekening een laserbedrijf lamellen laat lazeren uit dun metaal?) bedankt voor je reactie.

Shutter of a Quad polaroid passport camera

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