Strange issue with Polaroid SX-70

philcameraman · Jul 19, 2020

I recent picked up an older foldable SX-70 from the 70s, and it looked to be in decent shape. But there's one issue I havent seen other people have that seems to be making my photos not turn out.

When I press the shutter button, I hear a click, but a photo doesn't eject. I have to press the shutter a second time, and then a photo ejects. When it ejects the photos are hazy and look almost like they've been taken with a longer exposure. And the whole photo has a orange/reddish tint to it. I took one photo outside in bright sunlight and it was totally a wash, just a white picture like it was overexposed. I've included one of those pictures to demonstrate the issue. You'll see there was also a weird problem with bright lines of light appearing on the film.

I'm shooting with 600 film using an ND filter. Would love any insight or guidance, and any questions.

Truzi · Jul 19, 2020

I can't really say. Some of these cameras will act weird as they get older.

Those bright lines of light are from moving the camera when the shutter is open. The camera generally won't eject the film until it feels it has enough light exposure - it gives you no control over shutter speed. The only control you have is the knob for more or less exposure (darker/lighter).

It could be a problem with the camera or with the film combination and ND filter.

ic-racer · Jul 19, 2020

Battery bad? Maybe try another film pack.

awty · Jul 19, 2020

Ghosts!, Ive seen enough b grade horror movies by now to know a possession when I see one. Defiantly see a dark shadowy character in the foreground and ghost floating about. Polaroids are very susceptible to this. Best perform an exorcist..... or it could just be a sticky or lagging shutter.

Andrew O'Neill · Jul 19, 2020

I had nothing but issues when I stuck in some of that 600 film and the ND filter. Went back to SX-70 film, especially the B/W stuff. Pretty nice.

Donald Qualls · Jul 20, 2020

Your camera is in long exposure mode. Have you checked that nothing is blocking the metering cell? Alternatively, there may be an issue preventing the shutter from fully closing, and until the shutter cycle completes, the camera won't eject the print.

Sounds like you might need to decide whether it's worth $125 (vs. rolling the dice again on another one) to send the camera off to the repair shop in New York City. I've got one I need to send in -- works, but it's forty-plus years old, and needs a new skin.

Alan9940 · Jul 20, 2020

FWIW, here's another company that does SX-70 repair: https://retrospekt.com/collections/repairs

I've not personally had an SX-70 repair with these folks, but I've heard good things. And, they re-calibrate the light meter to ASA 160 to match the actual speed of current Polaroid SX-70 film; no more fiddling around with the exposure dial! Unless, for creative purposes, of course.

Donald Qualls · Jul 20, 2020

Alan9940 said:
https://retrospekt.com/collections/repairs

I should contact them about mine, see if their pricing or lead time is any better than the Impossible/Polaroid shop in NYC.

Edit: repair cost is about 40% above what I was quoted a couple years ago from Impossible. Might still be worth it if their lead time isn't bad. Especially since they also do 600 conversion.

Truzi · Jul 20, 2020

Alan9940 said:
FWIW, here's another company that does SX-70 repair: https://retrospekt.com/collections/repairs

I've not personally had an SX-70 repair with these folks, but I've heard good things. And, they re-calibrate the light meter to ASA 160 to match the actual speed of current Polaroid SX-70 film; no more fiddling around with the exposure dial! Unless, for creative purposes, of course.

Mine seems to be working well, but this is a tempting thought.

philcameraman · Jul 20, 2020

Donald Qualls said:
Your camera is in long exposure mode. Have you checked that nothing is blocking the metering cell? Alternatively, there may be an issue preventing the shutter from fully closing, and until the shutter cycle completes, the camera won't eject the print.

Sounds like you might need to decide whether it's worth $125 (vs. rolling the dice again on another one) to send the camera off to the repair shop in New York City. I've got one I need to send in -- works, but it's forty-plus years old, and needs a new skin.

Yeah I've come to think that's the issue. The camera is now ejecting photos after one press of the shutter, but even in fairly well lit rooms the exposures are really long so the images come out poorly. Where is the light meter located in the camera? I wonder how difficult it would be to clean it from home.

Donald Qualls · Jul 20, 2020

It's the little round window -- if you're looking into the lens, it's to the right, the lighten-darken wheel surrounds it. It's not all that hard to get the front cover off, but unless you have experience with cameras and electronics, I'd recommend against it. If you're not just covering the meter window with a finger when you shoot, it's probably an electronic problem that requires specific knowledge and tools to fix.

Coldstored · Apr 6, 2021

I'd suggest you try to clean up the metering cell. Perhaps there's some separation in the lens, but that is hard to say if the focusing has not been set correctly.

rulnacco · Apr 29, 2021

If your own efforts to repair your camera don't work, I can highly, highly recommend Retrospekt. They refurbished a Polaroid SLR680 for me, and it came back looking and working great--and they ship it to you in a really classy black box. Good, reasonably fast, pretty reasonably priced work.

Strange issue with Polaroid SX-70

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