Topic: sx-70 help

[formica]

my SX-70 doesn't want to take pictures anymore. when i take a picture there is a click and the viewfinder goes black but nothing happens. no film comes out no noise like it's trying to come out. any ideas what may be up with it? i took a shot with it last night fine, but today...

                        william

[Francois]

I have the same problem with the 2 cameras I bought used...
I sadly can't figure out what's wrong with them...
Maybe the battery in the pack is too weak.
Maybe a capacitor on the circuit just died.
Maybe dust and grime is putting too much resistance on the gears.
Maybe the motor is dead.
Maybe the grease in the motor has seazed up putting too much load on the mechanical parts for it to turn freely.

There are many things that could be wrong, I just have no idea which one it is.
The SX-70 has been called the most complicated thing ever built after the Hubble Telescope...
The more things that can go wrong, the greater the chances that they will.

Sorry, I can't help any...

[formica]

thanks for the response francois, even if it can't solve my problem, at least i know i'm not alone. sadly, i only got to take maybe three pictures with it before it died.

                       william

[This-is-damion]

never fixed mine either!   way over my head im afriad

[Skorj]

my SX-70 doesn't want to take pictures anymore. when i take a picture there is a click and the viewfinder goes black but nothing happens. no film comes out no noise like it's trying to come out. any ideas what may be up with it? i took a shot with it last night fine, but today...

Sounds like your film grabbing finger needs bending down? Long-nosed pliers, about 75% down its length there is a little kink, add a smidge more kink... To verify, add some Scotch Magic tape to the slot in the film pack where the finger does its work, and see if it gets ripped. Use Scotch as it gives way softly, and does not snag the finger.

[formica]

i'm not sure i know what you mean by the finger. the piece of white tape/sticker with red stripes on it? or is it something else?

                   william

[Skorj]

i'm not sure i know what you mean by the finger.

There be a long stainless steel finger on the left side (looking in) of the film cassette slot. After exposure it grabs the bottom right hand corner of the print (looking down). It drags the print about 10mm forward from the cassette so it can be squished between the rollers...

They sometimes loose their tension and glide over the trailing edge of the print, instead of clipping it with a little fishhook thingy you can see when you look into the film slot and up a bit.

A little bend down, so the finger can snag the trailing edge of the print sometimes helps.

Is this SX-70, 600 or Spectra? I get them kinda mixed up...

[formica]

ok, i see it now. i need to find some pliers to try to adjust it some. but the fact that i can't hear any sound makes me think maybe it's a power issue. oh, and it's an sx-70 with 600 film in it.

          william

[Francois]

600 film will only give you a grossly overexposed image in an sx-70.
Apart from the little feet on the bottom, they're exactly the same film pack and battery.
If you hear no sound... not even the click-whirrr of the rollers, that's a bad sign (just like mine).
Bending metal won't do nothing.