Author Topic: This Is Without Doubt The Most Important Topic On Filmwsters!! (Read 21034 times)

Ed Wenn · « **on:** March 19, 2012, 04:44:52 PM »

S.O. Bl**dy S.

My Land Cam 360 (yes, that one...the only camera I use) has stopped working. I'm clinging to the edge of this tall building and considering letting go and ending it all.....I call on the geniuses here at FW to talk me down and give me hope that the 360 may yet be saved.

(cup of sugary tea to steady nerves. deep breath. the tale begins)

Mechanically all is well. The fault seems to lie in the Magic Eye area (and I don't mean the one you may have encountered in those shonky meditation classes you went to last year). When I take a photo, I can't get the shutter to stay open more than the minimum....like if there was no battery in the camera.

I initially thought I had a flat battery, but I swapped it out and still nothing.

I then thought it might be the very basic homegrown battery mod that I use, but I put the battery (avec mod) in the other part of the dual battery holder and the back timer light came on just fine. So I think that this means the battery is fine, the mod is fine and the battery holder is connected to the rest of the camera just fine too.

Happy to be challenged on the above assumptions, but if they're correct, what does that leave me with?

A fault on the PCB or something similar? A fault with the wiring from the Magic Eye to the rest of the camera? A fault with the Magic Eye itself?

Thoughts?

Photo courtesy of Mind_in_Motion.

Francois · « **Reply #1 on:** March 19, 2012, 07:44:40 PM »

You bet it's an important post!
Ed without Polaroid is like toast without butter, like Winter without snow, like.....

My best bet would be to say that one of the solder joints broke somewhere in the camera. This happens often in older cameras, mostly at wire junctions. PCB's are usually not affected by the problem. As for the magic eye, it's a CDS cell, something that doesn't tend to go bad as fast as the old selenium cells.

You might have to do a bit of tracking with an ohm meter and see if continuity is a problem somewhere in the system. Not always easy to diagnose.

astrobeck · « **Reply #2 on:** March 19, 2012, 08:18:19 PM »

I can be of no help whatsoever, but surely hope there is a good fix for you Ed.
I shiver to think the camera is broken.

Mike (happyforest) · « **Reply #3 on:** March 19, 2012, 08:34:28 PM »

Ed

Found this link which may be of use:-

Repair Manual Polaroid Land Camera Model 360 Revision I - September 1970

Good Luck!

Mike

Pete_R · « **Reply #4 on:** March 19, 2012, 08:54:17 PM »

Quote from: Mike (happyforest) on March 19, 2012, 08:34:28 PM

Ed

Found this link which may be of use:-

Repair Manual Polaroid Land Camera Model 360 Revision I - September 1970

Good Luck!

Mike

You have to have a Scribd account and then either pay or upload something to download that manual. I've got an account and have downloaded it if anyone wants it. Just pm me an email address and I'll send it. I might download the other manuals there as well.

moominsean · « **Reply #5 on:** March 19, 2012, 09:46:47 PM »

time to retire it and get a real camera, like a nikon d3100 or something!

Randy B · « **Reply #6 on:** March 19, 2012, 11:36:52 PM »

You may need to consult to polaroid doctor, Mr. Option 8. This is indeed troubling news...

moominsean · « **Reply #7 on:** March 19, 2012, 11:57:32 PM »

Haha some around here aren't too fond of option8!

Ken B: eyes, I just do eyes. · « **Reply #8 on:** March 20, 2012, 12:32:26 PM »

Quote from: Francois on March 19, 2012, 07:44:40 PM

You bet it's an important post!
Ed without Polaroid is like toast without butter, like Winter without snow, like.....

My best bet would be to say that one of the solder joints broke somewhere in the camera. This happens often in older cameras, mostly at wire junctions. PCB's are usually not affected by the problem. As for the magic eye, it's a CDS cell, something that doesn't tend to go bad as fast as the old selenium cells.

You might have to do a bit of tracking with an ohm meter and see if continuity is a problem somewhere in the system. Not always easy to diagnose.

+ 1 with what Francois said

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #9 on:** March 20, 2012, 12:44:40 PM »

Thanks everyone for the feedback to date. I'll pursue the route that Francois and Ken have suggested.

Luckily my father-in-law is an electrician (well, actually he's a physicist who designed and built electrical components for scientific experiments that were sent into orbit on satellites, but he does stuff on earth too

), so I may use one of my plastic lensed Land Cams for the next few weeks until I see him next.....or I could go with the LF and a 405 back.

Paul Mitchell · « **Reply #10 on:** March 20, 2012, 02:50:59 PM »

Ed - I hate to see a man without a cam so you're more than welcome to borrow my 600SE for a few weeks... I can hand it over to Leon at the weekend if you're interested? Comes with the 127 & 75mm lenses too!

Francois · « **Reply #11 on:** March 20, 2012, 03:21:29 PM »

Yesterday, while looking through the Apartmenttherapy.com website, I stunbled onto this:
http://landcameras.com/

The guy does repairs and upgrades... though by looking at the price he sells his cameras, I think you'd better look elsewhere!

Phil Bebbington · « **Reply #12 on:** March 20, 2012, 09:27:59 PM »

Quote

Ed - I hate to see a man without a cam so you're more than welcome to borrow my 600SE for a few weeks... I can hand it over to Leon at the weekend if you're interested? Comes with the 127 & 75mm lenses too!

I'm sure that Jacqui or the children will love to carry for you

I only use mine when Jan is feeling up to it

Jack Johnson · « **Reply #13 on:** March 21, 2012, 06:51:31 AM »

I'm going to stop hanging out on FW:

http://www.circlerectangle.com/?p=497

It comes in threes, doesn't it?

jojonas~ · « **Reply #14 on:** March 21, 2012, 07:05:28 AM »

jj: don't leave! you make the odds worse for the rest of us

ed: sad to hear about this. hope you get your beaut fixed right up soon

landcameras · « **Reply #15 on:** March 21, 2012, 03:33:12 PM »

Ed,
This is Cory, the owner of landcameras.com. I noticed you FW'ers going to the site in the logs so I thought i'd see what all the commotion is about.

Did you get your camera fixed? From your description it still could be one of about 6 things. Relay your latest findings and i'll see if I can help from here. If you've given up i'd be happy to do it in shop. Despite Francois aghast at the price of my hourly wage, you'll find my repair services reasonable. Especially for a simple issue like this. The beauty of the electrical/mechanical hybrid cameras is their simplicity, the problem can't be too far away.

Nice place y'all got here, I'll take a look around
-Cory

LT · « **Reply #16 on:** March 21, 2012, 04:08:17 PM »

Hi Cory

Welcome to Filmwasters - we're really glad you like the site. I've no doubt that Ed will be in touch with you, thanks for the generous offer of your sagely advice on all things instant

I hope you've managed to take a look at our Housekeeping board and in particular the following thread:

http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=70.0

To be fair, I think Francois was referring to the price of cameras on your site, rather than your repair rates - but these things are all relative. If people are buying them at that price then you are clearly valuing them correctly

I'm looking forward to seeing some of your pictures

Chris A Fraser · « **Reply #17 on:** March 21, 2012, 05:09:14 PM »

Welcome Cory

I have heard top notch things about your work on cameras. I almost bought a camera a few years back, but found a great deal on a Polaroid 195.

I can speak first had, that your images are stunning (from when you posted stuff on JPG) See the weekend threads.

I hope you stick around and join in here.

landcameras · « **Reply #18 on:** March 21, 2012, 05:41:42 PM »

thanks for the welcome guys! long time no see Chris.. small world eh?
I took a wince with the mention of actually using the cameras. I've been so heads down in building them and opening up the retail store for the past year that I've hardly had time. I'm gunning for this community to help change that for me. My engineering brain too easily drifts off into the technical bits of photography and takes over.

So lets get this party started! All of these with my 195

Francois · « **Reply #19 on:** March 21, 2012, 08:45:35 PM »

Welcome Cory.

Actually, I'm not a good yardstick when it comes to pricing stuff. The most I paid for a fold-out polaroid (a simple 315 with the head-o-meter focus) was something like 10$. I modded it myself to use standard alkalines.

I also got a few hard bodied ones I got for cheap...
Granted they're not the nice glass lens ones with the Zeiss-Ikon finder but they work good for me and my budget.

landcameras · « **Reply #20 on:** March 22, 2012, 03:55:07 AM »

Cheers Francois - cameras can be had for estate sale prices for sure. I just put hours into making these the best they can be. I don't want to cross any lines on my first day at a new hang out so I'll leave it at that. long live film, as well as the instant kind. If anyone is ever in Seattle, come pay us a visit on capitol hill. I think its the only store in the country devoted to Instant only cameras and film.

oh and Ed, what was that about your broken camera before this thread gets hijacked anymore?
-Cory

LT · « **Reply #21 on:** March 22, 2012, 08:21:26 AM »

great shots Cory

Especially the middle one.

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #22 on:** March 22, 2012, 09:54:58 AM »

Hi Cory. Thanks for joining in and inquiring about my ailing camera

I'm going to get my father-in-law to check it out when I next see him. I live in London, UK so can't really justify sending my 360 all the way over to Seattle to get it fixed....although it's nice to know that that's an option.

On my upcoming holiday (assuming I find any time to shoot) I'll use my LF or one of my MF cameras with a 550 or 405 back....maybe even delve into my dwindling stock of Polaroid sheet film and use the 545 holder. So, no worries there. My itch can still be scratched and there's no immediate panic. As long as the 360 gets fixed eventually I'm happy enough.

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #23 on:** March 22, 2012, 10:02:00 AM »

Quote from: Paul Mitchell on March 20, 2012, 02:50:59 PM

Ed - I hate to see a man without a cam so you're more than welcome to borrow my 600SE for a few weeks... I can hand it over to Leon at the weekend if you're interested? Comes with the 127 & 75mm lenses too!

Paul, that's a very generous offer...thanks a million. I may take you up on it if I don't get the 360 fixed in the next few weeks, but in order for me to take a camera to Cornwall I'd need to meet up with Leon in the next few days....and that's not going to happen. So, no worries. Also, I'd be concerned that I might not want to give the Goose back to you, so that's another reason not to borrow it. But again, thanks for the very generous offer.

Chalky · « **Reply #24 on:** March 22, 2012, 01:26:16 PM »

Hijacking the thread again...

where in Cornwall are you going ed?

I'm in St Agnes on the North Coast.

If you're coming this week the weather is looking good

Have a great holiday!

Diane Peterson · « **Reply #25 on:** March 22, 2012, 02:11:45 PM »

Landcameras...welcome..I will definitely check you out next time in Seattle..I am only about 6 hours away!! glad to know where you are!!

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #26 on:** March 22, 2012, 02:18:54 PM »

Quote from: Chalky on March 22, 2012, 01:26:16 PM

Hijacking the thread again...

where in Cornwall are you going ed?

I'm in St Agnes on the North Coast.

If you're coming this week the weather is looking good

Have a great holiday!

Chalky, we'll be in Crackington Haven (near Bude)...and we're not going next week, but the week after. I hope the weather holds!!

Francois · « **Reply #27 on:** March 22, 2012, 02:36:49 PM »

I just wish I could send the weather we're having over to your place!
For once, no freezing and no snow. Balmy 23°C, sunny. Just plain nice. I've never seen such nice weather in March!

landcameras · « **Reply #28 on:** March 22, 2012, 02:46:11 PM »

Quote from: Ed Wenn on March 22, 2012, 09:54:58 AM

... so can't really justify sending my 360 all the way over to Seattle to get it fixed...

umm yeah don't blame you. The 360 has a bit more that goes wrong with it than the others. One of the first is very delicate battery wires. Hope your uncle can bring 'er back.
-Cory

Chalky · « **Reply #29 on:** March 22, 2012, 11:31:21 PM »

ahh Crackington, lovely part of the county, hope you enjoy. I'll keep fingers crossed the good weather continues for you.

I am sure you know where and what you want to do as I am sure you have visited before (and posted pice here I think), but if you want any ideas for things to do feel free to shout...

euge... · « **Reply #30 on:** March 23, 2012, 12:25:49 AM »

Im afraid I cant help with the landcam.I am however still in pain over my drowned gr1s and a wrecked canon lens that i loved,both lost in different pursuits of a dennis the menace-like 6 year old that Im responsible for.
If your father in law cant breathe life back into your 360 then we'll have to rent a church hall ,form a support group ,stage an intervention and talk about it.

Jack Johnson · « **Reply #31 on:** March 23, 2012, 03:58:11 AM »

Quote from: Diane Peterson on March 22, 2012, 02:11:45 PM

Landcameras...welcome..I will definitely check you out next time in Seattle..I am only about 6 hours away!! glad to know where you are!!

North, south, or east, Diane? I used to live in Bellingham.

Welcome Landcameras! And ditto the next time I'm back in the Pacific Northwest.

Diane Peterson · « **Reply #32 on:** March 23, 2012, 02:44:28 PM »

Jack..I am near Lewiston Idaho...but seriousely out in the sticks..not being an Idaho girl ( from the Seattle area) anthing too far away from Nordstrom is out in the sticks for me..

My son lives near Seattle so I do get over there on occasion. How many hours are you from Seattle?, I guess by air cause driving would be a long way off!

Phil Bebbington · « **Reply #33 on:** March 23, 2012, 11:51:32 PM »

Quote

I am near Lewiston Idaho

I drove through there in 03 - I need to get back!

Jack Johnson · « **Reply #34 on:** March 26, 2012, 05:21:50 AM »

Quote from: Diane Peterson on March 23, 2012, 02:44:28 PM

Jack..I am near Lewiston Idaho...but seriousely out in the sticks..not being an Idaho girl ( from the Seattle area) anthing too far away from Nordstrom is out in the sticks for me.. My son lives near Seattle so I do get over there on occasion. How many hours are you from Seattle?, I guess by air cause driving would be a long way off!

I'm about 4 or 4.5 hours by air, and several days by car.

Google says 2,267 miles or so, but I'm only about 50 miles from a Nordstrom's so I have you beat.

What would be more entertaining would be to see how far either of us have to drive to find a fourth store that carries 120 film. For me, I suspect it's nearly 1,000 miles, and that might be a gamble. My gut says 50 miles to #1 in Anchorage, 350 miles from there to Fairbanks for #2, 590 miles from there to Whitehorse for #3 (I should Google that), and then a gamble on Juneau another 230 miles on for store #4.

Like Phil, it's been years since I've been in your neck of the woods, since '98, but I remember being somewhere just east of there in rolling hills, grassland chest-high, stopped at a gas station near nothing else at sunset, and if I could go back in time with my camera addiction it would be a thumbtack in the map, for sure.

Jack Johnson · « **Reply #35 on:** March 26, 2012, 03:17:27 PM »

Quote from: Jack Johnson on March 26, 2012, 05:21:50 AM

What would be more entertaining would be to see how far either of us have to drive to find a fourth store that carries 120 film. For me, I suspect it's nearly 1,000 miles, and that might be a gamble. My gut says 50 miles to #1 in Anchorage, 350 miles from there to Fairbanks for #2, 590 miles from there to Whitehorse for #3 (I should Google that), and then a gamble on Juneau another 230 miles on for store #4.

I lied. I realized this morning in the shower there are three stores in Anchorage that carry 120. Two are photo labs that keep some random stock on hand. So if store #4 is Fairbanks it's not so bad.

I did email the one non-drugstore photo lab in Whitehorse that Google turned up and they said no luck.

Diane Peterson · « **Reply #36 on:** March 26, 2012, 05:36:00 PM »

Jack...I am actually in McCall, Idaho house/cat sitting while my daughter is on a round the world vacation..after five weeks I am ready to head home..

I can actaully buy 120 in Clarkston..45 miles from my house but I stick with Freestylephoto in L.A. and I can also get this film if need be in Boise..they have a couple stores down there that sell and process 120..but again, they are actually 5 hours from my home..about 2 1/2 from where I am right now..
Whitehorse...hmmm..I actually have old photos somewhere from the mid to late 40's..my father taught heavy equipment operations to the Army engineers during that time period..so I have been up there along with Kodiak Island, etc...the alleutians, etc...
My mother was one of the first if not the first white woman as apposed to native woman on the Alkan Hwy..
we are talking a long time ago..

and Phil...yes you do!!

gregor · « **Reply #37 on:** March 27, 2012, 10:06:11 PM »

you can replace it for a pretty penny with this 180 with a totally wrecked bellows:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIntage-Polaroid-180-Camera-/160769981846?pt=US_Vintage_Cameras&hash=item256ea33d96#ht_500wt_1021

sad how the eventual buyer will not know how badly the bellows are damaged.....

but seriously, it's likely the battery connectors. i usually cut the connectors off and tape the wires down with electrical tape. when im impatient i spend more than i should on a cameta i could otherwise find easily at a yard/garage sale for 5 bucks USD+ the cost of a new battery.

good luck with the 360, but the bottom line is pack film cams are a dime a dozen still...

sapata · « **Reply #38 on:** March 28, 2012, 01:36:59 AM »

Ed...
I also have a spare 110 Land camera in case you need to borrow in an emergency... give me a shout ! I live close to you

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #39 on:** March 28, 2012, 10:57:08 AM »

Mauricio: The 110 Land Cam is the old roll film camera, right? Have you had it converted to take 100 series pack film? If so, I'd be very interested in borrowing it. Otherwise, I have a couple of 100 series Land Cameras lying around here anyway....just cheaper plastic ones (a 420 and I think a 340)....so I'm not going to go completely without.

Francois · « **Reply #40 on:** March 28, 2012, 04:07:09 PM »

I don't know if there's any way to get the glass lens out of the 360 and fit it on one of the 400 series cameras?

Might be a solution worth considering if the camera is declared "unfixable"

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #41 on:** March 28, 2012, 07:03:45 PM »

Oh I'm sure it'll be fine, Francois (fingers crossed).

Francois · « **Reply #42 on:** March 28, 2012, 08:57:31 PM »

I sure hope so Ed!

I don't know why we grow so attached to some stuff. I was devastated when my favorite zoom lens broke. And when I found the same one for sale in the classifieds, I was so happy and relieved!

sapata · « **Reply #43 on:** March 28, 2012, 09:42:01 PM »

Quote from: Ed Wenn on March 28, 2012, 10:57:08 AM

Mauricio: The 110 Land Cam is the old roll film camera, right? Have you had it converted to take 100 series pack film? If so, I'd be very interested in borrowing it. Otherwise, I have a couple of 100 series Land Cameras lying around here anyway....just cheaper plastic ones (a 420 and I think a 340)....so I'm not going to go completely without.

Just checked the camera Ed and it's in fact the 100 model with grey bellows and not the 110 as I previously mentioned

(you can tell it's been ages I don't use it...)

The camera has a metal body but not sure about the lens though... it was working last time I used but I just noticed that the battery conectors has been taken off ( I really don't remember why ??

) but this is easy to replace I must say if you have one lying around... let me know

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #44 on:** March 28, 2012, 11:28:44 PM »

OK, well in that case, it's almost exactly the same as the 420/340 cameras that I own, so I'll pass on this occasion, but thank you VERY much for making such a generous offer. First Paul M and now you...I should break cameras more often.

"Guys, my Linhof Technika 617 just broke...does anyone know how to fix it?"

sapata · « **Reply #45 on:** March 28, 2012, 11:43:41 PM »

Quote from: Ed Wenn on March 28, 2012, 11:28:44 PM

OK, well in that case, it's almost exactly the same as the 420/340 cameras that I own, so I'll pass on this occasion, but thank you VERY much for making such a generous offer. First Paul M and now you...I should break cameras more often.

No worries Ed...

Quote from: Ed Wenn on March 28, 2012, 11:28:44 PM

"Guys, my Linhof Technika 617 just broke...does anyone know how to fix it?"

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #46 on:** April 01, 2012, 11:38:28 PM »

A final word on this...now that I've started my holiday and am away from London and down in North Cornwall. Before I left I decided to take my Tachihara field camera (with 550 and 405 Polaroid backs) in an attempt to actually use it this year (2011 was apretty lean time for me and LF). I'd also grab one of the several plastic Land Cams that I've had lying around the house/shed and not used since the 360 came into my life (cue the sound of violins).

Great plan? Yeah; well the thing about me and plans is that we don't work out very well together. In this case one thing went badly wrong (I forgot my bl**dy tripod and so the Tachihara won't get used AGAIN), but one thing went really well; the plastic Land Camera has proved to be a revelation.

I thought I had a 240 and a 430 kicking around, but couldn't find either. After going through a few big storage boxes of cameras though I finally located a 335 that I didn't even know I owned. I checked that I had a battery for it and chucked it in the bag. Resigning myself to a softer image quality from the cheaper lens and having to prole along without the Zeiss finder that I'd gotten used to on the 360, I loaded my first pack of film down on the beach on Friday morning and took a few snaps. To my surprise they came out really sharp and the 2 window finder thingy is actually not so much of a pain to use....in fact once you've focussed, the framing window is brighter and easier to use than the all-in-one window on the Zeiss. It's worth noting that the only reason this whole 2 or 1 window thing is even an issue is because a lot of my photos are of moving children (my own I hasten to add)....and having one window to focus through and frame is essential.

ANYWAY, I'm really happy with some of the results so far (due mainly to a couple of gloriously expired-and-loving-it packs of 125i) and will post some results when I get home.

So, who's interested in buying a fully working (cough!) Land Camera 360? Y'know, the one with the amazing Zeiss finder and the nice, sharp glass lens?

sapata · « **Reply #47 on:** April 02, 2012, 12:24:29 AM »

Ah... how many times I planned in advanced to go out to photograph and forget something really essential that prevents me to, er... take photographs!

Last time I forgot the mini-tripod for my Gakken stereo pinhole..., it was a bright and sunny (and windy) day in London and I obviously remembered that I didn't have the tripod when I was miles away from home. It was really windy and I got scared the plastic camera would fly away so ended up not using at all!

I remember I had a plastic body Polaroid camera Land camera (can't remember the model) and I really like the results as well Ed, I think I sold the camera when I got the 100 model...

Looking foward to the results Ed

jojonas~ · « **Reply #48 on:** April 02, 2012, 09:15:53 AM »

aah, I like a story with a happy ending :´)

Francois · « **Reply #49 on:** April 02, 2012, 02:48:11 PM »

Somehow, I always knew you had a soft spot for plastic

One thing that always surprised me about Polaroid's plastic lenses is just how good they really are!

Author Topic: This Is Without Doubt The Most Important Topic On Filmwsters!! (Read 21034 times)

astrobeck