My SX-70 finally jammed after 200 shots and I almost tossed it

I was shooting at the farmer's market on Saturday and my Polaroid SX-70 just locked up mid cycle. The mirror flipped up and stayed there, which I guess is a common failure on these. I was about to give up and look for a cheap digital replacement when a guy named Dave walked over and showed me how to test the shutter solenoid with a multimeter. Turns out a tiny capacitor had drifted out of spec and the fix cost me $3 in parts from Mouser. It actually made me rethink throwing away old gear just because it stops working. Has anyone else fixed a camera with just a soldering iron and some patience?

2 comments

2 Comments

emery8791mo ago

Wait, so pulling out a multimeter at a farmer's market is totally normal now? I half expected Dave to start repairing toasters next to the organic kale booth.

gibson.mark1mo ago

emery879 mentioned "pulling out a multimeter at a farmer's market" like it's some huge deal, but honestly that's half the fun of those places. You never know who's gonna walk up and offer to help you fix something. Were you able to actually trace that capacitor drift back to heat exposure or just random age related failure?