Topic: Polaroid 180 repair

[gregor]

Anyone with some tips on getting my 180 back up and running please chime in and help.  Here's the issue: the shutter release is broken - the main wire broke about one inch below the plunger.  I've removed the original shutter release mechanism and detached it from the camera with the hopes of replacing it with a standard shutter release cable.  While that's still an option I think I may be more interested in taking the Tominon lens off entirely and replacing it with a Nikkor-w 150mm lens from my large format gear.

At the moment, if I do go with option 1 (rigging up a standard shutter release threaded into the lens board behind the small plate where the original release was threaded) I have this problem to contend with: there is an piece of the release mechanism floating around inside the lens board. I'm assuming that's the part of the mechanism the piece of plastic triggers. The piece of plastic I'm referring to is the one the shutter release pushes to trigger the inner mechanism. I have no idea what the loose piece looks like and am not sure what to look for or why that may have disengaged.

I've read Sean's blog article about the repair, but too late to follow that process ;-(  I do have an old 450 I could take the release cable off of and put on the 180...

Anyway, any suggestions or tips would be helpful.

Thanks,

Gregor  

[moominsean]

honestly, it is much, much easier to just buy another camera and swap the front. trying to fix an existing shutter cable is a huge pain...

http://moominsean.blogspot.com/2009/02/polapainful-repairs-195-vs-180.html

while sticking the front of your 180 on another body (i used a 250 body for my 195) is about a 15-20 minute job. save yourself the anguish and just do the swap.

http://moominsean.blogspot.com/2011/02/dr-moominstein-returns-polaroid-195.html

you can also fire the shutter manually by removing the silver plate that holds the cable to the front. you just push up with your thumb to fire.

if that plastic piece is loose, you can remove the back of the front...the shutter release is actually just a small black plastic piece that is held in place by another glued on piece. super easy to put it back together. pictures would help to know exaclt what you are talking about, but there aren't many parts inside, really.

sorry i don't have a photo of the underside, but that plastic part is held by another small piece. mine came loose and i just glued it back together. here you can at least see what it is supposed to look like.

[gregor]

thanks sean - since posting i've taken off the backplate of the lens board.  the piece that was floating around inside was that piece on the underside of the small plate covering he plastic shutter release. I may just pop the lens board onto my 420 body - an unlikely looking match, but as long as it works, I'm good!

Thanks

-g

[gregor]

Just an update. Rather than swap lensboards with another body, I took the easy road out and jerry rigged a standard shutter release cable to suit. Not even a mod, or a pretty picture,  just a hack to get the shutter to fire which is all I want and in the long run good enough. I've had a number of shutter releases break on other models - one of the weakest points on these cameras...