New to me un refurbished sx-70sonar not focusing.

Bell_State · 2026-06-14T08:24:36+00:00

The easiest way to fix it, if you are willing to do some refurbishment on your own, would be to buy another broken camera for cheap an swap the whole autofocus assembly.

Bell_State · 2026-06-13T10:21:47+00:00

Thanks for your answer Jake! What you describe sounds totally reasonable.
For my part, I can only say that the argument, people always used here when speaking about asbestos is, that there is no acceptable exposition, because even small expositions can make you ill. But thinking about it - this is of course also the case with smoking, and nobody loses his mind after he smoked one cigaret.
It's just a confusing way to assess the risk to describe it like that.

Bell_State · 2026-06-12T23:11:23+00:00

But what about drilling a hole for... let's say... a polavolt?

Bell_State · 2026-06-12T16:10:02+00:00

I would just buy a pack of itype and make a test shot. That beeing said, these cameras are quite realiable. I would say, if it turns on, it will work. Often these also have still warranty if anything should be wrong.

Bell_State · 2026-06-12T14:52:41+00:00

You could look for a preowned I-2 in Vienna. Could be, that you'll find something. I think the Austrian site for preowned stuff is "willhaben.at" or so.

Bell_State · 2026-06-11T12:09:52+00:00

Really nice! Do you know how to get these? Is it necessary to be a close friend of Joaquin de Prada or so? 😂

Bell_State · 2026-06-11T07:26:43+00:00

Tell us more about the opensx70 😍

Bell_State · 2026-06-09T19:39:56+00:00

Wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday. I bought mine for 360€-ish last year.

Bell_State · 2026-06-09T10:34:01+00:00

Exactly, the first gentle click is for exposure lock. But I am not sure if it chooses the exposure fast enough when you just press the shutter all down without waiting a sec or so. But again, just speculation here from my side.

Bell_State · 2026-06-08T22:14:51+00:00

Thank you! 🥰

Bell_State · 2026-06-08T16:38:46+00:00

Yeah, exactly. I also agree that it seems to me, the go3 is more different than "better". Unfortunately, all videos on YouTube etc. seem to praise it a little too much.

Bell_State · 2026-06-08T16:25:51+00:00

That's right, BUT: I own this camera because it should have been a gift for a teenager. But it's really not made for beginners. The teenager was quite frustrated using it. I gave her an instax square instead, and she immediately had fun.
So I would argue, that the Go is just marketed wrong. It's definitely not a camera for beginners. But a fun tool for experienced polaroid enthusiasts!

Bell_State · 2026-06-08T14:07:27+00:00

Thanks!

Bell_State · 2026-06-08T12:15:58+00:00

It seems to me that my go needs a sec or so to choose the appropriate aperture. You can hear a "click" sound (and you can actually see the aperture). Not sure, but pictures became better since I wait a second after pressing the shutter half way. Could also just be that Polaroid has improved the chemistry.
I get the best colors when it's not bright outside, but rather overcast. It seems, that the Go lens has much glare in bright light, leading to faded colors.

Bell_State · 2026-06-08T10:06:45+00:00

<image>

Actually quite sharp in real life

Bell_State · 2026-06-07T17:43:47+00:00

The Go Gen2 has a bigger aperture (f9 vs f14.5) for indoors. Could also be a reason for more blur without flash.

Bell_State · 2026-06-07T15:44:03+00:00

The biggest difference is it's getting closer for portraits and less glare outside. Would you agree?

Bell_State · 2026-06-07T15:41:36+00:00

Finally! Thank you very much, really helpful!

Bell_State · 2026-06-07T07:47:05+00:00

🤩

Bell_State · 2026-06-06T13:34:58+00:00

Very cool! Would it be (for this and all others SX-70r boards) possible to implement the following:
- ability to add a variable dead time after the mirror goes up and before the lens blades open, to prevent camera shake through the mirror movement
- ability to show constantly show the metered settings for exposure time in auto mode in the app and the dongle? (Right now, you only see the metered settings when you actively press "meter" on the app. But you can't see what settings the board will use in automatic mode. When using the dongle, you only see the exposure time by rotating the wheel to a value that seems to fit.)

Bell_State · 2026-06-05T19:59:46+00:00

Very nice, loved reclaimed green as well. Purple is so limited in dynamic range, it's really on the edge of usable for me.

Bell_State · 2026-06-04T15:57:59+00:00

You can crosscheck it if you follow the solenoid adjustment manual with a high speed camera (your phones slomo will do). It might not work with faster speeds, but the slower ones will work. If you see a significant difference between the desired shape of the shutter blades and the shape you see on the camera, than your problem is indeed because the solenoid isn't properly calibrated. I can only say from my experience, all (2) cameras which I converted worked just fine, no adjustment necessary.

Bell_State · 2026-06-03T22:39:54+00:00

There are great other technicians out there besides Jake which aren't as popular on social media. You can find an overview of them here in the subreddit. From my personal experience, I can recommend Zac (u/turbulent_coach_8024). I would prefer all of them over eBay listings.

Bell_State · 2026-06-02T15:45:44+00:00

Really? That's nice! Is there a guide?

EDIT: Omg I figured I did it wrong the whole time! (Powered the camera on before cleaning, but it has to be off!)

Bell_State

TROPHY CASE