Catching Up - Tattoo, Red Sonja, and The King

Spring came! It's been really nice out and I've been working with the patio open catching some breeeze and sneezing like some kind of maniac. In fact I've got Benadryl on board at the moment. Nonetheless the shop has been busy with repairs and organizing parts and getting some cameras lined up to sell. The repairs have been taking up most of the time which is nice because it's steady. But after these I'm ready for a new wave of Ebay and Etsy sales. I need to move some of these cameras out of the shop before I drown!

I just finished up with the most extensive repair on a camera I've done yet. This one's called Tattoo, named after the sweet tone on tone amazing custom paint job Dubbs did on the skins. I had this sucker stripped down to the bare nothingness because of a sticking fresnel carrier. It also got new viewfinder slats, a new motor, and an entirely new shutter assembly. The old shutter was sticky. Whoooo!  Onto finishing cleaning and reskinning 3 more.

I sold "Ol Blue" this week. You might remember it was a custom blue faceplate and viewfinder hood. I kinda miss having him around... Anyway, I had the right parts on the table and figured I might as well take time to finish up "Red Sonja". I really like how this turned out as the paint dried very evenly (took almost 2 weeks to cure!) and it works like brand new! She'll be up on Ebay sometime next week.

So that's about it... like I mentioned, I have 3 more cameras to finish for a customer and then it's time to get busy listing. Shop's closed! :)

Tattoo in all it's glory. Dubbs did an amazing job and the new buffer I used got the plating nice and shiny!

Here's Red Sonja - sale name "Alpha Red". *sigh* I realy like how this turned out!!!

Here's a quick glance at some faceplates... notice the gold one... guess what's coming up next!!!

And finally, the King looking over the shelf. The 690 (far left) came to me DOA as somewhere in time someone spilled a Coke on the camera and gunked it all up. I'm happy to say that after some rigorous cleaning and a few solder touch ups he works like new again.

Custom Order - Alpha 1

Another late Sunday night. Back from some traveling and wanted to put some finishing touches on a wonderful graduation present that ships out tomorrow. And by the way... what an honor to work on a great idea for a grad present! Dubbs did the honors of creating a beautiful "integral message" of congratulations as well. When the cameras is unpacked, pushing the button will eject the message... :) I hope the Alpha 1 gives it's new owner years of great pics and inspires a lifetime of creativity!

Here's a slew of pics of some of the process starting with a general disassembly, retrofitting a properly functioning and tested motor, before and after of the old adhesive removal, Dubbs working her magic, and the final product! Happy Sunday!

Model 3 - Black and Tan

The Model 3s are done!! WOOOO!!! Much better shop night tonight. I started off doing a fresnel carrier swap in a Model 3. Interesting Polaroid kept the fresnel lenses in the Model 3s even though they aren't SLR. They put a huge 'X' on it though and even offset the split circle so it couldn't be used. And I don't have pics but I just finished a diagnostic for a customer in Montana... turns out to be a NPF (no problem found) but that doesn't mean we look it over and pack it back up and ship it out. We still run all cameras received for repair, or even just to "look at", through the standard routine repair inspection procedure. That gives the customer confidence that their camera works properly once they get it back. :)

That's all for tonight. Next up is an Alpha 1 grad present, more customer repairs, and finally some Ebay sales! And even later... 2nd Shot has acquired the grandaddy of all folding Polaroid cameras that will be up for sale next month!

Sweet...

Some Good Nights... Some bad...

... and this evening was a tough one. Coming back from vacation I have a lot of catching up to do. Tonight was supposed to be straight forward... reskins on 2 Model 3s and and quick cleaning on a very nice Model 1 repair request. Instead, I just got done with a 4 hour Model 3 nightmare. This camera is the most stubborn little thing I have dealt with yet. Add that and a little film malfunction (opacifier everywhere) and you've got yourself a frustrated Polaroid freak. Turns out the Model 3 I got in the mail last week had a hairline crack on the mirror cover just at the locking tab, the part that helps keep the camera closed. Not acceptable in my book, visible or not. So my plan was to take an old Model 3 that had a pretty nasty fungus lens (mentioned in the previous post) and swap the chassis to that of the one I just got done skinning. So I ended up swapping everything just to find the MCC (motor control circuit) got fried while I was soldering in a new motor. So then I had to swap out the flex cicuit too. OK... long story short, It took a lot longer than expected. All ended up well though and I think this little porker will find a good home. Shop's closed... NITE!

I'm super quick to forgive IP film. I'm sure Land dealt with this at some point or another... They're doing some amazing work and keep getting better. <3

Feedback is Always Welcome

Ahhh... vacation. It's been a slower week. I FINALLY got my last of the Model 3s I've been trying to finish. One had quite a fungus-y inner lens and I had no replacement shutter assembly. And the second arrived in very rough shape. So lucky me, the most recent 2 arrived in stellar shape and I'll be doing a black and tan combo... one of my favorite drinks. I did however learn how to do a fresnel carrier swap earlier this week. Tricky but easier than I thought and one more repair I can check on my "look what I can do" list.

So next week it's back to business as usual. A fantastic customer is sending me some new "patients" as I like to call them. AND... there's been some exciting research being done in the shop... something that involves retrofitting brand spankin new motors. Nuff said. :)

And speaking of customers, we've been receiveing some wonderful feedback about 2nd Shot cameras. As I mentioned before, we want each and every customer we deal with to be 100% satisfied with their purchase. OK, maybe 150%. This means not only do they have a camera that works and works properly, but it's shipped safely, packaged well, and arrives with great presentation (wow factor when opening the box is a MUST). Needless to say it's been an absolute pleasure to do business with folks that have a love for an almost forgotten media and wish to keep that love alive. Here's some recent feedback we've had that we'd like to share:

"I can't say enough how pleased I am with the purchase from 2nd shot SX70 Service. From the prompt communication to the way the camera was packed for shipping, they did an excellent job all around. Matt did a great job refurbishing this camera and included the box manual and strap. The camera arrived in excellent shape and performs perfectly. If you're looking for a Polaroid camera you've definitely found the right place."

"First SX-70 I've received that WORKS with great presentation, warranty, etc"

"The cameras you sent are brilliant as usual. Thanks again."

Now for some pics! Now an then I break out my old J66 conversion to take some old timey looking photos. I swapped out a packfilm back and attached it on a $5 J66 Dubbs got for me 2 years ago at an estate sale. The J66 is total ebay/garage/estate sale fodder. It's huge, clunky, smells like grandma's basement, fixed focus, basically a run of the mill instant camera of the early 60's. I LOVE THIS CAMERA!!!! Seriously, I get some of my most favorite shots from this on Fuji fp-3000b film. The contrast is to die for and I drool over the effects from bounce light. Anyway, here's some of the latest shots of the waiting room. All of these cameras are for repair or will be for sale shortly. We've been dealing with many custom orders as of late and those, plus repairs, take priority.