No Upgrades Without an Overhaul: Why servicing the SX-70 is so important.
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
- I've been meaning to do a video on this topic for a long time now...
And after receiving a slew of "refurbished" cameras from clients to upgrade, I finally had the motivation to make it.
This video aims to explain why it is important to have an SX-70 camera fully overhauled and serviced to get the best results.
Ultimately, it is my opinion, that to get the best experience out of shooting with an SX-70, the camera should be completely overhauled and serviced from the ground up. Doing so will pre-emptively correct as good as possible the various issues that SX-70s have due to age, design flaws and cost reduction. No SX-70 is immune to these issues, and using one un-refurbished is simply asking for trouble.
All you have to do is join a local SX-70 forum and you will find dozens of posts from various new users wondering why their 40 year old camera that they found in a barn isn't performing at its best.
Hopefully this video will help explain why this is the case.
I've broken it up into chapters for those seeking specific information.
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Chapters:
00:15 - Foreword
01:02 - Why I've changed my repair and upgrade policy
03:05 - The point of this video: Overhauling before Upgrading
08:58 - What I'm being asked to do...
09:55 - What I'll be doing from now on...
10:45 - Why I'm doing this - I simply can't speak for the work of others.
13:56 - Schrodinger's camera?
16:19 - Pre-emptive servicing - a triad of issues
18:36 - Issue 1: Age, wear and tear
20:19 - Issue 2: Design flaws in early models
24:02 - Issue 3: Cost reduction in later models
28:32 - What SX-70 is best?
30:02 - Issue 4: Cowboy repairs
32:18 - The race to the bottom
34:51 - Why I made my RUclips channel
36:04 - Closing on my opinion on repair of the SX-70
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Like what I do? Find this video helpful or entertaining?
Feel free to buy me a beer (or two!):
ko-fi.com/theinstantcameraguy
Getting artifacts in the video? For best quality, manually select 1080p quality, as depending on your bandwidth, RUclips may default to 720p - and RUclips's 720p compression looks like garbage
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If you like this, then watch these:
A full teardown and overhaul of an SX-70 - emphasizing the importance of refurbishing your camera:
• Fully overhauling a Po...
The SX-70R PCB:
• SX-70R - A Bluetooth P...
SX-70 vs 600 (and i-Type) film - a deep dive!:
• SX-70 vs 600 film: Why...
The PolaVolt:
• The PolaVolt: a newer,...
Wiring up a PolaVolt on Model 1 & 2 cameras:
• The Cheapest (And Best...
Wiring up a PolaVolt on Alpha spec cameras:
• HOW TO: Wire up the Po...
Modifying the Rezivot Power Ranger:
• Improving the Rezivot ...
Modifying the Retrospekt Power Pack:
• Retrospekt battery ada...
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Got a Polaroid that needs some love? Hit me up!
/ instantcameraguy
/ theinstantcameraguy
www.theinstantcameraguy.com 
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REGARDING MY PRICING/WEBSITE:
As mentioned in the video, I don't like to mention pricing in videos, since they will stay up for many years, where the info may become out of date.
At the time of this video releasing, I keep my pricing listed - and do much of my communication with clients - through social media. Why do such a thing? Simply put, it's the easiest way to be able to rapidly communicate with clients. Facebook and Instagram provide the quickest and easiest way to share videos and photos of your camera as it is worked on, allowing me to provide full transparency and open communication throughout the process. This is what separates small independent techs from 'larger' operations.
For those that choose not to engage with such websites, you can always contact me via email with your questions. My email is listed on this RUclips channel, as well as my website. I might respond a bit slower to email than I will to a direct message, but you will usually get a response within 12-24 hours.
Regardless of when you read this comment, you should know that my prices are generally on par with my competition. Most refurbishers will charge a similar rate for an overhaul, and I encourage you not to engage in a race to the bottom.
you should really do a collab with dankpods
If anyone ever wants to tell Wade about me they can. I'd love to build him a camera
The knowledge you demonstrate here is the reason why I chose to send my camera to you, even though shipping was more expensive. I know I will get the best possible service!
Excellent work
Great video as always Jake! Sorry I've been missing them lately.
Glad to see the wealth of information that is your content hasn't changed a bit! After the unsuccessful "cowboy repair" (that got a chuckle out of me lol) that I performed on my SX-70 Sonar's AF unit, I had a piecemeal repair done to the shutter and had the whole AF unit replaced. I was fortunate enough to get a camera that was in very good shape otherwise, so my photos came out great after I cleaned the electric eye. I agree with your take on repair though, these cameras are far too complicated and have far too many little issues to simply be patched back up and sent out into the world. They really need a full overhaul to get the most out of them. You can absolutely get lucky and find a camera but only needs a small fix to keep working, but this is also absolutely the exception and not the rule.
I personally haven't been shooting much Polaroid lately, though this has nothing to do with the condition of my camera. My lovingly restored SX-70R Sonar is performing great as always, but I've been pretty frustrated with film issues as of late. You aren't kidding when you say the cost of a properly refurbished camera is nothing compared to the cost of film over the lifetime of the unit...
Thanks again for giving me the confidence that my camera isn't the issue when I have pictures that come out wonky! I know I've said it before, but I really appreciate the pride and confidence you put into your work and how much you stand behind it.
Congrats on 2k subs too!
I hope this shutter mod in the first camera shown came with a bottle of lao gan ma chili
That thumbnail is so sick, great video Jake, glad I got my SX-70 Sonar completely overhauled by you 👍🏼
They are 5x PolaVolt converted Sonar's that will be going off to a client in Switzerland!
Dang! And I thought eventually having 3 would cover me 😂
Thanks!
my absolute pleasure!
My SX 70 is defiantly coming your way!!
Great video. Well explained Jake.
On a forum this would be a sticky …right at the top so that new and old never miss it and more importantly the message.
great video. thanks
All what you say in this vid makes perfect sense to me.
Jake, will you be updating your website any time soon?
I think I'm not alone when I say I don't like to be forced to have an Instagram or Facebook account just to be able to check something like services and prices.
Honestly, I'm not tech savvy enough at this stage. The website isn't something I manage regularly since it's pretty time consuming to do so.
And to be honest, I'd rather people just contact me if they have questions. Either way, prices or not, clients will need to do so anyway to get info of where to send things etc
I used to keep my prices very clearly listed on my website a few years back, and nobody would ever read them anyway! Despite having information clearly listed in black and white I would still get people ask. So I ended up getting my webmaster to just remove them, since it got tedious updating things only for nobody to read them
You said before that any cameras you have for purchase are posted to your facebook page, is that still true? It wasn't clear which cameras are available.
I post them to Instagram, and by default, Facebook should receive them too
If you want one, you can always ask what I have
😊❤