A solution to film jam problem in Polaroid Land 100 series camera

Polaroid Land 100 series camera uses pack film. Polaroid does not produce pack film any more and old stocks could hardly be found in the marketplace.

Fortunately, the pack films produced by FujiFilm, such as FP-3000B (discontinued not very long ago) and FP-100C, are compatible for use.

The catch is that instead of a metal case as Polariod film, the case for Fuji pack film is made of plastic that can easily be compressed to deform by the metallic V-shape spring inside the film chamber. And, as the plastic case is compressed, due to the increased friction, a film could easily be jammed inside or half way out when it is pulled out from the side door of the film chamber after exposure.



Some people proposed to permanently flatten out the V-shape spring or even remove it. I personally do not like solutions which are destructive. The best solution that I have got so far is to use two hair pins in the way as shown in the second photo below. In this way, the V-shape spring is depressed such that the pressure onto the plastic case for the pack film is relieved. This quick and low-cost solution is not only extremely effective but also non-destructive.

灣仔碼頭巴士總站

── 今天經過這裡才知道昔日的「灣仔碼頭」巴士總站經已不存在。

Lower Sun Pillar

── at dusk on 18 July 2015

Towering Cu in the process of growth

── A towering Cu with pileus, showing that it was in the process of growth.


── Half an hour later, grown to this size and matured into a Cumulonimbus. The hairy feature on the top is an indication of its ice constituent.

Cages

── A refurbishing building in Percival Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong ── May 2015

A Plethora of Shop Signs

── A plethora of shop signs ── at Sham Shui Po

菲林之魅 ── KODAK EKTAR 100 ﹝卷二﹞

── 2015-05-01@香港大學

Zorki-4 (1957)
Jupiter 8

Repairing Parker Vacumatic

I bought several vintage Parker Vacumatic fountain pens almost 10 years ago. Their diaphragm sacs were broken and had to be replaced for restoring the function of the ink pump. However, the sacs were not available locally.

Until recently, I noticed that they were available on eBay, at least from two suppliers, both were in US. Three different sizes of sac were available. It took me a while to sort out the right size that suits my pens by searching information on the Internet. What I need was "standard" size. I finally bought several from one of the suppliers. The sacs were not expensive but comparatively the postal fee was really something.

The sacs arrived in two weeks from the time of the order. Each sac was provided with a little plastic ball (the supplier called it "retention ball") to stuck the sac to the plunger of the pump.

The first and the most difficult step of the repair was to take the pump out of the pen barrel. It normally requires a special tool but I did not have one. I risked my own way by wrapping the outer screw segment with soft material and then twisted it out with pliers. The broken sac was then removed.

The new sac was longer than required. It needed to be cut down to a suitable length. I cut it down to a length of around 27 mm as an informative website suggested.

The tip of the sac had to be inserted into a little hole in the plastic plunger. Then, the "retention ball" was put in to permanently stuck the tip in that hole. A special tool is normally required. I used my own way, of course ─ I firstly put the retention ball into the tip, laid the combo flat on the desk top, then I positioned the plunger hole above the ball-filled tip and pressed it down so that the tip (with the ball) fitted into the hole.

The next step is to fold part of the sac inside-out to the extent that its end can affixed to the metal die of the pump. I used the end part of a ball pen to help folding the sac inside-out. Then, I affixed the folded-up end of the sac to the metal die with all-purpose glue. The pump was then screwed into position.

The final step was to check that the barrel end was air-tight. If so, the repair was completed.

菲林之魅 ── KODAK PROFOTO XL100

NIKON F2A
NIKON NIKKOR-S Auto 50mm f/1.4

菲林之魅 ── ILFORD XP2 SUPER 400

FED-2 (Type B2)
FED 50 mm f/3.5 (collapsible; M39)

菲林之魅 ── 過期十五年 FUJICHROME PROVIA 400 (RHP) 正片負沖

菲林之魅 ── FUJICHROME PROVIA 400X (RXP) 正片負沖