Little Camera, Mini Phoenix

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Well - the latest mini-project is sorted and ready for testing: the above is an EBay find that, even though costing not a lot, was nevertheless in a pretty sorry state when it turned up the other day. The camera was a cheapish point & shoot 35mm camera made for GAF by Chinon way back in the mists of time. I fancied it because I've been on the lookout for simple auto-exposure street film cameras lately: something to just capture stuff, firing from the hip; so to speak.

This one one was jammed solid, although a cursory look showed that the shutter and aperture blades seemed to be working OK. It was just that the film transport mechanism was pretty much locked solid. I did the usual thing and took off the bottom plate to see what I could find. Not being familiar with this camera, I took some time to work out just how the mechanism should work, in the absence of any online information to give me a clue.

After a bit of head-scratching and disassembling, I figured it out and with the help of small quantities of WD40 and gentle persuasion, the stuck bits finally relented and freed up, rendering the mechanism functional once again. A bit of TLC to the corroded battery compartment and a substitute battery seems to confirm that the electronic shutter control is working: the acid test will be a roll of film - looking forward to the results as I've got a sneaking suspicion this one will turn out to be a good 'un, despite its budget origins. Keep you posted!

Comments

  1. Joe Stoner6 November 2021 at 18:12

    SO much to say about your self portrait on the cover of the magazine, mate. Looks like a waste of a Marlboro Lite whilst composing!!:):)

    ReplyDelete

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