Re: removing polaroid lens

Hi Traci,

I've removed the lenses from a couple of my Polaroid 250's, which is
very similar to your 101. Here's what I did:

Step 1: With the bellows fully extended, you will see five screws in the
back of the lensboard/shutter assembly. Of those five screws, you only
need to remove three of them, the one in the upper right hand corner,
the one in the lower right hand corner and the one on the left. Keep
track of which screw comes from what corner as one is a different length
than the other two.

Step 2: With the screws removed, slide a thin screwdriver or utility
knife under the plate at the top, the one that has the different speeds
for indoor/outdoor shooting. It's just glued on. You don't even need
to remove the plate completely, just enough for the front half of the
shutter assembly to come free.

Step 3: The rear element can easily be removed now by using a
screwdriver to "unscrew" the retaining ring that holds it in.

Step 4: The shutter assembly is held in by four screws, one in the upper
right, two smaller ones on the left and one near the middle along the
top. It's hidden behind a spring, which you may have to remove as
well. With the four screws removed, the front lensboard be separated
from the shutter assembly.

Step 5: This is the hardest part, getting the front lens cell out. You
can use some pliers to remove the lighten/darken ring around the front
and a thin screwdriver will get the nameplate off. The front cell
almost seems to be pressed into place, but it's not, it's actually
screwed in. If you want to save the front glass, you can try using a
strap around the front retaining ring. I've found it easier to just
break out the front cell which seems to make unscrewing the retaining
ring easier. If you choose to break out the front cell, you should wear
safety glasses, put the lens board in a vice or on a nice solid board,
then using a screwdriver and a hammer, break out the front cell. Make
sure you have something underneath the lens when you do this as it will
break into a million tiny pieces.

Step 6: Now, using a pair of vice grips, you should be able to unscrew
the retaining ring from the front side. You can then remove the little
light sensor thingy or you can just leave it in and tape over it.

Step 7: Once that's out, you can cut the two battery wires that are
attached to the shutter assembly, remove the assembly and then you're
ready to install your pinhole where the front cell was. When you put
the two halves back together, you'll need to put tape all around the
edges to make it light tight.

I've found that you can make some really interesting images by first
exposing the film with the bellows completely closed, then opening the
bellows and doing another exposure. With the bellows closed, you get a
small circle with an image in it. Then when you open the bellows, you
get a full frame image over the smaller one.

If you run into any problems, let me know and I'll see if I can help.

Take Care,
   Rachel

-- 
Rachel Kinoshita                      Rachel+Rachel Photography
rk_at_rachelrachel.com                 http://www.rachelrachel.com
bonkers wrote:
>I have an old Polaroid 101 Automatic Land Camera that I want to turn 
>into a pinhole camera. Before I take the screw driver to it, I thought I'd 
>see if anyone has suggestions for removing the lens. It's not like the 
>plastic Super Shooter plus where you can just pop it off.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Traci Bunkers
>Bonkers Handmade Originals
>http://www.bonkersfiber.com
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