Instax Wide 300 teardown for manual lens hack mod #instaxhack

No comments for now, just pictures. Okay, time for a few comments.

The camera.

The donor camera. The Balda Baldalux. I just don't shoot 6x9 in 120 anymore. So, it has been cannibalized. The earlier lens I showed with the Compur shutter wouldn't do because it doesn't have a focus. It's a great lens (see examples with flash, a negative thrown down on a LED light table ).

In a lens swap project, understanding how the lens barrell and lens mount works is the real heart of the problem.

I did not understand this when I started. I dismantled the  entire camera. You may not have to (see below). But if you are so inclined...

There are screws to take out all along the outside edges. The trickiest one is the camera strap lug over the hand grip and shutter release is a SCREW. Unscrew that too. I took me 20 minutes why it wouldn't come apart clean.

So unscrew, keep track because the screws aren't the same length.
Peel back the silver. It is a softer plastic so be careful.
Then separate the front and back body.

 

One of my big priorities was to disable the flash. It disconnected the orange and white wires from the capacitor (see picture below). Why? The flash uses up lots of energy. Plus it fails to take advantage of the slower speeds I intend to put in. ALSO, I hope to attach a more powerful lens if I need one. But it won't be on the body.

You can remove the circuit board. But you DON'T have to. I believe. If you are so inclined to remove the circuit board, you will find to screws beneath. Unso those and you will be able to separate the lens housing (think of this as the 'bellows') from the chamber where the film lives.

This is what it looks like with the lens housing and gearing (that pushes the barrel out when the camera is turned on) removed.

Instead, with the camera off and the barrel in its off position, that is set in, try to get the lens cover plate off. You should be able to pry it. Don't it as it can be a mount for your new lens. Obviously, I did not do that here. I removed the entire barrel which meant removing the chip board. Probably effort I should have avoided.

But there you go, the lens cover popped off. Underneath is the lens and shutter assembly.

I drilled the lens plate out. I'll insert the photo here when I get the chance.