Junk and Cheap Camera Month: Will it or won’t it work for me?

I have no idea where I got this camera from. I certainly didn’t pay for it, but there it was, in my junk box. So, I thought I would at least put a few frames through it. That is, if I could get it to fire up.

The instruction sheet was inside the case, but it was very basic. The camera needs two AA batteries to run as it has motor advance and rewind. It can also recognise 100, 200, and 400 DX coded film. There is no way to turn the flash on or off so that was automatic too. You will know when it is set to fire by a red low-light sensor in the viewfinder.

Once I put the batteries in this example, I didn’t hear the familiar whine of the flash powering. The light did come on, but it flickered a lot indicating there was an issue with power. I cleaned the contacts and the red light was more stable. I started to hear a faint whiny sound which was also very squeaky.

There was never a solid steady noise and the flash ready light never came on. Pressing the shutter button fired the camera. It activated the motor advance, but never the flash. It didn’t matter how long I left it whining. That meant I could at least test this camera outside.

The only information I could find online about the camera was this post. It basically says the same as I have just written.

Due to the flash and intermittent power issue, I didn’t want to use a whole roll testing it. So I went for a walk and took a few shots then transferred the roll to another camera.

Here are a few shots from a roll of Ilford FP4:

These were taken on a new route near my house. I have lived here 40 years and have never walked here before. I was so happy to have found a new place to explore. It was a golf course at one time, but that closed down a while ago. As you can see, the land has overgrown. I am sure the land is owned by someone. At some point, houses will be built. But for now, I can explore.

As for the camera, did it work for me? Well, yes if I am outside. But, I suspect it is on it’s last legs due to the intermittent power. I even tried adding the copper magnetic tape to the contacts, but it didn’t improve the situation. I even took it apart and tried to clean the insides, being careful of the capacitor.

It made no difference, therefore this camera will go in the electrical recycling bin at the tip.

If you can find a good working one, it is a fun camera to throw in a bag. They are pretty cheap. You won’t have to worry about breaking it.

Oh and I have COVID again, the 4th time. I am off work and in bed 🙁 It sucks.

This post was in my draft folder. There are a few more in there. I will try to publish them when I am awake. However, as ever, there is no schedule. The photos coming up will be of my garden or the journey to the chemist. Nothing exciting, luckily this is a junk testing month so really that is all I need.