Removing Miniportrait 402 handle

James Kirkus-Lamont , Aug 23, 2007; 05:32 p.m.

I have got my hands on a Miniportrait 402 and it looks like the handle will be a perfect replacement for my broken 600SE one (as in previous thread: http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00MFN2)

However have hit a showstopper. The 600SE handle wass easy to remove with 3 hex nuts accessible from inside the body. But I cannot figure out how to remove the 402 one. The bases of 4 smaller screws are visible inside the camera but have no idea how to access the heads.

There is a tiny screw in further up the connector to the handle which I have removed but think it is still being held onto the body by a pin or something closer to the camera...

Is anyone familiar with these handles or have any ideas?

(Will post some supporting pics soon.)

Responses

Patrick Dempsey , Aug 24, 2007; 06:29 p.m.

Polaroid is NOTORIOUS for parts held together with rivets as well as parts that as impossible to remove due to being assembled to the base frame before the rest of the camera construction... some Polaroid cameras you can strip every other part off of and the part you want off just wont come off! Try complete disassembly of the handle and see if there is not some screw holding the post to the handle, they appear to be separate pieces.

James Kirkus-Lamont , Aug 24, 2007; 06:54 p.m.

Ah I was afraid of that. Thanks for the info.

I stripped the 402 back as far as I could see how to and still couldn't access the screws. I think some kind of split pin is holding it in place.

Might try some elbow grease but not sure how I'd firmly reattach it even if I have to break the pin...

Left: Mounts inside camera body (excuse quality of 402 shots) Right: 'pin' holding 402 handle on

Patrick Dempsey , Aug 24, 2007; 11:57 p.m.

Hmmm doesnt look good... looks like rivets. At this point I think you could make your own wooden handle like alot of people build for their press cameras. 1" wooden dowel and a 3/8" bolt with some lock nuts and washers would probably be pretty sturdy. You could also drill a hole and mount a cable release into it as a trigger grip.

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