Rare - Polaroid 250 converted to 180 195

OK up for auction is a converted Polaroid 250.

As far as I am concerned, this is as good or better than any Polaroid 180 or 195 out there, just read below
The 180's and 195's fetch quite a premium, why?
You've got full manual control of exposure in a neat, portable, folding Polaroid camera.
And that's exactly what you've got with this camera

It's been sitting unused for more than a couple of years so I thought it's time to pass it on and let someone else get some enjoyment out of it.

The amount of work I put into this is quite amazing, just read on below.

I started with a really nice condition Polaroid 250 with one of the Zeiss Ikon finders that has the rangefinder focusing, parallax correction and framing all through the one eye piece.

Then I removed all of the unnecessary parts from the front lens section.

I had to enlarge the hole for the new lens. A Tominon 127 F4.7 originally from a Polaroid MP4 camera.
They have well deserved reputations as solid performers.
The lens is in good condition though there are a few cleaning marks on the rear element and a couple of small blemishes in the front coating.
Not nearly enough to make a noticeable impact on image quality. There is no haze or fungus whatsoever.

The shutter is in really nice condition and being a press shutter it both cocks and fires with one stroke, shutter speeds from 1/125th down to 1 second.
It also has both Bulb and Time settings

The hole at the back of the front standard has been enlarged so that the bellows could be brought forward to the back of the lens to avoid both vignetting and internal reflections.
The bellows are in really nice condition, no cracks or holes as they were part of the original Polaroid 250 which was in wonderful condition when I started on it.

The rangefinder mechanism was then meticulously modified to match the slightly longer focal length lens.
It is pinpoint accurate all the way through the focus range.
I've attempted to show this in two photos, one through the ground glass and the other through the viewfinder showing the scissors in clear focus in both shots.
It took an awful lot of work and patience to get it that accurate, but it had to be done.
Otherwise, why bother focusing if it isn't accurate.

The top strut of the focusing mechanism has been gently filed to allow the whole camera to fold back up neatly and with a little click the viewfinder slips neatly behind the rear of the shutter.

It takes a little knack to open and close the camera, like opening a tricky lock, a gentle lift on the viewfinder whilst drawing the lens panel forward and it pops open.
It folds back up the same way, it doesn't need force, just a little finesse, and it folds back securely.

And last but not least The original fitted front plastic cover has been reshaped to allow for the new lens and shutter assembly on the front standard.
So it all folds up just like it's supposed to, and is protected.

Internally there is a small amount of surface rust on the metal parts which hold the rollers in place, but I have yet to see one that doesn't have some rust on these parts unless the camera has never been used.

It will be sad to see it go because of how much work I put into it, but it's a travesty for it to be sitting here unused.

So low starting price and no reserve

Pickup is fine from Warriewood during business hours or Avalon NSW 2107 after hours

Shipping will be at actual cost, and I am happy to ship internationally

Shipping weight is in the 1kg to 2kg weight range so you can check available options at www.asupost.com.au

Any questions - just ask

Check out my other items!

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On 09-Nov-09 at 16:45:05 AEDST, seller added the following information:

 I've added a 12th picture showing the shutter actuation.
I have also uploaded two scans of shots taken with really out of date leftover Polaroid Polacolor ER and another with leftover Fuji FP100B as some people have asked whether or not the camera works.

They are available here http://www.glennphoto.com.au/polaroid/

As far as I know, Fuji is planning to continue production of their instant film range.
This camera takes the 8.5cm x 10.8cm size, which is the one used in every medium format camera polaroid back that I have ever come across.

Hope this helps