I've been meaning to go to the Fairfax Flea Market over in Hollywood for years now, but it seems every Sunday I am busy with one thing or another. Being one of the rare Sundays that I was able to sleep in, I drove to that side of town and parked entirely too far from the venue thinking I would find zero parking. At least I got my exercise in right?
My goal for the day is to find a few polaroid cameras. Maybe I'd get lucky and find a steal. Who knows. I had no idea what to expect. I walk in and I realize there are an endless ocean of booths! Anything you want is there. Old gaming consoles, furniture discarded from an age gone by, worn typewriters, hand bags that have seen better days, clothes from yesteryear, knick knacks that have lived in the attic for one too many years. Mostly a couple garden variety 35mm cameras at each booth. (It's surprising how many of these cameras were discarded in the digital age.)
I came across a few camera-specific booths. Some had some real gems, some were just picked clean. One of them run by an older Russian woman who didn't seem like she wanted sell her cameras/goods and was there to pick up on men and bad mouth customers. There was one booth in particular which stopped me in my tracks! Hidden in the back, in what can only be described as an alley:
Cameras galore! Okay, a few binoculars, 8mm film cameras, a record player. You could tell though that booth had been raided earlier in the day. What was left had seen better days. The SX-70 in the corner of the photo was scuffed, it didn't close right, and it even jammed upon opening. Such a shame! There was a german made medium format camera I adored but didn't get a chance to ask a price for.
A clothing booth had a Polaroid Land Camera 360 that was in great condition! Barely cuffed, no holes in the bellows, minimal corrosion in the battery compartment, clean internals. I ended up paying $26 for it. Turned out the guy had amassed a collection of these in the last 30 years as a storage scavenger, but as the kids grew up they would take a piece of home with them. I.E. The cameras. The camera for sale was one of 2 left on his wall. He picked my brains for a while. I'm guessing (much like watching over his kids) to make sure it was going to a good home.
As the market as closing, I peer at a reclaimed wood furniture booth I saw on the way in. Someone said outloud, "Hey, they do custom work!" It caught my attention enough to turn again and on one of their book shelves, was an SX-70 Sonar Auto Focus with the original box. I hurried over and examined it. Clean. No dirt. Leather in tip top shape. Mirror spotless. Rollers spotless. This had been someone's baby. I asked how much. 75. I had 70. He bit his lip but took the offer. He watched me compact the camera and was said he was happy someone actually knew how to close it right. Didn't have a film pack to test out the mechanisms until I arrived home. Talk about a last minute steal!
Then again, it was a gamble. It seemed everything worked fine upon testing the SX-70 at home. Ejected the darkslide fine, albeit slow. Ejected the film much better after the first spin of the rollers. Focused on point and quickly...except after 15 minutes, silence.
I thought the lens had gotten stuck. Unlatched the autofocus and manually focused. Strange. Pulled out and reinserted the empty pack. Nothing. The sonar focusing motor had died! A google search revealed posts discussing how prone to death these motors were. They worked a while, but would inevitably fail (especially after 30 years). Luckily, I can still manually focus. I know of two places that might repair it - one in LA and one in Michigan. I haven't tested out the 360 yet, but I do know what batteries it needs. I'm slightly nervous given my other purchase.
Still, they're both elegantly designed cameras I'd gladly prop up display.
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