The #ShittyCameraChallenge has introduced a new challenge for instant cameras. Although I already have a Polaroid 600, I wanted to try Instax film but really wanted something a little bigger than Instax mini.
In Portugal there is a site called OLX, where people advertise used products for sale. There were plenty of Instax Mini and Instax Square cameras for sale, but they were rather expensive. However, for 20€ I picked up a nice Fujifilm Instax 100 which I thought would be ideal.
When the camera arrived it was in nice condition externally and also included an old used cassette. However, a quick inspection of the battery compartment revealed a lot of corrosion of the terminals.
A non-destructive method of removing corrosion from batteries I have learned of is to use white vinegar. Before cleaning the terminals I used an air blower to clean away any dust on the outside of the camera.
Using cotton buds I gently wiped away the corrosion from the terminals. The process was really successful, and inserting four 4 AA batteries the Instax 100 powered up nicely.
On a lovely sunny day I took out the Instax 100 for a test drive. It was very simple to use, just so long as one remembered to change the focussing, on switching it on the camera has a nasty habit of setting the focussing range from 0-15m instead of 15m-infinity.
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