Week 149 - Vivitar 742 XL

Vivitar 742 XL, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This is one of the more sophisticated 110 format cameras. It has a coupled rangefinder and electronic shutter with speeds down to several seconds. I found it in a charity shop, where it was ina basket of assorted cameras, and was filthy and sticky, I considered buying it, as it had a part used cartridge in it, but for £4 I decided it wasn't worth it. It was still there a couple of weeks later, and the price had been reduced to £2, so I bought it. It wasn't until I got it home that I realised it was quite a high spec model, so I cleaned it up and improvised a replacement electrical battery contact using a paperclip. The batteries had been left to leak and corrode, but with a little TLC I got it working again. I've loaded it with a Konica Centuria cartridge which expired in 2006.