The final results
The Polaroid 110 to 4×5 Conversion requires you to permanently remove the entire back and drill several 3mm holes in the body. Ready to proceed? At your own risk! I have done more then five conversion at this point in time, all successful, but no warranty! Note also that this conversion don’t expose the entire 4×5 film sheet, due to it’s position (sample negative shown below). For that the filmback should have been further back and higher up, however that would have spoilt the compact design of the conversion as well as made use of the double window viewfinder and rangefinder of the 110A model way more difficult.
There are two major Polaroid 110 models, the A and the B. The main difference is that the B model has a single combined viewfinder and focus window on the far left side (camera body seen from the back) whilst the A model has separate viewfinder and focus windows slightly more to the right than the B model. Thus in the used market the B model commands a higher price than the A model.
Is it difficult? Do I need special tools?
The conversion is not particularly tricky nor complicated, and can be completed in a few hours. There are some dremel’ing/ drilling out rivets required to remove unwanted parts, and some new holes to be drilled using a 3d printed template to get the holes in the right place.
Tools required are a drill, 3mm and 8mm drill-bits, plier, a few screwdrivers and a 2mm hex/allen key.
The 4×5 converted Polaroid 110 weighs in at only 1,4 Kg compared to the 2 Kg of the unmodified camera.
Selecting a suitable camera body
This conversion is for the Polaroid 110 A or B only! (Most likely also usable for the a Polaroid 120, the back conversion is also suitable for the Polaroid 900 IF you the replace the lens and modify the front standard) Thus you need a Polaroid 110 with a bright and clear viewfinder and rangefinder, a fully functional and reasonable accurate shutter, smooth focus rail, and that the front closes correctly. If you get yours from ebay or some other online source, look at the overall condition, do the strap look worn? Etc.
Also available for packfilmed converted Polaroid 110 A / 110B.
Inspect rangefinder at infinity
Does it align correctly when at infinity, i.e do the double image completely overlapping both vertically and horizontally?
Does the double image separate as expected the using the focus knob on the camera?
If Yes, move on to the next section.
If No, you should be able to adjust the rangefinder back to normal using the procedure found at this page.
Any comments or questions? Please contact me on email morten@kolve.org