Andreas Thaler
Subscriber
Anyone who owns a Nikon F5 or a Canon EOS-1 has reason to be proud.
These, and other professional cameras from the 90s onwards, are high-performance machines that perfect the interaction of mechanics and electronics. Built for load and long-term availability.
It's still a dream to work with them today.
The Nikon F5, a tough high-tech star of the 90s. But also this dream camera doesn't live forever either.
But these cameras can also break or require service, e.g. because the light meter or shutter no longer meets specifications.
Then the question is what to do.
DIY is always a good approach,
but how do you deal with the complexity of these cameras? Where can you find instructions for this? There are almost none of the popular DIY videos for repair and service on the web for these devices.
The service manuals sometimes refer to software that is required for diagnosis and adjustments. But this software is not available. And once you have it, how can you use it? The associated operating systems have long been out of date.
So you contact the manufacturers and the answer you get is:
„There are no longer any spare parts for these camera available“
which is probably an understatement since the service facilities probably no longer have the know-how to work with these.
Things aren't looking much better for independent workshops.
What remains is that these fantastic cameras only have one life and cannot be repaired or adjusted if they fail.
This is bitter
and explains why some users and collectors have several of them in their cupboards.
As a backup of the backup of the backup …
__
See also:
www.photrio.com
These, and other professional cameras from the 90s onwards, are high-performance machines that perfect the interaction of mechanics and electronics. Built for load and long-term availability.
It's still a dream to work with them today.
The Nikon F5, a tough high-tech star of the 90s. But also this dream camera doesn't live forever either.
But these cameras can also break or require service, e.g. because the light meter or shutter no longer meets specifications.
Then the question is what to do.
DIY is always a good approach,
but how do you deal with the complexity of these cameras? Where can you find instructions for this? There are almost none of the popular DIY videos for repair and service on the web for these devices.
The service manuals sometimes refer to software that is required for diagnosis and adjustments. But this software is not available. And once you have it, how can you use it? The associated operating systems have long been out of date.
So you contact the manufacturers and the answer you get is:
„There are no longer any spare parts for these camera available“
which is probably an understatement since the service facilities probably no longer have the know-how to work with these.
Things aren't looking much better for independent workshops.
What remains is that these fantastic cameras only have one life and cannot be repaired or adjusted if they fail.
This is bitter
and explains why some users and collectors have several of them in their cupboards.
As a backup of the backup of the backup …
__
See also:

Minolta X-700: Measuring instruments for adjusting
The Minolta Service manual lists the following measuring instruments for adjustments on the X-700. Some of them I can imagine, others are unknown to me. I wonder if these devices can be substituted today to be able to carry out the measurement work? Some of the original devices are already...

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