Interested in Minolta X camera repair reports?

Andreas Thaler · Nov 10, 2023

I'm currently working on the Minolta X series cameras to improve my repair skills. In particular, I would like to find solutions to the known problems of the Minolta X-700.

For example, there does not always have to be a defective capacitor behind the LEDs in the viewfinder, which go out when you press the shutter button.

I would like to ask if there is any interest in repair reports with explanations and photos here in the forum that we can discuss. It will probably primarily be about trying to find a solution to electronic problems.

In order to be able to work on this, I have access to all available or known technical documents (Minolta Service Manual, SPT Journal, C & C Electronic Troubleshooting Guide, The Camera Craftsman), which provide instructions for solving problems.

It would also be an opportunity to look at the interesting combination of mechanics and electronics “under the hood” that was typical of these first electronically controlled cameras.

A total of 13 Minolta X cameras are available for this project (X-700/500/300).

Of course, I would only report on a topic once and focus on the cause/solution of the problem. I also want to find out where the limits of what I can achieve lie.

Last but not least I would like to benefit from the technical expertise of the participants in this forum, especially when it comes to electronics

albada · Nov 10, 2023

I'd be interested in such reports. And I know others here have expertise in electronics, so they'd probably be interested too.

Mark

_T_ · Nov 10, 2023

I’m a big fan of these cameras and would love to follow along and pick up as much as I can from the proceedings, even though I’m not really able to contribute much of anything to the conversation.

Andreas Thaler · Nov 10, 2023

Thank you for the encouraging feedback! I just started once

See

Electrolytic capacitor replacement on a Minolta X-300s

Of the 13 Minolta X cameras that are waiting to be checked here, see https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/interested-in-minolta-x-camera-repair-reports.202857/#post-2739628 I was able to get candidate 1/13, a Minolta X-300s back to work 🙂 Issues: - Camera cannot be wound up. - LEDs in the...

www.photrio.com

xkaes · Nov 10, 2023

This is a great idea. The X-700 is the most complex of the the X-xxx cameras, and so will be the most involved.

And while this information will be useful for the X-570 & x-370, there are lots of other Minolta cameras that use the same electronics -- with some minor variations -- like the X-300, X-9, X-7a, X-300n, etc.

PLUS, when Minolta stopped making cameras in China -- they were actually made by Seagull -- Seagull kept making the Minolta cameras with the Seagull label on them. There are more of these cameras than there are of the Minoltas -- but they used the same electronics.

http://www.subclub.org/minchin/

KerrKid · Nov 10, 2023

I have an X-570, so I'm interested in your project.

Dan Daniel · Nov 11, 2023

Great project.

Have you run across any information on the Minolta CLE? I seem to remember that it shared some guts with a Minolta SLR. I know it's a rangefinder so maybe not of interest to you. But if yo do run across info and maybe one day get to dig into a CLE directly, many people would love it. It's basically a baby Leica M7 in some ways and a very slick camera. But known to fail internally and be a brick.

Andreas Thaler · Nov 11, 2023

Dan Daniel said:
Great project.

Have you run across any information on the Minolta CLE? I seem to remember that it shared some guts with a Minolta SLR. I know it's a rangefinder so maybe not of interest to you. But if yo do run across info and maybe one day get to dig into a CLE directly, many people would love it. It's basically a baby Leica M7 in some ways and a very slick camera. But known to fail internally and be a brick.

I haven't had a Minolta CLE in the works yet, but one of her charming little sisters came to my workshop recently

Minolta Hi-Matic GF: Korrosion im Batteriefach behoben, Innenschau

147101 Die kleine Hi-Matic hatte ich bereits letztes Jahr auf dem Tisch, siehe Minolta Hi-matic S2: spannender Vormittag (digicamclub.de) Der Vorbesitzer hatte wohl die beiden AA-Batterien im Batteriefach vergessen, die ausgelaufen waren. Die beiden Batterien waren derartig...

www.digicamclub.de

(German only sorry)

mshchem · Nov 11, 2023

This is great

xkaes · Nov 11, 2023

The Minolta CLE did share some "guts" with the Minolta XE-7 and the Copal/Leica/Minolta vertical shutter, but that was all years before the Minolta X-700/X-570/X-370 series and bad capacitors. The Minolta XK, XE, XD, and XG cameras used capacitors but they didn't suffer from capacitor "death" like the later X-700/X-570/X-370 cameras. And apparently, the problem is more of an issue with the X-700/X-570/X-370 cameras that were made in China, as opposed to Japan -- however that might just be a theory in search of data, as Giuliani would say.

4season · Nov 11, 2023

I previously reworked the X700 electronics, replacing some of the original capacitors with solid tantalum type (no liquid!). I have another X700 sitting in my repair queue, but having completed a couple of larger projects earlier this year (Hasselblad 500c/A12/120 S-Planar, Salyut-S outfit) I'm taking a break from repairs.

Should the opportunity present itself, Minolta CLE, XD-S and even TC-1 would all be tempting projects! The trick is finding examples which are otherwise in good condition, for "the right price". There's always the element of risk involved, and the price needs to reflect it.

Andreas Thaler · Nov 11, 2023

xkaes said:
The Minolta CLE did share some "guts" with the Minolta XE-7 and the Copal/Leica/Minolta vertical shutter, but that was all years before the Minolta X-700/X-570/X-370 series and bad capacitors. The Minolta XK, XE, XD, and XG cameras used capacitors but they didn't suffer from capacitor "death" like the later X-700/X-570/X-370 cameras. And apparently, the problem is more of an issue with the X-700/X-570/X-370 cameras that were made in China, as opposed to Japan -- however that might just be a theory in search of data, as Giuliani would say.

When you consider that these cameras were manufactured around 40 years ago and are not robust workhorses made of the best materials, you have even more respect for the achievements of the Japanese engineers back then. The electrolytic capacitors are the only real weak point.

Andreas Thaler · Nov 11, 2023

4season said:
I previously reworked the X700 electronics, replacing some of the original capacitors with solid tantalum type (no liquid!). I have another X700 sitting in my repair queue, but having completed a couple of larger projects earlier this year (Hasselblad 500c/A12/120 S-Planar, Salyut-S outfit) I'm taking a break from repairs.

Should the opportunity present itself, Minolta CLE, XD-S and even TC-1 would all be tempting projects! The trick is finding examples which are otherwise in good condition, for "the right price". There's always the element of risk involved, and the price needs to reflect it.

The prices for defective cameras are high here in Europe. I can still afford the Minolta X and the Canon A, but the Nikons are beyond price. And unfortunately the ones I do own work and so I can't use them to practice

negativefunk · Nov 11, 2023

Great thread, thanks!

grain elevator · Nov 11, 2023

Interest here, too. I have two XD-7 I really like and an X-500 (that I'm lukewarm about, even though it resolves my issues with the xd, namely no exposure lock and the slippery shutter speed dial) and want to learn to do more repairs on them.

Andreas Thaler · Nov 11, 2023

Thank you all for your feedback!

Andreas Thaler · Nov 11, 2023

grain elevator said:
Interest here, too. I have two XD-7 I really like and an X-500 (that I'm lukewarm about, even though it resolves my issues with the xd, namely no exposure lock and the slippery shutter speed dial) and want to learn to do more repairs on them.

The XD-7 (XD-11) is one of the jewels Minolta gave to the world

Flighter · Nov 11, 2023

I'm interested too, I enjoy seeing threads on camera repair, no matter what the model.

Minolta93 · Nov 11, 2023

I'd be very interested. I have an X-570 and an X-370. I also have seen new production Seagull/Chinon cameras that look like they're X-series cameras for sale, new. They might be NOS, though.

I'd be interested in figuring out why my X-570 won't fire my flashgun. It all works just fine on my X-370 but my 570 with the flash attached in any mode will just open the shutter once the button is pressed and the flash won't fire. The shutter stays open until I manually press the test button on the flash itself, then the flash fires and the shutter closes. Weird stuff. I couldn't diagnose it using the service manual.

Andreas Thaler · Nov 12, 2023

Minolta93 said:
I'd be very interested. I have an X-570 and an X-370. I also have seen new production Seagull/Chinon cameras that look like they're X-series cameras for sale, new. They might be NOS, though.

I'd be interested in figuring out why my X-570 won't fire my flashgun. It all works just fine on my X-370 but my 570 with the flash attached in any mode will just open the shutter once the button is pressed and the flash won't fire. The shutter stays open until I manually press the test button on the flash itself, then the flash fires and the shutter closes. Weird stuff. I couldn't diagnose it using the service manual.

If we assume that it is rarely the ICs that fail, as already noted by reddesert in another thread:

Although people get stressed out about the undocumented, complicated, and unreplaceable parts (eg the microcontroller that might exist in a camera or amplifier), IME those are rarely the parts that fail. For a few cameras there are known failure points that are discussed on the web, for example the capacitor that goes bad in some Minoltas (as posted by the OP in another thread), and a known replacement procedure.

Post in thread 'Little information about repairing electronic cameras'
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...airing-electronic-cameras.202829/post-2739999

only mechanical and electrical problems on individual electronic components remain which should be remediable. Unless the camera has been damaged by a fall or impact.

Although the top and bottom housing covers almost perfectly protect the electronics from dust and dirt, the Minolta X cameras are not sealed against moisture. This means corrosion can cause problems.

Or the contacts on the outside of the hot shoe are oxidized.

Maybe one of the cables from the hot shoe to the circuit board has come off inside or a soldering point has become cold. You could take off the top cover and take a look.

beemermark · Nov 12, 2023

Did all the Minolta's X camera use the prism? I have two XE-7 where the foam has deteriorated on the front of the prism. You can remove what's left of the fowm but the prism is ruined.

xkaes · Nov 12, 2023

Minolta93 said:
I also have seen new production Seagull/Chinon cameras that look like they're X-series cameras

I'm familiar with the Seagull cameras -- since Seagull made several Minolta cameras -- but which Chinon cameras look like Minolta SLRs?

_T_ · Nov 12, 2023

Chinon sold a number of rebadged seagull cameras all of which were based on the internals of the Minolta x-370 that seagull manufactured. It’s hard to find information about every single model but there is some information on camera-wiki

Edit: my mistake I was thinking of centon

xkaes · Nov 12, 2023

Minolta93 said:
I'd be interested in figuring out why my X-570 won't fire my flashgun. It all works just fine on my X-370 but my 570 with the flash attached in any mode will just open the shutter once the button is pressed and the flash won't fire. The shutter stays open until I manually press the test button on the flash itself, then the flash fires and the shutter closes. Weird stuff. I couldn't diagnose it using the service manual.

I've heard of this problem before, but I can't remember how it was resolved. Tell us what flash you are using, and what camera setting you are using. I think this has to do with TTL "problems".

xkaes · Nov 12, 2023

_T_ said:
Edit: my mistake I was thinking of centon

Yes, there is the Centon DF-300 which is just a re-badged Seagull DF-300 / Minolta X-300. They also made a Centon K200 and K400 that used the Minolta X-370 body, but they had a Pentax K mount. I assume that they used the same capacitors as the X-370.

http://www.subclub.org/minchin/centon.htm

Interested in Minolta X camera repair reports?

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