A new face with a great find.

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martyr

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Hello all you RF lovers. I've been using an RF for several years (an all black Minolta Hi-Matic 7SII that my pop gave me when I was about 12) and never really knew that in doing so, I'd joined a very elite group of photo enthusiasts around the world. Well, I still have that Minolta and, with my father's passing last year, I inherited three camera bags full of some great stuff. Among several lenses, doublers, flash units, cleaning kits and all the 50 and 55mm filters I'll ever need - I found a couple beautiful Minolta SLRs (SRT101 and 201) and an Olympus 35RC that I've researched online and found to be a very cool little camera. But, the motherload of everything in those bags has to be an almost spotless Canon 7. I've had it for months and, while I knew it was old and rugged as hell, I had no idea what it really was. I've recently gone digital out of necessity for my work as a Graphic Designer so the last few months have been spent getting to know my new Olympus E-1 dSLR and Canon S60 point n' shooter. Lately I've missed the warmth of traditional photography so I loaded up my AE-1P with some film and then remembered all that unexplored gear sitting in my closet!

Upon further inspection of the Canon 7: the shutter curtain is perfect and the meter seems to work fine. The VF is bright and clear and the lens is super clean (it's the 50mm/f1.2). It's got what appears to be some very light scuffing on the back element but no clouding or fungus that I can see. The only thing I can find wrong with the cam is a bit of a ding on the top corner just above the PC link. This appears to have knocked the viewfinder out of whack.

I found a page online that talked about how to adjust the horizontal and vertical on the VF and I was able to get to the horizontal adjustment screw just fine with a micro screw driver but I don't have the "pin wrench" needed to get into the vertical adjustment next to the shutter speed dial. I figure at least one of these wrenches would be nice to have should this need adjusting again but I can't find anyone online that sells them. Maybe I'm not searching correctly. Can I assume my local camera repair shop would have these things available?

Thanks for any info. I'll post some pics after I run a few rolls threw and see what I get. -martyr
 
Hi,
Talk about some people being lucky!! Welcome to the group. I would be wary of "local camera shops", most don't have a clue about old cameras. It would be worth shooting a roll or 2 preferably of slide film so you can assess how well it is working. For a camera like that, I would be very tempted to have a proffessional CLA done which should put it in near perfect condition. If you insist on haveing a go yourself, you can get most specialist parts from Micro Tools. http://www.micro-tools.com/

Kim
 
the "pin-wrench" you want, and all other small tools for camera repair are available by online ordering from a company called Micro-Tools. The cost is modest.

A "local camera store" would (I am 99% sure) not have any service tools for sale.
 
I was able to take the cover for the vertical alignment screw using a pair of fine needle nosed pliers. They were fine enough to fit the holes, and of course you could set the separation. Care was required.
 
Another way to get that vertical adjust port off a 7 or 7s is to buy a cheap jeweler's screwdriver slightly wider than the port, and then grind appropriately-spaced points into it using a Dremel or similar hand-held grinding/cutting tool. I made one of these a while back and just discovered I've lost it, so this is on my to-do list for this evening. Be sure to wear eye protection while using the grinding tool.

Also, the vertical adjustment on a 7/7s is very touchy (apparently this is one of the things they improved on the 7sz.) On the 7/7s, the RF mirror sits on a little flat stainless-steel spring, and what you're doing as you turn the tiny screw is jacking the spring up and down to change the mirror's angle. The problem is that the mirror jiggles like crazy as you're turning it, so you can't just look through the finder and turn it until things look right -- you have to tweak it a bit, look to see how you did, tweak again, etc., etc., etc. If anybody has found a better trick for doing this, please share!!
 
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You will enjoy the 7. I did a vertical alignment on mine, and used sharp pointed tweezers to take out the screw. It will have to come out. The adjustment screw is underneath. By the by, I simply pried gently until I got the alignment I wanted. I could do little else, but it came out perfect. If you turn the screw too much, it will simply loosen everything up to the point it feels like it is about to fall out. I am no professional. These are just my impressings. I sold my 7, but kept the lenses to use with adapters on an old M2. The Canon system was very, very nice. WNG NC
 
Rockford said:
If you turn the screw too much, it will simply loosen everything up to the point it feels like it is about to fall out.
Click to expand...

You DEFINITELY don't want to turn that vertical adjust screw very much! 1/8 turn makes a huge change in the vertical alignment. If your vertical alignment is pretty close, the smallest amount that human fingers can distinguish is about how much you'll need to turn it. If it's very close, just thinking you're maybe about to turn it is how much it takes!

The good news is that once it's set, it stays set a long time.
 
Muchas gracias.

Muchas gracias.

Thanks everyone for the kind feedback and website info. Can't wait to see the cool shots I can get out of this great camera.
 
Nice story and great find Martyr ! You'll enjoy a lot the Canon 7 and the 50/1.2, and I must say I'm happy to find another user who appreciates the Minolta SRT line 🙂

Welcome !!!!!
 
OK! I got the VF adjusted perfectly. Y'all were right, that vertical adjustment is very touchy. The screw isn't straight down under the hole either - it was off to the side a bit. But, I focused in on a palm tree several hundred yards away and got it dialed in perfectly between the vert and horiz. To open the vert adjust cover, I used some pointy ended tweezers held tightly with a pair of needle nose pliers to keep the tweezers from tweaking as I unscrewed the cover. Worked great! Gotta get this beautiful old camera out and shoot away now! Thanks.
 
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