CLE Kaput -- HELP!

S

sircarl

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Nov 1, 2004
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I was out shooting with my Minolta CLE today, and as I popped in the third roll, the camera stopped functioning. Specifically, the film advance lever can only be turned halfway, then it stops. It won't revolve the take-up spool or cock the shutter. I put in new batteries, but that didn't help (battery check light goes on, LEDs visible in finder, so they're good). The film rewind release button is not pressed in. The take-up spool can be turned in the proper direction with my finger. I set the shutter speed dial to both A and to specific shutter speeds -- this didn't help. The frame counter is set at S and won't budge. Interestingly, with the prior two rolls I had trouble loading too, but after fiddling around I got it to work. And there were no problems turning the advance lever once I was shooting. A mystery.

Do any of you CLE owners out there have any suggestions? If not, does anyone know where I can send the camera to be fixed (preferably in England, but elsewhere if necessary)?
 
Occasionally, especially with Ilford cassettes, I've had problems with the film cassette not seating properly in the little recess where the end of the spool sits, and refusing to wind on. If Magus' suggestion doesn't work, try reseating the cassette.
 
Joe,

I've tried operating the camera with film in it (several times) and without film. Makes no difference -- the film advance lever still won't go beyond the halfway point. Besides, the lever always used to work properly even without film in the camera, so I don't think it's a problem with the Ilford spool (I do use Ilford film).
 
Magus,

No film in the camera to begin with -- this problem started after I removed the second roll and was trying to insert a third. Tried tapping the camera several times and in different ways, as you suggested. Still doesn't work.
 
for what it's worth, take heart that the problem may be mechanical. The electronic components of the camera may be impossible to repair (find parts) these days. Good luck.
 
Something like this happened to me a few times. I couldn't advance the film and the shutter wouldn't work. No matter what I tried (pressing the release button, changing shutterspeeds, removing and reinserting batteries,...), the CLE was dead. I ended up removing the bottom plate, ripping off the wires to the battery cage in the process, and finally putting the camera aside 'untill I had time for it'. Several months later I finally reassembled it and it magically worked again.
Only a few rolls later it locked up again. Since it survived the previous incident, I was a bit calmer this time. I did the usual things (see above) and ended up tapping it a few times firmly in the palm of my hand. This solved the problem. Maybe you could try this? Be carefull not to whack the rangefinder out of alignment.

Wim
 
This sounds like a mechanical issue and not an electrical one. Could be anything from a film chip jamming the gears to a worn or broken part in the film mechanism to a part that has slipped out of place to something else jamming the mechanism. It is beginning to sound like something beyond the scope of this forum.
 
Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. Where feasible, I've tried them all (except Wim's advice about tapping it firmly -- too chicken to do that). Unfortunately, the film winder lever still won't budge beyond the halfway point. So it looks like I'll be calling CRR Luton tomorrow. All this has made me very frustrated. I knew the hazards of buying a camera that is hard to repair when I got it several months ago. Since then, I've found the CLE to be a superb camera for the kind of photography I like to do. And the 40mm and 90mm Rokkors and CV 25mm Skopar that I bought along with it are all fine lenses. I hope CRR can come up with a fix, because I'll be very bummed out if I can't use it any more.
 
Hi Carl,

I have a dependable, experienced, retired Minolta technician here in Germany. If your man in the UK cant take care of it send the camera to me via registered mail.

Best Regards
Kevin
 
i had similar problem once. make sure the shutter curtain is closed all the way. it doesn't take much to lock the camera as you've described. if you had problems loading film it is very likely that you moved the curtain. be very careful. don't use your finger or a sharp object. you may or may not see the edge of the curtain. still try and see if you can move the curtain in closed position . i'm on a cell phone right now, so typing is tough. good luck.


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