Minolta Dimage scan repair appeal!

[ZeissFan]

With electronics, how can you tell if a transistor, integrated circuit or the CCD has failed? Often, you can't. So what you do is simply replace the mainboard.

When my computer failed to power up, I thought it was the power supply. It wasn't.

I was then faced with trying to diagnose why it wasn't powering up and spent countless hours on a 10-year-old computer. I thought about it and decided to build a new computer.

And that's probably how most repair people view problems with an orphaned computer product that is no longer supported by the parent company.

 

[ZeissFan]

It is just so much easier to repair a 50-year-old mechanical device (car, blender, camera, lawn mower) than a new electronic device -- even if that old car is missing a gear or belt or has broken shutter straps (Contax I that I own).

 

[hanskerensky]

With electronics, how can you tell if a transistor, integrated circuit or the CCD has failed? Often, you can't. So what you do is simply replace the mainboard.

When my computer failed to power up, I thought it was the power supply. It wasn't.

I was then faced with trying to diagnose why it wasn't powering up and spent countless hours on a 10-year-old computer. I thought about it and decided to build a new computer.

And that's probably how most repair people view problems with an orphaned computer product that is no longer supported by the parent company.

And that's exactly the cause of why there are few or no professionals around wanting to take the job of repairing such a device. The hours needed and so the costs of such a repair effort could easily exceed the price of a new device. Besides that the professional would run the risk that even he/she is unable to fix the problem and the only result would be a device still not working and a huge bill for the customer who probably would be very frustrated.

 

[cabbiinc]

It's sad that no one knows how to use a multimeter or oscilloscope anymore.
If you can get the schematics for printed circuit boards a 3d printer can make them. Before that you'd just go to radio shack (in the U.S.) and get a blank board and components and have at it.

 

[Bob Michaels]

And I suspect that a V750 would surprise you. Possibly better than your Minolta? (well of course anything is currently better than your minolta )

I use a MultiPro and have 2 friends that use a V750. I shoot with a Mamiya 7 and have many negs I shot with a 6x6 Bronica SQA. One shoots with two Fuji 6x7 rangefinders. The other a Mamiya 645. Unquestionably, their 12x14 prints are very good. The V750 certainly does not hold back the quality of their work. But I can see a small improvement in the resolution and DMax of my prints from my MultiPro.

But are my prints better than theirs? Well, yes from a technical standpoint by a small amount due to my scanner. But overall, they both do better work than I do simply because they have a better eye and feel for the subject matter than I do. They are both excellent photographers.

Summary: What little you give up using a V750 can be easily made up by your talent in what you photograph and how.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

As I asked 4 days ago - what has gone wrong exactly?

Perhaps the font wasn't big enough?

 

[ozboz]

As I asked 4 days ago - what has gone wrong exactly?

Well, normally, when the scanner starts, the green light flashes, until the machine has doe its self testing. This normally takes a couple of minutes - then the green light comes on steady. Only then can the negative carrier be inserted.
Now what's happened is that the moment the scanner is turned on, the green light comes on. The negative carrier can't be inserted and nothing - absolutely nothing at all functions - So I can't use any software to check anything or to try and kickstart the scanner.
I've tried Vuesacan and Minolta's own scanner software.
My thoughts are the power board, because that's the first thing that usually blows with voltage surges etc.
Ian

 

[ozboz]

Dimage scan Multi Pro

Dimage scan Multi Pro

If I could only get hold of a circuit diagram. Once again, I've totally hit a brick wall. They (circuit diagrams) appear to have all been ceremonially destroyed on a funeral pyre by naked ex-Minolta service technicians, holding a witches feast.....

 

[Bob Michaels]

You will be in luck if your problem is anything other than a burned out bulb. There are no replacement bulbs any more and apparently no alternatives. So there should be a supply of non-functional scanners whose only problem is the bulb.

 

[hanskerensky]

You will be in luck if your problem is anything other than a burned out bulb. There are no replacement bulbs any more and apparently no alternatives. So there should be a supply of non-functional scanners whose only problem is the bulb.

There is a German seller on evilbay called dwussow who sells those bulbs at regular intervals for some weeks now. Ships worldwide.

 

[GordoP]

Minolta Scanner Repair

Minolta Scanner Repair

I live in Manitoba, Canada. I have a Dimage Elite Scanner 5400. About 4 years ago, I was informed by Minolta that their repairs would be handled by Sony Canada in future. At that time, the cost of a repair was $99 no matter the problem. You might consider contacting your area Sony centre.

Canada's Sony centre is at:

Minolta Scanner Repair
Sony of Canada
211 Placer Ct. Toronto, ON
M2H 3R6

My Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro has stopped working.

There must be service technicians,world wide, who have worked on these machines. What has happened to them? Every appeal for help has fallen on deaf ears. It's as if people have been scared off offering Minolta scanner service.

I understand that spare parts are probably non existent (but, again, whatever happened to the spares that must have been at service outlets - it's like these parts have just disappeared....) I think that my machine probably just needs contacts cleaning - but no one will volunteer to even look at it. It's bizarre.

Please help!

Ian (Australia)

 

[srtiwari]

I live in Manitoba, Canada. I have a Dimage Elite Scanner 5400. About 4 years ago, I was informed by Minolta that their repairs would be handled by Sony Canada in future. At that time, the cost of a repair was $99 no matter the problem. You might consider contacting your area Sony centre.

Canada's Sony centre is at:

Minolta Scanner Repair
Sony of Canada
211 Placer Ct. Toronto, ON
M2H 3R6

I guess thats out.
Just got this from the sony site...

..."Notice of Service Closure for Konica Minolta Products

Sony has been providing customer service for Konica Minolta cameras and related products since April 1, 2006.

As of January 1, 2011, Sony will no longer provide customer service for Konica Minolta products."...


Sorry !

 

[aldobonnard]

There is a German seller on evilbay called dwussow who sells those bulbs at regular intervals for some weeks now. Ships worldwide.

If that's the one seller I'm thinking, let go, the man is a rogue seller, real crook. When asked for the exact reference and manufacturer (no harm in checking compatibility), he told me off.
Then he uses a number of fake accounts plus ebay-robots to bring the auction to a high price.
I had to report his ads then for a while the starting bid prices went to around 60Euro, until at some point he restarted his little game of near-zero starting bid + fakes accounts..
I'm pretty sure you can find a replacement lamp but it may require a bit of enquiry at a specialist's.

 

[hanskerensky]

If that's the one seller I'm thinking, let go, the man is a rogue seller, real crook. When asked for the exact reference and manufacturer (no harm in checking compatibility), he told me off.
Then he uses a number of fake accounts plus ebay-robots to bring the auction to a high price.
I had to report his ads then for a while the starting bid prices went to around 60Euro, until at some point he restarted his little game of near-zero starting bid + fakes accounts..
I'm pretty sure you can find a replacement lamp but it may require a bit of enquiry at a specialist's.

Ok, thanks for that warning !

 

[menos]

Ian, this is probably too late as I only now stumble upon this old thread, but here goes:

I bought a Minolta Multi Pro some time ago from a fellow US photographer and despite it's downfalls as it is indeed an older generation scanner, it does indeed deliver absolutely marvellous quality files from medium format film scans.

Probably the biggest downfall of the scanner is, that in times, it seems a bit picky about a very precise procedure of start up and scanning.
It also seems to be rather picky of connections, software used and the phase of the moon for that matter.

I had at some point a very similar problem, you described - references can be found googling on the net.

It appears, that if the correct startup procedure is not followed or any of the connections is not up to scratch, the scanner will simply not work without giving an easily understandable diagnose of the issue.

I did the following, to get mine running fine on a modern Mac via FW800 connection:

I use the latest Mac OS X and the latest VueScan 64bit software.
I connect an Apple Thunderbolt to FW800 adapter to an external FW800 hard drive, which I use as a passthrough FW800 device, to keep the Firewire connection between scanner and Mac alive even during very long high res scans (this tip - you won't believe it can be found on Ken Rockwell's site).

The scanner is connected to the external FW drive via a standard FW800 cable.

Before switching the scanner on, you have to have this chain established. Don't switch the scanner on before connecting to the Mac !!!

When the scanner is switched on, you have to give it time for it's long startup run - I usually am off to brew a coffee or do other chores, like sorting the film, I am about to scan, preparing a set of neg holders, etc …
Never get impatient and disrupt this scanner start up routing (pulling cables, or worse, starting up the scanning software to early!).

After the scanner has started up and shows the ready LED, I start up VueScan.
This is final check, if the scanner is running and fine, as VueScan will try to find the scanner - if it doesn't and displays the "No Scanner has been found …" message upon startup, I repeat the whole routing.

Only if without interruption this routine has been finished, do I proceed to insert a film holder.


This all sounds very complicated and to be a major hassle, but once this routine sticks, it is send nature and the scanner is fantastic for medium format film.

One tip: for actually scanning 35mm film, I urge you, to try, to get a Minolta 5400 35mm film scanner instead.
It is a lot faster than the Multi Scan Pro and in my experience delivers superior scans in 35mm than the MultiPro (higher effective res, better shadow detail and to my eye a better looking B/W negative scan).
The still reasonable cost, you can get one of these, opposed to the Nikon Coolscan equivalents and the fact, that you can run the Minolta 5400 COMPLETELY automated under Vuescan, makes an additional 5400 a nobrainer (you just have to switch film holders and the whole scanning process is entirely mouse click free - wonderful for bulk scanning 35mm negs).

The 5400 is so good for 35mm, that in fact, I am actually looking for a second unit for a long time now, just in case.

 

[Fernando2]

Now what's happened is that the moment the scanner is turned on, the green light comes on. The negative carrier can't be inserted and nothing

I'd say "LAMP".
First thing the firmware does, is a lamp check.
If not enough light comes out of it (white calibration fails), the scanner (rightly) refuses to start.
Try to source a CCFL lamp for the Multi Pro. It's not difficult to swap but it's difficult to source. :bang:

 

[Rangefinder 35]

There's really a guy on ebay that sells the lamps for Multiprpo for $99. I think this is Chinese guy in mainland. I bought from him 35mm carrier for Multipro, which he lists as well.

 

[brainwood]

This list of repairers was posted by minolta when they stopped supporting the scanners

http://ca.konicaminolta.com/

I used Runtime Contract in Germany .They fixed my Minolta 5400 after it developed a streak in the output