Minolta Hi-Matic 7 battery solution

[Griffin]

Does anyone know of a good working solution for this interesting little camera? My father in law just gave me his. It's the camera he used to shoot my wife when she was a wee toddler. It seems to be in rather good condition and I'd like to be able to use the auto exposure function on it.

I've done some trawling on the net, but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a "Minolta Guy" 😉

 

[ibcrewin]

Ha! That's funny. I just picked up a Himatic 7sII at a flea market and I had the same question. I think you can use 645 zinc air batteries. They come in at a voltage of 1.4 but quickly drop to 1.3 until they die out. Doesn't last as long as the mercury batteries, but it sounds like a decent solution. I know Canonet guys were doing the same thing.

I only figured out last night that apperture blades open up after f/8 when you press the shutter. You can see the apperture blades moving at f/11 and f/16 even with the shutter disengaged.

Lightseals. I don't know what condition your light seals are but I just ordered a replacement kit from jon goodman. That's easy enough to diy.

Awesome little camera. I'm going to run a cheap roll of film through it at lunch.