Minolta Hi-Matic 7 stuck blades. Help needed.

[mrjr]

I have a couple questions. I admit to being a rangefinder novice. I have this very good condition specimen in front of me, and I'm tired of not being able to use it. Before I go blow my money on more expensive cameras (Yash Electro CC, Konica Auto S3, etc), I thought it would be worthwhile to look into repairing this one first. I'm pretty confident it could turn out to be a nice shooter, partly because I saw a Yakima Camera Repair sticker inside, and partly because of the overall excellent condition. I ordered a battery for it, but don't have it yet.

Everything appears to be working (advance, shutter release), but on pressing the shutter release and watching the apertures blades, nothing happens. I've manually selected aperture and ss, btw.

Am I correct to assume that means the aperture blades are stuck?

I've pretty much ruled out the thought of repairing it myself, having seen how complicated it is, the tools I would need, etc.

What can I expect to pay--ballpark price, of course--to have it repaired locally?

 

[Ranchu]

Sounds like the blades are stuck to me. Maybe fifty bucks or so I would think. I'm guessing really.

 

[hellomikmik]

...
Everything appears to be working (advance, shutter release), but on pressing the shutter release and watching the apertures blades, nothing happens. I've manually selected aperture and ss, btw.
Am I correct to assume that means the aperture blades are stuck?
...

Just to make sure - aperture blades are not supposed to move when you press the shutter release (I suppose you have expressed yourself wrongly in the text). So there is no click sound when pressing the release button?

 

[btgc]

For the record, any other 40+ years old camera incl. Electro, KAS2 etc. can need work. Most of them do need some work, less or more work, to become daily users.

So my advice is to sort out this Minolta and don't expect next purchased camera will work magically, unless purchased in confirmed working condition.

My only gripe with this camera would be too narrow speed and aperture rings, placed too close to each other - as this camera were aimed for [semi]automated operation. But due to mechanical shutter it can be used in manual mode without battery and circuitry if speed escapement and blades aren't gummed up.

 

[mrjr]

Just to make sure - aperture blades are not supposed to move when you press the shutter release (I suppose you have expressed yourself wrongly in the text). So there is no click sound when pressing the release button?

It does click. Shutter and self timer seem to be working. I should have been more clear. But I also wasn't entirely sure if the aperture should remain open. Thanks for clearing that up.

For the record, any other 40+ years old camera incl. Electro, KAS2 etc. can need work. Most of them do need some work, less or more work, to become daily users. So my advice is to sort out this Minolta and don't expect next purchased camera will work magically, unless purchased in confirmed working condition. My only gripe with this camera would be too narrow speed and aperture rings, placed too close to each other - as this camera were aimed for [semi]automated operation. But due to mechanical shutter it can be used in manual mode without battery and circuitry if speed escapement and blades aren't gummed up.

Sensible advice. And I agree with you in the layout of the Hi-Matic 7: good features, but very narrow aperture/ss rings. Love the window on the side of the lens showing the EV coupling, though. Very useful.

 

[mrjr]

Sounds like the blades are stuck to me. Maybe fifty bucks or so I would think. I'm guessing really.

I know of a local place, so I think I'm going to try my luck today.

 

[AlexBG]

It is probably grease/oil on the blades, my minoltina had the same problem. A tiny flat head and some lighter fluid/cotton bud cleaned the blades and they open perfectly now. There is a lot of info on how to clean and get to the blades on a 7, if you mess up or break something on the way they buy another one with stuck blades for £5 and try again. Loved my himatic 7, that's why I love my minoltina now as it is basically a mini version.

 

[mrjr]

It is probably grease/oil on the blades, my minoltina had the same problem. A tiny flat head and some lighter fluid/cotton bud cleaned the blades and they open perfectly now. There is a lot of info on how to clean and get to the blades on a 7, if you mess up or break something on the way they buy another one with stuck blades for £5 and try again. Loved my himatic 7, that's why I love my minoltina now as it is basically a mini version.

Cleaning the blades requires a fairly complicated disassembly of the front of the lens assembly, though, right? On one hand, I know it would probably be very satisfying to repair it myself. On the other hand, I like the idea of letting shop do it, especially since my copy is otherwise quite nice. Hmm. I'll think it over. Is there a guide that you would suggest?

Also: thanks for the tip on the Minoltina.( I assume you have the AL-S, not the P?) Hadn't stumbled on that before. Looks like a sweet little camera.

 

[AlexBG]

I have a minoltina s, same as the al-s I think. I really like it, actually fits in my back pocket so goes out with me more than my other cameras. If your 7 has a working meter and rangefinder and is in nice condition then a shop would be what I would choose.

With my minoltina all I needed to do was to unscrew the lens ring with a screwdriver (there is a special tool to do this as well) then remove three little screws to take the shutter speed selector off and then could unscrew the front lens and get to the blades. As soon as I touched them with a cotton bud they opened.

There's a lot of info here for a 7s which is the same except the flash shoe http://photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00Y1Jj

 

[mrjr]

Thanks for the good info. At this point, I am considering getting a spanner and better precision screwdrivers, and doing (errr, attempting) the repair myself. Worst case, I wreck it. But I only had $40 in it with the battery, so that wouldn't be too too bad. Either way – successful or not — I save my pennies for the rangefinder I really want, which is something a 35mm lens. If I'm successful, I have a working, mechanical camera in my stable.

 

[mrjr]

Ok. Update. This afternoon, I tried to get into the front of the Hi-Matic lens. I didn't have a point spanner, and couldn't manage to find one around town, so I used jewelers screwdrivers. I got the first two rings off and the front element out, but then got stuck and couldn't get any farther. I was looking at three small slotted screws which my drivers couldn't budge without stripping, and apparently two more rings that needed a spanner for extraction. I gave up and put it all back together, not knowing what to do next, and anyway not having the proper tools to attempt it. I'll probably take it to a shop and have them repair it. Would a normal repair/CLA service be versed in meter adjustments for using modern batteries?

 

[clayne]

I know what this problem most likely is, if the 7 is anything close to the 7sII, internally.

The problem is most likely a broken gate wire used to manipulate aperture in shutter-speed driven mode (which is the only thing the 7sII supports aside from manual). The problem though is that if the wire gate breaks then the aperture never opens to maximum in even manual mode due to a faulty design.

You're also going in at the wrong direction. What needs to be done is nothing with the lens but if I remember correctly it's just the top plate that needs to be removed to access camera internally to find this metering wire/needle that's most likely broken. If indeed the 7 has this same setup as the 7sII, you simply bend the remaining part of the gate down to make up for the missing part (see the flickr link), which is what I did in my case. Removing the top plate is basically the same as all other manual cameras, remove the advance and rewind and carefully lift off, making sure the back doesn't close (use tape) because you don't have the ability to pull up the rewind anymore.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/4851028703/
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81281

 

[mrjr]

Got the camera back from repair. All is in order, but my battery came in and the meter isn't working properly. It reads around EV 5.7, regardless of lighting, so I'm pretty sure there's some corrosion going on somewhere. Trying to decide if I should dig into it, or ignore it and try to shoot manually using sunny 16 and tips here: http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm


After I replace the light seals, which of course look completely shot.