Minolta Hi-Matic 7s Light Seals

[botsjunk]

I bought a Hi-Matic 7s recently, and snapped through 2 rolls. The pictures came out dark for some reason. I was using Fuji Superia X-tra 400. Some shots also show some signs of light leaks, or what I think are signs of light leaks. I am new at working with old rangefinder cameras, hence I'm not sure if the bad pictures are because of bad light seals or something else. Also, few pictures came out fine, which is odd.

You can view all the pictures out of the 2 rolls here online: http://www.moiz.ca/photos/

Is it the bad light seals that are doing this? or was it the film? or was it just me not being able to use the camera properly.

Also, i accidently took quiet a few pictures on the "off" mode of the camera, without selecting the film speed and using any light meter.

Any thoughts would be helpful. I just started playing around with film and rangefinders, so please please bear with me.

Thank you.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I bought a Hi-Matic 7s recently, and snapped through 2 rolls. The pictures came out dark for some reason. I was using Fuji Superia X-tra 400. Some shots also show some signs of light leaks, or what I think are signs of light leaks. I am new at working with old rangefinder cameras, hence I'm not sure if the bad pictures are because of bad light seals or something else. Also, few pictures came out fine, which is odd.

You can view all the pictures out of the 2 rolls here online: http://www.moiz.ca/photos/

Is it the bad light seals that are doing this? or was it the film? or was it just me not being able to use the camera properly.

Also, i accidently took quiet a few pictures on the "off" mode of the camera, without selecting the film speed and using any light meter.

Any thoughts would be helpful. I just started playing around with film and rangefinders, so please please bear with me.

Thank you.

Just about any camera that age will need new light seals. The best I know of are sold by Jon Goodman, on ebay, under the name "interslice." http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZinterslice However, the photos coming out dark sounds to me like you might have a sticky shutter (shutter blades sticking together) and this means you need a full-fledged CLA. Unfortunately, the 7S and maybe the Canonets are perhaps the most difficult of all 35mm cameras to CLA. The shutters are sheer hell to get into and then to get back together so they still work. Most veteran camera tinkerers won't even attempt it. My best advice would be to flush the shutter repeatedly (naptha or circuit board cleaner) and hope that gets it, because if it doesn't, I don't think you can do it yourself and I don't think you can get it done without paying many times what the camera is worth.

 

[Trius]

I would do the seals and not worry about the shutter. While the 7s and QLs may be harder to replace seals than others, it still isn't that hard. Interslice/Jon Goodman is the way to go. If you have any questions, Jon is great at communicating and answering all your questions.

The 7s is a great camera, especially for the money. It's worth a small investment to do the seals and see what happens.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I would do the seals and not worry about the shutter. While the 7s and QLs may be harder to replace seals than others, it still isn't that hard. Interslice/Jon Goodman is the way to go. If you have any questions, Jon is great at communicating and answering all your questions.

The 7s is a great camera, especially for the money. It's worth a small investment to do the seals and see what happens.

I wasn't talking about seal replacement being hard, that's going to be pretty easy on any camera (if a little messy). It is getting into the shutter without damaging it and then getting it back together that is difficult. The Hi-Matic's shutter is incredibly complex, as is that of the Canonets.

 

[Trius]

FallisPhoto: I understood ... I'm just suggesting that he do the seals first; if that doesn't fix the problem, then I'd either have it professionally repaired or buy another sample.

 

[FallisPhoto]

FallisPhoto: I understood ... I'm just suggesting that he do the seals first; if that doesn't fix the problem, then I'd either have it professionally repaired or buy another sample.

I agree. However, a stuck shutter on either a Hi-Matic or a Canonet is something I would consider reasonable cause for turning it down. I might send it to one of my buddies who is into Canonets or Hi-Matics, as a sort of specialty, but ordinarily it is going to cost about three times what it is worth to unstick it.

 

[Trius]

Absolutely, I agree.