Minolta Hi-Matic S

Harlee

Harlee

Well-known
Local time
4:07 AM
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Messages
495
I just returned from Ukraine and while putting my cameras away I noticed that my Minolta Hi-Matic S camera will not wind nor will the shutter fire. The last I recall anyone handling it was by the security official at the Munich airport. He wanted to make sure it was a real camera. Don't know what he did but since then it's not working. I removed the top and bottom to see if I could trip the shutter but to no avail. I did manage to wind the film but the shutter still will not trip. On my last trip through Munich Airport, the security official left the zipper open on my carryon bag and everything fell out of it when I went to pick it up and a hand painted tea pot, a gift from my teachers, smashed into a hundred pieces. The Hi-Matic S was in mint condition too! Henceforth I'll have to keep a closer eye on them guys.
 
I found another Hi-Matic S on Ebay so I bought it. Now I have one working one to compare with my busted one to try and determine what's wrong with the one that was buggered up going through security in Munich. I somehow feel that there's a spring off somewhere that's not cocking the shutter when I can monkey with it to advance the film. Right now, with the top removed, I have to move a cam out of the way to get the film advance lever to function properly but the shutter still won't trip. I really like these Hi-Matic S camera; they're nice travel cameras.
 
My Hi-Matic S arrived today and I was really surprised to find that it's in mint condition, better than my original one. Well, I removed the bottom on both cameras and found that there was a spring not in the proper position on my original one so I moved it according to the newer one and thought that would fix it. Unfortunately, it didn't. The shutter will not trip, but I noticed that the "use flash" light isn't coming on either, so now I believe I have an electrical problem which apparently activates the shutter. With the bottom removed I do see some contacts which I'll need to check out. The batteries I used were good batteries. So, stayed tuned for further results!
 
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