Minoltina AL-s, where to send it for a CLA?

[82univega]

Hi everyone.

I've just bought a Minoltina AL-s from a thrift store auction site. The camera appears to be in generally good condition, but it has a stuck shutter and very faint rangefinder patch.

Can anyone recommend a shop or person to perform a CLA on this camera, ideally in the United States?

Thanks in advance.

Andy

 

[JeffS7444]

I'd start by contacting some of the camera-repair generalists out there. I haven't dealt with this individual before, but Blue Moon seems to have a good reputation:
https://bluemooncamera.com/store/product/KREPAIR/knight-camera-repair-service
And yes, 150 USD would be about right, because camera repair is labor-intensive.

I don't recall whether it was my Minoltina which had a dim rangefinder, but one of the Minoltas had a foggy internal glass window, fogged with I-don't-know-what. But once cleaned, the RF looked great.

 

[mconnealy]

It seems like $150 would be a bit steep for a basic cla on that camera as Minolta made it pretty repair-friendly. My notes on dealing with similar issues on mine are in a blog post from a few years ago.

 

[82univega]

Thanks to both of you for the tips.

Some more googling led me to this page with a list of shops that say (or said at some point) that they perform repairs on Minoltas.

United Camera Repair, Inc. in Rock Island, Illinois sounds promising. They say they repair "all Minolta models, from 1950s rangefinders to the Maxxum 7D," and they have generally good reviews online. Their website says their typical turnaround time is around a week, which is appealing. I'm now leaning towards sending it to them.

 

[mconnealy]

Let us know how the repair goes. It's a great little camera. Still regretting giving mine away.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Thanks to both of you for the tips.

Some more googling led me to this page with a list of shops that say (or said at some point) that they perform repairs on Minoltas.

United Camera Repair, Inc. in Rock Island, Illinois sounds promising. They say they repair "all Minolta models, from 1950s rangefinders to the Maxxum 7D," and they have generally good reviews online. Their website says their typical turnaround time is around a week, which is appealing. I'm now leaning towards sending it to them.

Somebody recently posted in a Facebook group that he had his Minolta Hi-Matic 9 serviced by United Camera Repair, and he has very pleased with the work done on his camera.

 

[82univega]

Thanks maconnealy and Zathros. I put the camera in the mail to United Camera Repair yesterday. I'll post an update here once that process is complete.

 

[peppard]

Any updates on your Minoltina CLA? I have the same camera and it needs attention.
Thank you.
Giorgio

 

[Shafovaloff1]

The Minoltina AL-S is a very nice camera. I have owned a few of them and cleaned a few up for myself. With the viewfinder be very careful not to wipe off the coatings inside the finder mechanism. Also, careful with the meter contacts around the lens. The brushes are fragile and you may think you are cleaning the contacts they touch but wipe off the conductive coating. This was one of the most difficult camera lenses I have tried to refurbish because of how the parts fit together. Take your time if you try anything yourself. The Minoltina P, not a reangfinder camera but its brother in marketing has a great lens and shutter program graph that I taped to the back....very reliable and rugged.

 

[82univega]

Hi everyone!

@Giorgio, sorry to go silent for a while. I thought I would get email alerts about posts in this thread, but that doesn't appear to be happening.

United Camera Repair let me know a few days ago that they finished repairing the camera, and I believe it's on its way back to me by now. I'm a couple thousand miles away from them, and I expect that it will arrive later this week. I'll post another update here when I receive it.

@Shafovaloff1: Thanks for the tips on cleaning the camera!

 

[82univega]

P.S. I just discovered that email notifications were disabled in my account here. I've got them turned back on now.

 

[peppard]

Thank you sir!
Giorgio

 

[82univega]

Update: My Minoltina AL-s arrived back from United Camera Repair this afternoon, and I'm really happy with their work.
The viewfinder clarity and rangefinder patch visibility are much improved, shutter speeds are all within about 1/3 stop according to my shutter speed tester (light-sensing device that plugs into my phone), and all of the controls move like I think they should.
The film advance on this camera has a wonderful feel--very refined. I've never had the opportunity to wind a Rolex watch, but I imagine that the experience would be similar. 🙂
I'll put a roll of film in it this weekend and should have results from that in a couple of weeks.

 

[peppard]

I would like to know how much you paid for the CLA service, if you find my request appropriate.
Thank you,
Giorgio

 

[82univega]

Hi Giorgio.
I'd rather leave it to the repair shop to talk about specific dollar amounts, but I will say that the price was very reasonable.