Minolta X7-a

[Venice Sassone]

EXTREMELYhelpful! Oh my god, this is exactly what I've been looking for, for years now. I appreciate the history and even more so, the technical information and link for the right caps. I am extremely grateful!

Wow. Thanks for such an exhaustive run-down and research C.J.! This will doubtless be a hugely useful resource for those of us attempting to revive these cameras.

Any thoughts though on the where the CLE fits into all this? Personally, I am an aficionado of the CLE but it is somewhat susceptible to breakdowns in the electronics but like the Minolta SLRs of its era.

I do have this problem, at least this is what i think as the shutter wont fire and when the button is pressed lights are immediately off.

I replaced the bottom capacitor but the issue still is present, seems the top capacitor has to be replaced?

Hello Dragos,

Yes, if it is an X-700. The mirror release capacitor is the one under the top plate, and once replaced should have you back up and running. It takes more time and effort to get to. Make sure you take a picture or otherwise record the ISO setting you have on the dial and then again note the position of the tabs and levers under the dial for ISO and exposure compensation before you remove them to access the capacitor. I will often take a picture as I remove each component, just as a memory aid for reassembly. I hope that helps. Take care.

Thanks, I just replaced the second capacitor...unfortunately still same issue, shutter does not fire. I did not mention that before doing the replacement, the aperture preview lever does not move when push the button on the left side of the mount; the lever is still tension, same for the button; lever can be moved by finger; when push the button, the lever cannot be moved anymore with finger; is this connected to the capacitor or something else is wrong?

Hi Dragos,

Sorry to hear that the problem is more serious than just a capacitor. With the improper function of the stop-down lever, it could very well be contributing to the problem. Here is a link to a PDF of the service manual.

_rep/reflexes/minolta/minolta_X-700_repair_service_manual.pdf

You may be able to use the Troubleshooting section at the end of the manual to diagnose the problem. I am afraid I am not of much help without being able to lay my hands on the camera itself. If you have any further questions, please use the Contact Us page and I will do my best to help you.

Thank you for uploading this CJ. This DIY camera fix has become important to me recently when my previously flawless fully operational XG-M started to give me trouble. The shutter stopped firing in A mode. It still works with no issues in manual mode (meters properly, shutter fires normally, and film advance works). The meter works in both M and A. But when in A mode, the meter shows up red arrow over 1000s and goes blank when I press the shutter button and of course it will not fire. Since reading your blog I am wondering if you might know if it is only one of the e-caps (hopefully the bottom plate one) that would affect the A mode only function. Other bloggers have indicated the top ecaps could also be the culprit. Can you share any insight on this? I have never held a soldering iron before but the bottom plate one seems doable for me it's the e-caps under the top cover that intimidate me. Thanks for your feedback.

Yes, I downloaded the service manual yesterday. I noticed my combination of problems in the troubleshooting guide however, I was not sure how to read the schematic (it did look like the issue was in the top section) I guess I will just keep shooting in M mode It's pretty easy to shoot just not as fast. I also own an XG-7 and an X-700, both earlier models manufactured in Japan work flawlessly, I already ordered 10 xg-m ecaps from digikey and a weller soldering iron kit so if you come across any ecap victims in Honolulu please send them my way. As far as I can tell no one is servicing film cameras here. Thank you for your advice. Aloha

Thanks Stephen for the update and offering cap services for any Honolulan Minolta users :-). I second your idea to just use M mode, seeing as you have a couple of other options for A mode shooting. Take care and happy shooting with your Minoltas.

Like any addict I was sure just one more hit would cure me but it now seems as if I have hung around with addicts too much (thanks CJ) because on top of th SRT and the XD I now have a second XD and along with it an X700 with blown caps. I couldnt resist having a go to get an unloved X700 working. Its sat here right now looking forlorn and waiting for some TLC.

Heres a question though, if I could get some STECS, though back in the day when I was into home brew electronics I always thought of them as tantalum bead type, would you reccomend using this instead of the horror electrolytic types ? Reason I ask is I had a Nikon digital melt down after just 2 years due to an electrolytic blow up and am anxious not to see an X700 go the same way so would like to make it better than it was rather than just perpetuate the misery possibly to someone else.

Thanks CJ.

Tonite I set to work on the X700, posh Panasonic caps in hand and, oh wait a minute, took the bottom plate off and lo and behold a tantalum cap. Weird....turns out the X700 can suffer from a different ill. If the batteries fail while its cycling it can get itself in a knot. Shutter release and mirror cycle had jammed. Really simple fix. Lift the mirror out the way (carefully) put your finger inside the camera and very, very gently press the shutter curtain. Naturally wear latex gloves for this. At the same time with the back off the camera use your other hand with just a finger and trap the curtain between both fingers ie your finger from the front of the camera and a finger at the back so the curtain is pinched between the fingers and and very gently push the curtain, left and right. Just a fraction you dont need to go mad just a very gentle agitation. Snap....shutter completes its cycle.... remove finger from under mirror carefully and hola....problem solved and X700 now running sweet. I cant stress enough you have to be very gentle with this procedure and its not for the faint hearted :)

It seems as if the batteries must have gotten too low to energise the entire shutter cycle and the camera got caught between two stools so locked up. Still have to fix a few things to bring this one fully back to life but they are all easy to do.

Hi CJ,

I was wondering if you could give me some advice on what to do with my XG-M. It's been sitting for probably around 20 years. The symptoms are that the film advance lever will not advance, and/or the shutter won't release. The light meter LED's do turn on, and 80% of the time they shut off when I fully depress the shutter.

The shutter curtain is all the way to the left.. so, the shutter curtain has released, but maybe "electronically" the shutter is still engaged?

I replaced the capacitor under the bottom cover but this did not change anything. Should I try replacing the capacitors under the top cover?

I had messed with some things and got the mirror to stay down, and I could wind the lever back slightly farther than I could initially.. to the point that the shutter curtain would travel almost halfway.

The main thing I ask is your advice on if I should continue trying to repair this camera or if I should let this one go. I'm not sure what my next steps should be.

Thank you ever so much for posting this incredibly thorough guide! I wanted to report my results in the hopes of further clarifying for others.

Both my parents purchased Minolta cameras in the early 80's (before they met, funny enough) - my Mom an X-570, and my Dad an XG-M. I acquired both these cameras after getting bitten by the film photography bug. They both had sat unused, likely for decades, and both cameras were DOA. The X-570's mirror was even stuck in the up position so that one could not see anything from the viewfinder. After replacing the capacitor on the X-570, the camera's function returned to 100% and it has been taking great photographs. The old capacitor, by the way, appeared to be the tantalum type - so these can still absolutely go bad!

As for the XG-M, I replaced the capacitor using the one recommended in this article (this is the proper replacement). After swapping over the batteries from the X-570, the camera still appeared to be dead. Luckily, I had ordered some new batteries as well - Energizer A76 types. For some reason, these batteries are thicker than the Energizer 357/304 types I was using in the X-570. The A76 batteries did the trick - they make contact with the terminals, whereas the other ones don't. My XG-M now works beautifully.

Moral of the story - use A76 type batteries for the XG-M. Otherwise, you might mistakenly assume your camera is dead, when it really isn't. It may have even worked without having to replace the capacitor, but I'm glad I have a new one in there :)

In my case, Minolta XD: with the shutter armed (after advancing one frame) the LEDs do not light up. When taking the photo and before advancing the film they work normally. Do you know what could be due?

Thank you.

Sorry for the late reply, Mindundi. Your comment was misfiled. I am sorry I cannot diagnose the problem directly, but there is a free OEM service manual for the XD available at learncamerarepair.com with a Troubleshooting section that may be of assistance. Thanks for reaching out and I apologize again for the delay.

Thank you for this comprehensive overview. Unfortunately after Shooting two films this summer with a x700 that was not in use the last 25 years, the exposure times seems to get bad (News batteries and checked with external light meter). While having the third film almost completed, suddenly the camera always shows times far too long. After developing (caffenol - wonderful) I also noticed, that the corresponding Pictures were over-exposed. I opened the upper and lower parts of the body and only found tantal caps. Do you have any suggestions?

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