HELP!!! with X-700. Urgent please!!!!!

[Veerendra Chirala]

Hi,

I just got my Minolta X-700 that I bought on ebay delivered.
I was checkiing out the camera and I see the following problems and I
have no clue what is wrong.

1. The Film advance lever does not turn more than 30 degrees. There is
no fim in the camera but it just does not budge. What ever I do. I
went through the manual but I do not see what I am doing wrong.

2. When I touch the shutter release button or the operation button, I
am able to see the mode, sutter speed etc in the viewfinder, but when
I depress the button, the shutter is not released.
I did turn "ON" the camera and also put in "A" mode, focused it, got
an exposure reading of 500, I press the shutter and nothing happens.
What gives?
Any suggestions on what could be wrong or what I am doing wrong?
Could be an operator error. Please let me know.
This never happened to me from the stuff I bought on Ebay. I never
felt so stupid.
Thanks.
Veeren.

[Edwin]

Try this, copied from another Minolta owner named Don:

The camera was probably stored with the shutter cocked, and needs the
solenoid to be released.

[If you're mechanically inclined, and don't have any warranties to void,
remove the base plate. The solenoid is almost dead center (thing that
triggers the shutter). Using a toothpick or other non-metal object, poke and
prod the lever coming out of it. It will fire the shutter (assuming it is
cocked, which it sound like it is).

The two I've done this for worked fine afterwards. It is like the solenoid
was stuck from having the shutter cocked while the body was stored for a
long period of time. Even if the capacitor is bad, the shutter will fire
when you poke the solenoid.]

This is of course after you have made sure that the battery and contacts are
good,
that there is no film in the camera that has reached the end of the roll,
hoping not to insult your
intelligence with these statements.
Much information on this subject is available on the yahoo groups manual
minolta site:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ManualMinolta/messages starting with message
# 3366
and the following thread.

Good luck, Edwin

"Veerendra Chirala" <vant...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:7e28303b.01062...@posting.google.com...

[Willie B]

"Veerendra Chirala" <vant...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:7e28303b.01062...@posting.google.com...

That's a common problem with older Minolta X-700s. A resistor has burned out
and that's why the shutter won't fire.

Most repair places charge over $100 to fix it. You might want to contact the
seller and see about getting your money back- or an allowance to get it
repaired.

Willie

[slrguy]

If you need the camera serviced try JT Camera (John Titterington) at
jtca...@aol.com . I had him "completely go through my X700 for about $80
and purchased another reconditioned one from him for $165. He offers a 90
day
warranty and sells his reconditioned cameras on ebay from time to time.
John's been in the camera repair business for about 25 years and I have
found him to be highly ethical and very competent.
My two X700's haven't missed a beat.

"Veerendra Chirala" <vant...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:7e28303b.01062...@posting.google.com...

[gil gilmore]

The camera is broken. There is a set of plastic gears for file advance
and cocking. The gears are stripped. Repair in the past ran around $90.00

gg

[Bob Hickey]

Before you go nuts, try turning the spool backwards with your
thumb, then push in the rewind button on the bottom, hold it in, and try
cranking it. Might get lucky.
Bob Hickey

[Glenn Garside]

It sounds electro-mechanical rather than your fault... Do you have any
form of warranty on the purchase? Just in case, try changing the
batteries... if they are very low, you can get the indicator lights in the
viewfinder, but not enough voltage to trigger the shutter. If the shutter
is already cocked, it will not recock till it has been fired, so the lever
will not move. I hope that is the case.
Glenn
Brisbane.