Minolta infopage

Disassembling X700
Fixing the capacitor problem
X300 info
SRT 1xx, 2xx, 3xx info
Shutter speed adjustment
Motordrive MD1 repair info

For beginner as well as interested amateur this SLR-camera is an interesting choice.
Let me summarize it´s advantages and disatvantages.
PRO:
Cheap body and lenses, higly available everywhere.
Good exposure measurement, works well in most situations.
Other bodies with same lens mount even cheaper available as 2nd body.
Single battery with long lifetime reduces cost.

CON:
No modern bodies support MD/MC mount directly
No autofocus, this might not be a disadvantage for some people.
No DX-encoding. Not an disadvantage if you check your setting ;-)
No multiple exposure. Can be bypassed with a trick, but a feature that I definitely miss.
1/1000s limit. Usually not a problem.
Flash sync only up to 1/60sec and not on 2nd curtain. Disadvantage for flash fotography.

Here´s what I use at the moment:

2x X700 Body
1x SRT303
1x XG2
1x MD1 Motor drive

1x 16mm f2.8 Sigma Fisheye
1x 28mm f2.8 Minolta
1x 50mm f1.7 Minolta
1x 100mm f2.5 Minolta
1x 135mm f2.8 Tokina
1x 300mm f4.5 Minolta MC
1x 600mm f8.0 Sigma
1x 17-28mm f4.0-4.5 Vivitar
1x 35-70mm f3.5-4.8 Minolta
1x 70-210mm f4.5-5.6 Tokina

1x Extension tube set
1x 50mm Macro 1:1 f3.5 Minolta

1x Auto132PX TTL strobe
1x Osram VS300 Studio strobe

1x SLIK PRO 500 DX tripod

Disassembling the X700:

For cleaning and repair, I have provided some pictures of how the first parts of the X700 can be disassembled.

Picture of top removal
Picture of bottom removal
Picture of electronic part

X700 disassembly and important information

! NEW: X700 focusing screen removal illustrated !

How to fix the electronic problem:

The frequent electronic failure of the X700 seems to be a simple failure of two 220uF/4V capacitors.
Simply replace them and it works again !

Picture of location of capacitor 1 (Bottom)
 Schematic of location (cap 1)
Picture of location of capacitor 2 (Top)
Schematic of location (cap 2)

Pictures of another repair session sent to me:
Picture1 Picture2 Picture3

I´m currently looking for a hint how to repair a rewind lever that is turning hard. Anyone knows something ? This also caused my MD1 motordrive to fail after a few dozend of rolls of film.

X300 Info:


I now had some X300 under repair.
So far I found that the X300 has only one capacitor in the bottom area. Not the second one like X700 under the PCB for the film sensitivity.

I also had a X300 where the rewind lever made cracking sounds, the curtain moved little and shutter did not work. There the problem was that the camera has been dropped and the little gears (blue and white) in the base plate were loose. There was one little screw to adjust those gears again. Ask me if you need details.

The newer X370s is almost the same.

Tips from K.M.:(all pictures thanks to K.M.)
Possible fitting capacitor is at http://www.schuricht.de "Elko SMD 220µF 6V" (Nr. 800701, 2 Pcs 6,99€)
Picture of bottom cover removal
Picture of capacitor replacement
Picture of old and new capacitor comparison

I got this information about the capacitors (Probably most interresting for German users):
"Subminiatur-Elektrolyt-Kondensatoren 220 uF, 10 Volt" Order-Number 460710-14 (18 cent per piece. 6 x 7 mm) www.conrad.de

Here is another link to a source for the capacitor:
micro-tools.com

SRT 1xx, 2xx, 3xx Info:

For the fully mechanic camera, I have adjusted the shutter timing. Ask me if you need advice how to do this.

I have some experience now in rethreading the AV and TV string of the SRT camera models.
If the string is broken, first try to get a similar thread that has same length than the remaining pieces.
Use a string that doesn´t change it´s length over time. You need a knot at both ends.
The way the thread is wound through the camera can be found in this image.
Shutter speed adjustment (general):

What you need: Oscilloscope or frequency counter, measurement tool.

The tool is placed at the film plane behind the shutter and the camera is faced towards a light source (strong lamp). It consits of two universal photo-transistors that will switch on, if the light of a lamp hits the sensitive surface of the device.

This simple setup will allow to measure the opening and closing of the first and second curtain. It is not 100% accurate, but will help to adjust the shutter speed relatively precise. Also it will allow to adjust the curtain travel time for cameras like the X700 which have a hoizontal travelling curtain.

The diagram on my trusty LeCroy scope looks like this DIAGRAM. The two traces show the signal at the two photo-transistors. From the transitions one can measure the curtain travel times for first ans second curtain and the total exposure time. Also exposure varations from left to right film area can be detected.

MD1 Repair Info:


My Motor Drive 1 (MD1) broke down :-(
Symptoms: - Motor went hot, strange loud noises, battery drained fast.

Solution: Replace motor. I tried several things to fix the motor and disassebled the motor completely but failed to fix the problem.
Other solution: Repair motor. You can take apart the motor itself completely. After unsuccessfully trying to find a spare motor (Matsuhsita), I took is apart and repaired it. Very important: Do not try to put oil or grease on the motor´s axis, the sinter bearing will not work afterwards. I had to cleanup everything with terpentine.

The motor is 12V DC and has a coil resistance of about 3Ohms.
Type: Matsushita KCN-22ACTM , 12VDC, 22mm diameter, 33mm body length, 6 threads M3 mount, 2mm axis (6,5mm length)

Disassembling MD1 (1)
Disassembling MD1 (2)
MD1 inside view
Top control knob cabling

Other problem on MD1: There is a little black plastic ring inside the gearbox which tends to be squashed after long use, then the mechanism also tends to fail.

Thank you all for the frequent visits on this page !
Feel free to send me an email for suggestions about what you´d like to see here.

 More to come...(under construction)