I can't count the amount of times this channel has saved my cameras. My x700 only opened up half of it's shutter curtain and I saw a few forum posts saying it would be a very expensive fix and to just buy another one, but I came across one post where they said the problem was fixed using the same method. The instructions weren't too precise but after watching this video it was a lot more simple than I thought. I'm so glad I could save a camera with such a simple trick. Thank you!
Oh my god, after five years of not working my X300 is already repaired, only 40" thanks for your video. I'm 52 years old more than 20 years ago I bought it and it was spotless !!! Thank you, thank you !! !
This channel saves me all the time. Was working on my x570 earlier today and couldnt get the motor drive wheel to fully retract after winding, and needed to turn it back fully with a coin. I loosened the screw reset the gears so they weren't meshed as tightly and works like a dream now. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THESE UPLOADS. PENTAX 645 wobbly viewfinder fixed And now the x570 🎉🎉
my x300 had the problem those two gears were too tight together. I tried to find out how to adjust the distance but never found out. It's lucky for me to see your video. Thank u so much. 🎉🎉
This fixed my X-700 that was only opening the shutter about 1/4 of the way. Took a few tries at aligning the gears in different spots but ended up fixing the issue! Thank you for taking the time to make this video and saving my camera :)
I use this for Minolta x-700 ,when second courtain in B or in slow time is closed 2/3 of window ,YES it work .In first time i think that the capacitors was the problem but not ,i change one teeth and is OK .Thank you for this solution and all the best for you from Spain .
Thank you so much! It worked for me. It is important is to mention that when you have the camera in the same position as shown, you have to rotate the blue gear CLOCKWISE of 1/2 teeth. If you rotate anticlockwise and you arm the shutter lever it could get stuck halfway and it will be difficult to release the shutter!
Unfortunately I do not remember the exact technique. I was a little bit panicking and I tried somehow to slowly rotate the gears and press the shutter until it worked again.
Thank you so much, I was able to repair a camera which was a gift to my girlfriend for our anniversary . Now it's working again and everybody is really happy.
Thanks! Had this problem with a freshly acquired X300. First the shutter wouldn't open past 50% and shortly after the winder wouldn't engage the shutter, so it always slipped back. This fixed the problem, thank you sir!
This can also fix the issue with the incomplete travel of the curtain / nudge trick problem! I adveanced the blue gear one or two teath further and had a fully functional shutter again! Thank you so much!
Just fixed my Minolta x-70 (AKA XGM) using this trick! was a little different as the pivot lever for the smaller gear had some sort of torque pushing the gears together naturally, this was apparent once the screw was loosened. so i held the gear apart with a toothpick and tighted the screw so the gears were less tightly together than before. This fixed my mirror lockup/shutter advance problem! I really appreciate you FOC! I hope you never stop making videos, would love to see some OM4 strip downs in the future!
that's amazing. This old camera. been in my care for a long time, it seems. So now the number advancement, number of images taken, seems to be what is, not advancing. And this video made it all seem, quite simple for such advanced, and ancient, tech. Thanks :) Smile it's a Minolta!
This shows the state where the idler is set part of the way through the stroke. I just repaired one where the idler was actually not moving at all and the aperture/mirror linkage was out of sequence. Turning the idler counter-clockwise a couple teeth fixed this, but the aperture linkage has to be held in position while the idler drops the rest of the cams into place. You might create this condition artificially if you go too far in the clockwise direction.
I think this just happened to me. I made this adjustment 3 times testing between, and the last time it seemed to work perfectly through maybe 20 actuatons. Then I tried slower shutter seeds until I got to Bulb mode and the shutter got stuck part way like it did before but now I can't move it the rest of the way to release the lever.
I got a untested Minolta XG-1 which worked but had a corroded battery which stopped it from working. I must have messed up the timing while testing it but this worked to bring it back to life.
Thank you so much omg! I didn't do exactly as video but instead pulled back the lock mechanism and winded it myself a few times and then it finally came too. Was completely locked up and now works like a charm:D
I have an interesting problem that hopefully you guys can answer. my winding lever gets stuck when trying to do the winding motion and ive traced it back to that small spring arm that you can see in the right of the frame around 1:46 and 1:47. it seems to be fully blocking the rotation of the that shaft/disk instead of moving out of the way as shown in the video.
You might be referring to the wind interlock lever. It prevents you from double winding and skipping frames. It is pushed clear after the shutter release by the return of mirror cocking lever. See if it is hanging up, you might have to remove the plate that contains the tripod base. You will not be able to lift it completely free due to the battery contact connection. Carefully fold it back so you can inspect the action of the lever.
Hey, I have a Minolta X-GM the light meter still works (until I press the shutter), however the advance lever is stuck and the shutter button does nothing. Do you think it's the Capacitor?
Much going on and the videos have been slow in posting. So many great suggestions for featured cameras to get to. Thank you for your patience and continued support.
So good to see you again. I was just thinking of you today. I have an OM-2 chrome which was fine until i removed the base plate, and somehow shorted the wiring, so batteries only fry shutter ok on bulb. Anyway, I'd like to send it to you as a don er. NEed to know where to ship it.
Thanks for the map. It,s exactly opposite my position on Earth. THailand. But I wanna send the OM-2 for one of ur videos maybe? I got 13 OM bodies now. 5 Om-4s mint which i fixed. Tell me what you think. THe OM2s are quirky comparing the N models. P.s where can i get the spanner wrench you have? I got two from china, but no adjustable blades.
It is no longer available - that beautiful jewel is one of three that have been in service for over 40 years. It takes the SP-4 spanner blades that are still available. A good quality unit based on the same design is manufactured in Japan, however, it seems it too is presently unavailable.
Thank you for the tip at the end, i have that problem with one of my xg1 camera's. On one camera (both xg1) it stops daed after rewinding, the other one seems to have a bit of give at the end. It doesnt stop like it is hitting the end. I will try romorow to fix it. Thank you!
My X 370 stopped advancing film correctly years ago. I can shoot a roll of 12 but if I try a roll of 24 about half-way (or so) through the roll the film won't advance. I wind up having to rewind it back into the cassette. Any ideas? I've had the camera since HS so I'd love to fix it and shoot it agin
This fixed the problem but I have another issue: when I wind the film advance lever it cocks the shutter and I can fire, but the film is not being advanced. Any idea?
Could you help me out, what should I be looking for is the lever is just loose and it doesn't seem to be gripping onto anything? Thank you very much in advance
As dumb luck had it I picked up an X370n at yard sale for 20 bucks. The camera was so clean it still had it's plastic protector on the bottom plate. It also came with a very nice MD 50mm f 1.7 lens, instruction book, case and a handful of filters. The camera was in it's wound position and would not fire. I put in a set brand new (and tested under a load tester) SR44 batteries and I have no response at all. The shutter won't work and no LEDS light in the viewfinder. I tried another set (this time) of LR44's and same test. Nothing. I exercised the on-off switch to perhaps clean the contacts, no luck. I took off the bottom plate and can't see any way to trip the shutter that's obvious to me. I see other posts that claim the capacitor is bad, I can yank it and test it but before doing that I figured I'd ask you for some tips. I don't see any broken wires and there is no evidence of misuse or leaking batteries. Thanks Tom
The battery cap of the X370 can develop a nearly invisible layer of corrosion that blocks the flow of current from the battery the brushed chrome coating at a casual glance looks as you normal. Scrape the battery lid contact bump... maybe down to where brass starts showing.
Hi@@FixOldCameras, Thanks I ran that cleaning. HOWEVER ARE YA SITTING DOWN?? The battery placement sticker on the inside of the battery cover was reversed. The owners manual showed the correct placement and now it works 100%. I wonder if the battery cover was from another Minolta? I managed to remove the sticker with some heat and the usual glue softening methods and reversed it. Now the sticker matches the owners manual. The first lesson in troubleshooting, check the obvious! Thanks for the help. Tom
Thank you so much for this useful video. I acquired an x-370 in good physical condition. Popped new batteries in and meter works fine. Hit the shutter button and mirror stays locked up. Did some internet research. Popped the film back open saw the metal bar running top to bottom of the cloth shutter was ever so slightly peeking out from the left side. Nudged it leftward and a shutter sound pops, and the mirror returns, allowing me to cock film lever again. However shutter never fires. When I cock the film lever, I see the metal bar and cloth shutter move rightward all the way to the right, but the metal bar and cloth shutter then returns to the left edge when I release the film lever instead of staying to the right. Pressing the shutter button then causes a click as the mirror locks up, but the shutter never fires and I have to repeat the procedure above. Any idea if adjusting the gear would solve this issue? It seems similar to your video description. Thanks!
I was trying to adjust the blue gear then I think I heard something click, and now the camera jammed and the shutter doesn’t fire and can’t advance it and suddenly the electronics don’t work. The camera worked before I was just trying to adjust the winder bc the advance lever was sticky. I wonder if I should just try replacing bottom capacitor?
Great videos. I have a Minolta XG-M and cannot move the exposure compensation dial despite pressing the small black button in! Would be great to see any videos with exp comp dial issues. Thanks.
The lock pin release might not be linked to the button or the camera could have had something sticky spilled on it in the past that has basically glued the dial in place.
I tried this method. It didn't work. The only other solution I see online has to do with the capacitor. I didn't want to go through all of that, so I paid attention to how his gear was moving and took note of the positions of my camera's gear. For me, that long lever running sideways gave me some direction. You see the gear bottom right at 1:45? Try shifting that downwards while you attempt to turn the film advance lever. This freed up what ever was locked for me, and everything came back to normal.
I have cleaned the battery terminals and followed this video, but the winder is still stuck, could there be any other reason why this is happening? It hasn't worked since they day it was given to me some 5 years ago. I would really like to get it working.
Is it normal for the bottom screws to be very hard to get out? I have a screwdriver small enough but even with extreme force it wont bite and is stripping the screw.
Hello, I just got a Minolta X-70. I put the batteries in and messed around with the lever and click button. After a minute it stopped cranking and making the click noise as I clicked the button. Could you please help me?
Hi I just got a minolta x700 and the advance lever doesn't work and the same with the click shutter. This is a relate problem?, If the advance lever get solved would be the shutter solved as well ?... Right now my minolta has LR44G batteries in it.. Would you recommend use SR44 batteries?
The silver batteries or the lithium batteries have an even discharge rate. The alkaline batteries have a slopping discharge rate and will probably need to be replaced ever 6 months to a year and should be checked occasionally for corrosion.
Probably most often caused by trying to get the last frame of a roll of film. The plastic is flexible enough that they will hop a tooth with out damaging the gears particularly if the idler gear lock has worked loose over time.
Probably most often caused by trying to get the last frame of a roll of film. The plastic is flexible enough that they will hop a tooth with out damaging the gears particularly if the idler gear lock has worked loose over time.
I have the same problem. I have gotten the lever to advance now but the shutter button won’t fire the shot. It will only fire when I Manually move the arm in the bottom on the camera near the gears. Xg1. Good batteries.
Check to make sure there is not a nearly invisible film of corrosion on the battery chamber contact. If so polish and scrap the contact. Check the release capacitor in the lower rewind side corner visible with the bottom cover removed. It is soldered in place on the battery chamber flex circuit. You can clean around the leads but it might need to be replaced.
@@FixOldCameras thanks. i have trouble shot everything i could at this point and i believe it is that capacitor you are talking about. i have a couple on the way so i can try to change it out. my problem now is. all the photos i find online of this capacitor show it being on top of the flex circuit. in MY camera it is on the bottom. so i am trying to figure out how i am going to get at it to change it. is there a way i can send you a photo so you can see what i am talking about?
I've got a Pentaflex SL but the rewinder is broken. It makes the normal Sound, but no rotation in other parts (only the lever moves). Is there a tutorial that I can use to repair my camera on your channel? Thanks for the awnser :)
Hi, your guide has helped a bit and instead of 30 degrees I can now wind well up to about 200 degrees, but it’s still not the full wind, and i’ve tried adjusting the blue cog in all sorts of position, and it still gets jammed about 200 degrees, could you help? Thanks. Also, I messed it up even more 10 minutes later. It’s stuck at 30 degrees again unless I push the little metal toggle below the white cog (connected to the flat head screw) upwards, then I can do it to 200 degrees. Really confused.
Loosen the screw that locks the idler gear and then take careful note of how the shutter wind gear itself is cheated into position. When the idler is thus engaged my sure that the gear teeth are gently meshed. Firm enough to negate any chance of slip but not so firm as to cause undue friction. The timing needs to be that shutter is cocked at the point where the wind lever completes its cycle if the shutter cocks to soon and you force the wind lever to the end of its cycle you run the risk of stripping the gears. If the shutter is not able to completely cock, that can be corrected by again loosening the idler gear and advance the shutter gear mesh point on tooth at a time until you get it timed correctly.
Fix Old Cameras Thank you, i’ll try that! Would you say this circuit board is done for? Seems to be some green substance all over the soldering. i.imgur.com/4ubWMo3.jpg Hopefully it displays in high res
@@alaenea One more thing... because of issues with spam any post that has a link will probably get filtered. They are then reviewed, but legitimate post and questions could easily be missed. And the time needed to follow such links is limited.
Hello there! I have a question: I've bought this exact model, but the frame counter is stuck at the starting position and doesn't advance past "S", no matter what I do. Is that easily repairable? is there a chance that you could please make a video on it? Thank you!
Remove the top cover. You will most likely find that the rewind dial stop tab is broken. If so you can either replace the rewind dial from a donor camera or easily, with a little care, by using the tip of a fine point solder iron or a probe hot enough to gently melt the plastic of the dial, form a new stop tab. A FOC video showing these procedure is planned to be posted in the not to distant future.
Hey I just got this camera, I've put in new batteries and it looks pretty fresh. A problem I'm facing though is, the lever and spool don't seem to work with each other. When I move the lever, the spool does nothing. Is there a simple way to fix this? Edit: I attempted this just to see if this could fix my problem, now it seems as though it is stuck instead. I feel a little lost hahah
Well for such a problem the only simple thing would be if the rewind clutch button was stuck and apparently that is not the issue. Try reworking this procedure. Do not force the wind lever out of frustration for you will end up stripping the plastic gears. The engagement position of the gears is a bit tricky. Too much and the wind lever will jam before it completes the cycle. Too little and the the shutter will not travel far enough to seat in the cocked position.
This fixed my shutter issue, but I discovered that when film is loaded, the advance lever does not advance the film unless I very slightly rotate the take up spool clockwise and hear a faint click. The spool rotates fine without film loaded. Don’t think it’s related to the rewind knob. Any ideas? Thanks for the video!
Hey I have a minolta x-700 and the shutter won't fire. I tried following the video but my blue wind gear seems to got stuck. I can't move it, is there any other way to fix the shutter shutter?
It’s a common issue with the minolta x700 that it doesn’t fire. Thoudsand of people are struggling and can’t fire the issue and solution. can you please please make a video about it? I have 2 and both of them doesn’t fire ( not because of battery)
I can't count the amount of times this channel has saved my cameras. My x700 only opened up half of it's shutter curtain and I saw a few forum posts saying it would be a very expensive fix and to just buy another one, but I came across one post where they said the problem was fixed using the same method. The instructions weren't too precise but after watching this video it was a lot more simple than I thought. I'm so glad I could save a camera with such a simple trick. Thank you!
Oh my god, after five years of not working my X300 is already repaired, only 40" thanks for your video. I'm 52 years old more than 20 years ago I bought it and it was spotless !!! Thank you, thank you !! !
This channel saves me all the time. Was working on my x570 earlier today and couldnt get the motor drive wheel to fully retract after winding, and needed to turn it back fully with a coin.
I loosened the screw reset the gears so they weren't meshed as tightly and works like a dream now.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THESE UPLOADS.
PENTAX 645 wobbly viewfinder fixed
And now the x570 🎉🎉
my x300 had the problem those two gears were too tight together. I tried to find out how to adjust the distance but never found out. It's lucky for me to see your video. Thank u so much. 🎉🎉
This just fixed my x570 as well. The gears were meshed to tight together and wasn't allowing the motor drive wheel to fully return.
This fixed my X-700 that was only opening the shutter about 1/4 of the way. Took a few tries at aligning the gears in different spots but ended up fixing the issue! Thank you for taking the time to make this video and saving my camera :)
I use this for Minolta x-700 ,when second courtain in B or in slow time is closed 2/3 of window ,YES it work .In first time i think that the capacitors was the problem but not ,i change one teeth and is OK .Thank you for this solution and all the best for you from Spain .
Thank you so much! It worked for me.
It is important is to mention that when you have the camera in the same position as shown, you have to rotate the blue gear CLOCKWISE of 1/2 teeth. If you rotate anticlockwise and you arm the shutter lever it could get stuck halfway and it will be difficult to release the shutter!
I think this may have happened to me can you please give me advice?
Unfortunately I do not remember the exact technique. I was a little bit panicking and I tried somehow to slowly rotate the gears and press the shutter until it worked again.
Thank you so much, I was able to repair a camera which was a gift to my girlfriend for our anniversary . Now it's working again and everybody is really happy.
Thanks! Had this problem with a freshly acquired X300. First the shutter wouldn't open past 50% and shortly after the winder wouldn't engage the shutter, so it always slipped back. This fixed the problem, thank you sir!
This can also fix the issue with the incomplete travel of the curtain / nudge trick problem! I adveanced the blue gear one or two teath further and had a fully functional shutter again! Thank you so much!
Just fixed an X-570 that was firing while winding or not firing at all, on the first attempt at this repair. Thanks for putting this up
Holy moly, I have an X-370 with this exact problem. Can't believe it's that easy to fix.
Just fixed my Minolta x-70 (AKA XGM) using this trick! was a little different as the pivot lever for the smaller gear had some sort of torque pushing the gears together naturally, this was apparent once the screw was loosened. so i held the gear apart with a toothpick and tighted the screw so the gears were less tightly together than before. This fixed my mirror lockup/shutter advance problem!
I really appreciate you FOC! I hope you never stop making videos, would love to see some OM4 strip downs in the future!
Thank you for your supportive comments and it is good to hear of your successful repair.
that's amazing. This old camera. been in my care for a long time, it seems. So now the number advancement, number of images taken, seems to be what is, not advancing. And this video made it all seem, quite simple for such advanced, and ancient, tech. Thanks :) Smile it's a Minolta!
This is the exact problem I had faced with a newly acquired X-300, and your video helped. Thanks a lot.
You are welcome and thank you for your interest in FOC.
This shows the state where the idler is set part of the way through the stroke. I just repaired one where the idler was actually not moving at all and the aperture/mirror linkage was out of sequence. Turning the idler counter-clockwise a couple teeth fixed this, but the aperture linkage has to be held in position while the idler drops the rest of the cams into place. You might create this condition artificially if you go too far in the clockwise direction.
Thank you for your insights and your continued interest in FOC.
I think this just happened to me. I made this adjustment 3 times testing between, and the last time it seemed to work perfectly through maybe 20 actuatons. Then I tried slower shutter seeds until I got to Bulb mode and the shutter got stuck part way like it did before but now I can't move it the rest of the way to release the lever.
Solved the issue I was having with my X-570. Thank you!
I got a untested Minolta XG-1 which worked but had a corroded battery which stopped it from working. I must have messed up the timing while testing it but this worked to bring it back to life.
Thanks for all the videos ! Would love to see some videos on early canon rangefinders.
Thank you for your interest in FOC and for the great suggestion.
Thanks for the help! It helped with the Minolta X-500!
Thank you so much omg! I didn't do exactly as video but instead pulled back the lock mechanism and winded it myself a few times and then it finally came too. Was completely locked up and now works like a charm:D
Good to hear of your successful repair.
I have an interesting problem that hopefully you guys can answer. my winding lever gets stuck when trying to do the winding motion and ive traced it back to that small spring arm that you can see in the right of the frame around 1:46 and 1:47. it seems to be fully blocking the rotation of the that shaft/disk instead of moving out of the way as shown in the video.
You might be referring to the wind interlock lever. It prevents you from double winding and skipping frames. It is pushed clear after the shutter release by the return of mirror cocking lever. See if it is hanging up, you might have to remove the plate that contains the tripod base. You will not be able to lift it completely free due to the battery contact connection. Carefully fold it back so you can inspect the action of the lever.
Hi the shutter stuck after 22 shoots do you think need open bottom cover and do same your video
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!! worked at first take, thank you again
Hi! can you help me (or do you have available video) for fixing the wind lever spring in Zenit 12XP camera?
No Zenit videos yet, it is one of many cameras that hopefully will eventually appear as a feature on FOC. Thank you for the suggestion.
@@FixOldCameras Thank you!
Hey, I have a Minolta X-GM the light meter still works (until I press the shutter), however the advance lever is stuck and the shutter button does nothing. Do you think it's the Capacitor?
Nice to see you making videos. Helpful as always. Tom
Much going on and the videos have been slow in posting. So many great suggestions for featured cameras to get to. Thank you for your patience and continued support.
Always look forward to your videos. I still have dozens (Cameras) that need work. It's just getting tougher as older age sets in. Best wishes, Tom
So good to see you again. I was just thinking of you today. I have an OM-2 chrome which was fine until i removed the base plate, and somehow shorted the wiring, so batteries only fry shutter ok on bulb. Anyway, I'd like to send it to you as a don er. NEed to know where to ship it.
Oops.. oh well bad stuff can happen. However, you might want to hang on to it for future projects as a parts donor.
info requested - phototronic.biz/
Thanks for the map. It,s exactly opposite my position on Earth. THailand. But I wanna send the OM-2 for one of ur videos maybe? I got 13 OM bodies now. 5 Om-4s mint which i fixed. Tell me what you think. THe OM2s are quirky comparing the N models. P.s where can i get the spanner wrench you have? I got two from china, but no adjustable blades.
It is no longer available - that beautiful jewel is one of three that have been in service for over 40 years. It takes the SP-4 spanner blades that are still available. A good quality unit based on the same design is manufactured in Japan, however, it seems it too is presently unavailable.
Thank you for the tip at the end, i have that problem with one of my xg1 camera's. On one camera (both xg1) it stops daed after rewinding, the other one seems to have a bit of give at the end. It doesnt stop like it is hitting the end. I will try romorow to fix it. Thank you!
My X 370 stopped advancing film correctly years ago. I can shoot a roll of 12 but if I try a roll of 24 about half-way (or so) through the roll the film won't advance. I wind up having to rewind it back into the cassette.
Any ideas? I've had the camera since HS so I'd love to fix it and shoot it agin
I have a stack of these and while some had bigger issues, I now have 3 more working cameras
This fixed the problem but I have another issue: when I wind the film advance lever it cocks the shutter and I can fire, but the film is not being advanced.
Any idea?
Could you help me out, what should I be looking for is the lever is just loose and it doesn't seem to be gripping onto anything? Thank you very much in advance
Hi. Is it the same for SRT:s?
As dumb luck had it I picked up an X370n at yard sale for 20 bucks. The camera was so clean it still had it's plastic protector on the bottom plate. It also came with a very nice MD 50mm f 1.7 lens, instruction book, case and a handful of filters. The camera was in it's wound position and would not fire. I put in a set brand new (and tested under a load tester) SR44 batteries and I have no response at all. The shutter won't work and no LEDS light in the viewfinder. I tried another set (this time) of LR44's and same test. Nothing. I exercised the on-off switch to perhaps clean the contacts, no luck. I took off the bottom plate and can't see any way to trip the shutter that's obvious to me. I see other posts that claim the capacitor is bad, I can yank it and test it but before doing that I figured I'd ask you for some tips. I don't see any broken wires and there is no evidence of misuse or leaking batteries. Thanks Tom
The battery cap of the X370 can develop a nearly invisible layer of corrosion that blocks the flow of current from the battery the brushed chrome coating at a casual glance looks as you normal. Scrape the battery lid contact bump... maybe down to where brass starts showing.
Hi@@FixOldCameras, Thanks I ran that cleaning. HOWEVER ARE YA SITTING DOWN?? The battery placement sticker on the inside of the battery cover was reversed. The owners manual showed the correct placement and now it works 100%. I wonder if the battery cover was from another Minolta? I managed to remove the sticker with some heat and the usual glue softening methods and reversed it. Now the sticker matches the owners manual. The first lesson in troubleshooting, check the obvious! Thanks for the help. Tom
Thank you so much for this useful video. I acquired an x-370 in good physical condition. Popped new batteries in and meter works fine. Hit the shutter button and mirror stays locked up. Did some internet research. Popped the film back open saw the metal bar running top to bottom of the cloth shutter was ever so slightly peeking out from the left side. Nudged it leftward and a shutter sound pops, and the mirror returns, allowing me to cock film lever again. However shutter never fires. When I cock the film lever, I see the metal bar and cloth shutter move rightward all the way to the right, but the metal bar and cloth shutter then returns to the left edge when I release the film lever instead of staying to the right. Pressing the shutter button then causes a click as the mirror locks up, but the shutter never fires and I have to repeat the procedure above. Any idea if adjusting the gear would solve this issue? It seems similar to your video description. Thanks!
I was trying to adjust the blue gear then I think I heard something click, and now the camera jammed and the shutter doesn’t fire and can’t advance it and suddenly the electronics don’t work. The camera worked before I was just trying to adjust the winder bc the advance lever was sticky. I wonder if I should just try replacing bottom capacitor?
what size screw driver is that? my precision is too big
Great videos. I have a Minolta XG-M and cannot move the exposure compensation dial despite pressing the small black button in! Would be great to see any videos with exp comp dial issues. Thanks.
The lock pin release might not be linked to the button or the camera could have had something sticky spilled on it in the past that has basically glued the dial in place.
@@FixOldCameras thanks. Daren't start messing about with it!
Man I was about to say F it and toss my camera, thank god I came across this video!! Thank you so much!
I tried this method. It didn't work. The only other solution I see online has to do with the capacitor. I didn't want to go through all of that, so I paid attention to how his gear was moving and took note of the positions of my camera's gear. For me, that long lever running sideways gave me some direction. You see the gear bottom right at 1:45? Try shifting that downwards while you attempt to turn the film advance lever. This freed up what ever was locked for me, and everything came back to normal.
I have cleaned the battery terminals and followed this video, but the winder is still stuck, could there be any other reason why this is happening? It hasn't worked since they day it was given to me some 5 years ago. I would really like to get it working.
Is it normal for the bottom screws to be very hard to get out? I have a screwdriver small enough but even with extreme force it wont bite and is stripping the screw.
It could be that the camera got wet and the screws are corroded.
Hello, I just got a Minolta X-70. I put the batteries in and messed around with the lever and click button. After a minute it stopped cranking and making the click noise as I clicked the button. Could you please help me?
Hi I just got a minolta x700 and the advance lever doesn't work and the same with the click shutter. This is a relate problem?, If the advance lever get solved would be the shutter solved as well ?... Right now my minolta has LR44G batteries in it.. Would you recommend use SR44 batteries?
The silver batteries or the lithium batteries have an even discharge rate. The alkaline batteries have a slopping discharge rate and will probably need to be replaced ever 6 months to a year and should be checked occasionally for corrosion.
Great! Many thanks for this video.
Perfect and informative . It's really helped me . Thanks 👍.
Yes, very nice. How do gears get out of alignment? Why are they plastic?
Probably most often caused by trying to get the last frame of a roll of film. The plastic is flexible enough that they will hop a tooth with out damaging the gears particularly if the idler gear lock has worked loose over time.
Fix Old Cameras Thank you.
How would this happen in the first place? Did the gears slip? Also, what the heck are those gears plastic?!
Probably most often caused by trying to get the last frame of a roll of film. The plastic is flexible enough that they will hop a tooth with out damaging the gears particularly if the idler gear lock has worked loose over time.
Very helpful as always. Thank you!
Thank you for your continued support of FOC.
I have the same problem. I have gotten the lever to advance now but the shutter button won’t fire the shot. It will only fire when I Manually move the arm in the bottom on the camera near the gears. Xg1. Good batteries.
Check to make sure there is not a nearly invisible film of corrosion on the battery chamber contact. If so polish and scrap the contact. Check the release capacitor in the lower rewind side corner visible with the bottom cover removed. It is soldered in place on the battery chamber flex circuit. You can clean around the leads but it might need to be replaced.
@@FixOldCameras thanks. i have trouble shot everything i could at this point and i believe it is that capacitor you are talking about. i have a couple on the way so i can try to change it out. my problem now is. all the photos i find online of this capacitor show it being on top of the flex circuit. in MY camera it is on the bottom. so i am trying to figure out how i am going to get at it to change it. is there a way i can send you a photo so you can see what i am talking about?
I've got a Pentaflex SL but the rewinder is broken. It makes the normal Sound, but no rotation in other parts (only the lever moves). Is there a tutorial that I can use to repair my camera on your channel? Thanks for the awnser :)
Not yet. FOC is due for a video feature of a Praktica. The Penaflex SL would be a good one to do.
@@FixOldCameras if you want, you can use mine, if i get it back ;)
Hi, your guide has helped a bit and instead of 30 degrees I can now wind well up to about 200 degrees, but it’s still not the full wind, and i’ve tried adjusting the blue cog in all sorts of position, and it still gets jammed about 200 degrees, could you help? Thanks. Also, I messed it up even more 10 minutes later. It’s stuck at 30 degrees again unless I push the little metal toggle below the white cog (connected to the flat head screw) upwards, then I can do it to 200 degrees. Really confused.
Loosen the screw that locks the idler gear and then take careful note of how the shutter wind gear itself is cheated into position. When the idler is thus engaged my sure that the gear teeth are gently meshed. Firm enough to negate any chance of slip but not so firm as to cause undue friction. The timing needs to be that shutter is cocked at the point where the wind lever completes its cycle if the shutter cocks to soon and you force the wind lever to the end of its cycle you run the risk of stripping the gears. If the shutter is not able to completely cock, that can be corrected by again loosening the idler gear and advance the shutter gear mesh point on tooth at a time until you get it timed correctly.
Fix Old Cameras Thank you, i’ll try that! Would you say this circuit board is done for? Seems to be some green substance all over the soldering. i.imgur.com/4ubWMo3.jpg Hopefully it displays in high res
@@alaenea That sounds like corrosion. Try a swab lightly saturated with vinegar then follow up with alcohol.
@@alaenea One more thing... because of issues with spam any post that has a link will probably get filtered. They are then reviewed, but legitimate post and questions could easily be missed. And the time needed to follow such links is limited.
Thank you for this interesting video ,muy util .
Hello there! I have a question: I've bought this exact model, but the frame counter is stuck at the starting position and doesn't advance past "S", no matter what I do. Is that easily repairable? is there a chance that you could please make a video on it? Thank you!
Remove the top cover. You will most likely find that the rewind dial stop tab is broken. If so you can either replace the rewind dial from a donor camera or easily, with a little care, by using the tip of a fine point solder iron or a probe hot enough to gently melt the plastic of the dial, form a new stop tab. A FOC video showing these procedure is planned to be posted in the not to distant future.
Hey I just got this camera, I've put in new batteries and it looks pretty fresh. A problem I'm facing though is, the lever and spool don't seem to work with each other. When I move the lever, the spool does nothing. Is there a simple way to fix this? Edit: I attempted this just to see if this could fix my problem, now it seems as though it is stuck instead. I feel a little lost hahah
Well for such a problem the only simple thing would be if the rewind clutch button was stuck and apparently that is not the issue. Try reworking this procedure. Do not force the wind lever out of frustration for you will end up stripping the plastic gears. The engagement position of the gears is a bit tricky. Too much and the wind lever will jam before it completes the cycle. Too little and the the shutter will not travel far enough to seat in the cocked position.
This fixed my shutter issue, but I discovered that when film is loaded, the advance lever does not advance the film unless I very slightly rotate the take up spool clockwise and hear a faint click. The spool rotates fine without film loaded. Don’t think it’s related to the rewind knob. Any ideas? Thanks for the video!
were you able to fix this?
@@m.a1989No. I attempted to for a while but ended up breaking it 😅.
God bless you, thank you sir
Help me! It started winding again and it takes up the film but when I press the shutter button it doesn't work. The shutter does not release
Check you battery lid for a nearly invisible layer of corrosion. Polish and scrap the lid to remove if found.
@@FixOldCameras thank you
hi there! i was wondering if it was possible if you could please make any videos on a FUJICA ST701
Possibly at some point in not to distant future. Thank you for the great suggestion.
Hey I have a minolta x-700 and the shutter won't fire. I tried following the video but my blue wind gear seems to got stuck. I can't move it, is there any other way to fix the shutter shutter?
A simple possibility - th-cam.com/video/XwKnW1dMEtA/w-d-xo.html
not so simple - th-cam.com/video/HhtlqzLlRBA/w-d-xo.html
What do I do if the wind lever is loose?
Merci 🙏 beaucoup 🇫🇷📸
You saved me! Thank you
Good to hear of you successful repair.
My shutter opens and closes half ways at times, can this problem be beacause of the idler gear?
It could be... but not absolutely.
@@FixOldCameras thanks, i did this and it worked. It was a minolta x series camera.
Excellent.
It’s a common issue with the minolta x700 that it doesn’t fire. Thoudsand of people are struggling and can’t fire the issue and solution. can you please please make a video about it?
I have 2 and both of them doesn’t fire ( not because of battery)
I got a
swept screw
How do I deal with it?
A swept screw? Are you referring to the screw that holds the idler gear.
That doesnt works in my camera, does anyone know what else could be???
I did over adjust idler gear, now it's stuck :(
What is the metal button on the bottom?!
Not sure what you are asking, but it could be what you are referencing is the rewind clutch button.
My x-370s still wont turn
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