Great video thank you! I put in brand new batteries in my mine, the little yellow light turns on as well as the one in the view finder, but the shutter won't open. How can I fix that? Thank you!
Hi, My mijolta worked fine with tin foil on one side and 2 batteries p 625 (I think) on other side but Love your solution better , it looks perfect. My problem is that battery check light stop working and now I don’t know if that means camera light meter doesn’t work or I can still use camera if light doesn’t go on ? Tnx
Great video. In addition to my manual focus rangefinder Minoltas and Konicas, I have a few AF models. I've searched everywhere for info. Do you know how to calibrate the autofocus on a Hi-Matic AF? Mine backfocuses quite a bit. Thanks for your help.
A delayed reply. Working through some overlooked comments. As of yet still no FOC video featuring a Hi-Matic with a focus issue, but that is certainly, at some point in time, a possibility.
Hi, friend! how good this!! I have the same camera and I can't find a replacement for the batteries. I understand little English, could you tell me in Spanish or (pass me written in English) the measurements of the materials and names of the materials you used in the video? greetings
very ingenious but very laborious for a simple job. It takes 2 min to do a adapter. Just put one dead battery on one side and one good battery on the other. Five seconds while i was writing
Not a bad idea for a quick fix as long as the battery has not shorted. However, leaving a dead battery in the chamber runs the risk of it leaking and causing corrosion damage to the contacts.
Fix Old Cameras would there be any chance you guys could do a video on the hi matic 7s? mine is great but the rangefinder needs a slight adjustment. thanks for the great videos!!
Can you do videos on the Minolta X-370 or similar lines? My advance lever stops a quarter of the way out and I'm afraid to troubleshoot it without guidance.
If you can find them they would work as well as any 1.5v battery at first installation, the problem with alkaline batteries is their sloping discharge curve.
The Prontor Reflex leaf shutters are tricky and a bit complicated. But they are great little reflex cameras with the waist lever finder option. It would be a fun video to do. Perhaps sometime in the future it will be featured.
Good question! I've used zinc air 675 batteries in my Hi-Matic E and had great results image-wise with the ASA set at box speed. The only issue is that the low light warning on the viewfinder does not have enough power to come on and these batteries die quickly. I also constructed a Schottky adapter to use with 357/303 batteries but after a while found corrosion in the battery compartment. I'm now contemplating using 357/303 batteries without the adapter. I'm wondering if the extra voltage would affect the exposure and if I should compensate at the ASA dial.
Jasper FSX The rewind knob and shutter speed dial of the Pentax MX is removed in a manner similar to the Pentax K-1000 (check out FOC video Pentax Top Cover and Prism Removal). The advance lever is removed with a spanner wrench turned in a counter clockwise direction. The top cover screws are of the JIS cross point variety. Your request for a video on the removal of the Pentax MX top cover has been noted. Your patience is greatly appreciated.
The 3 volt battery in this video - ( 2L76 or 1/3N type) And yes, 2 LR44 batteries will work in the adapter and produce the needed 3 volts. The original battery configuration for this camera was two PX640.
Bohndigga The blades can become stuck due to the infamous migration of oil on to the shutter blades. If it is the later model, with the red shutter release buttton, than you need to be very careful when removing parts to access the shutter blades. The plastic will have become brittle with the passage of time.
Fix Old Cameras So I found that yes the shutter is slow. However the problem seems to be with the winding lever. It wasn't resetting the shutter because I couldn't wind it. Any help there?
Fix Old Cameras The reset spring was worn out. I replaced it with another spring. The difficult part was tuning the spring so it would work. It was wider than the other spring so it sometimes caught, I finally got it to work though. Thanks for the help!!!
If the camera releases in manual but not in auto, check the battery contacts for corrosion. Burnish and clean the contacts as needed. If it still does not release in auto then there is probably an electronic failure. If it does not release at all then a mechanical failure is likely. If the camera releases but the shutter does not open then the blades are probably stuck from all that has migrated on to the shutter blades.
I have a growing arsenal of Hi-Matics, please keep these great videos coming!
Thank you for your interest in FOC.
would be great to see a video on maintenance for the himatic 7s!
thanks for the videos!
Love to do one at some point in time. Another fine camera and suggestion.
Very clean and good fix. Thanks for this!
Thank you for your comments.
Nice one! I guess you could also use a dead PX640 or 640A as the conductive spacer?
Great video thank you! I put in brand new batteries in my mine, the little yellow light turns on as well as the one in the view finder, but the shutter won't open. How can I fix that? Thank you!
Oil might have migrated on to the shutter and aperture blades causing them to stick.
Thank you for your response! Any idea how I can fix that?
Hi,
My mijolta worked fine with tin foil on one side and 2 batteries p 625 (I think) on other side but Love your solution better , it looks perfect. My problem is that battery check light stop working and now I don’t know if that means camera light meter doesn’t work or I can still use camera if light doesn’t go on ?
Tnx
thanks !!!, I used LR44 instead and it worked
Excellent!
Great video. In addition to my manual focus rangefinder Minoltas and Konicas, I have a few AF models. I've searched everywhere for info. Do you know how to calibrate the autofocus on a Hi-Matic AF? Mine backfocuses quite a bit. Thanks for your help.
A delayed reply. Working through some overlooked comments. As of yet still no FOC video featuring a Hi-Matic with a focus issue, but that is certainly, at some point in time, a possibility.
Hi, friend! how good this!! I have the same camera and I can't find a replacement for the batteries. I understand little English, could you tell me in Spanish or (pass me written in English) the measurements of the materials and names of the materials you used in the video? greetings
very ingenious but very laborious for a simple job. It takes 2 min to do a adapter. Just put one dead battery on one side and one good battery on the other. Five seconds while i was writing
Not a bad idea for a quick fix as long as the battery has not shorted. However, leaving a dead battery in the chamber runs the risk of it leaking and causing corrosion damage to the contacts.
Fix Old Cameras
would there be any chance you guys could do a video on the hi matic 7s? mine is great but the rangefinder needs a slight adjustment. thanks for the great videos!!
Thank you very much! Very interesting video!
Dieter R. Good to hear you found the video interesting.
Brilliant
Thank you for your very kind word.
Can you do videos on the Minolta X-370 or similar lines? My advance lever stops a quarter of the way out and I'm afraid to troubleshoot it without guidance.
Thank you for suggestion and comments. At some point in time such a FOC video is possible.
Would 640As not be a good replacement?
If you can find them they would work as well as any 1.5v battery at first installation, the problem with alkaline batteries is their sloping discharge curve.
Thanks!!!! that was just awesome ;))
Mr. Fix, I have an Agfa "Agfaflex" with the mirror stock, could you show a video to solving this issue?
The Prontor Reflex leaf shutters are tricky and a bit complicated. But they are great little reflex cameras with the waist lever finder option. It would be a fun video to do. Perhaps sometime in the future it will be featured.
Excellent!!! Thanks.
Does the Hi-matic E have the same voltage tolerance as the F? (Will this also work in the E?)
Good question! I've used zinc air 675 batteries in my Hi-Matic E and had great results image-wise with the ASA set at box speed. The only issue is that the low light warning on the viewfinder does not have enough power to come on and these batteries die quickly. I also constructed a Schottky adapter to use with 357/303 batteries but after a while found corrosion in the battery compartment. I'm now contemplating using 357/303 batteries without the adapter. I'm wondering if the extra voltage would affect the exposure and if I should compensate at the ASA dial.
Can we see how to remove the Pentax MX top cover removal please?
Jasper FSX The rewind knob and shutter speed dial of the Pentax MX is removed in a manner similar to the Pentax K-1000 (check out FOC video Pentax Top Cover and Prism Removal). The advance lever is removed with a spanner wrench turned in a counter clockwise direction. The top cover screws are of the JIS cross point variety. Your request for a video on the removal of the Pentax MX top cover has been noted. Your patience is greatly appreciated.
Will 2, 3 or 4 Lr44 work well? I don't know which is the best option. Thanks
The 3 volt battery in this video - ( 2L76 or 1/3N type) And yes, 2 LR44 batteries will work in the adapter and produce the needed 3 volts. The original battery configuration for this camera was two PX640.
Fix Old Cameras Thank you. I didn't get to purchase 2L76/PX25 so i opted for LR44.
I got a Agfa Silette LK Sensor and the Shutter is stuck. Would the repair be any different from an ordinary shutter fix?
Bohndigga The blades can become stuck due to the infamous migration of oil on to the shutter blades. If it is the later model, with the red shutter release buttton, than you need to be very careful when removing parts to access the shutter blades. The plastic will have become brittle with the passage of time.
Fix Old Cameras Thanks! I'll try it out!
Fix Old Cameras So I found that yes the shutter is slow. However the problem seems to be with the winding lever. It wasn't resetting the shutter because I couldn't wind it. Any help there?
Might be the wind interlock lever is not resetting after release. Check to see if it is stuck.
Fix Old Cameras The reset spring was worn out. I replaced it with another spring. The difficult part was tuning the spring so it would work. It was wider than the other spring so it sometimes caught, I finally got it to work though. Thanks for the help!!!
Still wondering, why people do not just solder a diode in....
the button you click to take a photo on mine doesn't work it won't let me take a photo. what do I do??
If the camera releases in manual but not in auto, check the battery contacts for corrosion. Burnish and clean the contacts as needed. If it still does not release in auto then there is probably an electronic failure. If it does not release at all then a mechanical failure is likely. If the camera releases but the shutter does not open then the blades are probably stuck from all that has migrated on to the shutter blades.