Battery for minolta hi-matic 7s

[Helge]

I've done actual tests of resolution charts for the Canon, Olympus, and Minolta -- and compared them to the Minolta 45mm SLR lens -- for anyone to see.

All you have provided is -- let me think.........Nothing.

Neither have you. Show us, since you have it readily available.

 

[xkaes]

Ok, there aren't sample images here.

However "resoluton charts" won't tell me the complete story about a lens.

I'm not asking for resolution chart comparisons. That's what I did. I'm simply asking for any proof, any evidence, any comparison -- as opposed to opinion, hyperbole, beliefs, and the all too common, "everyone who knows already knows", condescending B.S.

 

[MattKing]

Folks - turn the heat down.
The thread isn't even about which camera is better.
It is about one camera, and the battery for it.
If you want a comparative advantage thread, start one, and keep it civil!

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

I use alkaline 1.5V batteries with an adjustment to the ASA setting in all my old mercury battery cameras. It works over a light range and over a battery voltage. Before going out I make a meter reading with an independent meter and then adjust the camera's ASA dial so the camera gives the right setting.

I still have a few mercury cells, they are surprisingly long lived.

 

[xkaes]

Neither have you. Show us, since you have it readily available.

They are in the link to the PDF file that I provided above.

 

[xkaes]

I still have a few mercury cells, they are surprisingly long lived.

And you can buy tiny, solar, button-cell battery rechargers for the mercury cells. You can't recharge them forever -- same with Ni-Cads -- but they stretch the life of the mercury cells.

For some reason, the silver oxide cells can't be recharged.

 

[Helge]

They are in the link to the PDF file that I provided above.

Oh the little article with the small thumbnails. And no 7s.

Give me a test at least between the 7s and the 7sII.
Or at the very least a test of the 7s lens.

I own both. And I grab the 7s whenever I need a rangefinder (IR, low light shooting, prefocus/trap focus tasks etc). The 7s is a much more pleasant experience.

Both a equally horrible to have in a pocket.

If I want pocketable I’ll grab something else. Like a point and shoot or a Zeiss Ikon folder in a dust bag.

 

[Nzoomed]

Best fixed lens rangefinder bar none.

Nearest competitor Auto S2 is much less reliable and overall just not as good, with a few perks such as the finder lines and the (sometimes) build in hood.
Even the supposed upgrade, Hi-Matic 9 is not as good.

The only sane battery option is an MR-9 voltage regulating adapter.
Or actually soldering the components into the camera.
It’s also a fine all manual camera. So a really no need to insist on a battery.

It’s quite easy to glean if the shutter is working ok. Is there a difference between the shutter speeds. And do they look like 1/60th or 1/8th?

I would expect it would be 1/60th.
If I put it into manual mode, I an hear the shutter operate at slower speeds as expected.
Anyway, it looks like there may be battery corrosion present. The contacts did not make good contact on my my multimeter and I cleaned them, however it's still not working.
I could see a faint amount of a film inside the battery compartment that I cleaned out and I expect it's traveled down the wire.
Only problem is I don't know how to get to it.
Removing the cover doesn't help much and there are no visible wires like others are saying.
The wires are behind the cast body that houses the battery.

 

[Nzoomed]

Folks - turn the heat down.
The thread isn't even about which camera is better.
It is about one camera, and the battery for it.
If you want a comparative advantage thread, start one, and keep it civil!

Lol IKR, I must say it's been rather entertaining (and perhaps somewhat educational)

 

[flavio81]

Folks - turn the heat down.

The heat is on!

 

[DonW]

I love my Hi-Matic 7s. Way back in high school (early 70's) I used it for the HS yearbook. Still have the negs and I would challenge anyone to pick which is better between the Minolta and my 50mm Summicron when it comes to sharpness and overall contrast. Even full frame.

While using Panatomic X film I made 11x14 enlargements from negatives created in the 7s that are stunning.

In my mind however it's more important to make interesting. Impactful images rather than just sharp boring images.

Don

 

[Nzoomed]

Are there any service manuals for these?
Would be useful before I tear this thing down.
Reading comments elsewhere, it looks like you need to peel off the vinyl to get to some screws underneath.

 

[Helge]

Are there any service manuals for these?
Would be useful before I tear this thing down.
Reading comments elsewhere, it looks like you need to peel off the vinyl to get to some screws underneath.

Depends on what you want to reach.
The top and bottom comes off readily. Just be careful not to break the battery wire when taking off the bottom plate.

 

[Nzoomed]

Depends on what you want to reach.
The top and bottom comes off readily. Just be careful not to break the battery wire when taking off the bottom plate.

I took off the bottom but the battery compartment is still set into the casting.
I can't find any way to get behind it to access the wires.

 

[__Brian]

The lenses in the Hi-Matic 9, Hi-Matic 7, and Hi-Matic 7s are based on the Minolta Chiyoda 5cm F1.8 Super-Rokkor.
I've had my Hi-Matic 9 since 1969. Added the 5cm F1.8 Super-Rokkor so I could have the same lens for my Leica.
The difference between the 45/1.7 and 45/1.8- probably in sample variation due to age. The 45/1.7 is every bit as good.
The Hi-Matic 9 adds follow-flash GN settings. Nice feature in the day of bulb flash and fixed output electronic flash.

A 1.5v Alkaline works fine. Test against a known good camera.

The lens and viewfinder of the Konica S3 and Minolta 7S-II are different. Take them apart and you can see for yourself.

The meter not working: does the Battery Test work? Does the follow-focus with the GN work?

Minolta Himatic 9: Flood Cleaning Shutter and Cleaning Viewfinder, also applies to the 7, 7s, and 11.

I bought this camera in 1969, my first 35mm camera, and a whole Summer of mowing Lawns. I was 11. The viewfinder had enough haze built up to make focusing difficult- last CLA was 1976. Time to clean it, I'm a lot better at fixing cameras than I was in 1976. Tools required: Flat Head...

cameraderie.org

My original 1969 HM9 works perfectly.
Then I bought one "non-working" for $25 to get the Box and Lens cap I lost decades ago. Made it work. And another even cheaper. The Galvenometer was broken in that one. So made a best of two.

 

[Helge]

The lenses in the Hi-Matic 9, Hi-Matic 7, and Hi-Matic 7s are based on the Minolta Chiyoda 5cm F1.8 Super-Rokkor.
I've had my Hi-Matic 9 since 1969. Added the 5cm F1.8 Super-Rokkor so I could have the same lens for my Leica.
The difference between the 45/1.7 and 45/1.8- probably in sample variation due to age. The 45/1.7 is every bit as good.
The Hi-Matic 9 adds follow-flash GN settings. Nice feature in the day of bulb flash and fixed output electronic flash.

A 1.5v Alkaline works fine. Test against a known good camera.

The lens and viewfinder of the Konica S3 and Minolta 7S-II are different. Take them apart and you can see for yourself.

The meter not working: does the Battery Test work? Does the follow-focus with the GN work?

Minolta Himatic 9: Flood Cleaning Shutter and Cleaning Viewfinder, also applies to the 7, 7s, and 11.

I bought this camera in 1969, my first 35mm camera, and a whole Summer of mowing Lawns. I was 11. The viewfinder had enough haze built up to make focusing difficult- last CLA was 1976. Time to clean it, I'm a lot better at fixing cameras than I was in 1976. Tools required: Flat Head...

cameraderie.org

My original 1969 HM9 works perfectly.
Then I bought one "non-working" for $25 to get the Box and Lens cap I lost decades ago. Made it work. And another even cheaper. The Galvenometer was broken in that one. So made a best of two.

Interesting post, thanks.

What I have against the 9 is that it adds unessesary depth/length to the lens because of the mostly useless GN system.

I use a lot of bulb and old flashes. But almost always with bounce or naked bulb mode. And for that it is useless.
Even with direct flash it doesn’t take into account the reflector/diffusion/lens used.

No 22 stop. Rare as it is to use it, is nice for desperate use of high speed film in daylight and for extreme depth of field.

The extra slow speeds will be used on a tripod. When you are on a tripod, you will also use a release cable. Then you might as well time the exposure by hand. Probably as precise as a fifty year old escapement and more reliable in cold weather.

What are the exact differences between the S3 and the 7sII lens and finder?
That whole series (including the Olympus, Revue and other versions) is so much alike that they have to have common ancestry, of some kind.
There are differences, like no manual mode on the S3, but these differences are trivial and probably up to just a checklist cross off to Cosina.

Was an auto-op/diopter ever made for the 7s?

 

[flavio81]

Interesting post, thanks.

What I have against the 9 is that it adds unessesary depth/length to the lens because of the mostly useless GN system.

I use a lot of bulb and old flashes. But almost always with bounce or naked bulb mode. And for that it is useless.
Even with direct flash it doesn’t take into account the reflector/diffusion/lens used.

I find such systems very useful (when you use direct flash). They are, in theory, more reliable than auto flashes or even than TTL off-the-film-plane flash systems.

As for "it doesn't take account the reflector", well i do have a flash meter, i always meter the real GN of the flash i'm using. But a "GN system" like the one on the Minolta Hi-matic 9, is great because you can just set the GN there and let the lens do the computation.

Well, after so much praise of the 7s, those arguments are like tentacles that are getting me into buying one of those cameras...

 

[Helge]

I find such systems very useful (when you use direct flash). They are, in theory, more reliable than auto flashes or even than TTL off-the-film-plane flash systems.

As for "it doesn't take account the reflector", well i do have a flash meter, i always meter the real GN of the flash i'm using. But a "GN system" like the one on the Minolta Hi-matic 9, is great because you can just set the GN there and let the lens do the computation.

Well, after so much praise of the 7s, those arguments are like tentacles that are getting me into buying one of those cameras...

Who uses direct flash? It looks horrible even for daylight fill.
You’d at least want a diffuser, get the flash off camera at an angle or bounce, snoot or flag it.

The GN system also dictates the aperture which is limiting.

But ok, in a pinch i guess. I just have a hard time seeing how that pinch would arise.

 

[wiltw]

I find such systems very useful (when you use direct flash). They are, in theory, more reliable than auto flashes or even than TTL off-the-film-plane flash systems.

I grew up shooting when GN arithmetic was the only thing available. Having flashmetered electronic flash, generally speaking GN are virtually always optimistic, and along with a number of others who did the research and published our results over a decade and half ago, electronic flash GN tends to be 1EV optimistic compared to flash meter readings.
Having grown thru photosensor flash and TTL film flash and now nTTL flash systems, I find the least reliable of all of them is nTTL...sometimes it flashes on full power spontaneously, even with a tripod-mounted camera with flash in hotshoe! Today I often put the flash unit on photosensor automation rather than the unpredicatability of nTTL. When nTTL works, it works well for exposure; it simply does not always work! In comparison, photosensor auto and film TTL are quite reliable. I have gotten shots with TTL that would have fooled photosensor flash.

 

[xkaes]

I find such systems very useful (when you use direct flash). They are, in theory, more reliable than auto flashes or even than TTL off-the-film-plane flash systems.

As for "it doesn't take account the reflector", well i do have a flash meter, i always meter the real GN of the flash i'm using. But a "GN system" like the one on the Minolta Hi-matic 9, is great because you can just set the GN there and let the lens do the computation.

I thought the Hi-Matic 9 was a 7s -- just with a faster GN lens. Am I missing something? They have the same body.

As to the GN lens, I think they are great -- especially on small Hi-matics. I can use a very small electronic flash -- like the Vivitar 50. Very small flashes almost always lack auto-exposure, but a GN lens gives you auto-flash-exposure.

GN lenses are pretty much an early version of ADI flash, where the auto-focusing lens tells the camera to control the flash based on the distance -- unlike auto-flashes or TTL flash.

 

[Nzoomed]

Did the hi-matic sell with different lens options? I see a few on ebay with slightly different lenses. The most common seems to be the 45mm f1.8 but I also see 40mm f1.17

 

[xkaes]

Minolta made a LOT of different Hi-Matics, but the Hi-Matics were just one branch of the extensive Minolta 35mm, rangefinder/viewfinder camera tree. The first was the Minolta 35 in 1947 which had a 24x32mm film format. Probably the last NON-AF were the Minolta F35 Big Finder and the Memory Maker 2000 fixed-focus cameras -- which were actually the same camera.

The original Hi-Matic -- the one without any number or letter designation -- was available with a f2.8 or f2.0 lens. Minolta made other rangefinder/viewfinder cameras with different lens options -- and many had interchangeable lenses or accessory lens converters.

You can check them out -- at least the NON-auto-focusing models at:

http://www.subclub.org/minman/minfind.htm

 

[Nzoomed]

That's interesting to know.
Just been looking at this camera and I think I need to peel back the vinyl to access the screws that will remove a cover to access the inside.

 

[Helge]

John Glenn brought the original Hi-Matic with him, as the first consumer camera in space.

 

[__Brian]

The Konica S3 has a 38mm F1.8 and has a cemented pair in the viewfinder. On the one I had: cement became cloudy. The Minolta 7S-II has a 40mm F1.7 and viewfinder allowed to get to all surfaces to clean.

I had a fixed-output flash for the HM9. It worked well, I bought the camera when I was 11 years old. Shot a lot of slide film with it. Worked for Me. Thyristor flash was not around yet. When it was: I bought a Vivitar 283 in 1976, for the Elvis concert at the Capital Center.