Did You Simply Replace Your Broken Camera With Another Because It's Cheaper Than The $$Cost To Repai

[DF]

With all the ten's of thousands of Minolta X700's out there going for $30 - $50 on EBay or Local Craigslist, it is tempting to get another than to overhaul/repair mine for atleast roughly $100, though it brings a sense of guilt. So many cameras out there for cheap and in good working condition....

 

[removed account4]

Don’t feel guilty now you have a “ parts camera” so when the new one has trouble you or your trusted repair person can do the swap

 

[film_man]

That camera is 20-30 years old. You can spend $100 to fix it and it will last another 20-30 years. Or you can spend $30 on a body that may die after a roll or may last another 20 years. No right or wrong answer.

 

[BrianShaw]

So many cameras out there for cheap and in good working condition....

It’s a bit of a gamble. You can verify the price to maximize “cheap” but you cannot actually verify the “good working condition “ until you’ve actually bought it. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

One cannot assume that the $100 repaired one will be any better than the 30 year old one that has never been molested. It “should” be better, but isn’t always, in my experience, and that’s an experience I have had with “the best” technicians, on occasion. I’ve done it both ways, multiple times, get mine fixed/just buy another. There’s no approach that is always going to be better than the other, and, if using a good technician, it’s more likely to be 5 times more expensive to repair the one you have than to buy another, than three times, but that depends on the camera model or brand, and how en vogue it is.
And some cameras, like a Nikon F2, are so reliable that you can probably just buy another one and it will be fine.

 

[Wallendo]

In the case of SR-mount electronic Minoltas, I would be tempted to have the previous camera repaired. Since the most common problem is capacitor related, if you have the capacitors replaced, you should be good for many years. If you just buy a replacement, you will likely get one with old capacitors which will fail at some point.

Buying one replacement camera is cheaper than a repair, but buying multiple cameras is not. In this case, I would likely do both, have the original repaired and purchase another as a back-up.

With other cameras, I would likely just buy a replacement.

 

[neilt3]

With all the ten's of thousands of Minolta X700's out there going for $30 - $50 on EBay or Local Craigslist, it is tempting to get another than to overhaul/repair mine for atleast roughly $100, though it brings a sense of guilt. So many cameras out there for cheap and in good working condition....

The X700 ?
If it packs in , it'll be the capacitors that need replacing , top and bottom .
The parts are only a couple of £/$ each .
If you can solder yourself , the repair is free , if not find someone who can .
It's rarely anything else that ever goes wrong with that model .

Don’t feel guilty now you have a “ parts camera” so when the new one has trouble you or your trusted repair person can do the swap

The trouble is with some camera models , it's the same part that fail .
So most cameras sold for spares all have the same part faulty .

I do have a few dead bodies of assorted brands and models to use for parts for cameras I can repair myself . I've never sent any away for repair .

Shutters for large format cameras are different , and I will be sending some off for a CLA at some point .
I think there worth me paying a professional to work on .
A couple I have do need working on due to them sticking it hanging at low speeds , but I might have all my shutters serviced while the technicians are still around / alive !

 

[removed account4]

The trouble is with some camera models , it's the same part that fail .
So most cameras sold for spares all have the same part faulty .

yea. the yeshica T4 is like that with the focus issue
but there is an off chance that something else fail. ..
I have a graflex d I got IDK close to 30 years ago
and bought a parts camera to canabalize soon after and have picked and nibbled at it for decades
having done work on vintage vw bugs I learned a beater in the woods
behind the house is always a useful thing to have.
the OP could always encase the broken camera in lucite and use it as a door stop

 

[removedacct1]

I wouldn't personally bother to service any camera that had modern electronics/motors in it.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I have zero knowledge of Minolta. I won't buy it even working
It depends on camera.
Sometimes even Leica M is better let go. Or Olympus XA has non-reparable states of failure. And then it is good source for 35 brightlines finder. Or where are third party made cables to make old AF prestige P&S cameras working again.
I repaired several FSU RF cameras. No western repair person is willing to touch them. For any money.

 

[Paul Howell]

I just replace many of my 90s entry level AF bodies, but I did pay to have my X700 and 9000 bodies repaired, reason is that at X700 is 40 to 30 years 800, the Minolta 9000 30 to maybe 20 years old, buying a replacement is buying another camera that is at best tired and needs a CLA.

 

[DF]

That camera is 20-30 years old. You can spend $100 to fix it and it will last another 20-30 years. Or you can spend $30 on a body that may die after a roll or may last another 20 years. No right or wrong answer.

Yes - it can be a crap shoot...

 

[Pieter12]

That camera is 20-30 years old. You can spend $100 to fix it and it will last another 20-30 years. Or you can spend $30 on a body that may die after a roll or may last another 20 years. No right or wrong answer.

And you can spend $100 to fix it and it craps out on the next roll, maybe because it wasn't fixed right, maybe because some other tire part went south.

 

[YoIaMoNwater]

Eh story time.

I recently found out I have a light leak on my Pentax LX since all the frames on my negatives have a bright spot on the top left corner. I take the lens off, pop the back open, and put the mirror up. Lo and behold there’s a small hole on the bottom right corner. Immediately a flashback from few weeks ago played out in my mind. I painfully watched in slow motion of the exact moment where my camera strap somehow got undone and then followed by a “splat”! Obviously at the time there were some minor cosmetic defect but since the LX is tough as a tank I carried on with my shootings.

Fast forward to me inspecting the small hole on the shutter curtain. I see a little knob and pondered if I could move it and solve my insignificant problem. After moving it so that the hole is completely masked, curiosity got the best of me and a quick search online tells me that it’s the watch data film blind and thumb screw. Realizing that this definitely won’t solve my problem and any photos I take will have a black rectangle on the top left corner meant I needed to send in the camera for repair. After few emails to a repair shop, they requested some pictures of the damage to assess the situation. Since the film blind is obstructing the problem, I decided to do what anyone would do and used my thumb in attempt to move the thumb dial. It’s called a thumb dial for a reason right? Well tough luck because this is where shit really hit the fan.

Due to my fat and buttery finger, general clumsiness, bad luck, or just a combination of all on top of an awful day, the thumb dial did not want to bludge. My finger slipped and went right into the titanium curtain. Now that is not a sound an average person would expect to hear, it was almost like if there was the ideal sound of something being crumbled, somewhat almost cartoon like. I was in shock. I didn’t know how to process this. First, it was anger. How the hell did this happen? It was called a “thumb” dial for a reason! Second, it was straight up confusion. I was so in awe but also puzzled with the sound that the titanium curtain made. I’ve used my LX for the good past 4 years and every press of the shutter gave a loud slap of the mirror. Ive startled people on the streets and shot it in a church in Granda, Spain where silence is mandatory as there was a Nun praying. How can something made of titanium be so fragile? And third, I was defeated. I thought my ingenious solution would solve my light leak issue but instead just exacerbated the situation exponentially. I’ve sent emails to two different repair services, including an officially Pentax licensed one, but to my vain, they would not take on the repair.

The story ends here’s in a down note as I had to grab an LX body from evilBay (although not in 100% functional condition as it suffers the classical sticky mirror syndrome) and send it for repair. So yes, to answer OP’s question, I did exactly that because they wouldn’t let me have camera to camera open heart (curtain) replacement surgery.

Attached are photos of the damage:

 

[mshchem]

Eh story time.

I recently found out I have a light leak on my Pentax LX since all the frames on my negatives have a bright spot on the top left corner. I take the lens off, pop the back open, and put the mirror up. Lo and behold there’s a small hole on the bottom right corner. Immediately a flashback from few weeks ago played out in my mind. I painfully watched in slow motion of the exact moment where my camera strap somehow got undone and then followed by a “splat”! Obviously at the time there were some minor cosmetic defect but since the LX is tough as a tank I carried on with my shootings.

Fast forward to me inspecting the small hole on the shutter curtain. I see a little knob and pondered if I could move it and solve my insignificant problem. After moving it so that the hole is completely masked, curiosity got the best of me and a quick search online tells me that it’s the watch data film blind and thumb screw. Realizing that this definitely won’t solve my problem and any photos I take will have a black rectangle on the top left corner meant I needed to send in the camera for repair. After few emails to a repair shop, they requested some pictures of the damage to assess the situation. Since the film blind is obstructing the problem, I decided to do what anyone would do and used my thumb in attempt to move the thumb dial. It’s called a thumb dial for a reason right? Well tough luck because this is where shit really hit the fan.

Due to my fat and buttery finger, general clumsiness, bad luck, or just a combination of all on top of an awful day, the thumb dial did not want to bludge. My finger slipped and went right into the titanium curtain. Now that is not a sound an average person would expect to hear, it was almost like if there was the ideal sound of something being crumbled, somewhat almost cartoon like. I was in shock. I didn’t know how to process this. First, it was anger. How the hell did this happen? It was called a “thumb” dial for a reason! Second, it was straight up confusion. I was so in awe but also puzzled with the sound that the titanium curtain made. I’ve used my LX for the good past 4 years and every press of the shutter gave a loud slap of the mirror. Ive startled people on the streets and shot it in a church in Granda, Spain where silence is mandatory as there was a Nun praying. How can something made of titanium be so fragile? And third, I was defeated. I thought my ingenious solution would solve my light leak issue but instead just exacerbated the situation exponentially. I’ve sent emails to two different repair services, including an officially Pentax licensed one, but to my vain, they would not take on the repair.

The story ends here’s in a down note as I had to grab an LX body from evilBay (although not in 100% functional condition as it suffers the classical sticky mirror syndrome) and send it for repair. So yes, to answer OP’s question, I did exactly that because they wouldn’t let me have camera to camera open heart (curtain) replacement surgery.

Attached are photos of the damage:
View attachment 273482

View attachment 273484

Oh no. I am so tremendously clumsy with things. I have yet to punch a titanium focal plane shutter. The sound I personally imagine, must be similar to the sound my broken collar bone made several moons ago. Got distracted on a bicycle drifted into a curb. All I remember is going over the bike, and being so grateful when I was finally able to get my breath back.
You have my sincere regrets at your predicament.
Best Regards Mike

 

[Bill Burk]

What made the first hole?

 

[YoIaMoNwater]

Oh no. I am so tremendously clumsy with things. I have yet to punch a titanium focal plane shutter. The sound I personally imagine, must be similar to the sound my broken collar bone made several moons ago. Got distracted on a bicycle drifted into a curb. All I remember is going over the bike, and being so grateful when I was finally able to get my breath back.
You have my sincere regrets at your predicament.
Best Regards Mike

Damn Mike, as much as I love that camera it’s not worth a broken collar bone for. Hope you are recovering well, that must have been scary as hell.

What made the first hole?

No idea, my guess is probably from being dropped. I normally shoot a roll per week and never saw that light leak before I dropped it that day.

 

[mshchem]

Damn Mike, as much as I love that camera it’s not worth a broken collar bone for. Hope you are recovering well, that must have been scary as hell.



No idea, my guess is probably from being dropped. I normally shoot a roll per week and never saw that light leak before I dropped it that day.

I'm back on my bike. Somewhat wiser .

 

[narsuitus]

Did You Simply Replace Your Broken Camera With Another Because It's Cheaper Than The $$Cost To Repai

It depends on the camera. Since I prefer manual/mechanical cameras, I tend to have them repaired and I tend to replace my automatic/electronic cameras. For example, when my Mamiya RB67 broke, I had it repaired. When my Nikon N2000 broke, I replaced it with another.

 

[Cholentpot]

I just had a Pen F and Retina IIc repaired because it was cheaper than getting a new one/working one.

Depends on the camera I guess.

 

[Auer]

I Have some Minolta's left but as they get older the failure rate goes up. Done soldering and tinkering with these things. Not worth my time atm.