The Minolta X- series cameras are reliable workhorses that can be bought for cheap, made in large numbers from the early 80s well into the 90s, they however are well known for having problems with a tiny capacitor that can render the camera unusable.
I recently suffered this with my X-700, made in 1983, it is supposed to affect later ones made in the 90s more, but it can happen to all of them, there is no way to forsee it happening, the camera will simply stop working completely "out of the blue", here are some symptoms of a dead capacitor :
How do i identify a dead capacitor?
1 - Shutter will not fire.
2 - Film advance lever does not move past the 30 degree position.
3 - New batteries ( LR-44 or SR-44 1.5V, among others ) but shutter will still not fire.
4 - LEDs in viewfinder light up when the camera is turned on, but die and will not light up again if the shutter button is pressed.
I have read some people say that once the capacitor dies you might as well throw the camera away, DON'T, it's a simple fix that any camera mechanic, or even a experienced DIYer can do, my local mechanic charged me 16 Euros for the job, ( about 20 USD ).
Here is a video on the capacitor of an X-300, the capacitor is the same although note that the polarity is reversed compared to the X-700 ( X-700 has the positive terminal on the exterior side ).
I recently suffered this with my X-700, made in 1983, it is supposed to affect later ones made in the 90s more, but it can happen to all of them, there is no way to forsee it happening, the camera will simply stop working completely "out of the blue", here are some symptoms of a dead capacitor :
How do i identify a dead capacitor?
1 - Shutter will not fire.
2 - Film advance lever does not move past the 30 degree position.
3 - New batteries ( LR-44 or SR-44 1.5V, among others ) but shutter will still not fire.
4 - LEDs in viewfinder light up when the camera is turned on, but die and will not light up again if the shutter button is pressed.
I have read some people say that once the capacitor dies you might as well throw the camera away, DON'T, it's a simple fix that any camera mechanic, or even a experienced DIYer can do, my local mechanic charged me 16 Euros for the job, ( about 20 USD ).
Here is a video on the capacitor of an X-300, the capacitor is the same although note that the polarity is reversed compared to the X-700 ( X-700 has the positive terminal on the exterior side ).