Lens stuck in Minolta X-700

[CGKPhoto]

I was looking around and Googling, but I can't seem to find a solution for this. I just got my grandpa's old Minolta X-700 for my birthday. Everything mechanically works fine, takes pictures and such. The thing is, the lens (Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD) will not come out. I push the release button, it turns counterclockwise until it hits this black thing (sorry for the lack of proper terms), but it won't pull out. Is there a way to fix this?

If it's something I can't do myself, any repair shop suggestions (Twin Cities area or send in)?

 

[BobD]

It might help if we knew what "this black thing" is. Posting photos might help too.

 

[CGKPhoto]

It's the Mounting Control Ring. Also, I noticed the lowest F-Stop it can go to is 4. Attached some photos.

 

[Diapositivo]

You should first push the lens release button. While you keep it released, you rotate the lens until the red bubble is on the top of the lens, under the O of Minolta so to speak. Then you can extract it. That's the theory. If you are doing everything correctly, then the only thing I can think of is the aperture lever somehow bent or the camera lever which closes the diaphragm somehow stuck. I would try to move the aperture ring, take a picture, push the stop-down button, see what moves, what is stuck. While keeping the stop-down button pressed, turn the aperture ring for its entire span to see if it moves freely.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I cannot recommend any places in the Twins Cities area, but I can strongly recommend KEH.com repair. They are located in Georgia [US]. Look at Dead Link Removed

Steve

 

[CGKPhoto]

The red dot cannot reach the the center, the aperture ring hits the mounting control ring before it can. Dumb question, but what is the stop-down button? Can't find anything in the manual; I'm new to film cameras.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Look at your photograph #3, it is the round chrome button on the camera body right across from the red dot on the lens.

See http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ for the instruction manual. If you download it and find it useful, please send him a check for $3.

Steve

 

[ath]

Somehow the aperture slider managed to get on the wrong side of the actuater. The actuator is the tab on the lens at the "11" mark. Viewed from the front the tab should be left from the slider pin not right as visible in the second pic.

 

[CGKPhoto]

Look at your photograph #3, it is the round chrome button on the camera body right across from the red dot on the lens.

See for the instruction manual. If you download it and find it useful, please send him a check for $3.

Steve

Oh, so it's the same as the lens release button?

Somehow the aperture slider managed to get on the wrong side of the actuater. The actuator is the tab on the lens at the "11" mark. Viewed from the front the tab should be left from the slider pin not right as visible in the second pic.

Well that's bizarre... Any possible way to reverse it?

 

[Sirius Glass]

Oh, so it's the same as the lens release button?

Opps! Sorry, the stop down button is on the lens barrel, towards the base plate of the camera, if I remember correctly.

 

[John Koehrer]

If you look at the front of the camera, stop down button is the square black button at the lower right of the lens.

The bad part of this situation is there is no access to the back of the lens from the back of the camera. The screws in the mounting flange are covered by the lens mount. So. Anything a technician can do, you can do.

I would try inserting a very thin screwdriver(1-2mm) or hobby knife blade between the edge of the tab(it's plastic) and the lens, and gently pry upwards while rotating the lens. The meter coupling ring on the body and may flex enough fo it to ride over the coupling on the lens.

If a repairman does that and breaks it, the lens is removed and the ring replaced. if you break it, the technician is one step closer to finishing the job.

 

[Diapositivo]

Maybe a surgically-minded technician can open the shutter in B mode and operate from behind, in a prostatic-style way

 

[Sirius Glass]

Not good idea, it access to the critical parts for disassembly and repair are from the front.

 

[CGKPhoto]

If you look at the front of the camera, stop down button is the square black button at the lower right of the lens.

The bad part of this situation is there is no access to the back of the lens from the back of the camera. The screws in the mounting flange are covered by the lens mount. So. Anything a technician can do, you can do.

I would try inserting a very thin screwdriver(1-2mm) or hobby knife blade between the edge of the tab(it's plastic) and the lens, and gently pry upwards while rotating the lens. The meter coupling ring on the body and may flex enough fo it to ride over the coupling on the lens.

If a repairman does that and breaks it, the lens is removed and the ring replaced. if you break it, the technician is one step closer to finishing the job.

That did the trick! Didn't break anything either. Thanks everyone so much!

 

[John Koehrer]

Not good idea, it access to the critical parts for disassembly and repair are from the front.

FWIW, All of the stop down linkage, aperture ring, and mount bits can only be accessed from the back of the lens.
The front will get you to some optics, and aperture blades & housing.

Glad you got the thing done with no damage.

 

[Diapositivo]

FWIW, All of the stop down linkage, aperture ring, and mount bits can only be accessed from the back of the lens.
The front will get you to some optics, and aperture blades & housing.

Glad you got the thing done with no damage.

That's what I thought. If the stop-down lever was the problem, maybe it could have been accessed from behind the shutter. I'm glad the problem was solved anyway.

 

[Rick A]

Are you rotating the entire lens or just the aperture ring to remove the lens?

 

[Ric Trexell]

APUG comes through again.

I remembered reading about a person with a Minolta X-700 that had a stuck lense. I thought at the time, well, that is good information to know if I ever have that problem. Well, guess what. My x-700 had exactly the same problem and so I did a search on here for the posting of that problem. I was able to get the lense off and see that the stop down tab had some scratches on it. I have two advantages to fixing it that the other guy may not have had. I have another X-700 so I was able to study it before I went at the bad X-700. I also have a digital vernier calipers and measured the good camera and the bad camera from the flange down. On the good camera, I came up with .350in. On the bad camera I had .343 I think it was. That is only 007in. off which is about the thickness of three human hairs. So I got in there with a needle nose pliers and bent it to within .001in. of the good cameras reading. It seems to work great now. Thanks APUG. That would have been a repair job that would have cost $40 if they agreed to work on an old camera like the X-700. I will be more careful in the future about putting lenses on.