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Minolta 7000, viewfinder not displaying info, mirrors came unstuck

mp7000

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Feb 7, 2026
Messages
19
Location
Funchal
Format
35mm
Greetings, i recently bought my first 35mm SLR, an early, crossed XXs, minolta maxxum 7000, probably an 1985/86 model, it works... fine, but the viewfinder didn't display anything, no lcd panel and no arrows, upon dissassembly the two tiny mirrors fell out, what i need to know is how do they go back together on the camera, i can see the tiny screen working, and the tiny arrows, i need to know how should i align it inside the camera
 
yes, but why? my goal is to learn, not buying cameras, and what do i do with this one, trash it? really i want real helpful answers
 
and i actually have another alpha 7000 coming too, these cameras are getting really old, "buy another one" will not be an option in another 8-10 years, they are complex, and full of wiring, i want to know them at a deeper level and i'm asking for help, these machines are degrading slowly year by year and they do need service too
 
mp7000 said:
yes, but why? my goal is to learn,
Click to expand...

To learn camera repair, I'd try to get all the PDF and Youtube information on that camera. This may involve buying manuals and books, in addition to scouring internet repositories.

Post pictures of what you are doing, so we can help you figure out the issues at hand.
 
well, i do have the service manual pdf now, i managed to get it, what i also found, aside from the mirrors, there was a loose wire (blue, right side of viewfinder LCD holder, behind white and purple) that i managed to reweld, and she started doing maxxum things again, i just have to align the viewfinder now, but it's all working now, now what i do not enjoy is asking for help hoping for some valuable insight and being told to "buy another one", y'know, that's why we have huge piles of trash laying around worldwide, these cameras are getting to their 40s, and they were really packed tight with electronics, they will, as all things, need service, imagine losing valuable time that i could spend learning/fixing to read "just buy another one", but well, i do appreciate any more insight, things to look for as i go, and things to learn, if you have knowledge and are willing to share it with me, please DM me, i would aprecciate it very much
 

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thank you, i managed to get a service manual for it in these past hours, as for the complexity, i do things calmly, the 7000 does not scare me very much, i really want to get into "the minds of minolta" as i go, as i do cherish it and it's history of a revolutionary camera (i was not around in 1985, nor at the time of 35mm film)
 
Well done, the 7000 with it's flexible circuit board is not for the faint of heart.
 
I've just picked up an alpha 7000 , same camera as the 7000AF and Maxxum 7000 with an original series 59mm f/1.4 lens .
The cameras initially not working on AAA batteries correctly , but general cleaning of contacts and putting an AA battery pack on has seemed to have helped .
It seems to be a mixture of software and hardware issues .
I'll see tonight if leaving it with batteries in has helped reinvigorate it .

At least the lens that I bought it for is in good condition and full working order .

The Minolta 7000AF was my first SLR I got in the early 90's used .
A great upgrade to the crappy point and shoot camera I'd had up until then .
 
neilt3 said:
Always worth doing a search on this forum before starting a new thread as it's often been discussed before .

See here ; https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...it-replaced-aperture-solenoid-cleaned.211422/
Click to expand...

well, i tried searching for viewfinder, viewfinder mirrors, and so forth, i'm new here so i don't understand what has been discussed before, i'm not also a frequent forum user, i just like cameras, and i got a minolta 7000 from the US, that i tried getting as much info as i could before it got to me, and still i wasn't warned of the mirrors that came unstuck, "lcd aperture ring shutter unit" is a very nice, professional name, but i'm still a noob, i'm still going to search something like "viewfinder lcd" because it's an lcd that shows up inside the viewfinder, that said, i'm sorry for wasting server space on an already resolved question but i did not know anything at the time of writing
 

i got one of those too , i bought it by mistake from japan on ebay thinking i won a bid on an X-700, i've found a pretty cool mod for making the 7000's work on rechargeable lithium batteries, i'll supply the link as soon as i find it again, as i said, i tried doing my homework, it's just a pretty advanced piece of machinery with very thin wires, and i'll have to dissassemble it again as one of the mirrors has come unstuck, i used double sided tape as i did not have any type of glue on me i would feel comfortable using on my precious maxxum, that said, the half hour i had with my working lcd and arrows inspired me to fix it better later, maybe print some new holders even
 
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Paul Howell said:
Well done, the 7000 with it's flexible circuit board is not for the faint of heart.
Click to expand...

i'm a bit wary of it, but not scared, if i don't learn how to fix it now, it will just get worse as components start to age further, the LCDs will eventually die on me, the solder joints will eventually start to crack, the led's will eventually start failing, and it will be one more faulty unit, i understand why regular people don't buy 7000s normally, they are too crammed with tech
 

https://dev-with-alex.blogspot.com/2016/05/minolta-7000-battery-upgrade.html?m=1 This is not mine, obviously, minolta had a lithium pack back in the 80s, but this modified battery pack let's you charge it using an USB-C cable, you still have to assemble it, of course, but imagine not having to buy batteries
 
koraks said:
I doubt that; they're generally segment LEDs. The result is that searching for 'lcd' might not yield much.
Click to expand...

aren't screens on the 7000 segmented LCD? i thought that's why they start getting dark, basically before opening the camera, i didn't know how the viewfinder information panel worked, so i just searched what i thought it was, one thing i found is that even the tiny screen that shows up inside the viewfinder can get dark spots too
 
koraks said:
Backside, yes. You mentioned viewfinder; different tech.
Click to expand...

well, i didn't know i'll still have to take it apart again now, my worry is that big flex cable up top, but at least i'm learning something
 
my camera came with a sigma lens, it's stuck and won't close properly, so that's the next thing i'm tackling, i'm just waiting for the proper tooling i bought to work on lenses as they got a bit of fungus , i'll try posting it here for anyone interested, i know there will be someone saying there are better ones with no fungus, but i'm 23 now at the time of writing this, you do know you count people my age and younger that are really into photography right? i could do this on an iphone, i'm trying to fix cameras older than me by decades and trying to understand them out of sheer interest in how they work, i do not wish sympathy on my attemps or praise, this is just so i don't get another "you can buy another camera" again, the people that used to fix 35mm cameras are aging too, some have passed away, i live in madeira island, portugal, there are NO camera repair shops, there haven't been since digital cameras appeared, you can't even develop film in a shop here, that's another can of worms for me that involves me learning for myself, this is not destined to anyone specifically, this is instead destined to someone who reads this thread and thinks "why is this dude trying to fix a plastic cheap camera", that said, i have another camera too, a Yashica FR from 1976, still in box with a broken counter, that will be fun to share here, my idea is making a new brass gear to go in place of the old cracked one
 
Structure of the display unit of the Minolta 7000 AF - a technical work of art

Minolta (Maxxum/Alpha) 7000 AF: Aperture issues resolved/shortcut; LCDs, aperture ring, shutter unit replaced; aperture solenoid cleaned

Under „Aperture Malfunctions“ in the C & C guide there are instructions to unsolder the white cable to the aperture magnet and then trigger the shutter when the aperture is always open, the LCD displays are correct and the shutter speed is plausible. The aperture then either closes or it...
www.photrio.com

 

thank you very much, this is really helpful, i never came across these ones, i also had a really good insight by fellow forum user @Andreas Thaler, (who i can see already saw this thread, and it's also the person who posted the first thread too) on his repair marathon, who i thank a lot for helping me see what i was getting into this morning, this camera was also my first weld job, i had to desolder the wires on the display unit, but thanks to his post i had something to base on
 
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well, now i do feel foolish, it was all already here, but then again, i managed to meet some people, stick around, i'll still have to do it all again one of these days, so i'll post it on this thread so to not open a new one
 
Here's some more information that might be useful to you:

Minolta (Maxxum/Alpha) 7000 AF: Aperture issues resolved/shortcut; LCDs, aperture ring, shutter unit replaced; aperture solenoid cleaned

Under „Aperture Malfunctions“ in the C & C guide there are instructions to unsolder the white cable to the aperture magnet and then trigger the shutter when the aperture is always open, the LCD displays are correct and the shutter speed is plausible. The aperture then either closes or it...
www.photrio.com

Minolta (Maxxum/Alpha) 7000 AF: Aperture issues resolved/shortcut; LCDs, aperture ring, shutter unit replaced; aperture solenoid cleaned

Under „Aperture Malfunctions“ in the C & C guide there are instructions to unsolder the white cable to the aperture magnet and then trigger the shutter when the aperture is always open, the LCD displays are correct and the shutter speed is plausible. The aperture then either closes or it...
www.photrio.com
 
i don't know if i should buy another really faulty 7000 to hone my skills on, really take it apart and learn correctly, my maxxum is working fine, it was just the mirrors that fell down due to age, but yesterday i thought to myself that a more in depth dissassembly for someone trying to learn should not be done on a pre-exxon lawsuit maxxum
 
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