Minolta 800si, 9xi or x700 with grid screen???

[loman]

Hi Everybody.

I really love the minolta line of cameras. I've used most brands of 35mm, and minolta has got to be my favourite (along with the Nikon f3 . both their manual focus line and also some of the autofocus cameras are stunning
Anyway I used to be able to get horizons straight by using a standard screen but somehow lost that ability. Now it's very easy in all the good Nikon cameras to change the screen to an E screen, but in both the minolta 800si the 9xi and the X series of manual focus cameras (which was the only manual focus line minolta made which offered a grid screen besides the XK/XM), the focussing screen had to be changed by a minolta repair facility. Hence these screens are rare.
Now I really enjoy shooting with said cameras but really miss a grid screen, so has anyone in this great community ever seen a grid screen for the minolta 800si, 9xi or the X line of SR mount minolta cameras?
Can someone point me in a direction where I can find such a screen, or knows of someone who has a camera for sale where the screen is already installed?

Best Regards
Mads

 

[dynachrome]

The X-700 I use most often has a grid screen in it. The focusing screens for the X-700 were considered user interchangeable. As a practical matter I find it cumbersome to change screens in any camera without interchangeable finders. The focusing screens for the Minolta XD11 (and Canon A-1) were considered factory interchangeable. The X-700 screens never sold very well and I suspect that most X-700 owners did not know about the feature. Finding an X-700 screen now is difficult. Somewhere I have a bag of X-700 focusing screens and I would not want to part with any of them. I would suggest that you have someone score some grid lines in an existing standard X-700 screen. Avoid having any of the lines go through the existing focusing aids. It is true that the XK has focusing screens in frames like the Nikon F-F5 and Canon F-1 cameras but I don't know how reliable the XK is compared to a Nikon F2 or Canon F-1/F-1n or whether anyone can repair the electronics in an XK. The inexpensive Nikon N2020 has interchangeable focusing screens, including a grid type. It also has TTL flash and a top shutter speed of 1/2000. It is a very rudimentary AF camera but a very nice camera for manual focus use and has focus confirmation.

 

[loman]

Hi.
Thanks for the info.
Well as I stated I'm only interested in finding a grid screen for either the X-series or the 800si or 9xi.
I've used plenty of Nikons but prefer the Minoltas
Your idea about having someone customise an existing screen sounds very appealing, but who could take on such a job?
I'm also wondering if it's possible to cut down a nikon or olympus grid screen and have that put in an old minolta srt303 (srt102 in the us).
I might also just have to learn to live with it.
But it would be great to find either a grid screen or a camera that already has one installed, but as you rightly say, they are very rare!
Best Regards
Mads

 

[Diapositivo]

This is the kind of product that a good optics laboratory should do without much difficulty.
For instance this laboratory has a plain focusing glass for € 8,00.
http://www.adrianololli.com/listino.asp?CAT=OTT&SUB=H

They are certainly able to draw some lines on it and cut it to fit your camera.

People who make maintenance of telescopes often make lenses and they can very likely deal with this problem.

Other than that, a patient search on eBay might produce what you look for but sometimes going for the bespoke realization might be better.

The only problem is that Minolta had very high-quality focusing screens, the best on the market. Adapting a common one (Nikon, Canon, Olympus, or bespoke made by an optician) will result in a little loss in quality.

 

[loman]

Yes I know.
For me the viewfinder of the X series minolta cameras is simply the best viewfinder ever to grace a camera in terms of brightness and ease of focus.

 

[colin wells]

Ebay uk has a number of screens for sale grid and standard for the Minolta 9000. I dont know if its the same screen as the 800si but if to large you could grind down

 

[loman]

They don't fit the 800si unfortunately.
I've contacted the camera repair workshop in the UK who specialises in minolta about the issue, but I haven't gotten an answer yet.
(I actually contacted them once before about another matter, but never got a reply, so maybe it's best to call them?).

 

[colin wells]

Too big or too small both can be worked around

 

[loman]

Hi, Yes that might be my best option, I would still need a professional to do the job though.
Best Regards
Mads

 

[colin wells]

Will keep my eye open for a 800si screen on my travels

 

[loman]

Hi. Thanks a lot
Best Regards
Mads

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

Hi
I had a 800Si and it is a very nice camera with lots of features. A little larger for my taste and I had the same functions on the earlier 700SI, so I gave it up.
If I remember well, the Wide area box corners were pretty much where you find the intersection of thirds. It is a good composition tool.

 

[loman]

I love the 800si too. It's very underrated.
I bought mine with the equally underated 35-70 3.5/4.5 for 200 dkk, which is around 28 euros or 22 pounds. It was in mint condition and it works perfectly.
I've owned all the single digit Nikon F series except the F6 plus the f100, multiple leica M series cameras, the Canon F1 plus both the olympus om1 and 2, (all though not all at the same time mind you) and I still prefer the Minolta manual focus and auto focus cameras.

 

[Paul Howell]

I took a split image screen from a old non working Miranda and cut it down to fit a Pentax SF1, once I had the screen rather easy to do. The trick is to get a screen that is larger than what fits. I might want to try a 9000 screen and see how close it fits. In the US I see 9000 screens, not very often do I see screens for the 800SI or 9.

 

[loman]

I've never ever seen a grid screen for either the 800si or the 9xi nor the X series turn up anywhere, and I've looked quite a bit :-(

 

[AgX]

For horizons you would not need a grid scree.

What about scratching 2 or 3 parallel lines into a standard screen?

 

[Paul Howell]

I would think about a Nikon E screen, they are cheap about $10.00 if it does not fit, hopefully it will larger so it can cut down. If it is smaller then just out a 10 spot.

 

[AgX]

Not only the outer size is of importance, but moreover the position of the ground plane. Depending on the way a screen is fixed in the body its thickness is importance.
Also as many screens have an incorporated fresnel lens, this should be apt for the rest of the optics of the finder system.

 

[loman]

well anyway with the 800si or the 9xi the only way to change the screen is to take of the top cover, and then there are all kinds of adjustments which have to be made, which is why it you had to send the camera to a minolta repair facility to have it changed. This is also the reason that these screens are so rare.

 

[Paul Howell]

Buy an 9000 and look for the screen you want, I have 9000 with the split image screen I found at KEH, that I use with M42 lens and a adaptor. 9000 are inexpensive, but pro build.

 

[loman]

Yes that's a possibility, but I'm not really interested in the 9000 :-(