Minolta Hi-Matic 9 with wobbly lens?

Hi all,

I recently picked up a Hi-Matic 9 in lovely condition for pocket change. Fortunately all the usual problem spots - sticky shutter/aperture blades, worn lens coatings, fungus, etc - aren't an issue here. Even the light seals look ok. With a little love it should become a great shooter and might even perhaps be the first rangefinder I actually enjoy using.

It has some signs of battery corrosion that has resulted in the wire breaking off the metal tab and disappearing into the camera body - an easy solder fix once I fish out the wire. Looks like the front lens board does need to come off though, can't seem to get at it from under the bottom cover.

It does however have a somewhat weird issue. The lens itself is a bit 'loose' and wonky, in the sense that it has a little play somewhere in the barrel. It doesn't appear to be in the helicoil - focussing is smooth and precise - but just forward of the focussing ring it has a fair bit of free play. It is just enough movement to mess with the alignment of whatever charge/release arm controls the shutter, however, as unless the lens is held/pre-loaded, the shutter usually won't fire. Hopefully that makes sense - I'll see if I can upload a short video later to demonstrate the issue.

I don't think it is a physical damage issue (camera looks well looked after, no signs of dings/dents on the lens itself) and based on an old post elsewhere, it isn't uncommon on fixed lens rangefinders of this era. Anyone got any idea as to where the problem point might be? I've bought the service manual and by all accounts these big, old Minoltas aren't too difficult to open up and work on.

Thanks in advance...

It may just be a matter of tightening one of the lens retaining rings accessible from the back.

Experience with Hi Matic-F, Minoltina-P and -S was that they're pretty straightforward, and I think once you have the lens removed, you'll be in a better position to see what's causing the wobble. If you need to remove the lens's beauty ring, I suggest using a rubber cup rather than a spanner wrench.

One of my better camera-repair buys was a pack of 30 gauge stranded wire in multiple colors (eBay, cheap), perfect for many camera repairs. By now, the original wire in your camera likely won't take solder very well because it's contaminated with battery electrolyte, and maybe just plain oxidized. Replacing the wire can save you a lot of frustration.

Thanks folks, will have a look once it's the Hi-Matic's turn on the bench (and my lens cups arrive).

Curiously enough the first test roll of old bulkrolled Tri-X yielded quite good results, no sign of light leaks. Though about half a dozen frames didn't expose. After a bit of playing it appears sometimes the misalignment of the lens results in the shutter button and charging mechanism 'firing' but the shutter itself not.

Some foibles aside I actually really enjoyed using the camera, and am starting to see some of the appeal of rangefinders. I think with the meter and lens fixed and a good CLA to smooth up the film advance it will become a regular shooter.

How tricky is cleaning the viewfinder on these? Mine's a bit hazy, apparently that's typical of all Hi-Matics (and probably all cameras of this age). Some are supposed to be a real pain to get into to clean?

The Hi-Matic 9 I have, had a thin line broken, and other than it being very thin, it repaired nicely.

I believe when I got this camera, the lens was also fiddly and it appeared to me to be the screw design, but tightened properly, it all came together well.

The Hi-Matic 9 was an up market follow up, to the 7 and it's later model.

It's "lovely" to handle and shoot, though a bit large, and the lens was well appreciated by many reviewer's post.

Go slow during the rewiring phase, as it will require your full attention, even if only for ten seconds and reassembly.

I seem to recall that this broken wire was a design flaw, as it would work itself up into the len's mechanism where it was pulled out or cut, so first look at some old rangefinder reviews and the Rangefinderforum.com to see the skinny on that model.

Good luck!

If all of your efforts fail, the good news is that there are dozens of Hi-Matics on sale all the time for very little money -- and, of course Minolta made a ton of rangefinder/viewfinder 35mm cameras that did not carry the Hi-Matic label. Maybe it's time to move up to a HiMatic 11 or G or G2 of GF or 7SII or.........

http://www.subclub.org/minman/minfind.htm