minolta xe-7 help

worked fine on first 2 rolls. think my daughter turned on timer and now problems. on auto shutter goes down and a minute later comes back up. i can put it on x and shutter works but when looking through view finder its not as bright as usual and the meter doesn't move even if the aperature is changed. no manual and 20 yrs since i've used one of these. batteries are good. any help is appreciated.

This behaviour sounds like what would happen if you use the timer and have the shutter set to "B". When the timer counts down, it slowy drags the shutter button down, until it fires. Typically, if you have a faster shutter speed in normal operation, it will click and reset. If you have it on "B", the shutter will stay down for a second or so and then reset back to its normal position.

If you are after a manual, do a google search. www.butkus.org will have it available for download.

Cheers

Edit: deleted

BG lightdreamer

A few thoughts :

Silver stop down button on bottom of camera below lens has been released to its outer position This will cause the image to appear darker if the aperture set on the lens is not at the maximum aperture setting. Try moving the aperture control on the lens to see if the lightness/darkness changes. Push button back in.

Battery needs replacing - try battery check button on left hand side of camera.