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My Minolta a-7/Maxxum 7 Won't Rewind Film. Any suggestions? :(

manfrominternet

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Sep 24, 2020
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137
Location
Los Angeles
Format
Large Format
My beloved Minolta a-7/Maxxum 7/Dynax 7 has been working great for a while. The last three times I’ve used it, however, when the film roll was finished, I’d hear a whirring sound that didn’t really sound like my film was being rolled back into its canister… and then the rear screen goes blank. The batteries are fine, so this is an odd situation indeed. The first time this happened, I managed to open the rear of the a-7 using a hack (without damaging anything). I thought this was a one-off. That said, I replaced the battery, but it happened 2 more subsequent times. I had to use a dark tent/film changing bag to open up the back of the Minolta a-7 to retrieve the film and rewind the film into the canister by hand, which is not fun. I suppose the clutch for the rewind system isn’t working properly/has old lubricant that doesn’t allow the film rewind clutch to catch, but of course I’m not sure.

Do any of you guys know how I can possibly fix this (outside of buying another a-7 (or even an a-9))? Preferably by myself?

Any help on this would be very greatly appreciated.
 
Could be anything from just a lose connection to a bad chip set, the film advance and rewind motor is still good. I don't know of a camera repair shop that will do anything but clean lube and adjust on Minolta A mounts. At this point, if you have come to the conclusion that you have nothing to lose check the past threads on the tear down, look for anything that seems lose. If you want to replace it, another 7, but as live the LA area with lots of glare I would think twice about a 9. Here is the desert southwest it so bright that most of the year I cannot see the faint viewfinder readout. My day to day shooter has been a 800SI, my battery grip has just gone south but it works fine with a lithum battery. For the money the 9XI is a good bet, like the 800 I can see the read viewfinder LEDs without issues. It is an odd camera, like the 9 top shutter of 1/1200 of a second, but uses program cards that pulg in for advanced functions like bracketing, sports or landscape mode. There is a battery grip but it was desinged to shoot at 5 FPS with the standard CR5 battery. As I shoot in manual mode most of the time the lack of advanced featrures has not not been an issue for me. The other disadvantage of the 9 is its weight, stainless steel body, by the end of along day shooting I notice it.
 
I have a number of Maxxum cameras. My favorite must be the 600si. I like the layout and I have four or five working examples. The AA grip/battery holder makes vertical shooting much more comfortable and eliminates the need for lithium batteries. At this stage of film photography, high frame rates are not really practical. If I need a high frame rate, I will use a non-film cameras. I have enough Maxxum cameras so I will have at least one working one for my A mount lenses for a long time.
 

This is all terrific advice! Thank you! I may just bite the bullet and either get another Minolta a-7 or the a-9. I’m locked in the Minolta ecosystem because I have so many A-mount lenses. :/

I did hear that the a-9 had a faint LEDs in the viewfinder, so that might also be a non-starter for me. The Minoltas are good, but good lord, why use plastic gears if there’s a chance it’ll strip?…
 
koraks said:
Sounds like stripped gears to me.
Click to expand...

It could be this, but I’ve also read that the lube they used on these cameras seize up the clutch mechanism to engage the rewind system, so it’s a tough one to figure out. I am certainly bummed out about it and don’t really know what to do. The repair cost might not even be worth it…
 
Oh yeah, dried lube also sounds like a possibility. Either way, it's something that'll require some dismantling and probing around to get sorted. Sending it out for repair is probably not worth if if you compare that cost to the purchase price of a similar camera.
 
Check if you have a piece of film stuck somewhere...

I have 5 of those. Purchased them when they were super cheap. 3 failed and only shoot wide open. the usual fault. other 2 are great. If you show up for a friend birthday or event buy the grip. Is super ergonomic design.
Cool tip:
Buy the Sony 50mm F1,4 lens. It works with the special flash metering Minolta uses. forgot the name/
Improves flash by a lot.

Second tip"
BUY an A5. Amazing super small camera with spot metering. Not like Canon/ . I only wish they made a pancake 40 for it.
I have 10. Even a black Japanese Kiss version.
Great small POS...
 

If you want a light weight body the Minolta 5, like the 7 it will AF with SSM lens, the 9 predated the 7 and 5 and needed to be upgraded at the factory for SSM lens. The 5 has ISO override, matrix and spot metering and a very small AF back button. Unless you are shooting sports, wildlife or the like it has great features at rock bottom prices. I only use my 9 when shooting wildlife, but do keep the 5 in the back of my SUV as a backup to my daily shooters the 800si or 9XI.
 
Just out of curiosity can I ask what the hack was? I presume that you have had to use the hack each time. If everything else works fine and the hack is something you can continue to use without damage then if the only "inconvenience" is the need for a film changing bag might it not be better to continue that way?

Just a thought

Thanks

pentaxuser
 

Hey there, I apologize for the delay! Anyway, here is the hack to open the rear locked film door/hatch:

1. Turn the main switch off.
2. While pressing ISO and AE-Lock buttons turn on the camera.
3. Display should now show "Back cover can now be opened"

I've had to use this hack several times now and it really sucks. This means that I can't just finish a roll, let it rewind in camera, take it out, and pop in a fresh roll of film. Instead, I have to do the whole song and dance of that hack above to just get the rear film door unlocked. Then, in a pitch black closet or film changing back, I open up the rear film door/hatch and very carefully take out the film and rewind it into the 35mm film canister by hand, rewinding it by the film canister itself. It's not a fun or particularly easy process. :/

If anyone has any technical repair manual or know where I can get one for the Minolta a-7/Maxxum 7/Dynax 7, that'd be great.
 
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