Stuck shutter on Hi-Matic 7s: fix or replace?

[ntenny]

Hi everyone,

After a couple of years of good service, my Minolta Hi-Matic 7s has quit working (naturally, it did it in a non-obvious way that cost me a full roll of really lovely landscapes). I suspect it's due to stuck shutter blades; everything seems to work correctly, except that when fired, the shutter doesn't actually open. I think I can see the blades "twitch" a little, but I can't see any daylight through them at all.

I've never been inside this camera, but I have the impression that the shutter is difficult to get to. Is it sensible to try to get in there and clean it up, or given the low prices of these cameras, should I let it go to someone for parts and get another one?

Any advice welcome...

-NT

 

[Whiteymorange]

Nathan,
Just thinking out loud, here, but if you are so inclined, a try at getting to the problem will leave you with a parts camera if it doesn't work, something good (and a sense of pride) if it does. As you say, these great old beasts are going for a song these days anyway. It sounds as though it might be a problem with the gear train in the cocking mechanism. I have a Retina S that is doing much the same thing - only problem is that I need a tool to get into the top end that I do not possess. I'll keep it until I can find a way in.

If, however, you are the type to get frustrated by fiddly things, or you want the thing fixed in a hurry - buy another one. You can fix this one at leisure and you will have your own parts camera.

 

[TimmyMac]

Try to fix it. You never know what you're capable of until you try. Tinkering with old broken Rokkor lenses gave me the confidence to fix more expensive stuff when it broke. Retina IIa cocking mechanism/shutter, the Copal shutter on my 210/5.6 Symmar-S, power switch on a 540EZ flash, and most recently a 70-210mm Canon USM lens. Would have cost me a fortune to get all that stuff professionally repaired. The next leap for me is to buy a broken L lens and see what I can do with it.

 

[wblynch]

That's exactly how I ended up with a parts camera - Konica Auto S2... Luckily I found a working one I could put on the table and "prove" to my wife that I was able to get it all back together again !!