X700 Film Advance Issue

[joeyk49]

I cried out in anguish as I was loading a fresh roll of film into my X700...the film advance just up and quit. Aargh!!! Nooooo! It can't be! This is my baby! This is my very first slr! She CAN'T die!

So, while contemplating her untimely demise, I asked myself, "I wonder how difficult a repair it is?" So here I am, asking the all knowing APUG Collective Mind:

Do you think its possible for someone who has never even removed a back cover to a camera, to possibly do this repair?

Are repair manuals easy to find and is worth the time and effort?

Any thoughts or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Joe

 

[Max Power]

Hey Joey,
I'm in a bit of a rush, so I will give you a quick answer and then follow up later. If I'm not mistaken, you might be suffering from the fairly common X-series capacitor failure. I had an X-700 that would intermittently function because of this. The main symptom is that the shutter wouldn't fire and thus, nothing would advance. I have a parts XG-M that does this too.

Some things to check:
1. Are your batteries OK?
2. Does the shutter fire? Intermittently?
3. Do the internal LEDs light up?

Worse case scenario, there are some repair manuals floating around (I will follow with the links later). If it is the capacitor problem, it is a fairly easy and cheap fix if you're OK with a soldering iron and jewellers screwdrivers. There is a chap on eBay sells the capacitor kits and instructions.

Let me know what your exact symptoms are and I might be able to help more.

Kent

 

[joeyk49]

Hey Joey,
The main symptom is that the shutter wouldn't fire and thus, nothing would advance. I have a parts XG-M that does this too.

Some things to check:
1. Are your batteries OK?
2. Does the shutter fire? Intermittently?
3. Do the internal LEDs light up?

Let me know what your exact symptoms are and I might be able to help more.

Kent

Kent: I ran and got the camera as soon as I read your reply. What happened next is very strange...

I turned the camera on and checked out the l.e.d.s in the viewfinder...they worked fine. I then attempted to release the shutter...nothing. But I said to myself, it shouldn't fire, because I had removed the old roll and could not advance the new roll. Thus the shutter wasn't cocked and wouldn't fire. I tried winding the advance again...nothing. I tried it a second time...it now clicked a couple of times at the extreme end of the lever's throw. Pressed the shutter release, and it fired! Wound again and it fired! What gives?

Is this the intermittancy (is that a word?) that you described?

And to answer your other question, I don't have any hesitation using a soldering iron and would jump at the chance to repair it, if I had a reasonable expection that I would get the beast back together again. Thanks for your help.

Joe

 

[Max Power]

Joe,
Well, it sure sounds like the capacitor problem. I had an X-700 which did that and I have a parts XG-M which did the same thing. It's not a really mysterious problem and is fairly common. There was a chap on eBay only a few months ago who sold the capacitors and full instructions for a very inexpensive price. I searched all over and cannot find him.
I did, however, find the capacitors listed at Micro-Tools here: Dead Link Removed . I also found this web-page which describes the problem: X-700 . There is also a pdf copy of the X-370 manual floating about somewhere out there.

Hope that this helps.

Kent

 

[joeyk49]

Thanks, Kent.

My first reaction was to think that my old girl was toast. I'm going to search around a little to see if I can find instructions for the repair.

I hadn't realized the mechanical relationship between the shutter release and the film advance...duh!

Maybe this will work out...crossing my fingers.

Joe

 

[bob01721]

...I'm going to search around a little to see if I can find instructions for the repair...

You might check with Jon Goodman (jon_goodman@yahoo.com). He's very helpful and very familiar with the different types of caps used in the X-Series cameras. He'll tell you how to identify the ones in your camera, send you the caps you need, and walk you through their replacement.

 

[joeyk49]

Very cool.

Thanks.

 

[Max Power]

You might check with Jon Goodman (jon_goodman@yahoo.com). He's very helpful and very familiar with the different types of caps used in the X-Series cameras. He'll tell you how to identify the ones in your camera, send you the caps you need, and walk you through their replacement.

Bob,
Thanks for the info. Jon Goodman is a top-notch chap and has helped me with a Canonet. If he's also good with the X-series problems then he's the person I'd go to.

Cheers,
Kent

 

[Scuffy]

On a whim and for what it's worth! I had a somewhat similar problem with one of my two X700's. Mine wasn't a capacitor problem though. I wish it would have been because I would have fixed it! I could physically move the advance lever, but it wouldn't cock the shutter at the end of the throw. I found that occasionally if I would press in on the film release button on the bottom that it would help out. Why, I really don't know. After sending the camera to Morgantown Camera and Video repair I was informed that it had something to do with the spring mechanism attached to the advance lever. All in all it was well under $100 for shipping, the fixing as well as a cleaning. I think it was around $75.

Also, if your still interested in it I have a factory repair manual for the X700 that I got off ebay a couple years ago. It's great! I never got the chance to really use it as it was more detailed than I would have ever imagined, but on the same token it was kinda cool to see the schematics and exploded views. Good because it lists part numbers!

Anyway, hope all goes well with the camera!

-Scuffy

 

[david b]

Joey,
if we are talking about the Minolta camera, I think I can help you.

PM me.

 

[derekh]

I once had a similar problem with my X-700. After much hair pulling, I discovered that the mirror had become caught, which prevented me from firing the shutter. This camera uses a thin, ring shaped, black plastic sheet in the lens mount mechanism. Not sure what it is supposed to do, but it had become bent and dislodged when I was changing a lense. Next time I fired the shutter, the mirror got caught on this thing. I was able straighted it out a bit and push it back into position and that solved the problem.