Vintage film cameras

[yokohama]

It's OK; you might need yours sometime and I've got lots of Minoltas so I could do with some insurance myself. I think it's possible to use the flat tantalum ones as they are more durable and store a larger capacitance in a smaller size. Might be worth a try sometime.

[Kenzie]

That article was quite interesting. So they used cheaper caps to save money but then ended up killing the camera because caps failed. Seems like an idiotic choice.

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[yokohama]

Idiotic yes but certainly not unique compared to any manufacturer these days. They all try to keep costs down by skimping on one ore more components. Look on the bright side; plenty of cheap, failed X300 & 500s to resuscitate.

[Kenzie]

True, got my first X700 due to dead caps. Thing is, it's not a case of if, but when they will fail.

[yokohama]

Wow! I ordered those capacitors at 8pm last night. Delivered at 11.20 today.

[Kenzie]

Wow, that was quick! My MX finally arrived, if you buy anything from ebay and they use collect plus, be warned that its Yodel. They tried to deliver it to my work last night at 8.25pm. Anyway, the second MX was locked up but with a functional meter and a good focus screen. The first MX had a missing screen, dented top plate and the meter is dead. I can live without the meter so I transferred the screen and top plate and now have something I'm happy with. Just needs mirror bumper foam. Its a pretty compact little thing, much better than a K1000.

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[yokohama]

Shame about the meter but at least you've fixed it up and have something you are happy to use. Any ideas on a possible fix?
Definitely agree it's much nicer in the hand and to the ear than a K1000.

And a cheap deal on prints at Boots if it's of any interest. https://www.bootsphoto.com/photo-gift/home

[Kenzie]

Not sure what the issue is at the moment, maybe dirty contacts but will have to dig further. Managed fo find my Aki Asahi ME Super seal kit so took a mirror buffer from there. I don't go for prints very often, more stuff to store. There is a queue for black and white at the processor so it's going to be 10 to 12 days turn around.

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[yokohama]

There's a possible fix here that might be worth a look and is easy to get to. http://no-exif.com/2011/07/24/pentax-mx-meter-fix

I'll try to do the capacitor fix on the X300 at the weekend, After reading that article, I want to open up all my Minoltas and see what kind of capacitor they are using.

[Kenzie]

Thanks Yoko, the meter is now functional! Just needed some tweaking. All that is missing is the motor drive coupling cover.