Maxxum 5 electonics problems

I have had a Minolta Maxxum 5 for 18 months and it has been

troublefree and well cared for. Today I was reading the manual

brushing up on how to use a few features and began having problems

as I tried to activate various functions. The problems I

encountered included:

- could not change Eye Start from "on" to "off" without slightly

tapping the camera on a table after switching it

- could not get the focusing mode to switch from manual to auto

- intermittent success getting the program mode button to go

from "action", to "night" etc.

- intermittent trouble getting the camera to power off

 

I changed batteries but still had problems. Has anyone heard of any

similar problems with this camera? I also have an XTsi which at

times has had a balky shutter release when the self timer is in use

so I'm wondering if Minolta has a reputation for this sort of thing.

 

Thanks!

Sounds like the lesser used contacts are bad. In what conditions did you use the camera?

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In any case, you should send the camera to a repair shop.

Michael - thanks. The conditions of use were normal (i.e., at my dining room table) so there should not have been any environmental factors. But you could be right about the lesser used contacts. Perhaps a little oxidation or corrosion of some sort. I did notice it returned an "ERR" condition when I turned it on later. The manual recommended removing & reinserting the batteries which I did. It now seems to function normally, but I don't really trust it yet. I'm going to shoot a test roll and take it to the shop if I have any further problems.

I had similar "electrical" problems with my Maxxum 5. I owned the camera less than you, about 6 months, before it started acting up. Infact, it was under almost the exact same conditions as yours. I was "playing around" with it in my living room, trying out different features as I read through the manual. I had shut it off and put it aside as I read. When I picked it up about 15 minutes later, it was dead. It would not turn on and did not resopond to any kind of input. I replaced the batteries as I thought they had died. These were the same batteries that I had from the start and had not yet learned how far the bar on the LCD would go down before they died. This did nothing. So I contacte Minolta since it was still under warranty and they said to send it in. I got the same camera back a few weeks later after being repaired.

 

I had to send it BACK to them once more 3 months later after a different problem. This time it was a problem with the back locking when film was loaded. Even after my complaints that they replace, rather than repair, I still received my repaired camera back. I've had no problems since and it's been about 5 months. So, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. The original warranty just ran out, so you know what that means. :)

 

Andy

I've had similar problems. It started when I went on an Alaskan cruise a few months after getting the camera. With new batteries my battery meter would start blinking. Then it would go away and show full power. Then it would blink again. And so on. Another thing that happens is that I'll go to shut the camera off and it won't. Sometimes it will shut off 10-30 seconds after I actually shut it off. It hasn't affected any of my photo's but it's still annoying.

I have had my Maxxum 5 for approximately 2 years and haven't had any problems with the electronics at all. I have tried to duplicate the problem indicated in the original without success. just thought I would pass this along.

Interestly, since I posted this originally I have had no further problems with this camera at all. It has worked great under all conditions and I have never experienced this again. Other than this somewhat bizarre incident, it has been a great camera.