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How to Clean Minolta x-700?


rschneider

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I recently bought a replacement Minolta x-700 off of ebay that seems to be in

fine working condition, except that when you look through the viewfinder there

are a ton of dust specs. I am not sure if these show up on film yet (i'll report

my findings when I get the roll developed in a few days). I tried to clean it

off with an air blower (they arent on the mirror, but on the foggy piece right

above it)

 

Any idea how to clean these off safely?

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Here you can see how a x-700 looks when it is disassembled:

 

http://www.twid.de/x700/disas.html

 

Probably a lot of work to clean the pentaprism.... :-). It is also possible to replace the focus screen but I have heard it is a difficult job. When you take it out you are able to clean it, but it's very fragile.

 

http://www.twid.de/x700/focus.htm

 

Anyway: when you take a picture the mirror flips down and the light directly hits the film, so there will be no dust on the picture.

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I have a bunch of focusing screens for my two X-700 bodies. With some effort I can change them myself but I decided to just keep a grid screen in one and a plain matte screen in the other. When Minolta had their walk-in repair facility in NJ and when I lived in Bergen County I used to let them change the screens for me.
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Get a cheap plastic dental mirror and cleaning probe in the dental care section of your favorite general merchant.

 

Remove the lens in the normal manner.

 

Face into the front opening of the camera. Use the dental mirror to look up at the focusing screen. Towards the front of the camera you will see a little metal clip. Hook this clip with the cleaning probe and pull towards yourself. The screen should drop down at the front and pivot at the rear.

 

Carefully note the position of the screen (is prism towards the view finder or towards the mirror?) so you can reinstall correctly - if screen is inside-out then the focus will be off.

 

Be very careful - the tool is sharp and there are two things that can be scratched easily (the mirror and the screen).

 

Remember I am not a lawyer - seek competent advice before you do anything.

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You said it was dust specks - I assume a blast of "canned air" should handle it. If the dust is up in the prism you may just have to give up.

 

The screen itself is just a piece of plastic with fresnel engravings - if it is really gunky for some reason you can use lens cleaner fluid - or clear flowing water, for that matter - just make sure it doesn't dry with any water marks. Dry it with the "canned air" - don't risk scratches by rubbing with any cloth or paper.

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  • 10 years later...

Great tip! Just did it and now have a clean viewfinder (yes, i made some faint marks, but at least was able to remove toons of black pieces from the seams).

 

 

Get a cheap plastic dental mirror and cleaning probe in the dental care section of your favorite general merchant.

 

Remove the lens in the normal manner.

 

Face into the front opening of the camera. Use the dental mirror to look up at the focusing screen. Towards the front of the camera you will see a little metal clip. Hook this clip with the cleaning probe and pull towards yourself. The screen should drop down at the front and pivot at the rear.

 

Carefully note the position of the screen (is prism towards the view finder or towards the mirror?) so you can reinstall correctly - if screen is inside-out then the focus will be off.

 

Be very careful - the tool is sharp and there are two things that can be scratched easily (the mirror and the screen).

 

Remember I am not a lawyer - seek competent advice before you do anything.

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