Minolta X-570 doesn't seem to be working, any suggestions?

Well, I hauled out my dad's X-570. I had pulled it out of it's

tomb a couple months ago, turned on the power switch and could hear

that high pitched hum. By that, I assume that it worked then. I

turned it on a few days ago and there was no hum so I ran out and

bought it some new batteries. I popped the batteries in and still

nothing happened.

I flipped through the manual and I seem to be doing everything

right. The power switch which is on the top of the camera is on and

the batteries are properly installed. Is there something else I

should be doing?

If there isn't, I assume that the thing is broken. Is there any

common problems with this model that I could try to fix or do I need

to take it to a reapir shop.(If that's the case, are there any

chains which anybody can recommend to me.)

Sorry for all the questions but I've been pulling my hair out all

day trying to figure it out myself and now my brain hurts.

-Lidy.

High pitched hum? Hmmm. I don't remember my X-570 making *any* noise. I hope

that "hum" wasn't the sound of your camera's electronics shorting out. So the

readouts in the finder are completely black?

I read in the manual that there is some hum which the camera would make in a certain setting. I just hope the hum it was making was a healthy hum and not a bad hum. And yes, when I look at the readout it's dark.

The "high pitched hum" does not sound good to me, either. My X-570 never made such a noise.

The only hum I ever here from my X-570 is when I have the flash attachment on and then it is the flash and not the camera. I know it has the setting on the power switch for audible beeps but I have never heard it make a noise.

 

After you turn on the camera, look through the view finder and put slight pressure on the shutter release button. You should see one to two red lines on the right side of your view finder showing shutter speed and metered speed. If you do not see the red bars after touching the shutter release then you have an electronics problem. The most likely answer would be the batteries installed backward but you have already checked that against the manual.

 

You might want to remove the lens and check the location of the mirror. If it is partially up you may have a jammed shutter. When my shutter jammed the camera shut down like it was dead. In that case the mirror was stuck half way down.

 

Given the age of the camera I would recommend a good cleaning and servicing by a reputable company. Even if the camera was not having problems I would recommend this. They should be able to find the problem and repair it for a reasonable cost.

FYI, fried capacitors make a high piched hum or squeal as they are frying. This sounds bad. If the batteries are good, but the camera is dead, this might well be what has happenned. Also, FYI, from a purely financial standpoint, it would not be worth more than $75-80 to have that camera repaired. Good working Minolta X-570 bodies are only worth that much, and the Nikon alternatives that were mentioned on the other board (such as the FE or FG) are not much more, for just the bodies.

The X-570 might give off a high-pitched beeping noise if it is set to "A" mode and the metering indicates a recommened shutter speed lower than 1/45th, but this is by no means a "hum." Your camera has issues if it's humming.

See <a href="http://www.photo.net/mjohnston/column18/index.html"> Clean, Lube and Adjust </a> by the Sunday Morning Photographer for some thoughts about the value of paying more on repairs than the camera brings on Ebay.

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I just got a "free" X-570. I know that it has spent its entire life sitting on a shelf in a modern office bolted to the front of a computer imaging box - so it has never been exposed to temperature or humidity extremes and it is in fine physical shape. Yet the mirror and shutter release locked-up because of dried out lubricant. I spent $113 to get it fixed and I have had a ball playing with the camera. Lubricant dries out and capacitors eventually die - so you run this risk with any used camera - if you get the work done then you are comfortable that you have many years of use to look forward to.

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I used <a href="http://www.sanfordcamerarepair.com/"> Sanford Camera Repair </a> in Arlington, Massachusetts, which is local for me, and I was very pleased.

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This forum frequently mentions <a href="http://www.keh.com/repair/repair.cfm"> KEH Camera Brokers </a> in Atlanta, Georgia. Their online estimate is comparable.

 

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Anyways, what's a hundred bucks when it is YOUR DAD'S EXCELLENT CAMERA??

The problem you described has to do with need of complete overhaul. Shutter would have to be completely disassembled, lubricated and adjusted. If you're interested visit us at www.garryscamera.com . Our repair quote for this model would be $48.00 (shipping included). Let me know if you have further questions.

 

Garry,

 

www.garryscamera.com,

garryscamera@yahoo.com