Minolta Color Meter IIIF - repair options?

[tomweis]

<p>I have a Minolta Color Meter IIIF that after 10 years of use is finally showing problems. The LCD

display flickers in a funny way and shows wildly different color readings at random.</p>

 

<p>First I called Konica Minolta's Sensing Department (888.473.2656). They said that Sony's Konica

Minolta Support Division (877.462.4464) or Precision Camera (800.665.6515) would be able to help

me.</p>

 

<p>I called Sony. They said, no, they cannot repair a Minolta Color Meter IIIF. Instead they referred me to

Konica Minolta's Sensing Department.</p>

 

<p>Unbelievable. This is a classic example of the dumba$$ crap that happens when big companies split

up and restructure. Now I have two entities referring each other to me, neither of which can conduct

repairs on a $1400 meter.</p>

 

<p>So I called Precision Camera (precisioncamera.com). Yes they can fix it for the flat rate of $99 + $12

shipping. It's even listed as an option for repair on their website.</p>

 

<p>Precision claims to be the World's Largest Camera Repair Facility. Great. Just what I need; the WalMart

of repair services - big, impersonal, and probably staffed by people who wouldn't know a color meter

from an iPod. Additionally, I've always been leery of companies named with superlatives like "precision" or

"best".</p>

 

<p>In addition to all that, I noticed that the Kenko brand (part of THK, Tokina Hoya Kenko) meters -

including the color meter - are *obviously* the Minolta products right down to the same LCD screen. I

called Kenko and they said, yes, they had bought Minolta's meter making division, BUT they do not service

the Minolta meters. That stinks.</p>

 

<p>So I guess I'm asking whether anyone out there has had their Minolta Color Meter IIIF successfully

repaired by Precision Camera.</p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

Well that kinda sucks. Bummer.

[link]

Tom,

 

You might try quality light and metric:

 

Quality Light-Metric, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #550, Los Angeles, CA 90028. 323-467-2265

 

Call first, if anyone can fix it, they can. I bought my Minolta color meter used from them.

[tomweis]

Thanks the information, b g. I called them and unfortunately they do not repair the color

meter. I'll just have to try Precision Camera.

[g._armour_van_horn]

The fact that they have a flat rate repair might mean they won't repair them at all. Or rather, they already have repaired the one you will get back, or they have already repaired the guts of one and will slide that into your case and then repair yours at their leisure. That's pretty normal for volume repair operations. They get their economies by piling up a bunch of similar items, taking them all apart, testing the subassemblies, replacing defective subassemblies with new parts or with previously reworked ones, and then sending them all to the warehouse. The time it takes for a well-qualified tech to tear into a different model with every new job ticket is just too high.

 

Computer manufacturers do this with most computers now, although they probably make sure that you keep your old serial number. They won't fix a motherboard, they swap it out. They will have another operation that repairs motherboards, but that's just to provide parts for the main repair center.

 

If you've got the volume to do that, it's much less expensive.

 

Van

[phil_bradon]

Did you send your CMIIIF to Precision? Were they able to service it?

[tomweis]

As it turns out, Precision was NOT able to fix my Minolta Color Meter IIIF. So for anyone with a broken Minolta Color Meter

IIIF - looks like you have to buy a new meter.

[phil_bradon]

Sorry hear about your Precision experience. Not surprised though. The most important problem they caused was losing the calibration bodies when all of the calibration equipment was moved from KM up to Precision. One more possibility. Try Nippon Camera in NYC. NipponPC@aol.com. See if Casey is still around. Tell him that I mentioned the possibility. They might just have the parts. However, calibration will still be an issue because of the above. All of that said. Check out the new Sekonic C-500R. It is calibrated for film as are all standard color meters and human spectral response which is what Digital cameras are designed for. Less expensive than the Kenko (Minolta).

[darlene_lin]

Nippon will not repair the IIIF. They outwardly said "No, we will not take it." They passed me along to Kenko in Huntington Beach, CA wherein a representative there directed me to CAM TECH PRO AM (541) 382 7399 in Bend, OR. (Tom Weis -- I spent an hour and half on a wild goose chase after Quality Light Metric sent my IIIF back with a document containing phone numbers to Sony and Precision, each company having 3 different phone numbers to contact, which lead absolutely nowhere. I eventually called George Milton at Quality Light Metric and gave him the heads up too). CTPA is the heir apparent to Minolta's calibration standard for IIIF. No one else seems to have it.

 

I sent out my meter two weeks ago to CTPA and didn't hear back from them. So I called to check in on my meter arriving safely (which was only sent out there to be calibrated) and was told that my meter had suffered extensive impact damage and that my photo diode had sunk into its housing, etc. I was given repair options, but since there are no parts available, they would have to buy a used IIIF and charge you for labor+acquired meter. Not worth it. Buy used replacement or buy a Kenko CM-3100 (who acquired light meter division of Minolta -- cameras went to Sony).

 

Cambridge World (http://www.cambridgeworld.com/) offers IIIF used for $815 and were willing to sell me a brand new KENKO CM-3100 for $1099. The only problem is that they are not a warehouse/store and only do phone orders from their HQ in NYC on 17th st. which means you don't get to make that comparison.

 

Bottomline: Buy used or find a way to compare the IIIF with the Kenko CM-3100. No harm in that -- and if by chance one of the sales people I've spoken to was actually telling me the truth and not trying to reap the benefit of consumers currently being left in the dark, then my god, we actually have an option. Good luck.

[rainer_nagel]

thanks for sharing this information about Minolta company split up and ...

Note that there exists also a Gossen Colormaster 3 F (made in germany)

[phil_bradon]

Did CTPA say they had a calibration body for the CMIIIF? Without one, the meter cannot be brought back to proper calibration once serviced. As much as I loved the CMIIIF (I was on the design team that created it), I have to caution that the non-service issue should be considered carefully before purchase of one. Might be different if Kenko decided to help out and service them (have to assume that they have a calibration body for their version of the meter). That said, I am now working with Sekonic and have had some time with the C-500. Nice meter. I expect it to be very big in Hollywood. If you are shooting digital, and who isn't, you should look at the meter to clean up the light in front of your camera. If working with only one light source, using the white balance features of your camera or software is the way to go. If you are dealing with more that one, an expo disk will not save you. You will end up with color casts on subjects closer to any given light source (green for fluorescent, orange for tungsten, blue for daylight). The answer is light-source filtration. Balance lights to clean things up or to arrive at a common color that can be adjusted or corrected by a white balance.

[nmcmahon]

<p>Anyone attempted to calibrate themselves? I've investigated my minolta 2 color meter and noticed one adjustment screw behind the lb index chart on the back of the main body and six adjustment screws once the rear of the sensor housing has been removed.<br>

If anyone knows or has carried out services on thiese meters it would be a great help to know which screws do what. I presume that the six adjustment screws behind the sensor adjust high/med/low levels for lb and cc each they are in sets of three. I tried adjusting the lone screww behind the body but this made no difference. <br>

I set up a light source of known colour temp (daylight) then filter out using filters for highs and lows and adjust untill I get accurate results. Considering a new meter is in the region of $1000 I'm willing to take a risk on something that is worth little to me now. </p>

[john_daniels2]

<p>My Minolta IIIF lost it's calibration as I was correcting spot lights for a big show. Tried calling everyone to see if they could recalibrate it, but had no luck. Eventually I called a friend who had the same meter that was in good working order, and I used his to calibrate mine. I had to tape on an 1/8 ctb, plus a thin strip of 1/8 ctb on top of that to get the same reading his meter was giving. It's not perfect, but it works as a reference. I recently bought the new Sekonic 500 and find that it is not as sensitive as the Minolta. I don't trust it yet. </p>

[john_daniels2]

<p>My Minolta IIIF lost it's calibration as I was correcting spot lights for a big show. Tried calling everyone to see if they could recalibrate it, but had no luck. Eventually I called a friend who had the same meter that was in good working order, and I used his to calibrate mine. I had to tape on an 1/8 ctb, plus a thin strip of 1/8 ctb on top of that to get the same reading his meter was giving. It's not perfect, but it works as a reference. I recently bought the new Sekonic 500 and find that it is not as sensitive as the Minolta. I don't trust it yet. </p>

[john_daniels2]

<p>My Minolta IIIF lost it's calibration as I was correcting spot lights for a big show. Tried calling everyone to see if they could recalibrate it, but had no luck. Eventually I called a friend who had the same meter that was in good working order, and I used his to calibrate mine. I had to tape on an 1/8 ctb, plus a thin strip of 1/8 ctb on top of that to get the same reading his meter was giving. It's not perfect, but it works as a reference. I recently bought the new Sekonic 500 and find that it is not as sensitive as the Minolta. I don't trust it yet. </p>

[peter_j2]

<p>Today, I was quoted $300 to calibrate the Minolta Color Meter IIIF. It will be a 5 to 10 working day turnaround. The technician/owner claimed that it is a lengthy process. I would hate to see what would happen if the meter required difficult to find parts.</p>

[john_moye]

Peter_j2, who quoted you $300.00 to repair your Minolta Color Meter IIIF?  Like others, I have a Minolta Color Meter IIIF? in need of calibration. Years ago think I sent it to Precision Camera, along with a Minolta Color Meter II. They were able to repair the Minolta Color Meter II, because they still had the calibration equipment. Could not repair the Minolta Color Meter IIIF, because the calibration equipment had been lost or destroyed when company was sold. They did however tell me that the Minolta Color Meter IIIF could be set to match my Minolta Color Meter II, by using one of the nine (9) memory channels. I do not remember how to do it, as I just relied on my Minolta Color Meter II. Then later paid $60.00 for a 2nd  Minolta Color Meter II. I later bought a Gossen 3F color meter. Which was working fine until two weeks ago. All of my meters had not been used for the past 2 plus years, as I had knee replacement, and CO-VID put a stop to most of my work. All meters were stored W/O batteries. Yet, when I went to use the Gossen 3F color meter it was way off, and I do mean WAY OFF! The two Minolta Color Meter II meters are within 50K degrees of each other. I was taught that if you are within 200K degrees. You were good to go. Like others, I noticed that the Kenko color meter was very much like my Minolta Color Meter IIIF. Yet, I was told it was not and the Minolta Color Meter III could not be repaired. As for the Gossen 3F. Think I will try using the color filter method that john_ daniels2  used. Also will try and remember how to use the memory channels on the Minolta Color Meter IIIF to match the readings of the Minolta Color Meter II meters. I thought about buying a new color meter because newer color meters are needed to read the color output of the LED lights. I could not justify the high cost. So, I tried using the Minolta Color Meter II and adjusting in post production. I am not very good in using post-production software like Adobe Premiere, but think I found something that works for me. I tried to stick to one maker for all of my LED lights, just as I did when I used fluorescent lighting. I was able to my Minolta Color Meter II when I metered fluorescent lighting. figured I could get close with a bit of luck. When color metering LED lights. What worked for me, was to cut by half the CC+ (Magenta) readings of the Minolta Color Meter II. For me it was better for my subjects to be a little magenta, than a little green. I was using what is now considered very old ALZO 3000 LED lights. Some had a CRI of 86, others had a CRI 90 rating. I also used a very old version of Adobe Premiere CS6 There was no way in Heaven, Earth of Hell. I was going to pay a subscription fee! To show you how bad subscription fees are. I am now using an excellent 24" iMac. Bought it from a buddy. He sold it to me, because his Adobe subscription software updates, no longer worked on a late 2012 iMac. Mind you, this is a excellent iMac with 24GB of RAM. All I did was to upgrade to a 1TB SSD drive. When I think of how much of a photographer's digital equipment is no longer repairable, it boggles the mind. My large format digital printers are dead in the water. Because it cost as much or more to repair them, as to buy a new one. My digital still cameras can no longer be repaired five to ten years after newly purchased. I am still using film cameras made in the mid 1980's. My digital video cameras are much like the saga of the Minolta Color Meter II & Minolta Color Meter IIIF. I started with the Canon XL2, then moved to the Canon XLH1 The Canon XL2 has an internal battery that the end user can replace. The Canon XLH1 does not allow replacement of the internal battery. It cannot be replaced by anyone! You have to tear the Canon XLH1 to get to the rechargeable internal battery. Almost the same with my Leaf Aptus 22 digital back. After ten years, no one will work on or repair the medium format back. Plus the internal battery is in such a place, that you risk destroying the back if you attempt replacing the battery yourself. It also seems there is no such thing as LED lighting repair. All of my flash heads, for my studio lighting are able to have replacement flash tubes installed. I use Balcar lighting power packs, and it was not until last year. When an independent repair person died, that I could not get older Balcar power packs repaired. He did/could not repair Balcar digital power packs. Because Balcar refused to give anyone the information needed to repair them. The Balcar digital power packs did not work any better, and  failed at a higher rate,than the older Balcar power packs better. I have had Apple techs tell me that my G5, iMac, iBook computers could not be upgraded or repair. Only to find information on the Internet, that help me to keep them all working. I use Mamiya  645 AFD medium format cameras. I use both older manual focus and auto-focus lenses with the camera body. I can get the manual focus lenses repair at a decent cost. The auto-focus lens repair is the cost of buying a used one in excellent condition. It was not until five years ago, that LED lights started to match the color fidelity and amount of light output of tungsten or HMI lighting. Now that LED lights are matching output and CRI values. They are missing one major thing. Customer support or product repair. I can e-mail or call any of the makers of my HMI lights or find an independent lighting repair shop for my HMI and tungsten lights. Most Lowel tungsten lights are an easy self repair job.  Well, my wife beckons me. got to go.

[c_watson1]

Another zombie thread. Obsolete/unsupported gear.

[hjoseph7]

Are Color Meters revelant these days with Digital cameras ? I remember they were very expensive back in the days, and were used mostly in product photography where the colors of the subjects had to be exact...