mcrodgers2

Thank you Rainer T !!!!

That was exactly the problem. I found the tiny spring rolling around loose inside the camera. With some micro-surgery and small tweezers I was able to reconnect the two pins with the spring. I hope it stays put. I could be hard to replace that spring.

I could not have done it without your photo. Thanks so much !

Regards,

Mike Rodgers

Thank you for the replies.

Several folks have mentioned that I need to open up the lens and disable some pin.

Is this obvious once I remove the back plate? Can anyone give me the details? It has been suggested that the Photo.net forums have a thread regarding this. Does anyone have a link?

Please look at the attached photo. There is no pin visible at all that needs to be disabled. Is there something behind the back plate that I need to alter?

I also wonder, is there anything in particular with regards to this Zenitar Lens I need to know with respect to my Minolta X-570 lens. It�s been mentioned that there is a pin to disable for use with and M42 EOP adapter. Would I have the same issue with my Minolta X-570 body? Again I can see no pin at all.

I just want to get this lens to stop down the aperture when I turn the aperture ring.

Right now it doesn�t and it�s frustrating.

PS: I must confess. I know that an M42 is a screw mount lens but I do not know much about the Canon EOS electro-optical system auto-focus lenses. My system is rather old and is very basic. The X-370 and X-570 Minolta camera bodies that I have are aperture priority auto-shutter only and I usually use them in manual mode.

Rainer T,

Thanks for your reply. I might try that but I hesitate to dismantle the lens until the seller tells me he won't take it back.

I might take it to a camera repair shop. Maybe the seller will pay for the work.

Thanks for the responses.

I believe I understand what stop-down metering is. Usually the Minolta X-570 an X-370 that I have will keep the aperture wide open so that the viewfinder shows the brightest possible image. The levers in a MC lens will then stop down to the selected f-stop just before the shutter opens.

Okay...so you are saying that with this lens I need to stop down first, i.e. the aperture closes. The meter reading then tells me the correct shutter speed for that f-stop. I guess I have to manually set the shutter speed to what the meter says and snap the shot keeping the aperture at said f-stop.

What I don't understand is why the meter does change in anyway when I rotate the aperture ring on the lens. I am in manual mode on the shutter speed.

If I take the lens off of the camera body and rotate the aperture ring I see no change in aperture when I look through the lens.

Seems to me the aperture isn't changing. Am I wrong?

I recently purchased a Zenitar 16mm lens that was advertised on eBay as being

an MD/MC lens for Minolta cameras.

I received the lens from Moscow yesterday and discovered that it is lacking the

small tab on the outside of the aperture ring that mechanically couples the

lens aperture ring to the camera body of my Minolta X-570. There is no way

for the lens to communicate its aperture setting to the metering system of the

camera body.

Did I get rooked? I thought that all MD/MC mounts were meant to mechanically

couple with the camera body as described above. Did the seller misrepresent

the produce when he advertised it as an MD/MC mount lens for Minolta?

PS

Mr Lockwood;

What are 'EX' Sigmas?

Thanks everyone for the quality answers.

Not to get off topic about Sigma lenses but...

Canon and Nikkor lenses keep getting mentioned. I have two Nikkor lenses, both for my Nikonos V underwater system. My Nikkor 15mm UW lens is superb and the most expensive lens I own, but it only focuses underwater. The 35mm Nikkor is amphibious and sometimes I carry it along for land shots with my Minolta.

The Nikonos is not well suited for terra firma however. For starters it's not an SLR, you must estimate distance to focus. Also, there is a very limited choice of special underwater or amphibious Nikkor lenses that fit it.

I'd love to get an MD mount Nikkor and from what I hear about Canon lenses I'd like to try one of those too. I don't believe there is such a thing as an MD mount Nikkor or Canon lens. I'd have to buy another camera to use Nikkor lenses. Am I wrong?

I've been looking for a fast super-wide angle lens for my Minolta

X-570. Something at either 18mm, 17mm, 16mm...maybe even 15mm, perhaps

a zoom but at such a wide angle I don't think I need a zoom. This

would be to compliment my Tokina 24-40mm f/2.8 that so far has made me

rather happy.

In my on line searches I keep coming across Sigma lenses. To be

honest anything else I find seems to be rather expensive or seems kind

of slow at f/4 plus or both.

A friend of mine told be to avoid Sigma lenses. I've also heard that

optically some are good but mechanically they just don't hold up. A

good deal on something that falls apart isn't a good deal to me, but

exactly how bad are Sigma lenses mechanically? Are they optically any

good? Where do they fall on the food chain between Cosina and Rokkor?

Getting off topic a little, I saw a ZENITAR LENS 2.8/16 FISH-EYE on

line. It's Russian...any good?

Of course being an X-570 owner I�m not talking at all about auto focus

Sigma lenses.

I think my experience in replacing my X-370 with a X-570 that I got on Ebay would be of interest.

Here the thread "What's wrong with this camera":

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0056U7

Just to close out the whole story; here is the diagnosis from the shop.

The light seals have deteriorated and need replacing and light is leaking in from the back. The seal near the focus screen (that contacts the mirror when it is up) is also deteriorating. Debris from this seal has created the spots on the focus screen.

The same debris or other debris (perhaps from the other seals) has fouled the shutter and it needs to be rebuilt.

The shop does all the above as it's "standard overhaul". It's the same price no matter what the problems. I believe a cleaning costs the same. I'm figuring that with an older used camera like the X-570, an overhaul would be needed soon anyway.

I'm fortunate in that the seller on Ebay has agreed to a full refund if I return the camera. At my suggestion he is also willing to refund much the cost of the camera if I decide to keep it.

I'm going to get it repaired. Adding up all my costs and subtracting the seller's discount, I'm getting a fair deal in my opinion. After the repair the camera should be �like new� according to the shop. The exterior is like new all ready. I've seen used X-570�s (bodies only) listed on the KEH website for quite a bit more and I'm getting a 50mm lens to boot, so all's well that ends well.

I'm going to keep the photo's I posted on line for the benefit of anyone else who reads this thread and has similar symptoms. I�d advise anyone buying cameras on Ebay to first ask the seller:

1. Have you tested the camera recently with a roll of film?

2. Has a repair shop looked at it? They usually do checkouts for FREE.

3. When was the camera last serviced?

I�d then call around and see what it might cost to �overhaul�, clean, repair and get parts for the particular camera in question. Only after that should you bid!

Thanks everyone for the quality answers.

So far ALL shots I've taken with the flash are perfect. With the shutter set at 1/60 the strobe is determining the exposure, eliminating the shutter. More evidence it's the shutter.

To answer another question; No none of the shots posted are at the beginning or end of the roll. Mostly near the middle. I still think there is also a light leak. As I said before, perhaps the time between shots for the light to leak in and the brightness of the ambient light at that time is a factor. That could explain why some shots are okay. They may have been wound around the spool before the leak had any effect.

I think I have two symptoms from desegregating seals. One; a light leak and two; the seal debris has fouled the shutter. Like I said, there are black particles of something all over the focus screen.

I'm still waiting for a diagnosis from the shop. At $56 plus $12 S&H it might be worth my while to repair this camera depending on the price. It would cost me another $12 to send it back and get my $56 returned to me. The Ebay seller offered to refund my money if I send it back.

Roberto Totaro has a good theory about the sponge on the focus screen.

The focus screen is full of black spots that look like bits from that sponge.

To settle a discussion about the shutter, it definitely moves horizontally. I am also certan that I did not get my finger in front of the lens. I couldn't have done that in so many shots.

I suspected the red bands might have been done at the lab, but labs are not usually that sloppy. To be sure I took it to another lab. Both places do their developing on side so I THINK it's not the lab.

I tried Keith Nichols idea of trying to watch the shutter. I think I saw the half of the shutter remain stuck.

Thanks everyone for your theories. I post what the repair shop says.

Thanks for the answer Robert.

The X-570 manual says that the "A" for auto or the "M" for manual mode LED indicator in the view finder should blink if the batteries are low.

No blinking, so I assume the batteries are okay.

Still that's no a bad suggestion. I will replace the batteries with new ones just to eliminate that possibility.

I've already eliminated that it's the lab, since I've tried two different labs. Likewise it's not the film, since I've tried two separate rolls of film. Also switched lenses, it's not the lens.

I've tried flash photography with the shutter set at 1/60 sec. So far no trouble with the flash shots, making me think it's the shutter because the exposures where controlled by the flash, eliminating the shutter. Only three flash shots tried but all where good.

I still also suspect light leaking into the body. The strip of felt near the hinge on the camera back is worn, and no longer soft and "fuzzy" as I suspect it should be. Why only some shots screwed up if this is the case? Maybe it's a function of how long that frame is exposed to the light "leak"? That is winded past the shutter but near the hinge. Different time between shots and ambient light conditions might make the difference.

On the second roll I shot the same shot at 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, etc until 1/60th of a second. The black bands seem to happen at 1/1000 or 1/500 but inconsistently. On that same roll I've got good shots at those shutter speeds.

There is another symptom that I didn't notice before. The black band is consistently on the right side of the frame (horizontal, top side with Vertical framing, i.e. same side of camera). There is also a white band, not as pronounced, on the left side of the frame sometimes.

Anyway, my X-570 and I are going to the camera shop for a diagnosis.

I just want this community's opinion so I can tell if my repairman is up to snuff

Okay...I guess I don't know how to upload photos in this forum.

To see examples of the problems shots from my Ebay X-570 go to this link:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=305036

Anybody who's seen this before and knows what's wrong please contribute a theory.

I recently acquired a used Minolta X-570 off of ebay and the bargain

price of $56 plus $12 shipping and handling.

Sounds like a steal but look at the photos I get! I've shot two

rolls so far and had each processed at different labs. I'm getting

some frames that are 1/3 to half black. Sometimes I'm getting bands

of overexposed film, sometimes frames that have part of another frame.

Something is obviously wrong with the camera. My guess is it's either

the shutter screwing up, light is leaking into the camera somewhere

and/or the film winding mechanism is hosed.

Is anybody familiar with these symptoms? Does anyone want to hazard a

diagnosis?

Ahh Ha! That's very interesting. I keep getting hits for Leitz & Leica whenever I searched for the words Rokkor-X, which made me wonder what is Leitz. Apparently Leitz has very little to do with Minolta lenses.

Thanks Robert R.

Thanks to everyone for the thorough answers.

What is the difference between Plain old Minolta lenses, Minolta

Rokkor and Rokkor-X?

I searched the forums for an answer and only found one the came close

but still left me with questions. I understand the difference between

MC and MD lenses, i.e. the mechanical differences. I understand that

MD coatings are generally considered superior to the older MC. I

understand that Celtic Minolta lenses where Minolta's economy line.

I have a Minolta 50mm lens marked "MD 50mm 1:1.7 Japan 49mm Minolta".

The words Rokkor or Celtic do not appear. The lens came with my X-370

and has the little minimum apeture lock on it.

I suspect that Rokkor and Rokkor-X are somehow of special quality.

What would be the hierarchy of quality with Celtic, Rokkor and

Rokkor-X Minolta lenses? How does my plain old MD lens fit in there?

Did I leave out any types of Minolta lenses? Leitz?

I understand about the meter coupled versus non-meter coupled issue

with "MC Rokkor" & MD lenses versus "Auto Rokkor" lenses and �plain

old Rokkor�, i.e. non MC/MD. The latter two are not meter coupled and

require stop down metering with the DOF preview button. Right?

Thanks everyone for the high quality answers to my questions.

I thinking it's an X-570 for me.

I have an old but much loved Minolta X-370 that alas needs replacing.

This is an X-370 not the X-370s.

I of course have an even more beloved set of lenses that fit my X-370.

What camera body should I consider in replacing my X-370?

I'm a simple guy and have never been really interested in complicated

program mode cameras. Aperture priority auto is good enough for me,

but then again I didn't even want that when I got my X-370 long ago

when I was a teenager. I was "too cool" for anything but pure manual

but aperture priority auto became a good friend.

I still have those purest tendencies and must have a purely manual

mode but I wouldn't mind an upgrade. I don�t want to spend more the

$200 or $300 so a used camera would be fine.

Any new camera body I buy should have a manual mode, aperture priority

auto mode, TTL flash capability, and depth of field preview at a

minimum. The later two features are missing on my X-370. I'd

probably miss the AE lock feature too, even though I don't use it much.

Of course my old set of lenses must fit and work well on the new body.

I have the 35mm/f1.7 lens that came with the X-370, a Tameron SP

60-300mm/f3.8 and a Tokina 24-40mm/f2.8 wide angle zoom. All are MD

mount�I think. The Tameron SP says MC on it but an adaptall 2 M/MD

has been added. I have absolutely no interest in auto focus lenses.

Any suggestions?

Also, what exactly is the difference between MD & MC lenses? Is it

just the mount? What is MD? What is MC? Will my old lenses be able to

accommodate a DOF preview feature?

I interested in getting a super wide-angle zoom for my Minolta X-370.

Can anyone recommend a quality lens? I'd like to get down to the 17mm

range, preferable 20mm or less, and up to about 28 mm.

Additionally, I'm a little confused on the choices I have. I know that

there are older MC and MD Minolta mount lenses but all new lenses seem

to be auto-focus, AF EF etc.

Can I mount one of the newer AF lenses on my X-370 body? Will it work

manually?

I've seen good reviews on Nikon and Canon lenses in this range but

these are also auto-focus AND a different brand. Can I buy an adapter

to fit Nikon, Canon, whatever lenses to my X-370? Am I strictly

limited to Minolta lenses?