riffeym

<p>She's a beauty Leo! Congratulations! I simply love mine and I recently got a 9000 and a XE-7 to go along with her! I still think MInoltas are great and I can't wait to see your photos.</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

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<p><em>They could have called it an XE-9. :)</em></p>

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<p><em> </em><br>

<em><br /></em>Perfect, right?</p>

<p>Mike :D</p>

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<p>Thanks Royall! They are really nice to work with also.</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>Well, it would appear that your observation of the 7000 AF vs. the 9000 AF was correct!<br>

Interesting info Patrick, thanks!</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>I'm not sure about the return springs being accessible through the bottom plate, Frank. This was the first time opening up an XE-7 so I was "flying blind", so to speak! I was so happy that my XE was working again that I just buttoned it back up again.</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

 

<p>It looks like the AF worked this time Patrick! I had a 7000 and a 7000i and I never used them much. I wish I had them today so I could compare them with the 9000. The only thing that I have noticed with my 9000 is that the AF is easily fooled - something "catches" it in front of or behind what your intended focus point is. It confirms focus and if you don't really pay attention, you shoot the picture and your focus point is well, OOF.</p>

<p>Not sure if this is indicative of the 9000 AF in general or if it is just my camera.</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>Hey Frank!</p>

<p>Yeah, my camera was sold as a "parts" camera with a stuck winder. I removed the bottom plate and I unscrewed the top cap for the film advance lever so I could actually remove the lever. Once I did that, I saw that some of the parts were put on incorrectly - which solved my problem. Removing the bottom plate is a good place to start. Sometimes the problem is a piece of film (or crud) that has become jammed in the wind mechanism.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>+1 with Bob. I do my own B&W and C-41. That way, if I'm not happy with the results, I complain to myself! (grin)</p>

<p>Thanks Randy! And good job yourself!</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>Excellent news Patrick! For a minute I thought your camera might be lost somewhere between you and them!</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>Thanks David! I am a lucky dog! You know, that manual advance does trip me up at times...I think it's an AF so sometimes I forget I have to wind the film!</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>Thank you John! I've gotten so lucky lately with Minolta "non-working" cameras. I scored a XE-5 and XE-7 the same way.</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>The Minolta Gods have been smiling on me lately. Made an offer on a 9000 that was listed on Ebay as non-working - "film advance jammed and cannot test". I ended up buying it for 25.99 along with a CF-90L case.<br /><br />Got the camera Friday and sure enough, the film advance wouldn't move, because it had already been advanced and the shutter was cocked. Popped open the battery door and, no batteries. I know this one won't work without them so I put in a set of fresh AAs. I got "100" blinking on the LCD but the shutter won't fire. Shut off the camera, opened the back and closed it, turned on the camera again and the LCD showed "4000" on the Speed and "F27" on the Aperture. Worked the advance lever, fired the shutter, repeat, got to the Number 1 frame on the film counter and….it's ALIVE! I was able to set all functions and everything works.<br /><br />Here she is wearing a Sigma AF 24-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens<br /><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8041511735_7e3a13764d_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="452" /><br /><br />Typical edge bleed on the LCD - still see everything though<br /><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8041513307_c73c7f38fe_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="428" /><br /><br />Here's the case<br /><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8039/8041517144_e80bc52e5e_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="428" /><br /><br />And with her younger sibling - the 9xi<br /><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8319/8041510457_acc26eb24c_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="424" /><br /><br />Isn't life grand?<br /><br />Mike : D</p>

<p>Anybody buying a 40+ year old camera SHOULD know that you are always taking a chance. That being said, I disclose everything I know about the camera even occasional glitches. Now, if I haven't used the camera personally, I say so. But, I do rundown a mechanical checklist of camera functions and say "this works" or "that doesn't work".</p>

<p>It's always an added bonus to get that kind of paperwork with your camera isn't it?</p>

 

<p>No, I didn't have that brochure. Thanks!</p>

<p>Les, thanks for your observations on the XK. I've wondered about the XK compared to the XE - although they are entirely different cameras.</p>

<p>Nice shot! Love the color reflection in the lenses. How do you like the XK compared to the XE-7?</p>

 

<p>I hope every lens found a "home"... ; D (grin)</p>

<p>What a marvelous family portrait Les!</p>

 

<p>Yep! It's like "Instant Karma"!</p>

 

<p>Thanks Randy! You got a better track record than me - 4 for 4, that's great! Don't you just love it when a repair turns out to be something as simple as a piece of film?</p>

 

<p>Thank you Robert! I appreciate the offer too. They are both wonderful feeling cameras and I hope to be producing some images soon. I found out my C-41 chemicals are expired AFTER I shot a couple of rolls of color film! :<<br>

I'm now getting my B&W chemicals ready to go so I can run some B&W film</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Thanks Jeff and John! Steve, I've been looking a getting XE/XE-1, I kinda like the chrome/black look. David, I know what you mean! The more I use the XE's, the more I like how the shutter and film wind-on feel. They just feel classy.</p>

 

<p>Thanks Craig! I was fortunate that it was in excellent cosmetic condition and was very simple to fix. It is a heavy camera but, I'm used to heavy gear after toting around my 9xi. I do love the rewind and shutter though!</p>