Tag Archives: minolta

Dont miss a screw :)

view profile

mirnuj_atom says:

Hi
A’ve got a Minolta Autocord (without light meter) which has a leak problem, it looks like this:

cs411016.userapi.com/v411016386/1d2c/nGzFR802jBc.jpg

cs411016.userapi.com/v411016386/1d0a/08mvY_vCYV0.jpg

cs411016.userapi.com/v411016386/1d01/pdI3-8teUDM.jpg

cs302406.userapi.com/v302406386/2752/aiaZRwnccvs.jpg

First I thought that was a problem with seal so I replaced that, nothing changed. Then I replaced seal once again and pasted over clefts with black, non transparent tape, nothing changed again 😦

Now I don’t know where might that leak come from,

Thank you for any suggestions.
Posted at 10:32AM, 7 August 2012 PDT (permalink)

view photostream

Burnt Umber  Pro User  says:

I think it is a shutter issue.
Posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink)

view photostream

ddandan  Pro User  says:

Any chance that the focus scale on front is missing a screw on one side or the other?
Posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink)

view photostream

ddandan  Pro User  says:

, your links don’t register as actual links. I cut and pasted one, but that’s all I’ll do.

Check for any other missing screws. Spool knobs, focus hood. Check the feet for bending and cracks.

Important question with any light leak- does the effect stop at the edge of the image frame, or is it also in non-image areas? This tells if thel ight is coming from the front of the light box- shutter, lens board, etc.- or if it is from elsewhere.

Also open the back and put the film against the opening as if it was being exposed. See where the leak falls inside the camera. Including at the upper or lower film spool area- most often film gets fogged before or after it is in the gate for exposure. From what I remember of oyur shot (nope, not cutting and pasting again) it had the look of a film spool being the cut-off for the lower part.
Posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink)

view photostream

keltic_tom  Pro User  says:

Stop the guessing and take the camera to a Pro!
Posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink)

view photostream

hamhankjohn  Pro User  says:

From the squarish shape in the middle of the frame, and the position of the bright spot, my guess is it’s the bottom spool release knob or close to it. Does it show up on the last frame?
Posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink)

view photostream

mirnuj_atom says:

Ddandan is right there is a missing screw on the front, it took 5 films to figure out 😦

Thank you very much!!

I will shot another film today to verify.
Posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink)

view photostream

ddandan  Pro User  says:

About right, five rolls. I think it took me four to figure it out when it happened to me? I had simply not re-installed the plate after doing some work on the camera. Drove me crazy. Tried new seals, taping the outside of the back in different areas, etc.
Posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink)

view photostream

WB Lynch says:

Great news.

I need to remember this for future reference.
Posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink)

view photostream

ddandan  Pro User  says:

There are many holes in TLR bodies that were drilled all the way through. These provide easy access to light if the screws are removed. You can see the holes inside the film chamber, etc. In the mirror box are other holes that come through.

For manufacturing, this makes sense. Drilling all the way through is quick, allows the chips from tapping to be blown out easily, etc.
Originally posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink)
ddandan edited this topic 2 weeks ago. 

view photostream

mirnuj_atom says:

Everything is OK now, I am happy.

What I did to find the leak:
I took a few LEDs from my bike lights, wired them with little bataries, put everything into the camera and checked in dark room to find if I can see some lite.
Posted 2 weeks ago. (permalink

Vintage Minolta Autocord Advertisement

vintage everyday: Vintage Minolta Camera Advertising.

Pretty cool blog post on vintage camera advising. see how TLR was advised 40-60 years ago!

Minolta Autocord RG V1, 1961, SGD 375.00

About Minolta Autocord

Twin-lens reflexes bearing the Minolta name had been offered as early as 1937, starting with the Minoltaflex (I). However, by the mid-1950s, the Japanese TLR market had become quite crowded. The Minolta Autocord series was an effort by Chiyoda Kogaku Seiko, K.K. to compete in the premium-quality segment of the TLR market.

The Autocord series went through a large number of minor variations during its lifespan between 1955 and 1966—at least 17, by one count.[1]

All shared a number of desirable features: crank film advance with automatic shutter cocking and frame counting; a highly regarded Tessar-type 4-element Rokkor f/3.5 lens; self-timer; slow shutter speeds, down to 1 second; and an override button, allowing the advance crank to rotate backwards and cock the shutter without advancing the film, permitting double exposures. Early Optiper shutters only had speeds to 1/400 sec., but this was increased to 1/500 in later versions.

These features compared well with a Tessar-equipped Rolleiflexof the day, yet Autocords sold at a subtantially lower price. Both meterless models and ones including a light meter (originally selenium; later, CdS) were offered in parallel throughout the series.

Many versions of the Autocord feature some form of EV number scale around the taking lens to assist with exposure settings. Some metered models use a quirky system where the shutter and aperture indicators each point to a different row of integers; the photographer was intended to mentally add these two numbers until they equaled the EV indicated on the light meter. A 1957 magazine ad proclaimed, “Your wife or child could have done it—even without looking at the f/stop or shutter speed numbers.”[2] Despite this appeal to the male ego, the system was never adopted by any other camera maker, and no doubt perplexes Autocord purchasers today who are missing the original manual.

Autocords use a focus lever that protrudes from below the lensboard. Some photographers have noted the ergonomic advantage of this design compared to knob-focusing TLRs such as the Rolleiflex, as it is not necessary to shift the camera between hands for focusing versus winding. But the metal of the Autocord lever is brittle and vulnerable to breakage—the one notable weak link in these otherwise excellent cameras. This focusing mechanism is also found on all postwar Flexarets, beginning in 1945, according to McKeown.

This Minolta Autocord I is a late model among the popular Autocord series of TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) medium-format cameras. It was first introduced in 1965. This meterless camera is equipped with a Citizen-MVL shutter and a Minolta Rokkor 1:3.5 f=75mm taking lens.

The photos below are my Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, Enjoy!!

Original Case, Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, Japan

Top view - Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, Japan

Front view with view finder open - Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, JapanBack view - Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, JapanRight side view - Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, JapanLeft side view - Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, JapanLens view - Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, JapanFocus knob/ lever - Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, JapanViewfinder - Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, JapanRight side view with viewfinder open - Minolta Autocord RG Version 1, 1961, Japan

thanks for viewing

let me know if you are interested in getting this camera

tlrgraphy AT gmail DOT com

Price: SGD 375.00