I bought my X-700 in 1982 and used it continually until 2000, at which point I upgraded to a Mamiya 7 medium format rangefinder. It was and remains faultless. No problems with the electronics. I’ll need to check the lightseals as I haven’t used it for a couple of years. I recommend getting the 28-85mm zoom and, if you don’t already have it, the 50mm f1.7 kit lens. They served me well from travel to portraiture. Great camera and easy to use.
The electrical issue with these X-700 cameras is due to the two main capacitors drying out over the years. The capacitors are “pretty simple” to replace .. the one just under the bottom plate (the one that goes out most often) is a quick job, just clipping out the old and soldering in the new, but the other one at the top of the camera body is a bit more tricky. Replacement capacitors are readily available on-line from several sources. I really like my Minolta X-700 cameras, but personally like the X-570 more as their capacitors don’t usually have nearly the same issue. Thanks for sharing!
The chinese, and Indonesian made cams have the electronic issues. The ones that dont have a makers mark on the bottom are japanese, and they generally dont have issues. I need either new light seals on mine, or some nice blackout tape.
I bought my X-700 in 1982 and used it continually until 2000, at which point I upgraded to a Mamiya 7 medium format rangefinder. It was and remains faultless. No problems with the electronics. I’ll need to check the lightseals as I haven’t used it for a couple of years. I recommend getting the 28-85mm zoom and, if you don’t already have it, the 50mm f1.7 kit lens. They served me well from travel to portraiture. Great camera and easy to use.
Thank you for the comment and the insight.
The electrical issue with these X-700 cameras is due to the two main capacitors drying out over the years. The capacitors are “pretty simple” to replace .. the one just under the bottom plate (the one that goes out most often) is a quick job, just clipping out the old and soldering in the new, but the other one at the top of the camera body is a bit more tricky. Replacement capacitors are readily available on-line from several sources. I really like my Minolta X-700 cameras, but personally like the X-570 more as their capacitors don’t usually have nearly the same issue. Thanks for sharing!
Appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Thank you.
Enjoyed this one mate. hope you get out to shoot this weekend?
Colin, thank you. For sure making plans for this week to do quite a bit of photographing.
The chinese, and Indonesian made cams have the electronic issues. The ones that dont have a makers mark on the bottom are japanese, and they generally dont have issues. I need either new light seals on mine, or some nice blackout tape.
Thank you for sharing.