Help please

[Dagwood56]

I'm not sure what happened - I use a film camera, a Minolta Maxxum 7000 and something happened yesterday that has never happened before. It keeps telling me that the subject can't be focused except in manual mode on matte screen, but the camera won't focus clearly in manual mode either. This is a little long but I wanted to present as clear a picture of what is happening as I Could.

Here's what happened - I used the camera on Sunday afternoon and it was fine. I mentioned to my husband that I'd like to try some macro shots. He put his 105mm macro lens on the camera [we both have minolta systems] and it wouldn't focus clearly. Feeling it was just my impatience, he removed the macro lens and told me to try one of his extension tubes. I put the extension tube on and put my usual 70\210 zoom back on and I took a few shots of some bugs and all seemed fine. We then went out to take some photos of area barns, For this I removed the extension tube from the camera.

The camera would not lock in a focus on anything and would not focus clearly in manual mode either. Deciding the problem might be weak batteries, we installed new ones - it didn't help. I changed to my 50mm lens - same problem. When I changed back to the 70\210 the camera suddenly functioned fine again! I removed the lens again and put it back on and the camera wouldn't work. I repeated the process several times till the camera finally functioned normally again etc. etc. it seems to happen randomly. The lens always snaps into place properly so its not that I haven't installed right. I've had the camera for years and am well aware of how to change a lens.

Anyone have any idea what could be wrong? Is my camera's life about to end? It was produced back in 1986, but I've taken very good care of it, never been dropped or bumped. I guess I'll have to take it in for repair?

 

[Iron Flatline]

Silly question, but we need to start hunting down possibilities: is the viewfinder dipoter one that can be focused? For people who need glasses but prefer to shoot without one? Might you have bumped that, thus changing focus on that?

 

[Dagwood56]

The veiw finder on this camera doesn't have any adjustments.

Something I did forget to mention before was the lightness\darkness of things. When the camera will not focus on AF or manually, the view through the lens is dark. When the camera decides to work the view through the lens looks normal, which is why I'm getting worried that there may be something wrong with the camera's light meter - but if that were the case I'm not sure why removing and installing a lens gets, by chance, the camera to function properly.

 

[Big Mike]

When the camera will not focus on AF or manually, the view through the lens is dark. When the camera decides to work the view through the lens looks normal

If the view through the viewfinder/lens is dark, it sounds like the aperture blades may be sticking. :scratch:

I'm not sure what type of connections or contacts there are between the camera and the lens, on your system...but I would check to make sure that those contacts are clean etc.

 

[Dagwood56]

Thank you both for your suggestions -

Mike, I tried cleaning the contacts and it seems to have worked! I removed and installed the lens a few times afterward just to make sure and the camera kept on working normally.

Thanks so much for the help