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Post by SuperDeluxe on Nov 15, 2012 0:38:35 GMT -5
I've just got myself a Minolta Autocord. It's in pretty good shape, the shooting lens in particular looking like it has never seen the light of day before. Everything seems to be in perfect working order, including the much-maligned focusing lever – intact, and moving smoothly.
The question is: was the focusing lever prone to break in all Autocord models? Or later models were actually spared of the problem? (Mine is a Model I, from 1965.)
Thanks for your help, everybody.
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Post by julio1fer on Nov 15, 2012 19:31:27 GMT -5
FWIW, I have an earlier model, about 1953, and the lever is broken.
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Post by kodaker on Nov 15, 2012 21:28:50 GMT -5
According to the McKeown guide the first model Autocord was made from 1955-1965 and had no meter. That's what I have and it's focus lever is not broken.
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Post by SuperDeluxe on Nov 16, 2012 13:38:35 GMT -5
According to the McKeown guide the first model Autocord was made from 1955-1965 and had no meter. That's what I have and it's focus lever is not broken. Here's a comprehensive list of Autocord models: www.wctatel.net/web/crye/a-cord.htm (mine is the one that has the small "Minolta" above "Autocord"). Even though it's called "Model I", it is really a late model. How do you like your Autocord? FWIW, I have an earlier model, about 1953, and the lever is broken. What I've read online is that the substance that Minolta used to lubricate the lever tended to get thicker over time, making it harder and harder to move the lever, to the point that it could break – and many did. At the moment, my camera's focus lever moves really smoothly, which could mean that Minolta had figured this problem out by the time the Model I was launched, or someone performed a service on mine.
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Post by kodaker on Nov 16, 2012 21:57:21 GMT -5
According to that list mine turns out to be an Autocord RG 2nd version from 1962, but my serial number is in the 1st version range.
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