I bought a Minolta Hi-Matic 7s on eBay in early 2021 after exploring the internet for an affordable first rangefinder camera. I believe I bought it for about $20, in good cosmetic shape but unknown working condition. Thankfully, upon searching out a battery, I discovered the CdS light meter works. The lens is in beautiful condition, no scratches and hardly any dust. The viewfinder is bright. The camera feels weighty and is quite satisfying to shoot with. The 1960s and '70s really produced some beautiful—yet heavy—metal cameras.
I loaded some Ilford XP2 Super 400 35 mm film and headed out to Green Lakes State Park to test my new camera. using the EV dial, I followed the light meter's guidance, which later turned out to be accurate. The camera functioned beautifully until the last several frames of the roll. At this point, the aperture ring seems to have slipped, perhaps due to contracting in the cold weather. Allowing the camera to warm up did not fix the problem.
From watching YouTube videos of the lens being disassembled, I believe I will have to do this to hopefully place the ring back on track. However, if anyone has any advice I would love to hear it in the comments or via my contact page.
