In my search for the unusual have come across this fine specimen that I have purchased for less than the price of a fish and chip dinner.
Remember the battle between manufacturers back in the days of Betamax and VHS? Well this is the film makers battle between Agfa and Kodak, with Kodaks 35mm winning out. The Agfa cassette (known as Karat) was 35mm without the spool and you needed two cassettes to use these cameras. I have one here and hope to be able to use it at sometime.
I like this example as the metal is not too pitted. There is rust but I can work on this, the covers are damaged but this can be replaced. I might go for a totally over the top refurbishment or may keep it as close to original as possible. I’ll make that decision once I can check the optics and shutter.
You can find out more about these cameras at the following link: Camera wiki .org
Phew, the donor camera arrived costing me the grand total of £3 sterling. It was badly damaged and I was doubtful that it would be any use due to its state.
Donor camera board
However the pcb area and the lcd screen looked ok and after much cursing and burning of the fingers whilst de soldering and re soldering I put the battery in and there it appeared as if by magic…all clicked and clunked as it should and the battery indicator appeared on the screen.
New pcb and screen Repaired Minolta Dynax 5000i
I put the case back together and secured all the buttons to the frame and then connected the lens. Turned it all back on and hey presto all working fine. Focus’s well, flash works as it should, all counters and indicators doing what they should.
I’m happy with this camera now, just going to give it a wipe over and I now have a super little SLR for my collection. Will run a film through it when I get the time.
I can now say this camera is complete and in perfect working order.
Job done👍
(As an aside to this repair, the original owner was so surprised I got it working that he has asked if he can buy it back? That would be rather cheeky of me so I’ve just asked him to refund the cost of the battery and the damaged donor camera. He wants to get back into analogue photography, everyone’s a winner here, and a camera destined for the bin gets a new lease of life.) I’m happy 😃 👍
Well that’s annoying. I’ve stripped down the Dynax 5000i and found a terminal diagnosis for the power PCB and display screen.
There is a short circuit, severe corrosion from an old battery as well as the display screen being damaged where some of the fine contacts are destroyed rendering the unit useless at this stage.
Strip downStrip downFaulty board
Ok. I can strip down to individual parts, gain another 150 or so new screws and some parts that I may be able to use or sell on – or I can be a total numpty. I’ve decided to head down the numpty route and purchase a donor camera to repair this one. I’ll still get a load of spare screws following this route.
Faulty board and screen
I’ve purchased a unit, it has cost me next to nothing and fingers crossed I can get one of them working and gain some spare parts for future use. I didn’t really want to pay out more but I take issues like this as a challenge and I’m committed to get this up and running.
My wife calls me gullible, what would she know bless her 😂
I’ll let you know exactly what arrives when the postman pays a visit.
I have been waiting for some leatherette to complete this camera. I had some left over from my last project so why not use it here?
BeforeAfter
This is a lovely looking camera that I fell instantly in love with, great design made of tin pot metal basically and uses old 127 film.
It has been completely stripped down and rebuilt and is a lovely specimen in my eyes.
Bilora Bella templates for leatherette
I have today made templates for the new skin and these have gone on lovely.
Bilora Bella complete Bilora Bella complete front and rear view
So for now I’ve done all I can do on this little beauty, it will now be vacuum packed with silica gel and put into my collection for use at a later date maybe when I get a roll of 127 film. Been a pleasure working on this camera, she’s taught me plenty and I am already putting that to use. Knowledge is king 👑
Now I’ve reached a point that I can now say, time to wrap this job up and put it to bed.
Today I watched a program on TV and a guy actually restored an old camera, he fitted some new leather to an old Kodak camera and it seemed relatively easy. Now I always try to do things the difficult way and look for perfection in every thing I do, that’s my down fall at times as I can sometimes set my personal barriers too high. Perfect is good but not always achievable, sometimes you just have to do your best, what more can someone ask of you?
What I’m getting at here is that this is a task I have been putting off, putting more time into planning what I’m going to do rather than just getting on with it. As I’ve stated a number of times on this blog, you only learn by your mistakes and as this is my first time doing this task, I’m just going to do my best and learn – knowledge is king 👑
After removing each old worn piece of leather, I made a template. Using a glue stick I was able to position the templates on the leatherette trace around it and then cut out using a craft knife and scissors.
Leatherette templateHalina A1 Reflex top viewHalina A1 Reflex left side minus fittings
I shouldn’t have worried as the whole process went really well, the leatherette was easy to manipulate and cut well. The one learning point is that in the future I will source a punch to do the circular pieces that went on the external wheels as it’s a bit cumbersome trying to cut perfect circles with scissors, though not impossible.
Halina A1 Reflex side on viewHalina A1 Reflex right sideHalina A1 Reflex left sideHalina A1 Reflex rearHalina A1 Reflex front view Halina A1 Reflex right sideHalina A1 Reflex top viewHalina A1 Reflex bottom view
I am really pleased with the new leatherette, it’s totally changed the look of the camera. The fact it is clean and lenses are functional and shutter works as it should is testament to the hard work I’ve put into this camera. I plan to run a film through it shortly as I do have a couple in the fridge at home for this purpose.
BeforeAfter
Today I’m looking at cleaning the case and polishing it up. I doubt I will do much more than that and then I can put this project to bed. Once the case is done I will put final pictures up here on the site.
A quick run through….
Once again thanks for dropping by. You know it’s greatly appreciated 🙏
If you remember back a couple of weeks I had this camera given to me by a family member. Not used in about 20 yrs still had a film in it as far as they were aware there were no issues with it.
I beg to differ…..
In lay man’s terms I think the term that should have been used is that it’s knackered (not working, kaputt a non existent camera)
Battery deadBattery very much aliveTesting old and new batteries
I purchased a new 2CR5 6v Lithium battery from a well known supplier named after a rain forest. Motor buzzed, but no display or any other operation was available, first thought was to test the battery was not a dud, using the multimeter I proved this was not the case compared to the old battery.
So. What to do?
General census of opinion is to ditch this as mass produced tat and get another one on eBay for a couple of quid, the electronics are a known issue for many models of cameras from the 80s.
However, this site is not about just dump and run, I’m going to dig in and look to see if I can remedy the problem. I like a good electronic problem and hopefully I can sort this. If not, I’ll recycle the parts I’m definitely not throwing it away.
It’s a learning opportunity, and knowledge is king.
Thanks for passing by. You know it’s always appreciated 👍
The loose hinge on the rear door has tonight had a two part epoxy resin glue put on it and is clamped for the next two hours to ensure it is sufficiently secured for usage. Fingers crossed this should work.
Door hinge repair
Also the original light seal on this camera was simply string. It was black originally but seeing I have no black available and in the interest of recycling what I already have I have replaced, in keeping with the original design like for like. Yep it’s red but it’s not going to be seen anyway, is more than up to the job and the new skin will have red on it anyway so it will be complimentary in that aspect of the renewal.
Installing new rear door light sealRear door light seal replacement
I don’t have anymore to do tonight, if this all works out well and the hinge is sufficiently strong enough then I can start reskinning and reassembly.
So tonight I have brought my smallest set of screwdrivers and other tools in to work to continue work on the old Halina project I have been immersed in. Tonight between jobs I intend to deal with the fungus issue on the taking lens.
Fungus removed with peroxide Halina A1 Reflex viewing lens
I have previously removed the camera faceplate and the two lenses are connected to this. On the rear of the faceplate is a brass connector that when removed allows you into the back of the taking lens into the shutter curtain and aperture curtain.
This allowed me to dry clean as such both curtains and I used a little graphite dust (tiny tiny proportion) to lubricate both curtains and finally after many years allowing the shutter to work as it should. A good blow with some compressed air dealt with any remaining dust.
With the setting on “B” I was able to access the lens element in front of the curtain, this was cleaned with a 50/50 mix of peroxide and distilled water to remove the offending fungus. I allowed this to dry and lightly polished the element with a cotton bud when dried. Again compressed air was used to finish.
Halina A1 Reflex Lens fungusHalina A1 Reflex taking lens minus fungusBefore and after
I repeated the above for the other two elements of the lens (this is a three element lens) and then did the same with the viewing lens.
When reassembling it’s important to ensure the elements are fully dry. The elements were all wiped over before reassembly and given a last blow prior to being resealed and checked with a bright light.
Fungus removed from Halina A1 Reflex
This was the job I was most concerned with but thankfully it went well and I am pleased with the outcome. The fungus issue has now been eradicated and hopefully it will stay away. Just a couple of little jobs to do now prior to reassembly of the camera and we can then put the new leatherette on the body.
Working tonight, and between jobs I’ve managed to do a few of those little tedious jobs that still need to be done on this camera.
I’ve cleaned pretty much all the parts again, used some isopropyl to really get the old ingrained dirt away and have retouched with either a gloss or Matt paint depending on what part of the camera needed touching up.
Halina A1 Reflex black paint touch up Halina A1 Reflex film box
I’ve also replaced some light seal and still have a bit to do on the roll film door. I’ve also reassembled the mirror assembly after each little part of it has been thoroughly cleaned.
Halina A1 Reflex new light sealHalina A1 areflex mirror reassembly
The smell of age that has always been an issue with this camera continues, however I have had a bit of a breakthrough today with the camera itself, it’s a strange one but it seems to work. Once the painting has been done I’ve used a cloth soaked in black shoe Polish to coat all metal areas of the body. Once this dries I buff up with a dry cloth and hey presto not only does the retouched paintwork come up lovely it now has a polished smell that has taken the dank smell away from the bodywork. Hopefully fingers crossed this can be used to combat the years of damp smell that has accumulated on this piece.
Shoe shine….All the silver bits cleaned
Finally I have taken every shiny piece including screws and cleaned these as well, I must say the cleaning works and these parts have all come up lovely.
The case still needs attention, I’m fighting years of damp and staleness with that and hopefully will have an acceptable solution for it soon.
I still have to get into the lens and sort the fungus issue out, there is a hinge on the roll door that needs fixing and I then need to use the templates I created last week to cut out the new leatherette for the camera. Still a small amount to do, but I hope to be able to reassemble very soon.
Found this on my doorstep when I arrived home from work today. After making some enquiries it transpires that a family member donated it to me as they haven’t used it in about 20 yrs. Knowing that I mess with cameras at the cheaper end of the spectrum he thought that I may find a use for it. I have gratefully accepted this gift.
After speaking with the donor he doesn’t remember there being any issues with it, he wasn’t aware there is already a film in it so I will process this for him and see what if anything comes of it.
This camera was circa 1989 and was a strange beast in that the programmable modes we take for granted on SLR cameras today, had to be purchased as individual plug in cards for this camera. I guess was kind of like VHS versus Betamax back in the day and as things developed in the market I guess Minolta put this idea back to bed as a non starter.
This camera looks in great condition apart from wear and tear dust/dirt and initial checks of the lens show no evidence of fungal damage, the camera does not have that musty smell associated with age so I can only presume it has been stored correctly.
These cameras also work off a 6v lithium battery the 2CR5. Still available it retails for around £6-8 gbp. Again Minolta could have used a rechargeable but this was probably just at the beginning of that technology becoming widely available.
2CR5 6v Lithium battery
Information regarding this camera can be found here Minolta Dynax 5000i courtesy of Camerawiki.org
So, apparently these cameras are popular in the Lomography world. I’m going to give it a good clean/overhaul get a new battery and run a film through it to test. Not a lot to do so hopefully I’ll fit it in somewhere along the line soon. Keep checking back to see how things progress.
Foxes Den 
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