Minolta 5D long shutter blackout on P, A, S, & M settings

TheDreamScene wrote:

So I just received a used but in excellent condition Minolta 5D. When I first was trying to take pictures the viewfinder would black out for a couple of seconds and then there'd be an Err msg. I would have turn the camera off and on again. Took the battery out, switched lenses, tried a different smaller CF card.

Sounds like a dodgy or incompatible card , assuming the lens works fine on other cameras.

Now the camera takes pictures normally on the auto settings. Shutter opens and closes at a speed that seems normal. But when I set it to program, aperture/shutter priority or manual mode the camera takes the picture but the VF blacks out for at least 2 seconds (even if the shutter speed is 1/4000). I've gone through the menus and messed around with some settings but nothing changes this behavior.

When you try to take a photo , is the exposure correct ? ( in PASM modes )

Am i overlooking something obvious or is this camera defective? Thanks for any help

Sounds like you've got the 2 second self timer on .

In this function it combines a mirror lock up with the timer before firing the shutter.

You can confirm this by taking the lens off , looking at the front if the camera , and firing the shutter .

You should see the mirror lift up , then 2 seconds later the shutter will fire .

DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGERS INSIDE !

On the LCD there should be the symbol of a clock with a small "2" next to it , in the box where the "drive mode" should be displayed.

This should read something on the lines if "S" for single shot , "C" for continuous shooting , then the clock symbol with either a "10" next to it for a standard 10 second timer , or the "2" for a combined 2 second timer and mirror lock up .

IIRC , on the back on the d5d there is a button next to the LCD marked "f" for function .

Press that and scroll over to the drive mode section and change it to "S" for single shot mode .

So when you press the shutter release button it will fire straight away .

Here's a picture of my Dynax 7d with the 2 second self timer activated .

You can see the symbol shown .

I can't remember where my d5d is to check , but on the later Sony a100 that was developed from this when Sony bought the imaging division off Minolta, the drive button was placed on top of the camera next to the mode dial .

Yours might be the same .

TheDreamScene wrote:

So I just received a used but in excellent condition Minolta 5D. When I first was trying to take pictures the viewfinder would black out for a couple of seconds and then there'd be an Err msg. I would have turn the camera off and on again. Took the battery out, switched lenses, tried a different smaller CF card.

Now the camera takes pictures normally on the auto settings. Shutter opens and closes at a speed that seems normal. But when I set it to program, aperture/shutter priority or manual mode the camera takes the picture but the VF blacks out for at least 2 seconds (even if the shutter speed is 1/4000). I've gone through the menus and messed around with some settings but nothing changes this behavior.

Am i overlooking something obvious or is this camera defective? Thanks for any help

Hello TheDreamScene!

Is your 5D performance anything like what is described here?

https://www.dyxum.com/columns/other/First_Black_Frame/First_Black_Frame.asp

Regards