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Defocusian
Tinkerer
Username: Defocusian
Post Number: 1
Registered: 08-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 03:47 am: | 
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Hi all!
I just became the owner of an externally very neat looking Nikon F301, that sadly turned out to have a problem reading the lens aperture. I have a feeling that the problem might be with the aperture coupling ring, which is loose when no lens is attached and the notch of which fails to follow the edge of the lens aperture ridge like it does on my D300 and F100. In addition to there not being spring tension, the ring feels at least slightly stuck between approximately 11 and 12 o'clock positions, looking from the front of the camera. I didn't want to force it.
I'd appreciate insight into how hard this sounds to fix to more experienced forum members. Feeling dexterous and not risking my livelihood, if the problem is potentially solvable by just unscrewing the bayonet ring and reattaching a spring or two, I'm keen on giving it a try =)
Thanks in advance! |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 647
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 04:46 am: |
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Is there no spring action at all, or is the ring just sticky? AI rings are located on the outside of the lens mount and are very exposed and vulnerable to dirt gumming them up. If you can feel any spring action in it, try wicking a couple of drops of lighter fluid in around the edges of the ring and see if it starts behaving more normally. |
Defocusian
Tinkerer
Username: Defocusian
Post Number: 2
Registered: 08-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 06:13 am: |
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I'd have to say, no spring action at all. |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 649
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 09:06 pm: |
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I'm not sure how it's constructed, I've never worked on that model. In the FM and FM2, the ring is spring-loaded through a cord that leads back into the body; in the EM series, there is a little spring-loaded gear that meshes with the ring and has a screwdriver slot in the face of it that you can wind up. In both cases, your first look will come by removing the bayonet flange. Your camera may be a variation on one or the other concept. |
Defocusian
Tinkerer
Username: Defocusian
Post Number: 3
Registered: 08-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 05:02 am: |
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I went ahead and opened the bayonet flange - the spring is badly corroded and cut. It seems that the spring should have circled the outer edge of the AI coupling ring.
With the bayonet flange removed and the AI coupling ring lifted as much as it moves freely, I can't see the other end of the spring, but there is a white plastic pulley in the body at the outside of the AI coupling ring at the bottom right of the bayonet mount. The spring seems to have traveled by the pulley to wherever it's attached to in the camera body. |
