Nikon F2 - DIY Repairs & Maintenance

[Robin Guymer]

I have had more trouble with my silver F2 as the Aperture Arm stopped working. When I had the black F2 dismantled I never took a good photo of that side of the mirror box. It was hard to find one on Google but eventually did on an eBay image that gave me an idea of what the spring looked like. The spring on the silver F2 was dislodged and the end broken off it maybe from metal fatigue or it had jumped off and got mangled. I managed to get it back into position and it looks like it should hold but to make sure I added some thin wire insurance. Seems to be working okay now. I know it looks a dodgy fix but hey whatever works!

I have loaded some more photos whilst I had the camera apart and these could be useful for other DIY camera mechanics
.
Good luck with your repairs.

 

[flavio81]

These are great pics

I have had more trouble with my silver F2 as the Aperture Arm stopped working. When I had the black F2 dismantled I never took a good photo of that side of the mirror box. It was hard to find one on Google but eventually did on an eBay image that gave me an idea of what the spring looked like. The spring on the silver F2 was dislodged and the end broken off it maybe from metal fatigue or it had jumped off and got mangled. I managed to get it back into position and it looks like it should hold but to make sure I added some thin wire insurance. Seems to be working okay now. I know it looks a dodgy fix but hey whatever works!

I have loaded some more photos whilst I had the camera apart and these could be useful for other DIY camera mechanics
View attachment 254584 View attachment 254585 View attachment 254586 View attachment 254587 View attachment 254588 View attachment 254589 View attachment 254590 View attachment 254591 .
Good luck with your repairs.

These are great pics and very useful, thank you very much!!

 

[CMoore]

I have had more trouble with my silver F2 as the Aperture Arm stopped working. When I had the black F2 dismantled I never took a good photo of that side of the mirror box. It was hard to find one on Google but eventually did on an eBay image that gave me an idea of what the spring looked like. The spring on the silver F2 was dislodged and the end broken off it maybe from metal fatigue or it had jumped off and got mangled. I managed to get it back into position and it looks like it should hold but to make sure I added some thin wire insurance. Seems to be working okay now. I know it looks a dodgy fix but hey whatever works!

I have loaded some more photos whilst I had the camera apart and these could be useful for other DIY camera mechanics
View attachment 254584 View attachment 254585 View attachment 254586 View attachment 254587 View attachment 254588 View attachment 254589 View attachment 254590 View attachment 254591 .
Good luck with your repairs.

Yeah, those are fabulous photos.
It really is amazing....the number of Machined and Threaded parts in a 35mm SLR of this era.

 

[Tel]

Robin: just a thank-you for doing this. Based on your posts I've waded into the insides of the F2 and found, as you did, that it's not too scary in there. So far I've opened up six of them and am now officially addicted.

 

[Raxorio]

I am more of a rangefinder type guy. Recently, I got the bug for reflexes... Here comes the Nikon F2. Got one in good shape but with a non-working light meter. By itself, the DP-1 seems to work, as it places the needle in the middle of the range when attached to a 3V source and the battery check is pressed. As for the accuracy of the light measurement, that's for another day. Continuity of the battery connection failed. So, with the help of the very good repair guide by @Robin Guymer, I took the camera apart and I found the culprit: corroded contact on the negative contact and also broken plastic attachment piece. As a good enineer that I am, went ahead and designed and 3D-printed a replacement battery compartment.

So now the question: short of trying to find an original part, does using this 3D-printed
battery compartment affect the value of the camera as a collectible? Is it better to fix the old piece with epoxy?
Thank you.

3D-printed battery compartment:

battery compartment affect the value of the camera as a collectible? Is it better to fix the old piece with epoxy?
Thank you.

 

[Tel]

Ideally, I'd think replacement with a Nikon part would preserve the collector value. The battery compartment you removed looks pretty rough and it's hard to see that enhancing the camera's value. Nice work with the 3-d printer there!.. (If it were my camera, I'd just put in the replacement and not worry about it.) I have seen these on ebay...

 

[Raxorio]

Thank you Tel. I won't give up: I'll try higher resolutions technologies: SLA or SLS. I am the "not-so-serious-collector" and, as a challenge, I would like the best replacement I could engineer. As for ebay, I could only find packages of 45 units at $450...

 

[Kino]

Ideally, I'd think replacement with a Nikon part would preserve the collector value. The battery compartment you removed looks pretty rough and it's hard to see that enhancing the camera's value. Nice work with the 3-d printer there!.. (If it were my camera, I'd just put in the replacement and not worry about it.) I have seen these on ebay...

I had to replace my F2 battery compartment and did use a NOS Nikon part BUT it was already growing fragile from age. If I had to do it again, I would choose a 3D printed one OR make a machined brass compartment. Collector value is irrelevant if the battery compartment shatters again in a few years in my opinion; your mileage may vary.

 

[Tel]

I saw that ebay listing. Somebody has been listing wholesale lots of F2 parts; I was looking for one slow-speed escapement and ran into the same sort of dilemma. (What would I do with 30+ escapements?) The 3D printed replacement looks good to me--if I had one I'd use that and not worry about collector value.

 

[Bayliss]

Hi - I took my Nikon F2 apart to repair a corroded contact on the battery compartment, but unfortunately now I can't get the camera back together.

When I get the front part of the camera with the mirror box onto the main body of the camera it either jams or I get this problem:



I think all my levers are correctly positioned - I always push down the black lever above the self timer mechanism as I'm joining the two parts. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Thank-you!

 

[Tel]

That's a thing I haven't encountered. Took a look at one of my parts bodies and that didn't help! From the video clip it looks like the shutter firing mechanism is somehow jammed in "fire" mode because it fires as soon as the shutter is cocked. Are those two levers that need to nest together up there between the mirror box and the body correctly aligned? If you were working on the bottom, is it possible that one of the gears or cams in the shutter firing train got misaligned or out of position?

 

[Nikoman44]

Hi Guys
Imma new here and need some help with my F2.
I’m trying to remove the hot shoe,
but after removing the rewind knob,
I can’t figure out how to loosen and remove the black cover plate.
(the plate with the arrow) so as to access the screws securing the lower plate.
here’s a picture.

 

[Cholentpot]

I ran into an issue with my F2. The advance lever will advance but the shutter won't cock. Aside from the obvious (camera needs a CLA) is this a common issue?

 

[awty]

I ran into an issue with my F2. The advance lever will advance but the shutter won't cock. Aside from the obvious (camera needs a CLA) is this a common issue?

Here are some vids on stripping down, basically you'll have to get to the shutter box to see whats going on. Probably just needs a clean and lube. You can fix the shutter PING while your there. If you think it looks too difficult or you dont have the tools, leave it for someone else.

 

[Cholentpot]

Here are some vids on stripping down, basically you'll have to get to the shutter box to see whats going on. Probably just needs a clean and lube. You can fix the shutter PING while your there. If you think it looks too difficult or you dont have the tools, leave it for someone else.

Thanks!

But...I like the ping.

 

[awty]

Thanks!

But...I like the ping.

Ha, your weird. All my F2's pinged until I fixed it. I guess it helps to distinguish the F2 from the F and F3 that don't ping.

 

[maduko]

3D-printed battery compartment: View attachment 274476

Cool! Please tell me you still have that file. Or maybe uploaded it somewhere?

I'd be very interested because mine is toast.

I'd message Raxorio directly but the forum won't allow me to.