Nikon F3 all speeds were slow - quick fix

Robin Guymer · Apr 15, 2018

Finally got hold of an old beater F3 to finish my collection. (I like old beaters as they often turn out better cameras than A++ ones that spent their life doing nothing) But new batteries, mirror buffer and light seals did not resolve the problem of the shutter speeds being slow and sparoidic. 8 seconds was more like 12 seconds and 2000 like 250. Searching the net I finally found an old post with a similar problem. In amongst the vast range of advice from paper weight to a full and expensive service guy cla, was this gem of a suggestion.

Unscrew and remove the disc around the shutter button. (just push down as turning anticlockwise) Remove the shutter button and put in 1 or 2 drops of electrical points cleaner (common car product)

This was an instant fix. 8 sec = 8 sec and 2000 sure looks correct now. Ready for a test roll of film. Ask an electrical engineer for the reason, something to do with current drain on dirty connections. So before you brick your old F3 give this a shot.

Robin

Robin Guymer · Apr 17, 2018

Okay so the next day the F3 is back to it's erratic ways. So the symptoms were.

Mirror slow to respond, clearly needing lubricant.
Inconsistent slow speeds.
Speed differed whether I held the shutter button down or released it quickly.
Big difference in shutter speed between the top shutter button and front shutter lever.
On long speeds like 4 or 8 seconds, once the camera exceeded this it would trip if I pushed down on the centre lock button on the speed dial.

This F3 is running as sweet as now and for your reference this is what I did.

Unscrewed the disk around the shutter button and removed the button. Previously I had put a drop of electrical cleaner down here. Now I gave it a quick squirt of WD40 Dry PTFE Lubricant.
In the mirror box I aimed a quick squirt of PTFE into the armature arm slot to hit the mechanics of the mirror action.
Removed the bottom cover and with the camera facing face flat down and carefully dropped some electrical cleaner onto the inside rear of the face shutter lever using a syringe and needle. I blowed this Dry then used a squirt of PTFE on it.
Another quick squirt from underneath into the gap where I could see the shutter triggering levers.

A hundred test shots and it is still firing superbly even after a freezing night.
Another useless tip is that to block the missing cover over the electrical points for the motor winder under the film canister. An Aussie old 1 cent coin with double sided tape fits in there like a glove.

Now if you own one of those fancy shelf sitter F3's now worth excessive coin, then best take it to a specialist. But I like the working class section of old bangers with lots a character brassing which are quite suitable for some DIY maintenance. They are like old V8 Utes with 400k on the clock, they're just loose and go hard forever. Enjoy your F3

Robin.

fishingfan1911 · Jul 9, 2023

Robin Guymer said:
Okay so the next day the F3 is back to it's erratic ways. So the symptoms were.

Mirror slow to respond, clearly needing lubricant.

Inconsistent slow speeds.

Speed differed whether I held the shutter button down or released it quickly.

Big difference in shutter speed between the top shutter button and front shutter lever.

On long speeds like 4 or 8 seconds, once the camera exceeded this it would trip if I pushed down on the centre lock button on the speed dial.

This F3 is running as sweet as now and for your reference this is what I did.

Unscrewed the disk around the shutter button and removed the button. Previously I had put a drop of electrical cleaner down here. Now I gave it a quick squirt of WD40 Dry PTFE Lubricant.

In the mirror box I aimed a quick squirt of PTFE into the armature arm slot to hit the mechanics of the mirror action.

Removed the bottom cover and with the camera facing face flat down and carefully dropped some electrical cleaner onto the inside rear of the face shutter lever using a syringe and needle. I blowed this Dry then used a squirt of PTFE on it.

Another quick squirt from underneath into the gap where I could see the shutter triggering levers.

A hundred test shots and it is still firing superbly even after a freezing night.
Another useless tip is that to block the missing cover over the electrical points for the motor winder under the film canister. An Aussie old 1 cent coin with double sided tape fits in there like a glove.

Now if you own one of those fancy shelf sitter F3's now worth excessive coin, then best take it to a specialist. But I like the working class section of old bangers with lots a character brassing which are quite suitable for some DIY maintenance. They are like old V8 Utes with 400k on the clock, they're just loose and go hard forever. Enjoy your F3

Robin.

Any update on how the camera is functioning today? Having a similar issue and I'm thinking about giving your solution a try!

Sirius Glass · Jul 9, 2023

fishingfan1911 said:
Any update on how the camera is functioning today? Having a similar issue and I'm thinking about giving your solution a try!

Welcome to ~~APUG~~ Photrio!!

pentaxuser · Jul 9, 2023

fishingfan1911 said:
Any update on how the camera is functioning today? Having a similar issue and I'm thinking about giving your solution a try!

You might be advised to contact the member via the "Start a Conversation" option as he hasn't visited since last November

pentaxuser

Andreas Thaler · Feb 27, 2024

Here we have an excellent example of how products like WD-40 can certainly fulfill the DIY repairer's desire for a quick solution.

It's often about the recurring topics of cleaning and lubricating. WD-40 promises both, as far as I'm aware.

The rule is to get to the root of problems and solve them there so that they don't come back.

This is true, but it ignores that the path to the root can be a long and dangerous one, sometimes with no return.

As a DIYer, you are faced with the decision of whether to try it with a screwdriver - and the escapades of Japanese engineers are well known; nothing was too complicated or too time-consuming for them to construct.

Or whether you reach for the bottle with the spray nozzle in the hope that it will work.

This applies to mechanical problems.

When it comes to electronic problems, electronics cleaner is the moist mist of hope.

Although you can't actually make anything worse with it, unless you spray the cleaner on lubrication, which it reliably fixes.

Maybe there are more practical examples of this?

reddesert · Feb 27, 2024

Use caution! WD-40 is a brand name, not a specific product. Robin used "WD-40 Dry PTFE lubricant" https://www.wd40.com/products/dry-lube/ , which is a completely different thing from the normal WD-40 that most people buy for loosening rusty screws and spraying on their bike chain. (Which you shouldn't do because there are better products for bike chain lube, but I digress.) Looking at the MSDS sheets available on the WD-40 website, the ingredients of these are:

WD-40 dry PTFE lubricant: Heptane 70-80%, propane propellant 10-20%, petroleum solvent 5-10%, mineral oil 1-5%.

Normal WD-40 "Multi Use Product": LVP aliphatic hydrocarbon 45-50%, petroleum base oil <35%, aliphatic hydrocarbon <25%, carbon dioxide 2-3%.

Now that doesn't tell us everything because "aliphatic hydrocarbon" is vague - it could be anything from propane to heptane to a much heavier compound that doesn't evaporate. Other sources indicate it's naphtha, basically. But anyway, the SDS is enough information to tell you that the Dry Lube stuff has a composition that will evaporate faster and leave much less oil behind than the regular WD-40. So proceed with caution.

Andreas Thaler · Feb 27, 2024

Thanks, then it would be a good addition to my chemistry arsenal and I should try it.

Let's see where I can get it here.

mshchem · Feb 27, 2024

I've used movie film cleaner (heptane and CFC-113) from the pre-ban of CFC era. A couple strategically placed drops in the workings of motorized Hasselblads and A12 backs that sat unused for 15 years. Everything still working splendidly. I would never spray something into a camera.

Never let things sit. (I need to go for a bike ride)

Andreas Thaler · Feb 27, 2024

Is there something that cleans and lubricates without making things sticky?

I'm still thinking about the mirror box on my Nikon F4 with the resinous gear. I was able to improve this with Zippo/graphit.

But surely there should be something more modern/innovative?

skahde · Feb 29, 2024

Do-it all chemicals have one fundamental problem: They loosen up the dirt but don't get it out of the mechanism. Nothing beats a good cleaning with an efficient chemical and using the right lubricant afterwards. Removing the cleaning-solution together with the dirt is the most important step in cleaning. If you can separate the parts for the cleaning it helps a lot for a good result but you can also clean in situ if you cant separate the parts from each other or the body-shell it takes much more care and is less effective, though.

Andreas Thaler · Feb 29, 2024

skahde said:
Do-it all chemicals have one fundamental problem: They loosen up the dirt but don't get it out of the mechanism. Nothing beats a good cleaning with an efficient chemical and using the right lubricant afterwards. Removing the cleaning-solution together with the dirt is the most important step in cleaning. If you can separate the parts for the cleaning it helps a lot for a good result but you can also clean in situ if you cant separate the parts from each other or the body-shell it takes much more care and is less effective, though.

In order to get to the resinous gear, I would have to remove the F4's mirror box in about 22 steps and then reinstall it. Given the complexity of the camera, nothing to look forward to. Therefore, I am considering alternative methods.

Nikon F3 all speeds were slow - quick fix

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