Nikon F301 shutter issue

[Lloyd Garland]

Hi guys, my first post on here.

I have a new-to-me Nikon F301, and it has a shutter problem. Everything seems fine - as in it makes (almost) the correct noises when the shutter is fired, film advances properly and the moirror flips up out the way as expected. I say "almost" because if you look inside the mirror box, the mirror flips up and makes that sound we all love, but then a small "tick" sound as the shutter opens. I digress - the shutter blades do not open at the same time as the mirror flips, there is a very slight delay. This is leading to under-exposure, and in shutter speeds in excess of 125th/S blank frames due to the mirror flipping up, then down, before the shutter has had a chance to open.

Is there some sort of simple fix? Is this a known issue with the F301? Biggest question of all, am I looking to buy another F301 now?

 

[RDW]

This looks like a slightly different problem, but it seems that mirror issues may be common with this camera and at least some of them can be fixed by resetting the mechanism using the method below. On the other hand, it might make conceivably make things worse if your issue has another cause, so probably one to try if you are otherwise going to buy a new camera.

 

[Lloyd Garland]

Thanks RDW, I came across that video whilst researching possible causes and fixes. In my case the mirror isn't stuck in either an open or closed position, it simply flips up and then back down before the shutter has had a chance to activate. Since the shutter doesn't open if the back isn't closed, I can't tell if the shutter blades are sticky. I'm sure somebody will have an opinion soon enough - thanks for your time