Nikon FA question

I rcvd my FA today and it is a beauty. And the sound of the shutter is just great.

One thing bothers me and I will contact KEH tomorrow as they are closed today. In the meantime maybe you could give some advice. The exposure compensation has a "marker" on the right side of the view finder when it is active. Problem is, on my camera it is never off. It flickers sometimes but never goes off. If this is just a faulty sensor it is no big deal but if the compensation is always on then it is a major problem.
Any experience if this is a common problem?

r

Mats

shimoda said:

I rcvd my FA today and it is a beauty. And the sound of the shutter is just great.

One thing bothers me and I will contact KEH tomorrow as they are closed today. In the meantime maybe you could give some advice. The exposure compensation has a "marker" on the right side of the view finder when it is active. Problem is, on my camera it is never off. It flickers sometimes but never goes off. If this is just a faulty sensor it is no big deal but if the compensation is always on then it is a major problem.
Any experience if this is a common problem?

r

Mats

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If you do need to return it. Pack a copy of the shipping cost receipt so that you will be credited or refunded the shipping cost. That will save you a round of emails and telephone calls.

Steve

Typical KEH garbage. They grade 35mm SLRs on cosmetics and only on cosmetics...so, a beautiful camera that has a mechaical defect (like the camera you got) can be graded "EX+"....this is exactly why I quit buying from them. I bought a Nikon FA in EX+ condition and got a broken camera (similar symptoms to what you describe...NOT GOOD). Exchanged it for another...that one had a bad light meter. Exchanged it for a third...(I really wanted a second FA) and the third would only work in Manula exposure mode!


All of these were "EX" according to KEH. I returned the last for a full refund and have never purchased from them again.

My advice....
1) call them and tell them that the camera is defected.
2) tell them you want to return it for a refund.
3) I hope you paid with a credit card.

Yet they pay such low prices, as if everything is junk. I know they have to make a profit but its a bit ridiculous.

Have bought several cameras, several lenses, and had two other cameras repaired by KEH. Not a single bad experience, in fact, VERY impressed with the speed and quality of the repair work they did.

LyleB said:

Have bought several cameras, several lenses, and had two other cameras repaired by KEH. Not a single bad experience, in fact, VERY impressed with the speed and quality of the repair work they did.

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I have had the same experience without the repair work. I have ordered several Hasselblad lenses from them and a Nikon F-100 among other things. Only two items needed to be sent back. I called them and had no problems getting an exchange. My shipping was refunded. In one case I was going on vacation and the timing was close so they mailed the replacement polarizer before I returned the original. I have found them easy to work with.

Steve

I buy all my film stuff local and if not local state. That way I can test it and see if everything works. If it were a new DSLR it would be different.

The Minolta Maxxum 5 I'm looking at is 3 counties away, but i will be in the area Saturday anyway so I'm going to go snatch it up.

I'm a fun of Keh. I find them mostly eager to serve , non malicious.

I will call them up today. As soon as they open. Let's see what they suggest. A price reduction or a refund would be in order I think.

r

Mats

I discussed the camera with Mustonen & Laine, a repair shop in Helsinki, and they said that most likely the exp comp is stuck. Repair will run between 50 and 70€.
Later I called KEH and they agreed to reimburse my CC the amount of the repair + shipping. So far looking good.

r

Mats

I must talk in defense of Keh

Mats_A said:

I discussed the camera with Mustonen & Laine, a repair shop in Helsinki, and they said that most likely the exp comp is stuck. Repair will run between 50 and 70€.
Later I called KEH and they agreed to reimburse my CC the amount of the repair + shipping. So far looking good.

r

Mats

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Hi, I live in Colombia (but I'm italian). Used cameras here are usually real junk sold without any guarantee at all. I discovered Keh exactly an year from now and so far I bought from them:
-a Nikon FA in mint conditions and working perfectly.
-a simple prism for my Nikon F, also perfect.
-a Nikkor 24mm AIS f2,8, really good.
-a Vivitar 1-series 28-90mm also very good.
-a Nikkor H (non-AI) AI modified also in excellent conditions.
-a flash Vivitar 3900 also almost new.
All this stuff has been sold to me at very good prices, better than on e-bay and everything really works great: if now there is some dent somewhere it's because I'm not a collector, just a Nikonholic and I give to all my cameras hard work every day. I certainly will go on buying from Keh and I recommend them to everybody. I understand that someone may have had bad experiences with them, but I always saw that if a camera doesn't work properly they write it in the description, so it's clear that they do check their cameras before selling them.

Good light to all!

The exposure compensation dial is just a different index indicator on the film speed dial. Play with them a while and think about it, and you will realize how intimately they are related, to the extent that if you run the film speed out on one end, you lose compensation in that direction. You get the exact same results by changing either one.

If the film speed is working, so is the exposure comp. It's not a big deal. I would guess that all that really happens is if the dial is turned off zero, it flicks a switch and the switch is stuck--a really small problem (though no less irritating, I would imagine).

Really, look at it and think about what's going on--it's so simple--they don't even do things that directly anymore--and I thought their solution was quite clever, elegant, and completely direct (and never noticed the light on mine--maybe it's burned out or something on mine).

I've bought a lot of stuff from KEH. They're fine about returns--it's like they don't really look at the function of stuff, and are OK with it when you discover something they missed. I just view it as part of dealing with them. On the other hand, where else can you buy, as I just did, a non-functional Nikon FG for $1.99? (I needed a wind lever, and they--wind levers--were $15 on Ebay).