Nikon FG - focussing issues

noumin

Dear all

I came across a rather nice looking FG and couldn´t resist. Now it´s here and I have a problem :
The first thing I did, was checking the exposure meter and focussing against my trusty F2s´. The
exposure meter seems to work alright but the focussing is constantly short i.e. F2 1.2meter - FG 0.8m
F2 4m - FG 3.5m, and so on up to infinity. Focussing is short on all lenses. My question now is :
How big is the chance that pictures will be out of focus when something like that happens ?
Is it worth a few test shots or shell I return the camera (which I can) and not bother further ?

Jörg
 

dynachrome

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Nikon FG - focusing issues

Something on the FG is out of adjustment. I don't think the focusing screen is user interchangeable on the FG but it could be slightly out of place. The next place to look would be the mirror. If the angle of the mirror is not right it will also change the focus through the finder. Is there any kind of diopter adjustment piece on either camera?
 

ulysses

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Are you just reading the distance off the lens barrel? Try a roll and see what the negs look like. There's not much (other than serious, obvious damage) that could change the lens-to-film distance, or the lens to focusing screen distance, for that matter. If the mirror is not returning completely, that might be a problem. Take off the lens and carefully lift the front edge of the mirror up just a bit. It should return to the stop with a definite click when you release it. Be careful not to touch the mirror surface. If it seems at all stiff or reluctant to return to the "down" position, that could be your problem. I'd still try a roll.

Ulysses
 

removed-user-1

I also had a Nikon FG with a focus problem once, and it was due to the focus screen being slightly out of alignment. Maybe the build quality is just not that robust? This is a plastic-bodied camera, after all (but with a metal chassis).

My experience was that images were correctly focused on film, if set correctly on the lens, but the viewfinder didn't show the true focus. This was only really noticeable with longer focal lengths.
 
OP
OP

noumin

Mirror and focus scree were my first ideas too. Mirror seems to be ok to me, as for the screen - there are some minor black marks near the top border - the mirror baffle has been replaced, was someone doing a bad job and moved the screen ?


fotch said:
FG stands for ForGet. Return and get a FE, F3 any one of a number of good Nikon's.
Click to expand...

Your probably right, initially I was looking a FM, FM2, F3 and now I end up with an FG. I think all I wanted was a cheap Nikon ... well ... I´ve got it ! I´ll return it and start anew, so all is not yet lost.
 

cokin

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I have a FG, and have never had a problem at all with the focus. Guess I'm just lucky.
 

alexmacphee

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I have an FG, and its sister the EM, and no problems of any kind in the last fifteen years or so. The FG is a super little camera. This sounds to me like a mirror alignment problem, and just about any mirrored camera can have problems with that.
 

Steve Smith

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alexmacphee said:
I have an FG, and its sister the EM, and no problems of any kind in the last fifteen years or so. The FG is a super little camera.
Click to expand...

I also have an FG which has worked perfectly for 25+ years. I don't know why some people don't like them as they were very well specified for their time and are a nice compact body with a Nikon lens mount.


Steve.
 

removed-user-1

I loved my FG, and I used it for years until I got an FM. I especially like the way the shutter speed dial is so easy to adjust without taking your eye away from the finder. The only things the FG was missing were auto-exposure lock, a PC flash connection, and a DOF preview lever (minor quibbles). But my FG definitely developed a focus problem after some time; this may have been the result of a couple minor bumps during rock-climbing, hiking, and bouldering.
 

coffeesnob

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The focussing screen was upside down.

I had a similar problem described in the opening post and my google search brought me here. Since I had removed the focussing screen to clean the prism and renew the mirror damper I wondered if I might have put the focussing screen in upside down. I turned it over and the focussing distance was perfect again.

On some other models, FM/FE Series for example, this is impossible due to a notch that has to be on a certain side. With the EM, FG and FG-20 it is possible to put the screen in upside down.
 

pentaxuser

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BrianShaw said:
... in 2010 it was... hopefully resolved a long time ago!
Click to expand...
I agree The strange thing for me is that I cannot find out anything about the OP in terms of details such as when last visited etc It is as if he never existed. This is the first time I have ever experienced this

pentaxuser
 
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