Sover Wong

[ColColt]

I can't say enough about this man-simply the best there is if you have an Nikon F2 series camera in need. Some months back I bought an absolutely pristine F2A with no scratches, dings or scuffs and looked like it just left Japan yesterday. There were no visible flaws of any sort with the online pictures and when I got it it looked as good as the photos. I was thrilled to say the least.

My bubble was bursted on t he first roll of transparencies I shot. About half or better of the slides had light leak marks on them. I couldn't figure what had happened so emailed Sover. I had noticed something about the shutter curtain didn't look right and sent him a photo. He said it might go back together if I exercised it a little since it was a collector's camera and had probably been sitting up a while. I did that with the back open, slowly advancing the film advance lever and noticed the gap between the two curtains was getting worse so, I stopped.

Long story short, it was the shutter curtain that was causing the light leaks, not some foam I suspected gone bad. This is what it looked like.

_DEF5144a by David Fincher, on Flickr

Sover kept it several weeks and I got it back today and it looks as good as it ever did both inside and out. He sent me no less than 30 pictures of his repair procedure and what all was wrong and what he did step by step. Other things that you couldn't tell were wrong like a busted battery compartment probably contributing to the curtain being messed up, parts with no lube, high shutter speeds(125 and up) were off and had to be calibrated, resistor ring needed cleaning, mirror and body needed refoaming, shutter curtain pulling tape was trapped, rotten foam on the mirror housing and camera back, shutter curtain bounce was fixed and the meter was CLA'd with new foam, cleaning and old Cds cells replaced, etc.

It was a lot of unnecessary work had APS done the job they claimed they did from the invoice I got from the seller. They never even opened the camera up and did a piss poor job of what they did. But, it got in the hands of the maestro and now it's as good as a new one.

I got a CD with all his repair photos, manual for finder and camera instructions on all F2 series of cameras and a special token for opening the battery compartment that fits the slot exactly-much better than a nickel or penny. What can I say except he's the best there is with these cameras and I give high accolades to his knowledge and expertise. These are but a few of the photos sent where he went in like a surgeon to check for problems and fixes.

This was the trapped shutter curtain causing the shutter problem...

F2 7831745_3 by David Fincher, on Flickr

The busted battery compartment...

F2 7831745_2 by David Fincher, on Flickr

lack of lube in many places...

F2 7831745_8 by David Fincher, on Flickr

Breakdown of the meter with new cells to the far right...

DP-11 118213_1 by David Fincher, on Flickr

Finder cleaned...

DP-11 118213_3 by David Fincher, on Flickr
DP-11 118213_5 by David Fincher, on Flickr

 

[ColColt]

By the way, this is what the camera looked like when I received it. Would you have thought anything could possibly be wrong with such a camera? I didn't. Beautiful on the outside but rotten therein.

F2APristine by David Fincher, on Flickr
F2APristineBack by David Fincher, on Flickr

 

[leicarfcam]

The broken battery chamber seems to be an issue with the F2 but usually across the plastic tab where the battery wire is screwed through the contact into the plastic tab.

 

[ColColt]

It swelled and cause in part the shutter curtain problem due to someone leaving a battery in there for way too long.

 

[Paul Goutiere]

I sent Mr. Wong my black F2 and in a relatively short period of time, ( UK to Canada ) sent back a really fine camera.

 

[ColColt]

It takes a long time for a package to get to and from the UK from TN...about a month both ways due to all the red tape.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

My Sover-ized F2A was done 10 years ago and its as precise as it came back. He did an amazing job on an obviously hard used Pro camera that had a botched CLA with multiple operational faults. The meter is still fussy at times but he said it was a very worn resistor and at some point I'll see if he can change it. What I do find interesting about the worn resistor is that where on the shutter speed dial the twitchiness occurs: right between 1/125 and just over 1/500. I surmise that the pro was a sport shooter using slower slide film and he took full advantage of the F2's continuously variable shutter (over 1/125) by most likely fine tuning his or her exposure extremely often, certainly enough for it to wear out. In practice I start metering at a slower shutter speed and count up if I need between those speeds so I'm not in too much of a hurry to fix; as well its kind of fun to use it with that bit of wear from the previous owner. There was also extensive signs of long and hard motor drive use as well as an interesting modification to the film gate that Sover and I had a discussion about.
As long as Sover is around Nikon F2's will continue to be in use; I sure hope he takes on an apprentice sometime to pass on his knowledge.
I really appreciate his practice of including photos of his repair like the OP shows. You can really see and appreciate not only what he does but what's inside and even the unseen quality of the components.

 

[BradleyK]

I've had two F2s and an F2AS Soverized to date; as the OP posted, Sover's work is meticulous and thorough - each camera functions as new (perhaps even better). Two more - an F2A/MD2 soon to be ex-shelf queen and a second F2AS - will be making the trip across the pond shortly. As well, several more (late) MD2 drives (the ones with the nylon gears) will be re-geared (brass) by Sover, ensuring the drives perform as flawlessly as the cameras they are partnered with.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

It is good to see good old fashion British engineering at its best.

The continuous variable shutter speeds above 1/125th are also present in the Nikkormat FT series.

 

[Peter Simpson]

I, too, sent my F2 to Sover Wong. He only does the F2, and is an expert at knowing what's supposed to be done. He even identified and installed a missing part in mine. He is well worth the cost, if you want your F2 better than new. And he documents meticulously. He is the only place I'd send mine for work.

 

[ColColt]

As long as Sover is around Nikon F2's will continue to be in use; I sure hope he takes on an apprentice sometime to pass on his knowledge.

If I was a drinking man I'd toast to that. I told him he missed his calling that he should have been a local vascular surgeon. That way I'd only have required one bypass operation instead of three. It would have been done right the first time.

 

[narsuitus]

ColColt,

Thanks for the information. I have three F2 bodies that I have been using for over 40 years. I probably need to have them Soverized.


Nikon F2 by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[ColColt]

He's the man. I was surprised the Cds cells could be replaced seeing how old they were and the availability of any replacements. He told me mine were fine but may not be six months down the road due to their age so, while he had it in hand I just told him to do whatever he felt necessary. I got new ones and the meter was recalibrated.

 

[Chris Livsey]

Two F2s sent in, one was so bad ( it was a freebie) Sover said not worth working on, there is honesty in not running up a bill when not justified, the other is a dream to use. I would send more if I hadn't developed a taste for the rangefinders where good work is hard to find. A well respected repair shop took over 12 months to sort out capping on an SP. F2 users are truly spoilt.

 

[ColColt]

When and if my M2 has problems it goes to Youxin Ye.