Stuck DOF preview lever

[Mats_A]

I just returned from a holiday to Sri Lanka where I put some rolls of Velvia 100 through my Nikon FA. Now I noticed that the DOF preview lever is stuck. As in it will not move at all. Is this something a fumbling amateur (me) could try to fix himself or should it be sent in for repair?

Any advice appreciated.

r

Mats

 

[Rol_Lei Nut]

I think I remember an almost identical thread some time ago...

Anyway, if dried grease, a little lighter fluid and/or light oil in the right places should do the trick.
If the lever was knocked and the cam is bent, that's something for a pro (replace or dismantle & straighten).

 

[wiltw]

Some DOF controls rely upon the lens itself to provide the mechanical force to push back against the control. Have you tried a different lens on the body, to see if the DOF control functions normally in that circumstance?

 

[Ian C]

The FA has a fairly strong spring inside the body that returns the lever to the normal position. This doesn’t depend upon the lens.

 

[Mats_A]

I tried other lenses also and same result. And it is very stucked. Not just dried grease stucked. Feels like a mechanical problem. Can't recall me banging it but might have done it anyhow. Luckily it is not a critical equipment and I can live without for the time being.

r

Mats

 

[benjiboy]

The Nikon FA is over twenty years old, and like all cameras of that vintage very few have ever been serviced since they were manufactured we don't expect our cars to work for that length of time without any attention but we do our cameras, my engineering training tells me anything mechanical won't work forever without lubrication and adjustment yet many people expect them to, if we want to use the older cameras as serious photographic tools and to be reliable IMO we need to have them CLA'd occasionally.