[Astro-Baby]

Anyone got an opinion on a bugbear I have with a Nikon F ...a plain old F not any fancy schmancy F2 or FE.

When winding on (manually natch) at the end of the stroke it feels like the wind on is going over a bump. If I take the back off its at the point where the shutter curtain edges/join start to go out of sight under the film transport. As the shutter join moves out of the open aperture there is a distinct grindiness to the wind on lever and you need a bit more force to fully wind on. Its only by a couple of degrees but its driving me mad as you think you are wound on only to press the shutter and find its not fully wound on at all and I have missed the shot. I can ignore it and just use a bit more force to wind on and that works too. Long term this camera will be refurbed.

I have read that all Fs suffer a cranky wind on and did from new but I dont recall it from when I used them almost 40 years ago....memory being what it is I may have just forgotten. Any opnions out there ? Although this one will be refurbed in due course I have other stuff to get fixed and dont want this one jumping the queue

I would post on the Nikon forum but its so dead in there I fear I might pass on to the great darkroom in the sky before I ever got a reply.

[LesDMess]

Just to sure I understand, it allows you to return the lever even before completing the full stroke?

I will check both of my F's later but can tell you the F3 is so smooth and effortless until the last few degrees where there's a mild hitch before the full stroke.

[Astro-Baby]

Hi Les, no the wind works perfectly as it should but in the last few degrees lf stroke the wind in lever feels like its hit a bump and has a sort of grindy feeling, more like the resistance increases suddenly. It doesnt actually grind it just feels like more resistance. Its sufficient for you to mistake it for full wound on if the canera isnst loaded. When its loaded the increased resistance of the film tends to mask this somewhat.

[LesDMess]

I checked both my F's and near the end of the stroke, there is a little resistance. Probably noticeable only because I am looking for it. I also checked my F2 and it too has a little hitch near the end of the stroke but again only because I am looking for it. I've known this on my F3's because I was comparing it to my Minolta XE-7 which has the smoothest cocking mechanism of all my cameras. For nearly most of the travel, the F3 is very smooth up until the end of the stroke. It is more noticeable simply because there's practically no resistance until then.
Hope I've described it sufficiently.

Here's a short vid of the F that I did -> Nikon F film advance

[ChrisPlatt]

For 3-4 years in the 1980's I used a Nikon FTn Photomic.
IIRC it had more resistance at the end of the advance stroke.
However it never failed i.e. jammed or slipped etc.

After fifty years yours could probably use CLA...

Chris

[TomB_tx]

Yes, both my Fs have the same feel or clunk as they reach the fully cocked position. I noticed this back in 1967 or so when using the college’s Nikon instead of my H1a. My Pentax felt a lot better - both body end lens. But the F has sure held up well, even if it feels rough.
In 1969 I traded in my 2 Canon SLRs and set of lenses towards a Leicaflex SL with one lens, mainly for the precision feel and reliability. (I still use it.)

[Astro-Baby]

Thanks guys, I used the F Photomics extensively back in the 70s and into the 80s. It was an anachronism in the 80s but I just loved its solid feel and its fairly quiet shutter and mine never took a bad shot unless It was on me. I just dont recall this bug back then.

This one was picked up in Japan last year and has been film tested and works fine but lately I have noticed this bump in the wind on. Its possibly because I have been using a Minolta XD7 a lot recently which has a very smooth wind and maybe thats made me more sensitive to the Fs somewhat clunkier winder.

The F is scheduled for a full CLA. She is in amazing condition for her age and is a very early Nippon Kogaku badged one and serial indicates ‘59 but fitted with a later FTn head. As soon as the Covid thing is sorted she will go for CLA which she deserves after 60 years but she may be bumped for an XD7 I acquired depending on the XD7s film test.

Maybe I should start a thread for smooth wind ons but in my humble collection I would grade them as.

Top of the form
Minolta XD7, smooth as silk not quite as good as an XE but very close
Chinon CE5, loses out by a nose to the XD7
Canon FTb, smooth and even but more resistant than the front runners
Nikon F, smooth with bump at end which is annoying

Average marks
Pentax KX and K1000 a bit over firm for my liking
Minolta SRT very long throw and feels fragile, plastic tip on lever prone to breaking if used hard. Feels fragile when pressed hard.
Minolta X700 ho hum about the same as most
Olympus OM1 very light but always feels grindy and gritty

Bottom of class
Canon AE1 horribly cranky, feels like you are grinding coffee as the gears turn and nasty plastic feel. They were like this when new.

Caught cheating
Nikon F301 no wind lever at all, powered wind only and VERY noisesome but fun.

All of these are CLA’d leaving just a second XD7 and the F for full CLA.

[LesDMess]

Maybe I should start a thread for smooth wind ons but in my humble collection I would grade them as.

Been meaning to come up with a proper way to test my camera's film advance but haven't yet. In this video I am comparing my Nikon F to my XE-7

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

I'm thinking that ideally the levers would be on the same level and should be tied at the tips. What do you think?

[Astro-Baby]

Yep, the F in that vid is definitely doing it like mine with that weird crunch sound at the end of the stroke.

I dont know how you could accurately assess he feel, maybe a spring scale to measure the force needed and a look at the number of degrees you need to run to. Feel is so subjective a thing that it defies measurment I suspect, its one of those things you have to directly experience.

I did have an XE briefly and it was smooth but the seller had fibbed about its condition and it was a wreck so it went back.
There was a gorgeous one on eBay recently that was mint and CLAd but at the time I couldnt justify spending on another camera it would have led to domestic ‘tension’

If you havent played with an FTb they have, at least a good one does, an amazingly smooth and slick wind on and are very pleasant to work with with all the controls being well sorted especially the DoF lever which is really light, smooth and very positive. Its built like a tank as well and I cant help thinking it shows some Nikon in its DNA, almost as if Canon decided ‘ok guys just do what Nikon are doing, cut the guff and just get it ‘right’.’

Thanks for the videos, especillay that sevond one which really does show that your F has the same thing as mine, that weird bump and crunch right at the end of the stroke. Its driving me mad but I guess I am going to have to learn to love it all over again.