What lubricant to use for the lens on my Nikon S2?

[kid_a]

Hey all,

The 5cm f1,4 lens on my Nikon S2 rubs a bit when I turn it to focus. It's just the sound of metal on metal, slightly rubbing. Doesn't affect focus, but I'm sure it could be quieter and smoother, which would be nice.

Should I use a lubricant to smooth it out? Is there a "DIY" fix to this? Or is it better to send it in for a CLA from a qualified technician?

Cheers,

Dylan

 

[ruby.monkey]

It's not the lens. How do you feel about cleaning & relubing the in-body focussing mechanism?

 

[kid_a]

It's not the lens. How do you feel about cleaning & relubing the in-body focussing mechanism?

Really? It really just seems like the lens, because on the Nikon the entire lens turns for focussing.. and I can feel the little vibrations when it's making the noises, like it's just a bit worn out.

I'm assuming you're telling me a CLA is best 😱 Hope not.

 

[ruby.monkey]

The 50mm f/1.4 doesn't have a focussing helical. Other than the aperture assembly, it contains no moving parts. All the interesting moving bits are in the body.

 

[kid_a]

It really seems like the rubbing is happening right along the edge where the lens meets the body though. Like the edge of the lens is rubbing against the inside of the lens mount on the body.

 

[ruby.monkey]

But the lens is stationary with respect to the lens mount unless you're mounting or dismounting it, and comes nowhere near the body itself. Are you talking about the rotating part with the lens catch and DOF scale on it?

(I don't think there's an external-mount 50mm f/1.4 lens in S-mount)

 

[kid_a]

But the lens is stationary with respect to the lens mount unless you're mounting or dismounting it, and comes nowhere near the body itself. Are you talking about the rotating part with the lens catch and DOF scale on it?

(I don't think there's an external-mount 50mm f/1.4 lens in S-mount)

I think I am talking about that rotating part. I don't have the camera on me, I can make sure when I get home. Lately I've been ignoring it in favor of my Bessa.

Thanks for the help, I'll check back in when I have the camera here to look at.

 

[micromontenegro]

The monkey is right: your noise comes from the body helical. Happens a lot on Nikon RFs. Bothersome, but normally harmless.

 

[xayraa33]

was not gasoline used to clean and lube the built in helical in the Nikon RF camera in the old days?

the method and the safety aspect of using gasoline in this manner should be learnt first of all.

maybe Fred can chime in on this.

No or less lube is the rule of thumb on Nikon RF cameras is what I always hear about from Nikon RF camera hands.

 

[historicist]

Petrol (or more practically oils like WD 40) is great for cleaning things, it's like a solvent. When I was working in a bike shop we used to use petrol all the time to clean bike parts, but I wouldn't go ahead and douse your S2 in diesel before someone can say if it is appropriate or not.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The original Nikon repair manual instructs you to remove the mount and helical from the camera and use gasoline to clean it. Grime builds up in it. I've used that technique with care, and it works. I ran it by a Mechanical Engineer at work before doing this. I did the soaking outside with a little bit of gasoline. The Helical is now very smooth on this Nikon S2. I would not do this without the repair manual handy.

I also found that setting the shutter to "T" and using some solvent in the back of the helical such as 99% Isopropyl Alchohol can get rid of the build-up.

Unless you are comfortable taking apart fairly valuable cameras, a professional CLA is best.

 

[NIKON KIU]

Really? It really just seems like the lens, because on the Nikon the entire lens turns for focussing.. and I can feel the little vibrations when it's making the noises, like it's just a bit worn out.

I'm assuming you're telling me a CLA is best 😱 Hope not.

Yes the poor camera needs a CLA, it's been out there over 50 years you know.

As Monkey mentions, there is no external mount Nikkor-S 5cm f1.4, that happens when you move up to a 1.1 🙂
What you are hearing is the focus mechanism within the body of the camera, it is mush worse when one uses the lens for focusing, using the focus wheel makes less noise and is more elegant, takes getting used-to though.

There are many threads within the Nikon forum explaining how to do this(DIY cleaning of the focus helical) just have to find them, some are pretty old.


Kiu