Anyone ever heard of Nikon TeleTouch 300 AF?

[68degrees]

So there I was at the thrift shop. Instinctively I oriented myself toward the camera section and began to move in that direction. As I got closer I was filled with anticipation wondering if this would be the day I found the mother lode.

While still at some distance, my pace quickened as I began noticing several cameras of the right size and shape. What did I find? A Nikon, Tele Touch 300 AF 35mm. In the box with manual. The price was 2.99 so I rolled the dice and bought it.

A few minutes later and a new battery and I was ready to start taking test pictures. But wait.. the lens will not come out from its hiding spot.

I put film in it, fresh battery, went through the manual several times and cannot figure it out. When I slide open the lens cover it makes a sound and the lens starts to telescope out but only a mm or two at the most. Then the motor that moves the lens out starts slowing down and then stops.

Do you have any idea what is wrong with the camera? Cursory google searches turned up not much for me.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[MartinP]

The camera apparently has a dual-range 35mm and 55mm lens. If the lens was moving to it's 35mm position then hardly any movement would be required - so there may be no problem with it. Try it with 55mm selected, and also in the macro range, as these would need a bit more activity from the lens.

 

[68degrees]

The camera apparently has a dual-range 35mm and 55mm lens. If the lens was moving to it's 35mm position then hardly any movement would be required - so there may be no problem with it. Try it with 55mm selected, and also in the macro range, as these would need a bit more activity from the lens.

The motor makes a straining sound and then stops. The shutter will not fire. Its autofocus and it doesnt do anything. Its just not coming out. Man I really had my hopes up for this one. It would have been nice for the holidays inside , built in flash and focus. Any other ideas?

 

[farlymac]

Ah, the trials and tribulations of buying junk store P&S cameras. I've brought a few home that looked promising, but were junked. Could be it was dropped, or got wet, or there is something blocking an action. The little plastic gears can crack and jam up the works. Lubricant can sometimes dry up if the camera was stored in the vehicle. You've got power, so it's not a corroded battery thing. You may just have to open it up, and see if there is any internal damage.

PF

 

[68degrees]

Ah, the trials and tribulations of buying junk store P&S cameras. I've brought a few home that looked promising, but were junked. Could be it was dropped, or got wet, or there is something blocking an action. The little plastic gears can crack and jam up the works. Lubricant can sometimes dry up if the camera was stored in the vehicle. You've got power, so it's not a corroded battery thing. You may just have to open it up, and see if there is any internal damage.

PF

Ok I got it open and I see corrosion on a pivot lever. When I move the pivot lever and activate the switch that the cover activates when it opens the lens moves freely like it is supposed to. There is a spring on the pivot lever that doesnt seem to be doing anything. I think because the pivot lever is binding on account of the white powder corrosion that is around it.

That is consistent with what you said about moisture getting in there. You were spot on.

So i removed the pivot lever and cleaned it. Now Im going to put it back on and engage the spring as I remember it. I expect the pivot lever to swing freely against the spring tension and engage the sliding door (when I get that back on). Note: do not let your fingertip brush up against the massive capacitor. It literally straightened me out in my chair. thank God I did not have the other hand touching something to close the circuit. IT went right accross my fingertip and it is still throbbing.

 

[68degrees]

The Nikon Teletouch is officially fixed. It turned out to be corroded pivot lever.(thats my made up name for it). It was binding and the return spring was not able to do its job.(not sure what that job is though). I cleaned it, cleaned the bore. Put the spring back on half a turn and put it back together and it works properly now. Ive got film in it and shot a few shots. Its C41. I dont know how to do that at home yet so Ill take it to CVS. $2.12 for just the negatives, ready in an hour. Nice. So if you find one of these and the lens wont come out. Dont throw it away.

 

[farlymac]

Great to hear. Have fixed quite a few with little things like that wrong with them. And I've gotten burn marks from those caps. First thing I do now is short it out with a jumper. But it wouldn't have helped me on that one, because I had the battery hooked up to test the operations.

I found a Tele Touch with the 38/65mm lens a couple weeks ago, but couldn't get it to operate. Put it in the "To Do" pile for a nice snow day project.

PF

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Excellent! Congratulations. Now to see what kind of shooter it is.

 

[68degrees]

Excellent! Congratulations. Now to see what kind of shooter it is.

I put CVS drugstore color film in it. 24exp. Im hoping for nice sharp pics. I have no idea how it decides what speed and aperture to use, there aren't any manual controls.

Ill just get negatives and forget the prints. Then scan what if anything I like and post it here for analysis.

It does have a focus feature where you put what you want to focus in the middle area and then hold your finger half way down on the shutter, then you can recompose and shoot and it keeps the focus you set. My Minolta X-700 was like that. I liked that feature.

I know it reads the film speed off the film itself somehow. I think there is a bar code on it or something.

It automatically advances the film and then automatically rewinds it when all the frames are shot.

What should I expect from this little guy? My dad likes it too. Point and shoot.

It was made in 1989 from what I can find online. I have no idea what they cost new. Does anyone know??

 

[68degrees]

Nikon TeleTouch Results

Nikon TeleTouch Results

I got the negatives back from CVS. Held them up to the light and there were fingerprints all over them. So I did the best I could. Overall Im happy with the performance of this little shooter.

 

[68degrees]

Here's two more samples.

 

[farlymac]

Those are good results. I particularly like the one of the man in the sunset.

P&S cameras were originally designed for consumers who didn't want to learn about all the technical aspects of photography to be able to take photos. This was especially true about the 126 and 110 format cameras, as you didn't even have to struggle to load the film. But eventually folks started asking for more features, mostly people who already had a good understanding of photography, and already used cameras with manual controls. It's nice to have an inexpensive camera that you can take everywhere, but still have the ability to change parameters when neccessary. This of course drove up the prices on these higher end models. I myself would never have paid the new price on a lot of them when they first came out.

There are a lot of good P&S models with user selectable features on the used market today that go begging, and some that have such a cult following they are hard to find at any price. The main thing is, you can go to the thrift and charity shops, and find good cameras everyday. And this time of year when people are giving new digitals as gifts, the film cameras start coming out of the drawers and cabinets they've been banished to, and are dropped off at the Goodwill, and Salvation Army stores.

PF