Concerned about the mechanism for mounting and unmounting lens

[Nuts for Nikon]

Hi all, hope someone can help. I am looking for close-up, detailed photos of the mounting mechanism for the lens to body, specifically the positioning of the spring-release gizmo. In the photos, if you zoom in, you can see that perhaps both the lens tab and the mount spring gizmo, seem to be out of synch. The security of the connection is dodgy and it is very easy to inadvertently rotate the lens out of the notch and have the lens fall off. I'm sure this was not Nikon's intention. Can someone confirm the two parts have/have not been fiddled with, and are positioned as intended at the factory? Thanks in advance for your help, David

 

[dexdog]

The spring latch on your camera looks pretty much the same as the one on my Nikon SP. The tab on the lens is definately bent/damaged; it should be pretty much perpendicular to the lens barrel. Not sure how the bent tab can be corrected, it is hard metal and might break off easily. I am sure someone who knows more than I do will check in.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The tab on the lens is bent, and as @dexdog stated- bending it back might break it.

How often to you change lenses on the camera? If not often- You might try building up the underside of the Tab using some metal tape.

 

[NIKON KIU]

The lens tab is bent, if it was straight, it wouldn’t slip out as you describe.
Be careful trying to straighten it, it may break. It looks fragile.

Kiu

 

[peterm1]

The locking arm has clearly been damaged / bent. Here is a photo of my 50mm f1.4 Nikkor. Likewise, the lower flange arm which is just visible in the picture. Most likely yours has been dropped at some stage I would think - the component is much more tiny and lightly built than it appears in your photo or mine. It may be possible to bend it back into its correct orientation but I believe this is chromed brass and there is a chance - maybe a strong chance, that it will fracture when doing so. This depends on whether the metal has been fatigued (developed micro crystalline structures and stress fractures) by its impact. A technician may be your best bet if you are risk averse. I am not sure of the construction of this lens but disassembly first might be safer - hence the suggestion to consider a technician. Having said this if you have sharp eyes, deft fingers and a willingness to risk it, a pair of small pointy nose pliers to bend it back into correct alignment may work, or even a screw driver to lever it GENTLY into its correct shape and alignment- i.e. it should stick straight out from the side of the camera - no bend as can be seen in my pic. below.

EDIT: An alternate theory as to its cause could be that some damn fool has deliberately bent it to this shape. These little catches can be an absolute bugger to disengage from the spring on the camera in some instances. I have had to struggle in the past with getting one off an adapter for a Nikon to M4/3 system I had (the adapter was of poor quality). You never know someone might have decided that bending it upwards so it only just engages was the way to go. In any event this does not change matters. (Incidentally I understand what you mean, but to avoid confusion as to terminology I refer to it as an "upwards" bend as the bend is "upwards" towards the front of the lens not downwards as appears in your picture which of course is in a different orientation so it looks to be downwards relative to the orientation of the photo.)

 

[peterm1]

This alternate micro view from a different angle shows you how it should look in profile. Has yours also had an indent filed along its edge? I cannot be sure from your pic. If so this looks like a "bodged" attempt to restyle this catch so it will engage better with the locking spring while still bent in this manner. Not sure!

This may help:

"How to bend brass without cracking?
Ensure your forming tools have smooth surfaces and are designed appropriately for working with brass. Also, using a suitable lubricant during forming can help reduce friction and prevent cracking. Also, avoid applying excessive force. Instead, use a gradual, progressive forming approach."

Even so (assuming this tab is chromed brass) annealing the tab before bending could be safer than just bending it and hoping for the best (Again dictating the need to disassemble and remove the part first). But if I were to try it myself without disassembly, I would follow the advice about being ultra gentle and progressive. I would also bear in mind that if it's going to break, the place where it will almost certainly do so is the V notch shown in my photo below and this happens to also be where yours is bent!

 

[Nuts for Nikon]

Thanks to all who responded to my query, I appreciate your insights. I too think someone was modifying the tab. I may get adventurous and try to bend it back a little. The only other lens I have is a Zeiss Biogon 21mm/4.5 which gets limited use since I don't have a finder for it and am always botching the composition, so wide... lol so I might try to do a fix that doesn't wreck things further but will give a safer lock. It's fun to use but I recently got an F2S and liking it even better for vintage film work, so may just retire the S2.

 

[peterm1]

Thanks to all who responded to my query, I appreciate your insights. I too think someone was modifying the tab. I may get adventurous and try to bend it back a little. The only other lens I have is a Zeiss Biogon 21mm/4.5 which gets limited use since I don't have a finder for it and am always botching the composition, so wide... lol so I might try to do a fix that doesn't wreck things further but will give a safer lock. It's fun to use but I recently got an F2S and liking it even better for vintage film work, so may just retire the S2.

An afterthought...................it might be safer to first try to epoxy a tiny piece of metal (brass, copper - it does not matter too much) underneath the tab while it is still in its same bent position. This avoids the possibility of breaking it although it may not be a permanent fix. You will need a tiny clamp to hold it in position while it is curing -I would use something like a surgeon's hemostat (locking clamp) which can be found cheaply on eBay to hold it while the glue sets. As to the material used, I would use a small piece of brass plate (but leave it a bit oversized) and the strongest 24 hour epoxy (these tend to be the strongest) you can find, then let it cure for a couple of days before filing it to the exact shape and size needed to engage properly with the catch on the camera lens mount. This way if the joint fails you can always fall back to bending the tab.

 

[Nuts for Nikon]

An afterthought...................it might be safer to first try to epoxy a tiny piece of metal (brass, copper - it does not matter too much) underneath the tab while it is still in its same bent position. This avoids the possibility of breaking it although it may not be a permanent fix. You will need a tiny clamp to hold it in position while it is curing -I would use something like a surgeon's hemostat (locking clamp) which can be found cheaply on eBay to hold it while the glue sets. As to the material used, I would use a small piece of brass plate (but leave it a bit oversized) and the strongest 24 hour epoxy (these tend to be the strongest) you can find, then let it cure for a couple of days before filing it to the exact shape and size needed to engage properly with the catch on the camera lens mount. This way if the joint fails you can always fall back to bending the tab.

Thanks for that fix, I tried a bit of bending and also bent the spring gizmo to engage better, more of a permanent move as I don't use the biogon much at all as can never tell what I'm getting and film is $$$$ for mucking about like that. I will probably just use the 50 for portraits in controlled setting vs bouncing around on neck and risking its inadvertently popping off.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

That is good news! I bought the Light Lens Lab viewfinder for my 21mm lens.

There are some very inexpensive aux finders out there, random Ebay example:

21/24/28/35mm Optical Side Axis Replace Viewfinder For Ricoh GR Leica X Camera B | eBay

Replace the old, broken or non-working optical side axis viewfinder. 1 x Optical Side Axis Viewfinder. Due to the light and screen difference, the item's color may be slightly different from the pictures.

www.ebay.com

I've not tried one.

 

[Nuts for Nikon]

That is good news! I bought the Light Lens Lab viewfinder for my 21mm lens.

There are some very inexpensive aux finders out there, random Ebay example:

21/24/28/35mm Optical Side Axis Replace Viewfinder For Ricoh GR Leica X Camera B | eBay

Replace the old, broken or non-working optical side axis viewfinder. 1 x Optical Side Axis Viewfinder. Due to the light and screen difference, the item's color may be slightly different from the pictures.

www.ebay.com

I've not tried one.

Thanks for the tip Brian, price is sure right... hate to spend 200 on something you would seldom use.