New to me S2 - Squeak and a hood question

B

Benjamin Marks

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Nikon users:

my S2 and 50/1.4 arrived from Ritz. Pricey but pretty. Truth was, seeing Ed Schwartzreich's put the bee in my bonnet. Shutter sounds good and I will test it tonight with a tester. But I have two questions:

The focus is stiff, and the lens squeaks when rotated. It does rotate, but it does not have the buttery feel of my Contax. Sounds to me like it was cleaned with a solvent and then perhaps not really lubed again. For the premium, I paid I would expect issue-free mechanical operation. Ritz has a thirty-day return policy, but I thought I'd appeal to the collective knowledge base: how common is this, what easy fixes (I am not mechanically inclined)? If there are none, I will return to Ritz and ask them to address the problem. Just for the rolodex - who are the preferred Nikon S-techs out there? Is there a Don Goldberg of the Nikon world (for all I know, Don Goldberg is the Don Goldberg of the Nikon world)?

Second, dumber question: hood size? Are folks out there using a heavystar hood for this?

TIA

Ben
 
The focus shouldn't be stiff, but a little squeaking is not unusual (incl. my brand-new S3 2000).

Pete Smith of Fotocamera Repair (nikonsmith(at)aol.com) is close to being the DAG of Nikon.

Hood/filter size for your lens is 43mm. The heavystar hoods are fine, just like the old Walz/Hoya/Kenko's.

Benjamin Marks said:
Nikon users:

my S2 and 50/1.4 arrived from Ritz. Pricey but pretty. Truth was, seeing Ed Schwartzreich's put the bee in my bonnet. Shutter sounds good and I will test it tonight with a tester. But I have two questions:

The focus is stiff, and the lens squeaks when rotated. It does rotate, but it does not have the buttery feel of my Contax. Sounds to me like it was cleaned with a solvent and then perhaps not really lubed again. For the premium, I paid I would expect issue-free mechanical operation. Ritz has a thirty-day return policy, but I thought I'd appeal to the collective knowledge base: how common is this, what easy fixes (I am not mechanically inclined)? If there are none, I will return to Ritz and ask them to address the problem. Just for the rolodex - who are the preferred Nikon S-techs out there? Is there a Don Goldberg of the Nikon world (for all I know, Don Goldberg is the Don Goldberg of the Nikon world)?

Second, dumber question: hood size? Are folks out there using a heavystar hood for this?

TIA

Ben
Click to expand...
 
It should be smooth.

Nikons, to my knowledge, don't use lubrication. I have used a TINY, TINY, TINY amount of graphite (the powder to loosen metal locks) very CAREFULLY applied to either end of the helical while the shutter is held open with the T setting. I have no idea if that's "approved" or not, but it worked in my case. Brian Sweeney, who also visits this forum, has taken apart a Nikon RF and cleaned the helical by soaking it in gasoline (which should be done quite cautiously because of explosive vapors).

The thing has probably been sitting unused for 35 or 40 years. You might try taking it out on a warm day and giving it plenty of use. That might clear up the squeak.
 
On the hood question, the classic 5cm Nikkor 1.4 should really be used with a hood to avoid flare. I prefer a very small collapsible rubber one just to keep the whole package small when shooting.
 
The original Nikon SP manual suggests cleaning the helical by soaking in Gasoline. I was hesitant about this, figuring it was a 50 year old piece. I asked a Mechanical Engineer at work about this, and he told me to go ahead and use the gasoline, that the gasoline penetrates the metal and acts as a lubricant.

The webmaster of the Nikon Historical Society apparently did not like me quoting from the original Nikon SP repair manual.

Nikonhs.org Post was removed.

I did this procedure outdoors, away from anything flammable. The S2 is quite smooth now, no squeeks. I also continue to use gasoline in my car, lawn mower, and backup generator.
 
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Ritz Collectibles is a very reputable place, I think they would be glad to service it for you. Its worth asking.
The point is that a place like Ritz caters mostly to the real hard core collectors who would never use the thing so they wouldn't care if it did squeaked or not.
Imagine anything Mechanical that hasn't been used for 40 years.
Kiu
 
I thought the Nikon Historical Society was kind of cheeky in their handling of the gasoline suggestion. God forbid anyone keep a can of gasoline in the garage for their lawnmowers/hedge trimmers/weed eaters/chainsaws/kids' toy airplane/family car.

In fact, that gasoline stuff is so dangerous, people fight wars over it!
 
Thanks to all for your helpful suggestions. I think I try the professionals at Ritz first before trying the gas or graphite fix. Had hoped to shoot with the thing this weekend . . .

Again, many thanks,

Ben
 
Kiu is absolutely right (on both counts). Ritz agreed to have their tech look at it, but I told them I would run a roll or two through the camera this weekend. Everybody's happy. Now to find a hood . . .

Ben
 
B+W makes a nifty hood I've always been fond of ... it's a skylight filter with a small collapsible rubber hood attached to the filter ring. Seems like it sells in the Nikkor's 43mm size for around $25. Perfect size for 50mm lens, barely visible in corner of the viewfinder and almost disappears when collapsed around the filter.
 
NicolasD said:
I have one - originally designed for the Canonet and sold with a special push-on ring. The ebay seller "member446885" had many of them for sale.
Nice indeed but it offers an average shading of the 50mm front element.

The best deal is the standard 43mm hood from heavystar. Not vented, thus cheaper, but longer, thus better protecting the lens front glass from oblique light. The Nikon S2 viewfinder is well designed enough in that a vented hood isn't absolutely that necessary. You will see the hood intrude into the composing frame, but just a tiny bit, and the vented hood isn't of a big advantage there.

Go for this one Benjamin, you won't regret :

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Metal-43mm-Standard-Screw-in-Lens-Hood-for-Nikon-S_W0QQitemZ7609530429

Happy shooting with your S2 !
Click to expand...

Bought it.
 
Ben,

Glad you made the jump to an S2 - you won't regret it.

I routinely use DeoxIT electrical contact cleaner to get out old, dried lubricant or other stuck-on debris in lens and focus helicals. Then if necessary, I put in a minute amount of the proper lubricant. Let me know if you want to try this -- I can bring it to you.

Ed
 
What lubricant do you use? I used light oil ONCE, it was miserable and I had to flood clean it. That is when I went to the original repair manual which states not to use a lubricant. Graphite (very minute, like Vince did) was suggested. The soak-in-gas method in the original manual produced the smoothest operation of my Nikon RF's. I've also flood cleaned with Ronsonol, setting the shutter to "T" and applying from the back. That worked on the helicals that were "uneven".
 
Usually the DeoxIT itself does the trick, probably acting like gasoline, cleaning things up and also dissolving whatever lubricant might be there so just a thin layer is left. Graphite o/w sounds reasonable. I might try a very light oil, put on very sparingly with a toothpick and spread out with more DeoxIT.

For lens helicals (not the S2 helical) I have some appropriate grease, gotten from Steve Grimes years ago. A little goes a long way.
 
Be VERY VERY careful putting libricants on any Nikon helix. I learned the hard way long ago that it will turn wonderfully for a week or so, then gum up badly. If memory serves correctly, the few parts of Nikons that were lubed used DOLPHIN oil, which is not exactly easy to find.

Gummed up parts are not due to a lack of lubricant but to too much yucky stuff accumulating over the ages. Adding lubricant adds more goo into the mix, when what's needed is a flushing. Things like Ronsonal (how explosive must THAT be?) make me happy, because I can usually see the black grime washing away (I've done this with lens helicals, not camera helicals).

Also ... the Nikon mount is a little fragile when given a hard blow. There are teeth and gears involved and a couple of geared wheels connected to the focusing wheel. A blow or drop can get one of these out of sync, which in turn can lead to a squeak from the gear train rather than the lens helical itself.
 
I will look that up. It really is smooth. The finder is terrific as well; Nicolas did some repair on a separated prism. This SP is one of the last 150 or so made.
 
Now y'all tell me about the perfect hood fo the Nikkor S-C 50/1.4. I just bought the 43mm ventilated hood from heavystar last week. :bang:

:D

PS: Back when we were waiting for electricity to be invented so we could watch TV, gasoline had lead in it. The lead lubricated certain parts like valve stems. Today's gasoline is lead free. Just a hunch, but the gasoline may not lubricate the helical like it used to.
 
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If the helical squeaks and is somewhat difficult to move the rest of the camera needs to be serviced also in all probablilty.

My recent S2 acquisition not only had a gummed up helix from long term storage, but the film advance lever was slow to return and the rewind had a lot of funk underneath it.

Again after a CLA by Pete Smith it focuses very smooth, advance lever returns properly, everything was cleaned and adjusted properly (rangefinder was off slightly)....Pete even buffed the top of the rewind to give it an as new luster.

For not a lot of money I have a properly lubed, cleaned and adjusted camera that will function properly for many years to come.

Although I have always repaired my own autos, appliances and the like....one thing I'd rather let an expert tune up/repair....my cameras.
 
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