Nikon F prisms, what fits what?

[johannielscom]

Just received a nice black Nikon F in the mail. It has the FT Photomic prism mounted (seems original) but earlier I landed what I thought to be a black Nikon F prism for little money and that does not fit the F body.

On the prism: it is more matte in finish and definitely has different leatherette (less pebbled, more coarse).

According to the Head Bartenders page it should fit if the bodies' nameplate was removed. I tried and it still does not fit.

Trouble is: the prism dunks down into the body but for the last two-three millimeters (1/10th inch). Seems the notches on the prism are protruding too far from the prism to make it slide down all the way and its edges to hit the top deck completely. Also, the prism doesn't lock because of this.

Does this sound familiar to anybody? Is this a wrong type prism, or a known issue that can be remedied DIY?

EDIT: Anybody that can share what prisms fit what types of Nikon bodies, or not fit? I could not find any info on the forum about this so any story about do's or don'ts will someday help someone, I guess!

 

[_goodtimez]

That looks strange. I have a bunch of Fs and Prisms and all mine are interchangeable.
Post some pictures of these prisms please

Check this out:

http://www.destoutz.ch/nikon-f.html

 

[L. M. Tu]

Yes, do share some pictures of this prism finder. I thought all non-metered finders for the F fit on all F bodies.

 

[DNG]

Are the side springs deformed or blocking anything?
Is the locking pin spring still "Springy"? Or is it stuck -in the out position? (on the body)

 

[sanmich]

DE-1 on F is ok, but a bit difficult to install.

 

[johannielscom]

My prism appears to be a type 4, according to the above (very good!) website.

Noticable: the eyepiece on the type 4 has a part of the edge that is thicker and a thinner part (see pictures under the link, type 4). Mine has the thicker part at the down side while in all other pictures the thicker part is on the upside of the prisms.

I've contacted the prism's seller to inquire if it has been serviced recently, and maybe was assembled wrongly...

Sorry for the crappy iPhone photo from Facebook. I hope it shows the edge is thicker at the downside and thinner at the upside, making it bind on the body when installing...

 

[johannielscom]

The prism that came with the camera was a Photomic FT, and its eyepiece is a lot bigger, but it does sit the other way round, with the thicker edge on the upside!

 

[sanmich]

Johan, I remembered:

Make sure the flat area of the pins are horizontal. If they aren't, they won't engage the locking teeth on the camera.

 

[Bob W]

From your picture it does look like the eyepiece is upside down.

Bob W

 

[goros]

Have a look here http://www.destoutz.ch/nikon-f.html

Cheers

 

[Rob-F]

Have a look here http://www.destoutz.ch/nikon-f.html

Cheers

Once I fitted an F2 prism to an F body. I had to remove the "NIKON" nameplate from the camera, because the F2 prism already has the nameplate integral to the prism, so it wouldn't fit over the plate on the F. After removing the nameplate, the F2 prism went right on and was properly aligned.

 

[jim_jm]

Just compared both of my Type 3 finders to your photo and it seems clear that the eyepiece is installed upside-down. This may not be the sole cause of the fit issue, but I'd start with getting this fixed first. Good Luck!

 

[johannielscom]

That was it!

I stripped that new leatherette off, took the cap off the prism, rotated the eyepiece to the proper orientation and fixed it all back together.

Now, the finder slides down easily and levels out on the top deck. The locking hooks do not engage yet, but that is simply a new issue to fix, at least I got the finder where it's supposed to be now!

Thanks for that link to that Nikon site, it showed me what was wrong!

 

[johannielscom]

Additional info, on how to fit a non-metered finder to a Nikon F:

I peeled back the corners of the leatherette and slightly loosened the four screws you can find there. The whole prism and innards 'drop' a bit in the metal top of the finder. Once the hooks did engage the metal studs of the finder, I tightened them again (left a wee bit of play so the finder would come off and go back on easily) and refitted the leatherette with some glue.

No grinding of the studs or bending of the hooks necessary, the prism now fits like a glove.

 

[nikon_sam]

Those plain prisms do make the F look so compact...I had to bend up the hooks to get mine to release easier...my F came with the original flag Photomic finder...
I recently found a black FTn finder (with DL-1) but it won't fit my early F without modifying the camera body...it will mount on a F2 but will not couple with the shutter speed dial...

 

[nikon_sam]

Why...why in God's name did you post that photo...that is just mean...btw I'll take that last F back with the chrome trim...thanks...

 

[sevo]

Issues with bent clasps and finder pins bent to match them are not uncommon - it is much easier to fix that (body) flaw at the wrong (finder) side, as the finder pins are exposed, while you have to take apart the body for a proper repair.

 

[nikon_sam]

I have an early F body that could use a new (or non dented bottom) back door but then I would be too worried about getting it all messed up and besides the dent gives it character...
It's interesting that the plain prism can cost more than a metered one...
I thought that I read somewhere that Vivitar had a warehouse of parts that they just scrapped...

 

[kshapero]

Started out with an F with a broken Photomic metered prism. Found a meterless prism with a small dent on the top (shows in the finder but no big deal). Got lucky as the prism fit like a glove. I then Griptac'd the body. Sweet.

 

[former member]

The Nikon F bodies in the 64xxxxx and 65xxxxx range can not use the TTL meters without modification, but can use the Bullseye meters, prism finder, and eye-level finder. The body housing needs to be enlarged for the TTL meters. Factory mods were denoted with a Red Dot near the Serial Number. Bodies above SN 69xxxxx can use any of the finders. ABove 65xxxxx and below 6900000 cannot use the Ftn finder without modification. On the latter, the Nikon Nameplate needs to be changed.