Nikon F2 Shutter "twang"

[Kumachrome]

Hello,

I recently picked up a pretty nicely working Nikon F2. There's 2 minor issues:
1. Shutter speeds all sound accurate except 1/4th. That sounds strange that that would be the only slow speed to be off. (It sounds like 1/30 or 1/60)

2. Every time the shutter is released, the camera fires like normal, but there's a metallic "twang" sound following it. I've noticed this on a previous Nikon F2 I've had in the past.

Any idea what the issue could be? Aside from sending it off to be CLA'd, is there anything I could do to fix the issue?

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I had a Nikon FM that had a metallic ring to the shutter at all speeds but never an F2. Completely different animal, the FM is. I'd say the only thing you could do yourself is to look for film chips around the shutter gate. Inspect it when the back is off the camera. Also, your noise might be coming from the mirror slapping down. Either way, I'd email Sover Wong, have him put you on the repair list and describe the problem to him. He can tell you if you should keep using the camera or just wait until he makes it new again. Aside from entering earth's atmosphere from orbit, or falling into a crucible of molten steel, I don't think there is much that will make an F2 stop working.

Phil Forrest

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

I don’t know enough about the Nikon F2 to offer any detailed suggestions. I will suggest though that I believe it has a mirror lock up, yes?

If you’re trying to diagnose shutter or mechanism issues of a single lens reflex that features a MLU, it is always worth locking the mirror up and checking for what if any difference there is compared to actuating the mechanism normally. In your case, if the sound in question disappears with the MLU engaged that is a pretty good clue that the noise is related either to the movement of the mirror itself, or its actuating mechanism.

If you need to pinpoint which of the curtains a sound may be related to, setting the speed to Bulb is worth a try. The curtains of most Japanese SLRs will run at the same velocity regardless of the speed selected, hence, any information gleaned may be applicable across the range. On the other hand Contax rangefinders and some European SLRs may not move their blinds as rapidly at slow speeds, or at Bulb, which may change the nature of any noises the mechanism does or doesn't make at those speeds.
Cheers
Brett

 

[jim_jm]

I have an F2 that makes that noise when the shutter fires at all speeds. Never been loud enough to be a problem, but I do notice it. It occurs when the mirror drops back down, not when the shutter closes. I have 3 other F2 bodies that don't do it. There was a thread about this on APUG recently where a few other folks mentioned it. One poster was so upset about it he gave up on F2's altogether. Big mistake, in my opinion - the F2 is one of my favorite cameras.

 

[Steve M.]

I had a Nikkormat EL that made that noise. It was annoying, so much so that I finally sold the camera. None of the other Nikkormat models I owned made that "ping". It was a very metallic sound, as you mentioned. When I asked some questions on another forum, someone else mentioned that their EL made that sound too. Not sure exactly what the sound was (pretty sure it was that stop down arm in the mirror chamber), but it didn't matter. In the end, the only way to get rid of that sound was to get rid of the EL. A pity because I really liked that camera, but it was nice to go back to a "regular" Nikkormat and enjoy hearing that beautiful sounding Copal shutter w/o the ping.

 

[richardHaw]

that's caused by a dessicated foam pad at the mirrorbox 😱😱😱 it has to be replaced 🙄

 

[Highway 61]

1. Abnormal 1/4s is usually caused by the slow speeds governor having got disaligned over time and/or grime around a peculiar slow speeds driving cam under the slow speeds governor (shutter crate).
Quite often 1/4 starts to work normally again if you set at 1/4 after having fired the shutter at 1s and 1/2s several times. But if you set at 1/4s after having fired the shutter at higher speeds, 1/4s will fire like 1/60s or something erratic between 1/60 and 1/15.
In any case there is some heavy taking apart work on an F2 to get access to those parts in order to clean and adjust them.

2. Mirror instant return echo noise. Like Brett and Richard wrote, first thing is to lock the mirror up to check whether the noise is still there when you fire the shutter with the mirror locked up and, in this case, replace the mirror box dampers.

The F2 shutter by itself is noisy anyway. Keep in mind it's an F shutter with much more tension added so that it reaches 1/2000.

 

[steveyork]

2. If by "twang" you mean a pinging or ringing sound, it may be a mirror damping issue. Easy fix. Foam replacement. Lots of people can fix Nikons. Some very inexpensively.

 

[Steve Bellayr]

Slight hum or whine normal.

 

[Kumachrome]

Hello all. Thanks for all the replies. As you have suggested, it is indeed the mirror. However, this F2 happens to have fresh mirror foam in it right now. I tested it by lifting the mirror up slowly and letting it go and noticed it still makes that twang. Oh well, it's no big deal. As for the 1/4 shutter speed being off, I'll see if just firing the shutter a few times will fix it. Thanks!

 

[richardHaw]

Hello all. Thanks for all the replies. As you have suggested, it is indeed the mirror. However, this F2 happens to have fresh mirror foam in it right now. I tested it by lifting the mirror up slowly and letting it go and noticed it still makes that twang. Oh well, it's no big deal. As for the 1/4 shutter speed being off, I'll see if just firing the shutter a few times will fix it. Thanks!

it's not the mirror damper but another damper inside the camera near the top-rear of the mirrorbox assembly 😱😱😱

 

[richardHaw]

there are 2 on both sides 🙄

i doubt that its made of foam, it looks more like some kind of soft silicone 😱😱😱

this is a known F2 issue and also affects the F somewhat to a lesser extent. these dampers are essential to silence and baffle the hinge (i suppose).

the 1/4s may be a specific issue, i am not F2 expert but this probably can be solved by moving the slow governor a bit forward. in my experience, if the retarder as a unit is bad then all speeds should be off. if its just one particular speed then it may be an adjustment or the lever may just be dirty.

again, not an F2 expert. just a mini-expert on the F 🙄 I plan on becoming an expert on the F/F2 by the time I retire, which is about 20 years or so 🙄