NIKON F3 hiss?

nobbylon

nobbylon

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A bit of advice please? I just got my new to me F3. I haven't used one for 20 yrs. On longer exposure times there is a very slight hissing noise during exposure. Is this normal? Thanks. The condition is superb, no brassing or scratches, hardly looks used. I'm really pleased with this ebay purchase. The exposure counter is stuck at 40 and I've tried to get the pin to pop out but no joy so just going to use it as is. All times work fine in man and auto so happy it wasn't stuck at 0 -2!
 
PKR said:
Why don't you get it cleaned and lubed. It's likely been sitting unused. I have several F3s and none make unusual noises. The counter is likely stuck and will clear with cleaning.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to get it serviced as it works fine apart from the counter and the service would probably cost more than I gave for it:D
I did the seals and mirror foam this morning and it's sat in my bag as I type this in the crew centre. I'm out for 4 days so will give it a roll or two and see how it goes.
 
nobbylon, I would not have called it a "hissing" noise, but yes, when I had my F3, I also noticed that it made some sound during the longer exposures. I was a bit surprised, because there is no technical "need" for such a sound - and the lesser, but capable in its own right FG-20 did not make such a sound.
To me it almost sounded as if it was on purpose, mimicking the sound of a slow speed escapement, just much quieter. With so many F3 fans here on RFF, I am sure someone can shed light on this.

Greetings,
Ljós
 
PKR said:
Why don't you get it cleaned and lubed. It's likely been sitting unused. I have several F3s and none make unusual noises. The counter is likely stuck and will clear with cleaning.
Click to expand...

A cla on an F3 will cost more than the camera.
 
don't know about Nikons, but one of my two Canons started to make a hissing sound after it became quite old: it appeared to be the leaking of an electrolitic capacitor.
 
Thanks guys, now to take some pics!!! Has anyone ever taken the right hand side top plate off to sort the offending pin out for the frame counter? i just cant budge it. It does look like it's been sat for a while and looks like a steel pin so maybe just the slightest surface corrosion against the alloy chassis has stuck it? No biggy as everything else seems spot on. thanks all for checking, j
 
I'm with PKR. Get it serviced. The servicing may be more than you paid for it, but that's a poor rationale. If you are going to use it, you want to make sure that it's going to perform properly and reliably, and not ruin a once-in-a-century shot because it decided to give out at a critical moment.

As for the hissing, it's probably the slow-speed mechanical shutter timer working. My Pentax mechanical SLRs do the same thing at slower than sync speed. It's perfectly normal.
 
nobbylon said:
A bit of advice please? I just got my new to me F3. I haven't used one for 20 yrs. On longer exposure times there is a very slight hissing noise during exposure. Is this normal? Thanks. The condition is superb, no brassing or scratches, hardly looks used. I'm really pleased with this ebay purchase. The exposure counter is stuck at 40 and I've tried to get the pin to pop out but no joy so just going to use it as is. All times work fine in man and auto so happy it wasn't stuck at 0 -2!
Click to expand...

Have you checked the mirror compartment for snakes?
 
I came over a website, that provides free downloadable service and repair manuals for a 5,- USD monthly fee or sharing a not yet available manual against a download.

I did not check the terms and conditions yet, but there were two Nikon F3 service manuals available.
You might be interested, in this, to find a way, to fix that stuck frame counter by yourself.

If I would not have had forgotten the site name, I would share it and ask, if anybody already has experience with the site. :-(
 
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