blumoon
Well-known
I got a Nikon FE2 recently. Everything seems to be working fine except for the depth-of-field lever. It will not move. Any suggestions to fix it or am I just doing something wrong.
Nikon FE2 depth-of-field preview lever problem
- Thread starter blumoon
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blumoon
Well-known
The piece inside that controls the aperture moves when I push it, but the lever is stuck.
How can I fix it??
How can I fix it??
Highway 61
Revisited
Do the lens aperture blades close when you fire the shutter ? Set the speeds selector on the slowest speed (8s), the aperture to f/16 (or f/22 if your lens goes until f/22), and look at the inside of the lens when you fire the shutter. The diaphragm must close fully and its shape must remain steady all time long when the shutter is open.
The DOF lever just manually controls the auto-aperture dot inside the mirror chamber. A stuck DOF lever may tell a stuck auto-aperture device or a stuck mirror-instant-return device. Does the mirror flips up and seats back properly with no squeak and no delay when you fire the shutter ? How is the mirror foam strip ? If it has deteriorated into the usual black goo, some goo particles may have found their way to some parts of the mirror vicinity now having got stuck.
If something is stuck, you cannot fix it yourself. A tech must get access to the mirror chamber cams to look at what is going wrong there, and to clean everything.
The DOF lever just manually controls the auto-aperture dot inside the mirror chamber. A stuck DOF lever may tell a stuck auto-aperture device or a stuck mirror-instant-return device. Does the mirror flips up and seats back properly with no squeak and no delay when you fire the shutter ? How is the mirror foam strip ? If it has deteriorated into the usual black goo, some goo particles may have found their way to some parts of the mirror vicinity now having got stuck.
If something is stuck, you cannot fix it yourself. A tech must get access to the mirror chamber cams to look at what is going wrong there, and to clean everything.
blumoon
Well-known
The aperture blades close properly.
The mirror flips up and seats properly. No squeak or delay.
Camera has brand new mirror foam. Mirror is clean.
It seems everything works, but the depth-of-field lever will not move.
The mirror flips up and seats properly. No squeak or delay.
Camera has brand new mirror foam. Mirror is clean.
It seems everything works, but the depth-of-field lever will not move.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Dumb question, but does one need to push in the button before sliding the lever? Or is that just for mirror lock up? Long time since I've had one of these in my hands.
Highway 61
Revisited
No mirror lock-up on the FE2 and the DOF lever just slides towards the front cover of the camera (the operator slides the lever towards his face when looking through the VF).
sepiareverb
genius and moron
That's right. Does sound like some internal woe.
blumoon
Well-known
blumoon
Well-known
I do have a tool that would unscrew the lever, but I'm afraid something inside would drop into the camera, and not sure if that would help me fix the problem.
The camera would still work without the depth-of-field lever working??
The camera would still work without the depth-of-field lever working??
Highway 61
Revisited
Given what the photo shows, I would suspect corrosion and congealed grime around the lever shaft, behind the lever.
I would try to apply a tiny drop of penetrating oil behind the lever with a syringe then moderate heat with an hairdryer just around the lever to see if it budges a bit.
I would also say that the lever screw may show some evidence of having been taken apart in the past (tool marrs around the two spanner holes). It's possible that something has been reassembled incorrectly at this point, or a spacer not put in back etc.
I would try to apply a tiny drop of penetrating oil behind the lever with a syringe then moderate heat with an hairdryer just around the lever to see if it budges a bit.
I would also say that the lever screw may show some evidence of having been taken apart in the past (tool marrs around the two spanner holes). It's possible that something has been reassembled incorrectly at this point, or a spacer not put in back etc.
blumoon
Well-known
I'd already tried that, but did try the hairdryer again.
Still stuck.
Thanks for your suggestions
Highway 61
Revisited
I would remove the lever screw and see what shows underneath. The (probably square) link between the lever and the shaft has probably got uncoupled. Should be a five minutes fix.
blumoon
Well-known
I removed the screw and took the lever and round washer off.
I tried drops of WD-40, Break-Free, alcohol, lighter fluid, and vinegar so far, but it wont move.
Letting a drop of Break-Free soak in and will try it again later.
