The "S" has landed - needs some help

C

ch1

Guest
The Nikon S I bought on eBay not expecting to win has now arrived. I only had a few moments this AM to look it over before leaving for the office.

The good news: 1) RF patch is bright and focuses smootly. 2) The glass on the 5.0cm/1.4 Nikkor lens is clear and there doesn't appear to be any fungus etc.

The bad news: The focus gear lock is not working properly. If you release it from infinity it quickly locks back up. Guess there is a broken spring? You can hold the little "nib" next to the lens over to the unlocked side and manually focus the lens - so the camera is "usable" per se - at least to have been able to check the RF.

Also, apparently there is film in the camera as the rewind knob "advances" when you move the film advance knob forward. Will have to either shoot our the roll (or more likely just rewind it) before I can remove the back and check shutter curtain for light leaks etc.

All in all, I think it's worth an overhaul. Leatherette is in fairly good condition and no major corrosion on the chrome.

Any recommendations for CLA welcome.
 
If you pish the release lever near the wheel, and do not turn the wheel off of infinity, it should lock right back up. There is a little hole in the helical that the paw engages into. Ince off of infinity, ir rides the helical. Once off of infinity, it should focus without being held down.
 
Brian,

Yes, that's what I tried this morning when I got it. I moved the lever and was able to come off of infinity. Lens turned about a fifth of the way around and then locked back up. After that, pushing the lever didn't "work". Then, I moved that "nib" over and could turn lens ring.

I am wondering if the focusing gear is stripped (hope ont) or if there is just a bad or missing spring that should "engage" when you move the lock off of infinity?

Like I said, I only had a few minutes with it before having to head off to work.

I won't get a chance to check anymore until Sunday night - but even if the focusing gear was working I figure it needs an overhaul.


Oh one other thing. Former owner (user) was a smoker and darned thing smells hopefully a CLA will reduce or eliminate the tobacco odor?
 
It is probably just gummed up. A good CLA should fix it up.

When you turn the lens by hand, does the focus wheel turn with it? If so, the gears are probably Okay.
 
Make sure you check the slow speeds -- the Nikon rangefinders seem to be notorious for having issues with the slow speeds. Also, check that the shutter releases when you press the release.

I've seen two cameras with both of these problems. Not a big deal, although it required a thorough cleaning to get it functioning correctly.

If you recall, I have a nice Nikon S that was apart for about two years.

I got some film back that I shot a couple of weeks ago and was very impressed with the f/2.0 Nikkor lens.

EDIT: New stuff below

As soon as you rotate the lens from infinity, it shouldn't lock, because the lock should now be disengaged.
 
I think he is saying that it wants to lock up when it not set on infinity. Admittedly I have not been into a Nikon S, but it must be a different mechanism than a Contax where the lever engages a hole in the actual helical itself.

Does it somehow lock the gears translating the helical rotation to the rangefinder?
 
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