Nikon FE Shutter

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zacharyhope

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Hello everyone

I recently bought a Nikon FE in quite good condition for a low price because the shutter was not working properly.

What happens is: when I wind on the second curtain comes down but doesn't seem to latch so it rises again to leave an opening, which would expose the film.

I have read a lot about the FE on different sites and people have said that the batteries need to be good for the electronic speeds to work.
The second issue is that if I wind on and then let the lever go back slowly then the mechanical settings lock up. However, if I let the lever flick back quickly this doesn't happen.
The shutter still opens after winding on though.

If anyone has any advice about this please let me know. Anyhting would be helpful.

Thanks
 
"mechanical settings lock up" - what does this mean?

The FE has an electronically controlled shutter - so electrical issues are the common problem with the FE. Firstly, really make sure the batteries are okay - they should be fresh, the correct orientation, and screwed into the chamber properly. Is the battery check light operating? If not, current isn't getting into the body correctly.

There could also be bad contacts in the chamber, causing the current to not get to the body. Check that there is no dirt/rust in the chamber.

However, the second shutter blind thing sounds like more of a mechanical fault unfortunately - it probably (probably! not for certain) needs to be opened up and the blind mechanism put back into place properly. Miles Whitehead, a well-known repairman to this forum, should CLA (clean, lube, adjust) a Nikon FE for about £40-50.
 
freecom2 said:
" Miles Whitehead, a well-known repairman to this forum, should CLA (clean, lube, adjust) a Nikon FE for about £40-50.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear of your issues with the FE....very frustrating but if repairs are needed then without doubt Miles will come up trumps for you.

I've had a few repairs/CLAs recently on all sorts of gear inc an FE and his work is spot on.
 
Thanks for the reply about Miles Whitehead.

The mechanical settings are Bulb and M90 and when fired after not winding on in a particular way they lock the mirror in the up position and the only way to unlock it is to put it on an electronic speed; 8sec is closest to M90 on the dial and turning to this speed allows the mirror to come back down.
 
I have sent Miles and email so hopefully will hear from him soon.

Another minor thing that I have just noticed is that the self timer lever is from an FE2 not and FE! Does anyone know where I can pick one up without having to pay an extortionate amount from ebay?

Thanks for the help
 
zacharyhope said:
Thanks for the reply about Miles Whitehead.

The mechanical settings are Bulb and M90 and when fired after not winding on in a particular way they lock the mirror in the up position and the only way to unlock it is to put it on an electronic speed; 8sec is closest to M90 on the dial and turning to this speed allows the mirror to come back down.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert but it is sounding more and more like a repair job I'm afraid.

zacharyhope said:
I have sent Miles and email so hopefully will hear from him soon.

Another minor thing that I have just noticed is that the self timer lever is from an FE2 not and FE! Does anyone know where I can pick one up without having to pay an extortionate amount from ebay?

Thanks for the help
Click to expand...

Strange it has a lever from an FE2....ever get the feeling this body has been frankensteined by a previous owner?!

Doubt you'll pick up a lever without purchasing an FE body for spares.
Perhaps Miles has one knocking about that he'll swap over for you...worth asking if you send the camera in to him.
 
That's bizarre - usually, you put the camera in bulb/M90 to bring the locked mirror back down, because those are the speeds where the camera will always fire the shutter, raise the mirror and lower the mirror, regardless of battery status.

With that information, and the info on the self timer lever, it's almost certainly a body that has been taken apart and put back together badly. That would explain the shutter curtains and the irregular shutter speed selection (basically, I'm guessing the shutter speed selector hasn't been put back on with the speeds in the right place - so you think you are selecting 8 seconds, but you are actually selecting M90 etc.).

If it was an eBay purchase, and it wasn't as described, I'd send it back ASAP - but judging from your OP, the only way to salvage this would be to send it off to a repairman I think.
 
It wasn't from ebay and it wasn't expensive either so i wasn't expecting much. The speed dial is in the right position for the speeds because if I wind on in a particular way I can get the B and M90 speeds to fire properly.

I am not going to take this one apart after what happened to my ME Super (I don't even want to look at it)!
I will hopefully have some success with a camera repair man, I live in Kent so Miles Whitehead can't be too far.
 
Another recommendation for Miles, he's been great on everything I've sent to him. Only problem is that he's so good that he's usually quite busy so it might be a few weeks before you could get your camera back.
 
I may be able to suggest what is causing your winder fly back symptoms, as my FE exhibited the same behaviour. I was given a Nikon F301 and some lenses. I quite like the 301 but it seems a bit fragile and is noisy with the auto winder, so influenced by all the "tough as old boots" recommendations for the FE, I bought a cheap one described as "rough looking but functional" to use with the lenses.

Sure enough, it worked OK as long as I let the winder fly back quickly. If I let it return slowly by holding it with thumb pressure, then the meter didn't turn on and the shutter would fire but leave the mirror up. Turning to M90 would bring the mirror down again. Basically I had to wiggle the lever around the stand off position until I could see that the meter was activated to ensure a successful shot. After a few weeks of working like this, it died; the meter would never turn on and the shutter behaved as described above.

Newton Ellis wanted £110 to look at it which I certainly wasn't going to pay so I opened it up myself. This is the underside of the winder platform which shows the relevant parts:



The darker central piece is attached to the winder and rotates clockwise when winding on. To activate the meter, the tail of that piece is supposed to strike a plate at 90 degrees to the screen which is the slightly darker area of the shiny piece pivoting on the large brass rivet next to the strap lug. ( So in the photo it has turned passed the meter activation point) The large shiny piece then presses down on the other pivoted part you can see below it. That piece, which is on the other side of the platform, holds the wiper fingers which turn on the meter and presumably make the shutter work OK too.

What can't be seen, because it's edge on, is that little 90 degree piece has been worn so thin that it's actually split along half its length and been bent down by the black swinging arm. (I had straightened it out for the photo.) Thus when the black arm and tail pass, they don't contact to transfer the force to the wiper arm

I suppose it could be brazed back together again, but really it needs a new part. This is a very crude and poorly designed mechanism and I'm not surprised that Nikon abandoned the 'meter on in the stand off position' when they introduced the FE2. It shows that you shouldn't believe all the rubbish that is spouted about the indestructability of Nikons. They are good cameras but eventually wear out like anything mechanical and this bit is definitely a weak link (literally!)

I hope your trouble turns out to be something else but the symptoms are so similar I thought I'd post this. By all means try for the repair, just don't commit to spending too much money. Good luck.
 
Thank you NickT

I think it may be a similar problem, but definitely a mechanical linkage rather than an electronic one inside the camera somewhere.
Miles replied and said I could take the camera to him, which is good because he lives near my uncle and Aperture UK in London said they will give me a free quote if I take it to their shop in Rathbone Place, which offers repairs.

Thanks for all of the replies today from everyone.
 
Aperture are going to be more expensive. I'd bet my FE2 on it.

(same goes for Sendean in London, which you may have stumbled across)
 
Yes, I now think they will be more expensive, so you can be sure your FE2 is safe in your hands!

Miles told me a service would be about £45 and I need to phone to arrange for him to look at it. So good news I think.
 
zacharyhope said:
Yes, I now think they will be more expensive, so you can be sure your FE2 is safe in your hands!

Miles told me a service would be about £45 and I need to phone to arrange for him to look at it. So good news I think.
Click to expand...

It wasn't going anywhere, I knew that :lol:

Coincidentally, I started off with a Pentax MX and Nikon FE. Very different cameras, but both very charming in their own unique ways. Both very enjoyable to shoot with!
 
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