Nikon FM-10 Rewind Fork Slipping?

<p>Hello! A brief introduction. I've always admired photography and it's been a dream of mine for at least a decade, but the high cost of dSLRs and such meant I never really ventured into it the way I had hoped. Then, last week I walked into a Goodwill and found a Nikon FM-10 with 3 lenses (35-70mm Nikkor zoom, 70-220mm Nikkor zoom, and 28mm Wide Angle Vivitar) for $100 flat. I did some research and so I opened it up, checked the shutters, etc. and all seemed well.</p>

<p>I've been taking photos now and finished a roll :D went to get them developed today only to find a blank roll with frame numbers. So I had them black bag the roll in the camera, same thing. After troubleshooting <strong>I discovered the film was not advancing</strong>, but the advance lever <em>works just fine</em><em>, </em>so far as I can tell. Lot of people say it gets stuck, etc.<br /> I was careful not to make very obvious mistakes and realized that it was the <strong>rewind dial</strong> that seems to be the issue. The fork inside which holds the film cassette is, of course, tensioned after feeding the film through. Close the back cover, advance, click. Advance, click.</p>

<p><strong>That's when I realized the rewind dial isn't turning as it should when advancing the film.</strong> I rewound it and tried less tension on the rewind dial before advancing again, nothing. I rewound and tried a tighter tension before advancing, nothing.<br /> <br /> It actually seems to, the rewind system that is, spin out when I let go of the rewind dial/crank. It's like it can't hold the tension. <strong>It's like the fork isn't grabbing/stopping the film cassette from spinning on the reel.</strong><br /> If it helps any, I'm using Kodak Ultramax/Gold ISO-400 and there IS a little bit of room under the cassette when placed and secured on the fork. Pushing the cassette up into the fork allows it to rewind fine. Also, it rewound the (apparently unusued and unadvanced) film back into the cassette almost completely.</p>

<p>Please tell me I haven't wasted $120 on this camera and overpriced Kodak film at CVS (Walmart has Fujifilm 4 packs for the price of that Kodak 3-pack).</p>

The FM-10 was made for Nikon by Cosina. Its quality is not on par with Nikon made SLRs. With the two Nikkor lenses

you might do well to pick up a used Nikon FM or an even older Nikkormat FT-3. Built like tanks and not overly expensive.

<p>Yeah, I think the lenses were worth the price paid itself, but my overall objective was to start doing something I've really wanted to do.<br>

If you or anyone else has any advice on how to save this wonderful little camera for a beginner, please help. I live in the mountains and there's nowhere to go within an hour. I don't mind a manual camera (with a light metering system, lol) and actually enjoy the fact it is film. I really would rather have this one working to get my money out of it. Tell me I didn't just drop $120 down the drain :(</p>

<p>The rewind crank has no relation to the shutter advance mechanism. I'd suggest reading the manual to be sure you didn't make a mistake in loading the film, and then shop for another body to use those lenses on.</p>

<p>Trust me, I made sure it loaded correctly, I'm a good study. I also watched a video on Nikon 35mm loading and it also assured me I did it correctly.</p>

<p>The issue is the advancing of film does not spin the rewind dial. The rewind dial actually unspins after film is loaded and tensioned. It's like it quickly unrolls.</p>

<p>It may not be the rewind knob, but it's somewhere in the mechanics between the rewind dial and the advance system or gears. What would make the rewind dial unspin like that?</p>

<p>What would make the film not advance if the film is loaded properly and the advance lever works, and the teeth appear to grab and pull the film through?</p>

<p>I don't think your problem is with the rewind. It should advance no matter what the rewind end does, though you might never get the film rewound.</p>

<p><br />It sounds as if you're loading it correctly, but you need to make doubly sure. Make sure that the film is properly engaged with the takeup spool, and that the advance sprocket is lined up with the holes in the film. </p>

<p>Before you go too far, open the back without film, and check that the sprocket is moving when you cock the shutter. On a 35 mm. camera, the film is advanced not by the takeup spool but by the sprocket between that and the rewind spool. The takeup spool has a slip clutch that allows it to pull on the film, but if the sprocket is not moving, it will just slip. The sprocket is connected to the wind lever by a gear train, and some cameras use plastic gears that can be broken, especially by an operator who pulls too hard when the film reaches the end. </p>

<p>I have an FM10 and it had a somewhat similar problem that turned out to be a screw falling out of the cam at the bottom of the wind lever. If you're at all handy, get a screwdriver, and take the bottom off the camera. Make sure that the entire camera is over a box or tray that can catch any pieces that fall out. If there's anything loose or broken, it will probably fall out, and that will tell you a lot. In my case the camera was not cocking reliably either, and the pertinent screw fell out and I just screwed it back in. Luckier than most. </p>

<p>As others have mentioned, it shouldn't be too hard to find another Nikon body and use the lenses on that. The lenses that fit an FM10 will fit any manual Nikon ever made and meter properly on all but the oldest. </p>

 

<p>Brandon,</p>

<p>Blank developed shots ...</p>

<p>Perhaps you should verify the shutter is working.---<br>

No film in camera. Open the back door. Lens cap off. Try advancing the lever and taking some 'pics'. Look thru the back of the lens from a perspective of where the film would be. Do you see light coming thru the lens (point it at something bright)? Does 1/2 sec look longer than let's say 1/60th sec? If yes to all this, then try the next thing.</p>

<p>Verify the film advance. ---<br>

Time to waste a bit of film. Load a cassette into the camera. Pull the film over and insert it into the take up roller. Keeping the back door open, advance the film and take a pic or two. Does the film advance properly?</p>

<p>Both those tests will reveal some more clues. Let us know what happens and we'll try another guess.</p>

<p>Nice lenses. If the camera is a wash, don't rue over it. :o)</p>

<p>Jim</p>

<p>Released the gears, rewound the film, and opened the back. Cocked the lever, click (with lens cap off) and full aperture. Shutter works fine at 1/2000 and is noticeably slower at 1/30 (just as it seemingly should). Did this several times and ran through each shutter speed. Cocking the level several times gave me lots of visuals on the plastic gear (take up) and the far-right spool it wraps under. Both have all plastic teeth, top and bottom.</p>

<p>Now for Jim's film advance advice...</p>

<p>...wait. The outer spool the film comes up under, no one ever mentioned this and I dunno how I feel about it, but I tried it...and the film advances.</p>

<p>Am I supposed to tuck the tip of the film in the slits of the spool so it winds the film around the outer spool/reel "backwards" from the way it is in the canister? Never saw that in a video or in the manual.</p>

<p>Feeling like a real dumbass now...just saw a video of a minolta which actually showed the guy tucking the lead into the slits. I'm so disgusted :(<br>

Guess I'll shoot this roll and have it developed tomorrow and see if it's working now.</p>

<p>Don't feel bad, we all have to start somewhere and you wil never make that mistake again! The film advance relies on the take up spool and the geared drive.</p>

<p>Good luck Brandon; methinks you'll love playing with photography ... it's addictive. :o)</p>

<p>And, welcome to the photo.net community, a really unique place on the Web (IMHO).</p>

<p>Jim</p>

<p>PS: Below is a pic I took a while ago with an FE-10 and a non-descript 3rd party 70-200mm lens. Add a polarizer and it's a pleasant experience.</p><div></div>

<p>I'm glad it has worked out, and that there is nothing wrong with the camera. An FM-10 is nothing terribly special as a camera but it works all right, the meter is accurate, and it will take any AI or AIS Nikon lens. It's good fun to use, and being of relatively low value you can afford to take it anywhere.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Happy to hear a new film used has started out. If you like go to butkus.org to download a FM-10 manual in pdf. Then send the guy a $3 donation for his work. His files are good quality and well worth the suggested donation. </p>

There were a lot of helpful hints with film cameras that don't apply to digital. Watching the rewind lever turn when advancing the film to make sure the film was loaded properly was one of them. I had ignored that trick and as second shooter at a wedding with an F3 I didn't realize that I didn't have film in the camera until I got to exposure 39.

<p>Thanks for being so forgiving. I had apparently gotten the drive gear and take-up spool mixed up in my head until I started talking with some of you and working it out, trying different steps.</p>

<p>Well, I developed my first roll of film today on the practice cassette (so I only shot 20 to be safe, and it was a 24 frame roll so I did good.</p>

<p>I have some results which lead to more questions and will start a new topic with the pictures. I would love if you guys took a peek! Posting in this forum since it is all film, developed and scanned onto a CD. I picked the most interesting shots which I thought came out good or would like advice on.</p>

<p>If an admin deems my post should go in another forum, please put a link or something so everyone can find it!</p>

<p>Side note: as an old Nikon F user, I, like many, have experienced the issue James Dainis mentions. Also, like many, I can say with utmost authority that the pictures I took on the roll that did not advance were fantastic, the best ever.</p>

<p>I've uploaded all 20 frames I took to my portfolio if anyone wishes to look. I'm putting together a presentation of the ones with which I (for the most part) had the settings written down for better constructive criticism.</p>

<p>Please take a look, thanks everyone!</p>

<p><a> http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation?presentation_id=578718 </a></p>

<p>To paraphrase an old aviation saw:</p>

<p>There are two kinds of film users-- those who <strong><em>have</em></strong> loaded the film incorrectly<br>

and<br>

those who are <strong><em>going</em></strong> to load the film incorrrectly.</p>

<p>The number of mistakes does diminish as a function of repetition, of course.</p>

<p>Welcome to the wonderful world of film (only digiheads call it "analog").<br>

;)</p>

<p>I've never called it analog, :D I just plain love the term "film" period :-D thanks!</p>

<p>I think film is just awesome. It's a breath of fresh air in an overly digitized world.</p>

<p>I didn't mean to imply you had used the term <em>analog(ue), </em>I was just commenting in general. :)</p>

<p>Mind you, I like digital photography a lot too.</p>

<div></div>

<p>I remember the first time that I tried to load a 35mm SLR. A Zenit EM. No instruction manual & over 30 years ago so no Internet to help. Utter nightmare & I had to take it back to the shop to get help. Not an easy task if you are new to it.<br>

That Zenit though managed to get me hooked for life. I am still using 2 of the lenses that I got with it to this day, but now with a Praktica MTL5.</p>

<p>Good luck with the camera now that you sound to have got it working.</p>

 

<p>Thanks :)</p>

<p>There are some Canon cameras with Quick-Load, where the film end is placed near the (special shape) winding spool, which just grabs is.<br>

<br />And yes, most wind the opposite direction to undo the natural curl.<br>

I always try to watch the rewind knob turn, to know that it actually is moving.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Moral of story: check for operator error first.</p>

<p>As for film not advancing, been there, done that. The camera was fine, film wasn't loaded properly. As I was saying, ...</p>