Possible Nikon FA Shutter Problem...

I have a Nikon FA that seeming is not firing at the correct shutter speed... The finder indicated 1/8 second but when I took the photo, the shutter sounded like it was at least 1/125 sec. (The film is waiting to be developed, so it'll be at least a week before I know for sure).

Is there anyone specializing in FA repairs who has a large store of FA parts where I can send the camera to, assuming the repair cost isn't over $100 (ha ha ha)?

The FA has the most unreliable shutter of any Nikon. It's also a repair nightmare; requiring the entire electronic loom to be removed before access to the shutter can be got.

Doing all that for under $100? No chance. Sorry!

Get an F2. Utterly reliable and built like a tank.

FWIW the FA (short for F...ing Awful) has a default mechanical speed of 1/90th. That's most likely the speed it's firing at.

The FA has the most unreliable shutter of any Nikon. It's also a repair nightmare; requiring the entire electronic loom to be removed before access to the shutter can be got. Doing all that for under $100? No chance. Sorry!

That's why I added a "ha ha ha" to my comment :)

Get an F2. Utterly reliable and built like a tank.

Got 3 F2A's. :)

You probably know this Vincent, but the first couple of frames at least will always fire at 1/250. I think it's two or three frames. Incidentally, this is the mechanical speed of the shutter, not 1/90th. Supposedly it was to keep someone who didn't know what they were doing from inadvertently having exposures several seconds to several minutes if they were in an AE mode and trying to load film with the lens cap on. There are a handful of other non-auto-loading Nikons that do this-I think the FE2 does also, and I thought for a while that my FG was broken because of this. I ended up cutting a hole in the back and pressure plate of a junker FE to allow me to test the shutter speeds on later cameras(the backs are interchangeable between the FM, FM2(n), FM3a, FE, FE2, and FA).

Otherwise, you just have to shake your head at this camera. I shot a roll of Provia in mine not too long ago and got it back with a half dozen blank(unexposed) frames randomly interspaced in the roll. I suspect it was firing at either 1/4000 or self capping, as I was metering sputter speeds in the 1/90 to 1/180 range-1/250 would have given me an underexposed but visible image, not completely black. I shot a BUNCH of shots at lowish speeds with a dummy roll and confirmed that the film was fully visible for all, so I don't know if it was a one-time fluke or what

My FA only fires correctly (about 80% of the time) if I hold it upside down to cock it, and then fire it in portrait orientation. Go figure.

A 1950s Purma Special has a more reliable shutter!

"Got 3 F2A's."

- Then use 'em!

FAs are wonderful when they work...they are a nightmare when they don't.

I have some E100VS in mine now-I'll see how it turns out.

"FAs are wonderful when they work..."

- Or so it's rumoured. Unfortunately no living soul has yet witnessed one fully working.

...

 

"Got 3 F2A's."

 

- Then use 'em!

I shoot B&W film in my F2A's and FM2N's, and color film in my FA's, FE2's and F3HP's. When it comes to Nikon film cameras, I'm a glutton... more cameras than I can count LOL.

Unfortunately no living soul has yet witnessed one fully working.

I owned two and both worked just fine.

You probably know this Vincent, but the first couple of frames at least will always fire at 1/250. I think it's two or three frames. Incidentally, this is the mechanical speed of the shutter, not 1/90th. Supposedly it was to keep someone who didn't know what they were doing from inadvertently having exposures several seconds to several minutes if they were in an AE mode and trying to load film with the lens cap on. There are a handful of other non-auto-loading Nikons that do this-I think the FE2 does also, and I thought for a while that my FG was broken because of this. I ended up cutting a hole in the back and pressure plate of a junker FE to allow me to test the shutter speeds on later cameras(the backs are interchangeable between the FM, FM2(n), FM3a, FE, FE2, and FA).

Yes that's right, my FE2 is the same. In Auto mode, the shutter fires at 1/250 sec until the frame counter reaches number 1. The light meter also does not operate. However you can set the shutter speed manually before frame 1. You can usually get perfectly good pictures from frame 0 and even 00 (-1), so this feature doesn't make the best use of film. In those first frames I would always set the shutter speed manually and see how well I could guess the exposure :)

A simple way to test the shutter is, with no film loaded, open the back, set the shutter speed dial to 1/4000, hold the camera up to a brightly lit background and fire. You should see a flash of light through the shutter to indicate an "exposure" was made (if no light gets through the shutter you won't get an exposure). Repeat for 1/2000, 1/1000 ... all the way through the shutter speed dial. You should see the flash get increasingly brighter and longer. This won't tell you if the shutter is perfectly accurate, but at least it indicates if the shutter speed is getting longer as you increase the shutter speed setting.

Yes that's right, my FE2 is the same. In Auto mode, the shutter fires at 1/250 sec until the frame counter reaches number 1. The light meter also does not operate. However you can set the shutter speed manually before frame 1. You can usually get perfectly good pictures from frame 0 and even 00 (-1), so this feature doesn't make the best use of film. In those first frames I would always set the shutter speed manually and see how well I could guess the exposure :)

 

A simple way to test the shutter is, with no film loaded, open the back, set the shutter speed dial to 1/4000, hold the camera up to a brightly lit background and fire. You should see a flash of light through the shutter to indicate an "exposure" was made (if no light gets through the shutter you won't get an exposure). Repeat for 1/2000, 1/1000 ... all the way through the shutter speed dial. You should see the flash get increasingly brighter and longer. This won't tell you if the shutter is perfectly accurate, but at least it indicates if the shutter speed is getting longer as you increase the shutter speed setting.

On the F3 if you set manual speed to 1/80 or slower it would work at that speed but if you set to higher speed it would still shoot at 1/80 until frame 1.

Yes that's right, my FE2 is the same. In Auto mode, the shutter fires at 1/250 sec until the frame counter reaches number 1. The light meter also does not operate. However you can set the shutter speed manually before frame 1. You can usually get perfectly good pictures from frame 0 and even 00 (-1), so this feature doesn't make the best use of film. In those first frames I would always set the shutter speed manually and see how well I could guess the exposure :)

AFAIK, the FA fires at 1/250 regardless of the mode or position of the shutter speed dial. Mine is loaded at the moment so I can't test it.