FE and MD-11 : Song & Dance Routine

I've just acquired a Nikon FE and MD-11 motor drive. I've noticed that when I

attach the MD-11 to the FE sometimes it goes without a hitch and sometimes I

need to either flick the wind on level 'on' then 'off', or turn the shutter dial

to a manual shutter speed (B or M90), or take off the motor drive, shoot a frame

and NOT wind on the next frame and THEN re-attach the motor drive, or all of the

above, or combination of the above.

Am I missing something here? I've been through the PDF manual for the camera and

find anything!

 

Many thanks,

Stu :)

I no longer own an MD-11 (LOUD - nothing subtle or discreet about the MD-11/12) but know that it is possible for the drive to get "out of sync" with the camera film advance. Several fixes to clear a jam similar to what you have been doing are described on page 9 of the MD-11 instruction manual.

 

If you don't have a manual for the MD-11, you can obtain a free pdf copy here (2.1MB): http://www.lensinc.net/manuals/MD-11user.pdf

Stuart, to be honest, my MD-11s cost me more in batteries (because of the problem where not turning off the motor drive keeps the camera battery burning) than to just buy MD-12's, which I did. Sync has always been a bit of a problem with these motordrives. You know you can take a penny and connect two of the four contacts on the drive and it will cycle itself? I always made sure my FM and FEs were cocked and the motordrive off before attaching. The wind lever on the body must be in the off or in position before attaching the drive.

The problem also occurs with the MD-12 and the solution is explained in its manual. You can find a link to the MD-12 manual on mir.com.my - the solution may work for the MD-11 too. The page link is:

 

http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfeseries/fefmshared/md12/index.htm

 

A.C.

Why would you attach the MD-11 to the FE more than once? In my case it's an MD-12 and an FM, but it's exactly the same thing. Even if it's a bit fussy, bolt 'em up and forget about it.

 

Van