steve ward Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 I AM UNDECIDED ABOUT THE VALUE OF PUTTING MY F-A INTO THE SHOP FOR REPAIR. MECHANICALLTY IT IS WORKING JUST FINE, BUT INTERNAL COMPNENTS HAVE BEGUN TO BREAK DOWN. THERE ARE PIECES OF BLACK GUNK, A SEALER OF SOME SORT THAT ARE SHOWING UP ON THE MIRROR. I'M NOT SURE IF IT IS BAD ENOUGH TO LET LIGHT IN, BUT IT MAY BE HEADED THAT WAY. I STILL USE MY F-3, SPARINGLY, BUT MOSTLY USE THE F-100 NOW. THE F-3 IS FOR WHEN I WANT TO SHOOT DIFFERNT FILMS AT THE SAME TIME. IT ALSO IS BETTER SUITED TO MY OLD MANUAL FOCUS LENSES.I JUST WANT TO GATHER OPINIONS AS TO WHETHER IT IS WORTH THE EFFORT/EXPENSE TO HAVE IT OVERHAULED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_fang Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 SOME PEOPLE WILL SAY YES, SOME NO. IN THE END YOU'RE BACK TO SQUARE ONE. SO YOU'LL BE LIKE ARRRRRRGH WHAT SHOULD I DO AND YOU'LL HAVE TO DECIDE FOR YOURSELF ANYWAY. I'M DEAF NOW, ARE YOU? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_lai Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 If it's working fine mechanically, then it doesn't need an overhaul. The black stuff is just the foam light seals deteriorating. You can buy replacement foam kits and do the job yourself. I bought a kit last year from Jon Goodman (a.k.a. "interslice" on the big auction site) and replaced the foam in 3 cameras. Cost was less than $10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titrisol Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 maybe you should ship it to myself for disposal!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andre_noble4 Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 Keep the FA!, lose the CAPITALS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebogaerts Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 I'm not so certaint that it's really worth repairing the camera, as you can find fairly sharp examples these days for $250. I had a repair done on an FA around a year ago and the charge was $150. This was from an 'authorized' repair shop. SLR mirrors aren't exactly easy to clean, and I imagine that any camera repair shop wouldn't consider this to be an simple or easy fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbq Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 Well, a used FA is worth about $250 today (approximate range). There's a good chance that a repair would be cheaper than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve ward Posted July 25, 2004 Author Share Posted July 25, 2004 The CAPS lock is off. The foam kit sounds like all this camera needs to be put back in great shape. Can you tell me more about how to get them, as well as about finding directions to replace htem in the FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron_ng Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Almost EVERY FA that has not had its light seal foam changed from the original would have it turning into gunk by now. Mine was the same too. As long as the camera is working fine, you're in good shape. You MUST change the light seal foam. As the foam breaks down, the mirror movement will fling the bits of foam around. I'd send it to a Nikon Authorised repair centre (Not Nikon USA themselves. They charge a minimum $200 for ANYTHING) and get them to clean, check and change the seals. Cost me around $60. You can save by changing your own seals, but when it has turned to gunk and is stuck to the mirror surface, it's better to let the trained technicians handle it. The mirror is front silvered, so it is easy to damage. Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_lai Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Steve, see Jon Goodman's reply in <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008y8y&unified_p=1" target="_blank">this thread.</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_lai Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 And see <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008k5f" target="_blank">this thread</a> about cleaning the mirror. Yes, you can seriously mess up your mirror, but if you take some care, it can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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