Problems With The Finder (DP-20) On My F4

[jluebke]

I pulled my F4 out of the bag yesterday to take a quick shot, and the

display in the finder was acting totally flukey... at first it

wouldn't give me any readout whatsoever, despite the camera being

turned on. Then, once it did light up, it seemed like the display

would only refresh about every 10 seconds or so. To verify, I put it

on spot metering and aperture priority and scanned a range of

bright/dark values, but the shutter speed displayed did not change

with the light. Neither did it display exposure compensation values

as I changed them. After 10-15 seconds and/or a wiggle of the prism,

the right value would pop in to the display. In addition, I would

occasionally get the "FEE" error message, and "BULB" displayed, along

with assorted flickering and gibberish displayed in the finder.

 

Here's the weird part, though: I removed the prism and the display

started functioning normally again. I tried the same tests as above,

with different modes, exposure compensation, shutter speed values...

everything worked as normal.

 

Has anybody had anything like this happen before? I have checked the

row of contacts and there's no corrosion, everything appears to seat

properly, etc. The finder has always had a small amount of play, and

doesn't seem to have any more now than it did before. I'm hoping that

I don't have to pop for a new finder, or worse yet have the camera

taken in for a new top plate or whatever. Anybody have any similar

experience, or speculation as to what might be the matter? Any help

would be much appreciated!

[HuskyMason1]

Hey Jon...I've never had that problem but try cleaning the contacts on the finder anyway and change the batteries...an F3 I have did something similar and it turned out to be the batteries. Mike

[christiaan_phleger___honol]

One of the 4 F4s we use had a prism issue, where the rails holding the prism were ever so

slightly loose, enough to make the flash not fire when tilted forward. Quick hit with the

cross-point put that right. Since you stated that you pulled it out of the bag for a quick

shot, you may have pushed the prism forward just enough to cause the glitch, and then by

reseating it you fixed it. But, as well could be the batteries.

[jluebke]

Thanks Michael and Christiaan. I did indeed change the batteries right away, and that didn't fix it. I will try tightening the rails and cleaning the contacts as well. Anybody know if there is some sort of battery located *inside* the prism that might be failing? I really don't think so, but...