User_2019667 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 <p>Was shooting photos this morning with my Nikon F3 and all of a sudden when I pushed the shutter release button down nothing happened. I had just taken a shot 30 seconds earlier. Thought maybe I didn't advance the film so when I tried to cock the film advance lever it wouldn't move either. Any one else experience a similar problem with thier Nikokn F3?<br> John P.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertChura Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 <p>Only when the batteries died. Can you use the manual release?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 <p>Most likely you need to replace the batteries. Does the manual shutter work? Does theIf so, the shutter is OK. It's possible the on/off switch is broken. If you can see numbers in the LCD display, you are getting power. Is the shutter open? It can stay open a long, long time if you click the shutter with the lens cap in place. You can cycle the power to close it.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john tonai Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 <p>The manual release only verifies that the physical shutter works. Remember, it completely bypasses the normal release circuitry. The worst case scenario is that the timing/activation circuit somehow got fried. (fortunately, that isn't too common) As the others mention, I would check the batteries don't rely on the battery check in the camera. Clean the contacts of the batteries and camera with a pencil eraser.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glockman99 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 <p>My guess also is that it's the batteries. I take it that you don't have the MD-4 motordrive with your F3? If you did, you could power up your F3 via the motordrive, and also see if the motordrive shutter-release works to trip the F3's shutter.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_fedon Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 <p>Either your batteries are really weak, or they are weak and you are out in very cold weather. Had that happen to me once with the F3, one minute it was shooting fine, the next nothing happening. Turned out that because I was on the open ramp of a C130 flying at 12000' the cold air blast knocked out the already weak batteries after a few exposures.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akira Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 <p>I had the same expreiences with a couple of different samples of F3. The batterie condition had nothing to do with that because the problem occurred when the battery was fresh. I would guess that there had been some problem of the contacts of the switches that were used for the shuter releases.</p> <p>I didn't bring any of my troubled samples to Nikon service because the problem had gone for some reason after I had pressed the shutter button several times. I'm not proffessional photographer, so the troubles didn't become reasons for me to shy away from F3. I still think it was an excellent camera. :) If you don't mind the bulk, you could attach a motor drive and use the release button on that.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_brooks1 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 <p>JOhn, I had the exact problem with an F3. Unfortunately,it is most likely a mechanical problem, not a battery problem. My local shop estimated 250-300 dollars to repair the camera, so I bought an as-is body from KEH for 23.00 + shipping. Sorry for the bad news , but jammed advance lever is not battery related.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User_2019667 Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 <p>Thanks to all who responded. I did buy new batteries and low and behold that is what the problem was. The reason I didn't think it was the batteries is because I had just put new batteries in on Sept. 11th. of 2008. Just goes to show you new batteries even though they were duracell can be bad. I'm thinking that the extreme cold we had here in the midwest may have killed those batteries. I always carry my camera when we go anywhere and it has mighty cold lately. Very happy to learn that it wasn't a more serious problem. Thanks to all.<br> John P.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_fedon Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 <p>Way to go ! Glad we solved it. Just goes to show that similar things happen to similar cameras.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 <p>No! This cannot be! Only the most pessimistic web-diagnoses <em>("The dismogrifier circuitry has kerfluffled and no replacements have been made since nineteen-aught-six.")</em> with the most complex solutions <em>("Scrub it with sandpaper, grade carborundum non-illegitimi, 'til no more metal remains. Then hose it down with WD-40.")</em> should be considered before the simplest, obvious solutions.</p> <p>The future of intertube forums am doomed if folks keep solving their own problems this way.</p> <p>(BTW, I "fix" my sometimes balky MD-4 by whamming it gently against my cast iron noggin'. This appears to reorient the recalcitrant dilithium crystals in the warp core.)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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