Nikon FM Cushion and MLU question,

[xai_her]

<p>I don't know what happened but one day I noticed that my upper cushion for my mirror on my Nikon FM is completely gone. I know there used to be a foam like cushion there.</p>

<p>My question is that if I used the MLU on the FM would it be safe to ignore that there is no foam cushion? <br>

Thanks for any reply.</p>

[david_carroll4]

<p>Missing foam isn't an instant disaster - it's not like the mirror is going to shatter against the metal where the foam used to be. I acquired an old FM that had been missing it's foam for some unspecified period. It appeared not to have suffered any harm, although I did replace the foam as soon as I noticed it was missing. Since the MLU is just the standard mirror cycle split into two parts, it's no big deal. I would replace the foam though, and I would probably refrain from running the camera on a motordrive until the foam is restored. Possibly more importantly, where did the foam go? Are you sure there aren't bits of foam flying around in your cameras innards?</p>

[xai_her]

<p>Thanks, I don't think the foam is inside the camera, even if it is I think it is useless to try to place it back in the camera. <br>

I know Nikon Stopped repairs for the FM, are there anyone still repairing these cameras?</p>

[sebastianmoran]

<p>Xai, David's advice is sound. This is a simple job as far as camera repairs go. You may have to hunt a bit to find a camera repair shop, but anyone in that business should be able to replace the foam and give the camera a general check-out. It's a great camera.</p>

[yunlong_ma]

<p>My black FM is 5 years old,though a little bit ratty,still works well.Haven't find the problem like U</p>

[Ray House]

<p>definitely try to find the missing foam, you don't want a piece getting on the shutter.</p>

[steve_levine]

<p>MLU on an FM camera? Their mirrors will lock up during the self timer cycle, but they haven't any MLU. A real MLU allows the photographer to fire the shutter at will.</p>

<p>When using the self timer MLU, the photographer must wait through the cycle before actually firing the shutter. Even a static MLU suited subject, may change during this time lag.</p>

<p>As for the missing foam. Try inspecting your camera's insides with a small, powerful light. Unless a previous owner cleaned it out, I'd imagine the foam is there somewhere that you probably don't want it?</p>

[david_harris15]

<p>There probably won't be much of the foam cushion left inside the camera as it will have turned to goop over time. There may be a few small pieces floating around inside that have broken off though. If the mirror cushion has gone, then it is likely that the seals on the door will have deteriorated away as well which may lead to light leaks.<br>

Replacing them all is an easy job. Check fleabay for a seller called Interslice/John Goodman who does replacement foam kits at good prices. I bought a kit off of him a few years back & have used it to replace the cushions & seals on quite a few Nikons. The kit comes with good instructions and a special tool.</p>

[david_carroll4]

<p>Sorry I wasn't clear - you won't be attempting to restick the original piece of foam, even if you <em>could</em> recover it - you'd need to install a new piece. As David Harris recommended, Jon Goodman can supply a precut foam/seal kit, plus detailed instructions, for replacing the mirror foam and back door light seals. It's a 30 minute job at most, and your camer is good to go for another 10-15 years. The kit costs ~$10 - well worth it. I've replaced the seals on ~6 SLRs so for with no problems. In fact, the most problematic was the old FM I described above - some remnants of the original foam had stuck to the focusing screen, which then had to be extracted (non-interchangeable screen - some disassembly required) and cleaned off. If the old foam isn't an issue, installing a new pad is trivial.</p>

[Sanford]

<p>I used an FM for years with the foam completely gone and the camera worked just fine that way.</p>

[marklcooper]

<p>I replaced the mirror foam and the door seals on both my FE's 5 or 6 years ago. At that time WalMart's kraft department had an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of black foam that was very inexpensive. Got an Exacto knife at the same time <a href="http://www.photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/005lHC">http://www.photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/005lHC</a></p>

<p>The hardest part was cleaning the old gunk off.</p>

<p>Good luck - Mark</p>

[xai_her]

<p>Thanks for all the reply, I am now having a professional clean out the innards of my camera and replacing the pads for $15. </p>