UK Nikon repair for F4 & AI-s lens?

[john_johnson33]

<p>UK photogs, has anyone used any of the following for repairs (mostly interested if it was for Nikon film cameras or AI lenses):</p>

<p>http://www.apertureuk.com/Camera_Repairs_London.html<br>

http://www.sendeancameras.co.uk/#/home/4574418786<br>

http://www.newtonellis.com/nikon/<br>

http://www.camserve.co.uk/ourservices.html<br>

http://www.fixationuk.com/Fixation/Repairs%20old.html</p>

<p>If so, can you comment on whether you thought their prices were good, and the quality of their work? I have an F4 and an AI-s lens which both need servicing, and want to make sure they go somewhere good. I've heard some pretty bad stories about larger repair centres (Johnsons Photopia et al.), so would rather they went somewhere small.</p>

<p>And if you can recommend anywhere else, please let me know.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Alex</p>

[BernardMiller]

<p>What's wrong with your F4? If one of the coreless motors is gone, you may be screwed, as those are getting pretty rare.</p>

<p>I've used Fixation, several times--including back in the day on my own F4, when they still fixed them--and they are indeed excellent. But you see, that is the problem--I've had Fixation tell me they don't do much at all with F4s nowadays as they don't have parts for them and they are geared to keeping pros up and running with their current DSLRs, so pretty much all their time and resources are spent on that.</p>

<p>I've never actually used Sendean, because the one time I approached them about a repair their estimate was shockingly high, in my opinion. (I ended up getting the thing fixed by a fellow who frequents my local second-hand camera shop--for free.)</p>

<p>My local camera guy sends repairs to Camserve. They seem to do a very decent job, and their prices are reasonable. Again, whether they'd have the parts you need for an F4 is the question (as it will be for all the others mentioned here).</p>

<p>I've not had any work done by Aperture, but their guy seems very good and knowledgeable--I've chatted with him. He is a Leica specialist (and I've heard people who've used him for that praise his work highly) but also works on the Hasselblads which Aperture sells. Aperture also carries quite a bit of Nikon gear, so I'd imagine he's got experience with that, too, but I've not inquired about it.</p>

<p>I've not personally been acquainted with anyone who's used Newton Ellis as I'm down in London. However, and you probably know this if you've done your research, they have been super highly praised (including here on photo.net) by those who have used their service, and they seem to service the widest range of cameras compared to the other repairers you've enquired about.</p>

<p>Bottom line is, all will probably do an excellent job *if* they have the parts available, and if their price matches your budget (Fixation, Sendean and Aperture give free estimates--not sure about the others--but will need your camera in hand to do that). I'd recommend you contact them directly, explain what the camera is doing, see if they still service F4s or at least whatever yours malfunction seems to be, and if they might offer you a ballpark figure for the service.</p>

<p>Good luck, the F4 is a great camera, and I still bring my abused old dear out for a play on occasion!</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>I have an F4 that makes an excellent doorstop or paperweight. As a camera it's a heavy and overblown lump that also has the handicap of taking 35mm film.</p>

<p>However, if you're determined to throw money at that behemoth Alex, there are two more repairers with good reputations you can try. It doesn't hurt to get several quotes or estimates.<br /> http://www.hlehmann.co.uk/<br /> http://www.pjcrdirect.co.uk/</p>

<p>Johnstone's of Glasgow I definitely <em>don't</em> recommend. Nor Nikon UK.</p>

[john_johnson33]

<p>Thanks Bernard! Your info is very helpful! The upper display in the viewfinder is dead (although for a little while it worked, so long as the camera had been left on for a while). I bought the F4 a couple of months ago (for a very good price, and upon discovery of the fault, I got a bit of money off), and it's otherwise in perfect condition, so I suspect it's probably just a capacitor that's got old and bad, but would probably require a whole PCB to be replaced (unless they hadn't started using SMT by then - the component could probably be replaced). </p>

<p>Anyway, I'll get in contact with the ones you've said will probably be good and reasonably priced and see if they can tell me just through email whether they're equipped to deal with the problem.</p>

<p>Thanks again,</p>

<p>Alex</p>

[john_johnson33]

<p>Thanks Joe will check them out!</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Just read your description of the fault Alex, and it's probably located completely within the viewfinder prism. Have you tried cleaning the contacts between camera body and prism? I had a similar fault on a Sony shortwave radio where the LCD faded to nothing, and it turned out to be poor contacts on a ribbon cable. Simply removing the cable from its connector and re-inserting it cured the fault.</p>

<p>If it's not a simple or cheap fix I'd consider selling the prism off my F4 since I never use the thing.</p>

[john_johnson33]

<p>The upper display is actually in the body and reflected up into the viewfinder. If only it were as easy as cleaning the contacts!</p>

[roland_vink]

<p>Try Dave Iliot at http://www.aztechservices.com/ in Dorset, he should be able to help.</p>