F3HP and dust

[dominic_.]

<p>Today I got a F3HP after 5 years with the FG-20, I am elated with

the camera and love making pictures with it. However there is one

thing that irritates me, dust. At first there was dust on the prism,

I cleaned that out. Then came dust on the viewfinder, cleaned that

out as well. I noticed that I still had dust, and found it on the

mirror and the plane above it. I tried cleaning that by <i>very</i>

gently wiping it with a lens tissue, yet the second I wiped it off,

more dust landed in its place. I have considered getting a canister

of compressed air however I was wondering if anyone had any other

ideas.

<br><br><br>

-Also: Is there a way to tell the year an F3 was made by its serial

number.

<br><br><br>

Thanks!

<br><br><br>

Best wishes,

<br><br><br>

--Dominic</p>

[john in cincinnati]

Get an antistatic brush. Remove the finder screen and gently brush it off. Also gently brush dust off of the mirror (some may disagree) but I do it all the time with my F5, just be careful. I find that you can satisfactorily remove most of the dust, specs, and etc..., but you wont be able to remove all of it.

[steve_levine]

Try a vacuum cleaner.

[david_h._hartman]

Canned air can make a mess by spraying propellant all over everything. I�ve been using it for years but I don�t recommend it. It takes a lot of fineness. 1st rule do not use a can that is not 2/3rds empty on film, camera or lens. Spray a couple of short blasts first to clear the valve of any liquid from tipping or shaking, do not tip the can while spraying, etc., etc.

 

Get a HD blower bulb instead. If it comes with a sable brush toss it as it will soon collect oil and make a mess with long streaks. Yes you can wash the sable with alcohol, not worth the truble.

 

The F3 is no more or less a dust prone than an F, F2, F4 or F5. The thing I remember about my first camera, a Nikkormat FTn was it soon had dust under the viewing screen that I could not remove. I you wanted that cleaned you�d have to take it to a camera repair shop. Camera repairmen and women don�t care much for fixed screens either as if they leave any dust the camera often comes back for that. The FM2n and FE2 and similar can be kept very clean but it's not as easy as an F3 and other true F series Nikons.

 

Sometimes I indulge myself so my cameras are normally very clean. In the field dust on the focusing screen just sort of disappears while shooting only to nag when I�m done.

 

Congratulations! Enjoy your new camera. Get thee a HD blower bulb.

 

Best,

 

Dave.

[david_h._hartman]

<em>"Try a vacuum cleaner." --Steve Levine<br>

</em><br>

Steve, we are talking about a camera not an enlarger.<br>

<br>

---<br>

<br>

<em>"Also gently brush dust off of the mirror (some may

disagree) but" --John<br>

</em><br>

Count me among those who disagree, strongly.<br>

<br>

Cheers,<br>

<br>

Dave.

[david_h._hartman]

Try here...<br>

<br>

<a href="http://www.nikonlinks.com/~nicke/photo/misc/f3date.html"

target="_new"><u>F3 - Manufacturing date by serial number</u></a><br>

<br>

YMMV.

[lex_jenkins]

Any camera with a detachable prism and replaceable focus screens is gonna be prone to showing dust in the viewfinder and on the flip-up mirror.

 

Either don't worry about it or have the dust seals replaceed. They shrink and become less pliable with age. Once you have new dust seals in place never again remove the prism or change the lens.

[mskovacs]

The question is where is the dust that you can actually see in the viewfinder? 10:1 its either on the focusing screen or behind the viewfinder eyepiece window (where you cannot easily access it). I very much doubt that your mirror would show up in the viewfinder as anything resembling dust, likely more like reduction of finder brightness. The F3 uses a semi transparent mirror with holes for the metering. Push enough dust into these holes and you may affect your metering accuracy. Don't go there.

 

I clean my screens with scotch tape, a trick I learned from a camera tech in Vancouver. It lifts the dust off and leaves no residue. Its the only way I have ever been able to remove dust from a K screen where the crud gets stuck in the split image and microprism.

 

How does the mirror cushion look? There should be a strip of foam that makes contact with the front edge of the mirror in the up position. If it has gotten hard and flakey, it could be the source of your "dust" problem.

[douglas_green1]

You're never going to completely eliminate the dust. If I were you, I'd toss it in the trash. Or, better yet, I'll take it off your hands, and I'll even pay the shipping costs.

[steve_levine]

Im surprised at the remark about using vaccums?Pressurized air pushes dust further into mechanisms,vacuums suck it out.I have used vacuums to clean my viewfinders,prisms & lenses for years.

[Robert_Lai]

On the side of my canned air, the manufacturer has in bold type "DO NOT USE ON CAMERA MIRRORS". That should settle that question.<p>As far as vacuums are concerned, I've found that the exhaust from the fan kicks up more dust from the floor than what you've just sucked up. Also, if you use a household vacuum cleaner, the years of accumulated dust in the brush accessory turns it into sandpaper on your camera and lens body finishes.<p>Recently, I acquired a mint 50mm f/1.4 lens that had one annoying fault. It had a tiny but noticable speck of dust within the elements. David Hartman supplied me with directions on how to disassemble the lens. I did this inside a laminar flow hood in the lab. This hood has the air purified through electrostatic plates to remove all particulate matter, including bacteria and viruses. I used the filtered, pure air supplied by the hospital to blow off the dust. In other locations, I used wall suction as appropriate. After reassembly, I confirmed that infinity and minimum focus distances were still accurate. This is one impeccably clean lens now. However, unless you have access to similar facilities, you will have to put up with some degree of dust.

[Carl Stone]

One of my brothers-in-law helped design the first class 100 clean rooms used in the

manufacture of semi conductors. Now that's the place to work on your lens, dust free!

One of my sons still works in a clean room some of the time, as a process tech at

Intel, I'll see if he wants to do any lenses in his spare time. :o)

[david_h._hartman]

<em>"Pressurized air pushes dust further into

mechanisms,vacuums suck it out." --Steve Levine <br>

</em><br>

I dust the screen with a blower bulb or canned air outside the

camera. Dust can not get between the condenser and viewing screen

of an F~F5 focus screen because they are taped together with a

strip of clear tape about 2.5mm wide. <br>

<br>

Blasting around a camera can drive dust inside depending on the

cameras dust seals, etc. Blasting multi-bladed shutter can

pop the blades out of place. Sometimes a camera repairman or

woman can put them back in place, sometimes the shutter needs to

be repaired or replaced. Some lenses have ED front elements and Ive heard they can be pockmarked or shattered by an

accidental release of propellant. These are some of the reasons

why I'm not comfortable recommending canned air.<br>

<br>

I mostly use canned air to blowout my computers when I dont

want to disconnect everything and take it to the compressor.

Someday, soon I hope, Im going to get a small oil-less

compressor and the kind of filtering used by my camera repairman

friend for use in my darkroom.<br>

<br>

<em>"I did this inside a laminar flow hood in the lab."

-- Robert Lai <br>

</em><br>

Where can I get one! ;) They must be quite expensive.<br>

<br>

<em>"Im surprised at the remark about using vaccums?"

--Steve Levine<br>

</em><br>

Im sorry Steve. I didnt think you were serious. What

kind of vacuum do you use?<br>

<br>

Best,<br>

<br>

Dave.