peterbphotos

Hi Gareth I haven't found that to be the case. It is 2 years since I did my repair. Other than needing to slightly reposition the pressure pad a little towards the staked end to make engagement more positive, it has been working fine. The pad itself is quite soft and applies just enough pressure to do the job. It doesn't deform the tab but just puts a tiny little bit of added pressure behind it. I would be daunted by trying the disassembly process. I never felt I needed to do that as a little very light finger pressure when the focus band was removed was enough to verify how the clutch worked and I could also confirm the plastic part the tab engages with was not damaged (this was my initial fear). It is interesting to see the photo above from the 7th of August which would now indicate Nikon is welded both the plastic stakes for the tab on some lenses. My two tabs only have one stake welded but only one was having problems. That photo is of the tab that isn't a problem on mine.

Df is a funny preposition. When it was announced what seems like many years ago, I thought it was going to be a digital Nikon FM. It was a camera that many people had wanted in the years leading up to the launch of the Df. That meant a relatively compact and affordable camera with no-nonsense controls. Despite a few design quirks where the Df seems to have lost the simplicity of the original Nikon FM, I don't think it quite got down to the size I thought it would and some of the design/styling seemed more pseudo-retro than functional (as in say the Olympus OM-D E-M5). I think the shocker was really the cost which has made it unpopular to most people. I guess this rarity and the unwillingness of Nikon to drop the cost as it ages has kept sales numbers extremely low and used prices are high due to its rarity. I would have really liked it due to its outstanding low-light performance. The Df is a camera that really could have done with a couple of minor revisions over the past few years to keep it relevant. If it had, a sensor change would now be due. Considering the financial constraints on Nikon, they need to concentrate on areas of growth before considering the niche that was never quite fulfilled. I am still waiting for the compact, light but strong digital FM. In the meantime the D750 seems the closest fit although I went for the D7500 while I wait. Just not holding my breath.

Thanks Sandy; however, when you do search of the internet for this issue, this thread comes up amongst the first hits (if not the first). I have found a solution so for the benefit of others I will post it here. The issue is the metal spring tab does not properly engage with the slots on the manual focus ring. The slots are quite shallow, little more than a mm deep. A little pressure helps with the engagement yet it needs not be so much that it interferes with the spring action when in the AF position. Solution, it had a small medium density piece of foam rubber which was previously an anti-vibration pad out of a piece of equipment. I taped this down into the recessed part of the spring using heavy duty 3M all weather tape (like very thick sticky tape) and then refitted the plastic dust strip and lens rubber. It works perfectly now.

I have the same problem of manual focus not wanting to engage most of the time. When it does engage, it isn't positive. It seems as though the clutch is not moving up to engage properly when placed in manual mode or their isn't sufficient forward pressure on the clutch ring. Both or my metal tabs appear to be correctly located and the plastic studs are in excellent condition. Any tips for getting better engagement of manual focus?