I bought the blue antistatic mat, the antistatic bracelet
Because I have sweaty hands, maybe?Michael, a very experienced colleague in Germany @forest bagger, works on electronic cameras without grounding/potential equalization and is successful with it.
Because I have sweaty hands, maybe?
This way I avoided the laborious task of removing the mirror box, where the aperture mechanism is located, to clean and lubricate it.
- and finally benzine and Nyoil to the aperture control mechanism from the outside.
I was able to get the camera working again.
Hey all, I've been lurking on this and the other thread, and I thought I'd chime in. I did this fix a few years ago on a number of old F4's that were heavily used, at least 3-4 bodies, some minor some more serious of a slow down of the lever. All of the bodies were super well used after thousands of rolls doing weddings and while basically in good nick the slow lever action would make inconsistencies and I had really nothing to lose. I did a number of attempts, with CRC electrical cleaner first with operating the camera while spraying thru a long thin straw to try to target the 'joint' where that lever pivots, if you can see the part on an exploded F4 diagram you'll see what I was aiming at. After a good amount of spray/shutter cycle I switched to a more precise method of tracing the lever down with a thin wire and then dripping small drops of lighter fluid (Naphtha) and then cycling the camera plenty of times, doing this a couple of times finishing with lots of spray air targeted to dry the area. When things felt smoother, less sticky, I followed up with the same method of dripping tiny drops along a wire, but with this last one with CRC greaseless lubricant, not much. My theory was from the first cleaning as a general clean for the area, then the Naphtha as a more targeted clean, and then a tiny amount of lubricant. I think, (its been more than a few years, at least 5-6) I stopped doing the first spray after the first one and just did small amounts of Naphtha to clean, cycle until things seem better, then spray air to clean. I'd let the camera sit for a day or more then check the aperture lever operation with known test lens, if there was any slowness on *the first* cycle then I'd repeat the whole process. If and when a camera would pass that test I'd let it set a week and test. I think most of the bodies needed at least 2-3 attempts, and I would test them with film by putting the camera on A and shooting a sequence while moving the aperture ring from wide open to full stopped down. If there was any and I mean any residual lag the negatives would show over exposure, a correctly working lever would give perfectly even negatives which would be obvious when the negs were put on a light table.
As it was/is, I managed to revive those bodies and I passed one or two bodies off to friends/family and kept two or three, I lost those and several newer F4's (and a whole lot of other stuff) in the Lahaina wildfires, but I did save one F4 with MB-20 that I used to photograph the fire and its aftermath. That F4 was one of those that I did the revive on, and its been a regular shooter for me with no exposure errors, but I do try to shoot a roll a month with it.
Of course YMMV, but this worked for me. I now routinely test any F4 I find for sale by using the stop down lever and feeling how smooth it is and listening to the sound, if its too 'creaky' I figure its slow, and offer accordingly. Good luck with the mission, I will be following along.
Thanks for sharing! I have the same issue. Complete teardown is beyond me, any advice on syringing without dissasembly?
Excellent contribution!
Hi friend
I already have my F4 at home, the technician did a good job, I just tested it with a roll of Ilford Pan 100 film and I hope to develop it next week, the shutter sounds and looks incredible, this camera made 30 years ago came back to life, the shutter is an old new part that was manufactured 26 years ago, notice how curious it is that the upper LCD has the characteristic bleeding and then in a warm room it disappears, also the LCD of the viewfinder had bleeding marks but when it is in a warm room the marks go away, in any way I can get another body for spares I will look for one that does not have a bleeding LCD.
Do you have the picture of the underside of this cover? I am curious to see how the VF release lever is attached to the cover and the connection to the release mechanism on the chassis.
View attachment 380224
Do you have the picture of the underside of this cover? I am curious to see how the VF release lever is attached to the cover and the connection to the release mechanism on the chassis.
View attachment 380224
This is quite a stunning thread. Good on you, Andreas, for tackling this. I recently purchased a used F4 on ebay. It is in pristine condition. Possibly too pristine as it likely sat unused for quite a while. The DOF preview button causes a squeal which I did not recollect with my first F4 from 20 yrs ago. That's how I found this thread. The aperture lever appears to work properly, so I am not too anxious to address the squeal (if it ain't broke, don't fix it), but I will keep your "injector" solution as a possibility. I wonder if this is what a camera repair shop might do if they read about this option?
Did you find that the errant oil caused functional problems? Or, did the squeal and/or aperture malfunction come back after a time?Thanks!
I would no longer recommend the syringe method because it is difficult to control. You will then have oil in the camera in places where it doesn't belong. It is better to remove the mirror box and oil this one gear.
Did you find that the errant oil caused functional problems? Or, did the squeal and/or aperture malfunction come back after a time?
Ah! Very interesting. Yes, the graphite is not necessary, good to know. The whole area did look pretty oily. As you mentioned, the key is to deposit a precise amount of oil but is difficult considering that it is being applied blindly. Hmmm.
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