20 Most Recent Nikon FA 35mm SLR Camera Questions & Answers

According to the manual you have 4 electrical contacts. I would suspect one on the body is not working to fire the shutter. Try a eraser on the FA body winder contacts. If not, I would say the body has the problem.

needs repairing at a qualified shop when was it last cleaned or serviced ? if you think the camera is worthy, since its old how much is it worth to you vs a new one

Turn the shutter speed dial to M-90 this will release the camera, Then you can put new batteries in and it will work again, (Electronic camera) M-90 stands for mecnical

Pull the rewind knob up, Back door will open,

I can tell you that you can't fix it yourself

Try moving the coupler on the bottom where the motor drive would connect. See if you can rotate the piece clockwise. With the advance lever loose, it may be in mid-cycle on the winding/advance

After unscrewing the rewind knob, remove the circlip under it. Remove the disk and pull the rewind shaft stop off the hub (a spring and flat plate). Remove the two screws. You'll need a special tool to remove the little stud the shaft stop was pivoting on. Take a 1/8 inch screwdriver and grind a slot in the blade. Use this tool to remove the stud, then remove the three screws from the plastic cover ring.

The dark viewfinder usually means that the battery must be replaced as the mirror has fully or partially locked up. A new battery usually fixes this instantly. The stuck shutter release can also be due to a failed battery or is due to the shutter lock being engaged. The lock is disengaged by pulling the film advance lever back slightly.

You can download free instructions for your camera courtesy or the Norman Butkus website; if you find his information useful then consider making a donation as he suggests toward his site running costs.

The battery is either two SR44's or LR44's, the latter are cheaper but give less accurate exposures due to their unstable voltage output, but if you're shooting on negative film instead of transparencies you'll be unlikely to spot the difference. A single CR1/3N battery also does the same job as two LR44's but is harder to find and more expensive than two of the very common LR44's.

If it's still within the 7 days take it back. The Nikon FA was a great camera but time and lack of use has probably caused the shutter to seize. To put this camera back into serviceable condition for any photography will require a clean, lubrication and adjustment by a qualified camera person. I'm in Canada and have cameras service fairly regularly older ones to have this type of work performed will cost about $120.00 Canadian. The instructor is probably asking for the students to have a manual camera to be able to learn from the ground up which to me is the best way but, these old cameras are failing just because the grease is drying out. There are still a lot of good used working camera out there I just bought a great Canon Elan 7Ne for $199.00 CDN and it's a 2005 model the last year of the Canon film cameras. I guess it depends on if you want to spend the money (and time) to get the FA repaired or step into something for a little more money that works properly right from the get go.

I would suggest strongly that you don't attempt this. There are still lots independent camera repair people around that can do this work. It requires resetting the light meter and shutter after the shutter service and without the proper tools you'll just ruin the camera. I've seen camera service/repair auctioned on e-Bay for under $100.00 some exotic makes will go higher but the Nikon FA I'd say would go in the $130.00 range. You could also do a Google search for a repair depot, you may be surprised to find someone local to do it as well.

Older film cameras have the lubricant dry out and it begins to drag the shutter speeds down some like the Canon "A" series will even begin to squeak when the shutter is released. The Nikon FA's are great classic cameras and if in good cosmetic condition it's often worth having them repaired. I don't know where you are but in Canada a clean lube and adjust would be about $130.00, I'm sure less in the US. I still have several film cameras in my "fleet" although used less then once before they still produce great pictures. Happy Holidays from Canada

The small lever on the inside of the mirror box is what controls the aperture. If the lever on the outside is sticking, it would only hold the lever on the inside down so you would be stopped down all the time. You can try a small amount of lighter fluid at the base of the outside lever and work it back and forth to see if it would free up.

Dave, do you realise just how incredibly mechanically complex your camera is?.

The shutter has not reset, all that's happened is that your sticking shutter has now progressed to a partially seized shutter release. The dark grey viewfinder indicates that the mirror inside the lens throat has stuck in the partially up (or partially down) position. This might just be something really simple like dirty shutter magnets, but if the camera was serviced before sale then that should have been spotted and corrected. Sadly, many dealers just give the camera a wipe over with a cloth, maybe a little bit of fresh paint on worn corners and a set of fresh batteries and claim that the camera has had a full service before sale.

Buying from a reputable dealer always attracts a price premium as such dealers are supposed to give full after-sales care. Just take it back for a refund or repair. Given that there are thousands of good FA's around (my last two were free on FreeCycle/Freegle), and that the dealer should have ensured that yours was in perfect condition before selling it, I'd personally demand a refund especially if you're in the UK (likely from your spelling of "grey") with the protection given by the Sale of Goods Act. Allowing the dealer to try and repair the fault will weaken your right to a refund under the Act, and any attempt to repair the fault yourself will completely void your consumer protection.

One other point to consider is that, worldwide, there are far fewer camera repair outlets than there used to be, and so you can usually expect to wait around six weeks for a repair unless paying far more for an express repair. This may be different if your dealer is one which has it's own qualified camera repair technician and is worth asking about if you consider letting them repair your camera.

I hope that my posting has clarified matters for you and will help you to make the correct decision. Good luck with a speedy resolution. Please return the favour by taking a moment to rate my answer.

the capacitor is bad or the circut has a fault somewhere. You will need to take it to a camera tech or just use it in the manual moide only