Nikon F-801 ,aperture not changing in M or A mode

[peterzoch]

#9232

Hello,
I am trying to go back to film shooting.
I recently bought very nice looking F-801.According to manual to shoot in A or M mode aperture ring need to be set on the lens by moving the ring .

However while switching to Aperture or Manual mode aperture blades( Nikon 35-70) are not moving so camera is not able to expose properly and showing f22 on 35mm or f32 on 70mm.

Everything is working fine in P or S mode when aperture need to be locked on highest f stop number.

I tried this operation on Sigma 70-210 ,still the same,blades are not moving.

Does anyone experience this problem?

I will appreciate any help.

Thank you

[dmhyett]

#9234

I am not sure I can help as I have never owned a Nikon. However, I would expect if you choose A (Aperture Priority) or M (Manual) that this should set a fixed aperture. This will not normally change the aperture immediately. I think most cameras remain at full aperture until you fire the shutter then immediately stop down to the aperture setting for the exposure. If this is not happening there may be a fault but perhaps one of our Nikon owners can comment.

Dave

[AndyR]

#9264

May possibly be idea to contact Grays of Westminster the Nikon dealer in London. As you may know they have a wide range of equipment from the film era etc

[Ricardo]

#9268

Hi Peter,
Agree with AndyR, Grays of Westminster are a Nikon specialist and should be able to clarify any points and advise what is/isn’t working ‘normally’. Only older Nikkor lenses had an aperture ring on the lens barrel. YouTube is another rich source of info for many camera specific topics.

I’m no longer a Nikon user so, my comments below are based on what I can remember. There were several series of f-mount Nikkor lenses, AI, AIS which permitted manual control and used a registration pin (or ring) to inform the camera body what aperture had been set. The last series of lenses to retain an aperture ring typically had to be set at f22 (smallest aperture) on lens so that camera body could control and set the desired aperture – even in manual ‘M’ mode. You won’t see the aperture blades close down until the moment you trip the shutter. The newest f mount lenses don’t have any aperture ring on the lens barrel at all. Aperture is always set via the camera body, whether using modes ‘M’ manual, ‘A’ aperture priority, ‘P’ program or ‘S’ shutter priority.

Some newer film camera bodies (possibly f801) can’t quite remember now, can’t use older manual lenses, with the aperture set on lens ring as they lack the mechanical interface to detect an aperture set on lens – so won’t ever stop down. These had always to be set to f22 (smallest aperture) and then aperture was controlled via camera body – even in ‘M’ mode. The last ‘top of range’ film bodies (F5 and F6) still permitted older lenses to control aperture either via a body dial or the lens aperture ring because they also retained a mechanical indexing ring. Hope this helps.

[peterzoch]

#9269

Thank You for all comments.
I posted the problem on Nikon forum and i got help from one senior member.
It ended that aperture follower pin on camera was damaged,exactly broken spring connected to follower.
I bought another F-801s and everything seems to be working as it should.
Going to start shooting Black and White film,we will see.Last time i did that was 30 years ago with Russian made FED-5:)

[dmhyett]

#9643

I think it was during the 1990’s that I last used film. At that time I was processing colour and B&W negatives and printing. So I used Ilfords XP2 which was a C41 process same as for colour.

Dave

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