Nikon F & F2 SLR servicing

One body at a time.

A small bench in the Highlands dedicated to the Nikon F and F2. Work follows the Nikon repair manual, is measured where it matters, and is documented before the camera goes home.

The bench will begin accepting a limited number of cameras in 2027. Nothing is booked or priced yet; this page is here so you know the bench exists.

S • 0 • 2 • 4 • 6 • 8 • 10 • 12 • 14 • 16 • 18 • 20 • 22 • 24 • 26 • 28 • 30 • 32 • 34 • 36 • 38 • 40
Frame 27 is the dot between 26 and 28.

What the bench will cover

The service options are still being worked out. In outline, they are defined by how far the camera comes apart:

  • AssessmentInspection and test roll, with a written report on what the camera needs and why.
  • ResealLight seals and mirror damper renewed, mirror box cleaned, infinity and mirror angle verified.
  • Transport and shutterWind, transport and shutter speed train serviced and timed against measurement.
  • Full mechanicalThe body taken down by module, cleaned, relubricated, reassembled to the repair manual values.

F and F2 bodies with their plain eye-level prisms only at first. Metered Photomic and DP-series heads are not being accepted until parts supply for them is proven; some of their cells can no longer be replaced. The F3 and later bodies are outside the bench’s scope.

Bench notes

The F2 is being documented module by module in the Public Bench Notes: what the parts do, how the mechanisms interact, and what to look for when something is not right. The F will follow. The first reference covers the take-up middle plate under the wind lever: 54 component pieces carrying the wind clutch, the frame counter and the shutter release.

Its four mounting screws have deliberate float. Where the plate is fixed within that float affects the wind: get the position wrong and an otherwise clean camera can wind heavily.

Nikon F2 Wind Lever, Frame Counter and Shutter Release: the Take-up Middle Plate (D-3)

Public Bench Note F2-001. Rev E, October 2026.

Every part and its function, how the module works, eleven symptoms traced through the mechanism, the adjustment and functional checks, and a bench record sheet. Each statement is marked by its source.

Read the note or download the PDF

Register interest

If you would like to know when the bench opens, send a note with the body serial number, the finder fitted, and what the camera is or is not doing. This is a notification list, not a queue: you will get one email when service slots are available, with no commitment either way.

Your email address is used only to tell you the bench is open. Ask and it is deleted.

Register interest