Tag: Nikon F-401 35mm SLR

What the listing stated:

Nikon F-401 35mm SLR Film Camera Body Only – Spares or Repairs. Unsure why it won’t work, I bought brand new batteries and it doesn’t want to power on. No exterior damage or scratches to suggest it’s been dropped. Battery compartment is nice and clean. Any further queries feel free to ask. Thank you for browsing.

EBay

Known pretty much as a dollar camera, it’s a Nikon but aimed at the entry level, and is of a plastic construction. The dollar tag is generally used to say just how cheaply available it is. I paid a bit more than a dollar, I paid £4:00GBP, after knocking the seller down from the £12:00GBP he was originally requesting. Still a bargain I believe, will be a nice little starter camera for someone if I can get it working.

Here’s a little about this camera:

The Nikon F-401 (N4004 in North America) was a beginner’s level, autofocus, 35mm, single-lens reflex (SLR) film camera built by Nikon and introduced in 1987. The camera represented one of Nikon’s first endeavours into consumer-based autofocus, as a follow-up to their first autofocus SLR in 1986, the Nikon F-501 (known as the N2020 in North America). The camera lacked many of the advanced features that more seasoned amateurs and professionals required, but it was a harbinger of the future as it included a pronounced, built-in grip as well as an integrated TTL Flash that is now commonplace on all but the most high-end SLR cameras.

The F-401 introduced the now common-place feature of using a thumbwheel instead of lens aperture ring to adjust the aperture. Furthermore, the camera’s lack of support for AI lenses meant that while all previous Nikon lenses could be mounted to the camera, none supported automatic exposure TTL metering. 

An upgraded version the F-401S (also known as the N4004S) was released in April 1989. The F-401X (also known as the N5005) followed in September 1991.

By the 1990s, the F-401 was part of a lineup of autofocus consumer SLRs that included the more expensive Nikon F-601 and Nikon F-801.

Wikipedia

Looking on line at other F-401s that are for sale seems to highlight that power issues are a regular point of failure for these cameras. Let’s await its arrival so we can carry out a full assessment of this unit.

Assessment:

Here’s what has arrived today with the postman

I’ve just sat at the kitchen table looking this camera over, and for £4:00GBP it’s a bargain. It’s very clean despite not having a body cap, there is only a tiny bit of paint damage near one of the strap connectors, apart from that this camera is in a very good (cosmetically) condition. A bit of a clean will take it to another level, however we will look at that once the fix has been done.

I have put 4 x AA batteries into the base of the camera and there appears to be no life in the camera. Contacts appear clean, the batteries are good, let’s take a deeper look into what the issue may be.

Repair:

As I always do with any camera I purchase, I like to ensure the lens barrel, mirror and curtain are protected. In this case I will therefore 3D print a suitable body cap, and a hot shoe cover. If I then have to start any in depth cleaning at least I won’t have to worry about any excess debris intruding into this area.

The next thing I really study with any new camera that I obtain is the instruction manual. If some of the sellers actually did the same then they’d quickly realise, that sometimes there are no issues with the unit, it can really just be down to the quirkiness of the camera and how its controls work. Each camera brand differs slightly, so if you have no experience with a specific brand, it can quickly come across as the camera is not working. In a lot of cameras I deal with this is not the case. Knowledge really is king here.

And I suspect that this very camera may just well be a case of the sellers lack of operational knowledge.

I really feel like a fraud here, there is a button on the rear of the camera directly behind the shutter button. Here there is also a small slide switch. This combination of slide switch and button allows you to rewind the film when finished. The button appeared depressed, and when pushed a number of times along with moving the switch side to side the button then popped up and the camera kicked in to life.

A little contact cleaner placed behind the slide and down the side of the button ensured a free and easy operation. When the rewind procedure was used at least six times it has worked perfectly without issue.

When the rear of the camera is opened, the exposure counter resets as it should. When it is closed again and the shutter button is depressed, three quick fire actuations occur forwarding the film to its first exposure. All is working well.

A Nikkor 28-100 lens on the front confirms all indications are working in the viewfinder, and auto focus appears to be just fine. All aspects of operation on the camera have been tested and everything is doing exactly what it should be doing. This camera was never broken. Its operation was just mis-understood.

Result:

£4:00GBP is a very good price to pay for a fully operational camera, even though it was purchased as a faulty item. Every camera i purchase, I always download a .pdf instruction manual file to store on my server. Nine times out of ten a brief read of just the setup information can sort out a myriad of issues, and if the seller had done the same they would have been able to up their sales prices accordingly. I’m not complaining though as I’m able to bag a bargain on many occasions.

Here’s how this little unloved piece of camera looks after I have sorted it out, cleaned it and paired it up with a suitable lens:

To think if this camera had not been purchased it would have just been chucked in the waste. Instruction manuals are supplied for a reason, and it’s always wise to refer to one when things start to go wrong, nine times out of ten there isn’t a problem, just a minor misunderstanding.

Take it from me, instruction manuals are good. I have hundreds stored electronically referencing cameras I have had, through my hands over the past years.

Thanks for passing by, and as always it is very much appreciated.