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Just learned the original Nikon F had a shutter rated for 100,000 cycles from a random repair manual
I was flipping through a 1970s repair guide I found at a flea market in Tacoma last weekend, and it mentioned the Nikon F's cloth shutter was tested to 100,000 actuations. That's wild to me, considering some modern shutters are rated for less. The manual said they used a special lubricant on the ribbons that most shops don't even stock anymore. Has anyone here actually seen one of those old shutters hit that number and still work?
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knight.dylan14d agoTop Commenter
A hundred thousand cycles on cloth ribbons sounds like a fairy tale now. My old F's shutter gave up around thirty thousand, and the repair guy just laughed when I asked about the special lube. He said the only thing that lasts that long is the dust on his shelf of discontinued parts. They must have built those test cameras in a different factory, or maybe they just counted really fast.
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kimr7414d ago
Mine's still going strong after fifty thousand, no special lube either!
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kimmurphy14d ago
Ha, well my F's shutter probably feels like me trying to run a marathon. The spirit is willing, but the body is making some concerning noises. I'd believe that 100k rating if they tested it in a clean room and never actually put film in it. My guess is they counted one cycle as the shutter opening and closing, not a full wind and fire. That's the only way my math works.
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