Nikon F50/N50 "double aperture" weirdness, is this normal?

[JCarlsson]

Hey folks! Forum newbie here.

I'm selling off some of my camera collection and when testing my F/N50 (w/o film), I noticed that no matter what aperture I set in manual mode the camera seems to apply near to maximum aperture for half a second after the shutter closes again after an exposure. I've tried with two different AF-D lenses and one AF-S and it's the same there.

I'm not at all familiar with this era of Nikon SLRs and can't think of any logical reason why this would happen so I need to know if this is as it should be and if I can sell it with confidence it isn't broken.

Any and all help is appreciated!

PS. I'm not a native English speaker so if I'm not making sense just ask and I'll try to explain.

 

[compur]

If you mean that the aperture opens to wide open after the exposure, yes, this is normal for practically all SLRs made in the last 50 years.

 

[480sparky]

Yep... the aperture blades are held open to maximum so it's much easier to focus and compose. When you press the shutter release, the aperture closes down to the aperture chose, the shutter opens and closes, then the aperture opens back to maximum.

If your lenses are not doing this, there's an issue with the camera, especially if you have the same result with multiple lenses.

 

[JCarlsson]

If you mean that the aperture opens to wide open after the exposure, yes, this is normal for practically all SLRs made in the last 50 years.

Yep... the aperture blades are held open to maximum so it's much easier to focus and compose. When you press the shutter release, the aperture closes down to the aperture chose, the shutter opens and closes, then the aperture opens back to maximum.

If your lenses are not doing this, there's an issue with the camera, especially if you have the same result with multiple lenses.

Err.. my mistake. I obviously mean MINIMUM aperture. Like around F19 or thereabouts. Freudian slip.

 

[480sparky]

OK. I'm confused. You're saying after the shutter closes, the lens stops down to 'around f/19' for half a second? That sounds like a mechanical error with the camera.... the little lever inside the camera body lens mount is sticking.

 

[JCarlsson]

OK. I'm confused. You're saying after the shutter closes, the lens stops down to 'around f/19' for half a second? That sounds like a mechanical error with the camera.... the little lever inside the camera body lens mount is sticking.

Yeah that's basically it, I'll upload a video of what I mean, one moment.

 

[JCarlsson]

OK. I'm confused. You're saying after the shutter closes, the lens stops down to 'around f/19' for half a second? That sounds like a mechanical error with the camera.... the little lever inside the camera body lens mount is sticking.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Have you run a roll of film thru it? Just wondering if you'd be able to see in photos that the aperture was set appropriately (if you could see the difference in depth of field). edit - And if you're selling it, cameras are often listed as film tested, or not... could make a difference I think to a buyer since a camera can appear to work properly but may not with film in it.

I use mostly all manual mechanical film cameras and I can't think offhand if anything I have with more auto settings works in this way. If I pause the video it looks like it closes to the set aperture, then opens to reset for the next photo. Have you tried it systematically on more than one aperture to test it?

 

[JCarlsson]

Have you run a roll of film thru it? Just wondering if you'd be able to see in photos that the aperture was set appropriately (if you could see the difference in depth of field). edit - And if you're selling it, cameras are often listed as film tested, or not... could make a difference I think to a buyer since a camera can appear to work properly but may not with film in it.

I use mostly all manual mechanical film cameras and I can't think offhand if anything I have with more auto settings works in this way. If I pause the video it looks like it closes to the set aperture, then opens to reset for the next photo. Have you tried it systematically on more than one aperture to test it?

No, unfortunately I haven't tried it with film yet so as you've pointed out I can't guarantee any potential buyers it's not faulty.
In Sweden, stores still selling film are few and far between, and developing labs are even fewer. Takes about a week to get a roll developed. I could certainly try that but it feels mighty arduous for what this camera would be worth.

And yes, it happens on every aperture setting throughout the range on all three lenses I tested.

 

[480sparky]

OK, so the camera is set to f/2.8, and the blades are closing down.... then close down again after the shutter opens. I'd say the camera has mechanical issues.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

It's old enough a CLA wouldn't be a bad idea. It appears something is sticking in the aperture mechanism.

 

[JCarlsson]

OK, so the camera is set to f/2.8, and the blades are closing down.... then close down again after the shutter opens. I'd say the camera has mechanical issues.

It's old enough a CLA wouldn't be a bad idea. It appears something is sticking in the aperture mechanism.

Here's a slowmo clip without a lens attached. It does seem like the little lever is doing a sort of double take on the way back up. But it seems like the shutter is completely closed before that happens, would that still impact image quality I wonder?

 

[480sparky]

Yeah... there's an issue with the camera. Hopefully a simple CLA will fix it.

 

[Cincinnati]

You are using a lens with a max aperture of 1.8. You are set to f/2.8. It looks like it could be functioning properly. Use the depth of field preview button and see if the diaphragm is closing to that same amount.

If you’ve never sent the camera in to Nikon, call and ask what they would charge to clean and adjust it back to factory spec. That body may be very reasonable to do.

I was going to sell my D850, and I just spent $500 to make sure I would not be selling someone a problem and it has a warranty. Now it looks like a new body and I want to keep it.