Just had a shutter curtain fall apart on a Nikon F2 from the 70s

Was working on a customer's F2 last Tuesday, cleaning up the mirror box and giving it a CLA. Everything looked fine until I went to test the speeds and the curtain just... crumbled. Pieces of rubberized cloth everywhere. I guess after 50 years the material just gives up. Had to tell the guy it needs a whole new shutter assembly. Parts are getting harder to find for these. Anyone know a reliable source for F2 curtain replacements these days?

3 comments

3 Comments

karen_hart1mo ago

Man that's a brutal moment when you're right there and it just goes. Nothing worse than giving a customer bad news after you've already started on their gear. Those F2 curtains are getting real sketchy the older they get, seems like the rubber compound just hits a wall after enough decades. I've had luck finding NOS parts through some of the old-school repair forums, but you gotta be quick when they pop up. One shop in New Jersey still had a few complete shutter units last I checked, might be worth a call if you haven't gone down that road yet.

andrew_miller901mo ago

You gotta be quick when they pop up" - that's the line that gets me. It's funny how this whole vintage camera repair scene is basically the same as any other niche hobby now. Everything is just a race against time and other collectors. I mean, is it really that different from trying to find a specific vinyl record or a discontinued tool at a garage sale? @karen_hart you're right that the rubber on those F2 curtains just gives up one day, but that's the thing about anything old. You can baby it all you want, but eventually the materials just decide they're done. Makes you wonder if we're just delaying the inevitable with all this parts hunting.

abby1891mo ago

@andrew_miller90 nailed it, the whole hunting game feels exactly like chasing rare records.