I know this ain’t going to be pretty!

So I have a camera with a problem.

As you can see there is something wrong with the shutter blades … yeah.

This ain’t no simple blades popping out of the slot issue, this one I know is really broken.

Well time to take a look inside.

I was advised that getting to the shutter on a Nikon FM2 was not that difficult … there is a pretty good video on YouTube showing how to get the mirror box off.

Now I have to warn you that the images show some parts that were taken off already … I don’t tend to document in sequential order as I go …

Ok, lets start from the top.

First, remove rewind knob using the typical method is used. Under it is a tension clip thin and a washer.

The shutter speed dial is secured with 3 screws. Remove and pull off.

Advance lever … first remove cover leatherette, then unscrew the cap. Remove the lever and be aware of the spring underneath.

Finally the top cover, it is held on by five screws, pull off top plate.

Note that there are two plastic parts, one on each side of the prism that will fall off as they are only held on by the top cover.

For a mechanical camera, the FM2 has a complicated electronic light meter system … it actually has dual SPD photosensors, so there is a lot of wires. I decided to loosen some wires by desoldering some of them.

Remove the bottom plate. Three screws.

I desoldered the black wire to battery terminal (blue wire), red and orange to winder contacts … loosen white wire from glue.

Now open the back door.

Remove the single black screw.

OK, now the front of the camera.

The lens mount … four screws.

 

 

There is a metal ring underneath … note it’s orientation … then take it off.

Now there are some things left … there is a plastic ring with string attached and an inner metal ring that is tapered – thin side down.

You can pull those out and put the one with the string aside.

Now you can unscrew front plastic cover two screws … pass plastic ring through it.

Self timer lever … take off the leatherette. Remove screw and self timer lever.

OK getting close now. Remove front two leatherette patches.

There are five screws that hold the mirror box/prism on. Remove.

There are three screws on either side of the viewfinder port … and one below the shutter speed dial that has a spring (not the other screw).

OK, this is the hard part … peeling off the top and moving it aside. You will encounter some old sticky foam.

Now here is where the video (I noted at the beginning) ends.

The shutter housing and the gears can be remove just by taking off the two brass top screws … do a little wiggling and pull off shutter.

The back side of the shutter housing plate is held on by a couple of screws.Then slide off.

 

 

 

 

More layers, more screws.

Make note of the tiny springs that are attached to both of the shutter blade sets.

You can now remove both sets of shutters.

So here is the second curtain. One of the blades actually snapped the metal into two … well that is not something you repair, just replace.

Putting the camera back together was not all that difficult either.

This one is now relegated to the parts bin … just to wait for another FM2 or an FE2 to land in my lap.

Hmm, I just realized I didn’t even check if the light meter was working …

The Nikon FM2 … the speed demon.

1977 … Nikon makes a mechanical version of the FE called the FM. I think they did this to appease all those old foggie shooters pining for a lighter version of their F2’s. It had the similar body design as the FE so it was small/compact.

This post is about the successor … the Nikon FM2. The FM2 has quite the following and it deserves it. It is a very well made camera that carries on Nikon’s F legacy.

The FM2 had upgraded to a super duper dual silicon photo-diodes, and the super-super duper vertically traveling titanium shutter that could achieve 1/4000s!!!! Wow (I think Copal made the shutter for Nikon). The early FM2’s has a honeycomb pattern on the blades … sometime in 1989 they got rid of that and replaced it with unpatterned aluminum alloy blades that were on the FE2.

The original 1982 FM2 is not easily found as it only lasted a year before being slightly changed in 1983. The updated version is still labeled as FM2, though like the Canon F-1 it is considered the FM2n (the serial number starts with N) … the visual difference is the increase in flash sync from X200 to X250 on the shutter speed knob.

The FM2 has been a favorite among Nikon shooters for may years due to it ruggist-ness- nesss. Many are still working perfectly to this day, even after being discontinued in 2001.

Unless you put your thumb through the shutter …