Can we talk about the Nikon F3 shutter that locked up mid wedding shoot in Savannah?
So I was second shooting a wedding in Savannah two weeks ago and my Nikon F3 shutter locked wide open right after the first kiss. I had about 40 frames left on the roll and the mirror was stuck up, so I pulled the camera into a coat closet and cracked the baseplate with a quarter. Turned out the second curtain brake had a tiny piece of foam gunk jammed in it, and a blast of air plus a light nudge got it moving again. I finished the ceremony with that same body and the roll came out fine, no light leaks, nothing. Got home and ordered a full foam kit for 12 bucks because the old seals were basically dust. Anyone else had a shutter curtain hang up like that, and did cleaning it actually hold or did it come back within a few rolls?
Cleaning the brake is just a band aid, that foam gunk will keep shedding and jam the curtain again within a few rolls if you don't replace every seal in that body. Pro CLA will tell you the F3 foam turns to sticky dust with age and every curtain hangup traces back to the same rot. Blowing it out on a wedding day was smart but you got lucky, that camera needs a full teardown and reseal before you trust it on another paid job.