Bought a 'genuine' shutter curtain kit that was just cheap junk

I needed parts for an old Nikon FM2 and found a seller online claiming to have OEM replacements. Spent about $85 on what looked right in the pictures. When it showed up, the material felt wrong and the adhesive was already peeling. Tried installing it anyway and the curtain jammed on the first test fire, which then bent a couple of the delicate linkage pins. Had to order the real part from a specialty supplier and spend another two hours fixing my new mistake. Anyone know a reliable source for actual NOS mechanical parts that won't burn you?

3 comments

3 Comments

abby8361mo ago

Man, that's a brutal lesson to learn the hard way. Used to figure any part that looked right would work well enough, but a bad repair can definitely make things worse. Your story about bending the linkage pins is exactly why I'm so careful now. For old mechanical cameras, the right part isn't just a suggestion, it's the whole job. Really hope you find a good source, because that double loss of time and money is the worst.

paulc931mo ago

Funny how experience changes your view on things. There used to be a time when I'd try to make a close-enough part work, just to get something moving again. Seeing a project fail because of a shortcut like that really makes you stop and think. Now it's clear that for these old machines, the exact part is the only part that will do. That careful approach saves so much headache in the long run.

seana141mo agoTop Commenter

But is it really that big a deal if a part is a tiny bit off?