Nikon MD-4 User manual

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Nikon Motor Drive
MD-4
INSTRUCTION MANUAL

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NOMENCLATURE
(1) Battery check button
(2) Counter setting dial
(3) Frame counter setting index
(4) Frame counter
(5) Rewind slide (R2)
(7) Electrical contacts
(6) Motor drive coupling prong
LED indicators (9)
Auto rewind-stop terminals (10)
Rewind slide 1 lock button (11)
Rewind slide 1 (R1) (12)
Battery chamber with
Battery clip
Trigger button (14)
S-C mode selector (15)
Motor drive
coupling cover
storage
compartment
Camera positioning pin (17)
(8) Rewind button pin
(16)
(13)

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Tripod socket (26)
Battery
clip release
catch
Automatic film rewind fork (22)
Mounting screw (20)
Attachment wheel (21)
Remote terminal (24)
External power
terminal
(18) Anatomical
grip
(19) Maganize back
terminal
(23)
(25)

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NOMENCLATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
BASIC OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
CONTROLS IN DETAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Anatomical Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
S-C Mode Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11
(including Mulliple exposures)
Trigger Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Frame Counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13
Rewind Slides 1 (R1) and 2 (R2) . . . . . . . . . 14
Battery Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Battery Check Button and LED Indicators . . . . . 16
ElectricalTerminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
(Magazine back terminal/External power
terminal/Remote terminal)
ACCESSORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 - 21
PowerAccessories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
(MN-2 NiCd Battery Unit and MH-2 Quick Charger/
MA-4 AC/DC Converter and MC-ll External
Power Cord)
ConvenientAccessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
(MF-6 Camera Back/Pistol Grip Model 2 and MC-3
Connecting Cord/AH-2 Tripod Adapter)
Remote Control Accessories. . . . . . . . . . 19-20
(MC- 12 Remote Cord with Button Release
/MW-1 Radio Control Set and MC-S Connecting Cord/
ML-1 Modulite Remote Control Set and
MC-8 Connecting Cord/ MR-2 Terminal Release)
Simultaneous and Time Lag Shooting Accessories. . 21
(MC-4 Remote Cord/MT-1 Intervalometer and MC-S
Connecting Cord/ Time-lapse exposures )
SPECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
OPTIMUM BATTERY PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Congratulations. You now own the MD4 Motor
Drive, an accessory designed to advance
the film automatically through the Ni*on
F3 camera. The MD-4 offers either "Single"
or "Continuous" operation. At "S," the
film advances to the next frame as soon
as the picture is taken. At "C, "it will
be advanced at 4 frames per second with
penlight batteries or at 6 fps when us-
ing the optional MN-2 NiCd Battery Unit.
In addition, the MD-4 offers automatic
film rewind. Even though the MD4 is ex-
tremely easy to use, you should still
familiarize yourself with its basic op-
eration as presented in the first sec-
tion. For more detailed explanations and
special picturetaking situations, refer
to the sections CONTROLS IN DETAIL and
ACCESSORIES. A few minutes wisely in-
vested now will pay off in years of re-
warding photographic experiences.
CONTENTS FOREWORD

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1.Unscrew the camera's motor
drive coupling cover.
First make sure the camera's
power switch is turned off. Then
turn the camera upside down and
use a coin to unscrew the
cover.Remove the motor drive's
battery clipG). Slide the re-
lease catch ~to the right and
the battery clip will pop out.
2.Remove the motor drive's bat-
tery clip(13).
Slide the release catch (25)to
the right and the battery clip
will pop out.
3.Store the cover in the
compartment (16) provided.
To prevent the cover from being
misplaced, slip it into the stor-
age compartment on the end of the
battery clip. To remove the motor
drive coupling cover, push the
small catch to the outside as you
turn the battery clip upside down.
The cover will then fall out.
BASIC OPERATION

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BASIC OPERATION continued
4.Load the batteries.
Install 8 AA-type penlight bat-
teries into the clip following
the " + " and "-" indications.
5.Install the battery clip.
Put the clip back in the bat-
tery chamber (13). Push it un-
til it snaps into place.
6.Check the battery power.
Push the battery check button (1)
If both LED's (9) light up, the
batteries have been loaded prop-
erly and their power is suffi-
cient. If one LED glows, the bat-
teries should be replaced with a
fresh set. If none go on, this
indicates that the batteries have
not been loaded correctly or are
completely dead.

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BASIC OPERATION continued
7.Attach the motor drive to the camera body.
Make sure the S-C mode selector (15) of the
motor drive is set to L (Lock) before attaching
the camera. Otherwise the motor might start
operating. Place the camera body on top of the
motor drive so that the motor drive's mounting
screw (20) lines up with the camera's tripod
socket and the camera positioning pin (17) is
aligned with the motor drive coupling hole.
Then turn the attachment wheel (21) counter-
clockwise until the two units are screwed tightly
together.
8.Load the camera with film.
Load film into the camera in the normal way.
Note: Do not detach the motor drive from the
camera while it's still loaded with film. Unless
you are in o darkroom. the film might become
exposed to liqht entering through the bottom of
the camera.

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BASIC OPERATION continued
9.Set the frame counter (4) to
the orange dot.
Turn the counter setting dial
(2) until the frame counter
reaches the orange dot.
10.Set the S-C mode selector
(15).
Lift up and set the S-C mode
selector for either S (SINGLE)
or C (CONTINUOUS) operation.
11.Take the picture(s).
Depress the trigger button (14)
halfway to switch on the meter.
If you're satisfied with the
reading, push the button all
the way down to take the shot
(s).

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BASIC OPERATION continued
12.Rewind the film automati-
cally.
When the film reaches the end
of the roll, it will automati-
cally stop and one LED will light
up. Depress the lock button (11)
on rewind slide I (R1) (12) and
push the slide to the left. Then,
while holding it, push rewind
slide 2 (R2) (5) up. Immedi-
ately the film starts rewind-
ing. When the sound becomes more
high-pitched, push rewind slide
2 back down to stop film re-
winding.
13.Remove the film cartridge.
Unload the camera in the normal
manner.
14.Turn the S-C mode selector
to the L-setting.
To prevent the shutter from
being accidentally tripped be-
tween shooting sessions, turn
the S-C mode selector to the L
(LOCK) position.

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Anatomical Grip (18)
The MD-4 features a new anatomical grip to permit
the photographer to shoot either horizontal or
vertical pictures comfortably. For horizontal
shooting, hold the grip so that your thumb is
behind the camera and your forefinger is on the
trigger button. In this way, you can change quickly
from horizontal to vertical shooting. However,
another way to hold the motor drive vertically is
to balance the grip in your palm with your thumb
over the trigger button. This position is recom-
mended for onehanded shooting over an extended
period of time, such as when using a bracket-
mount flash unit off-camera.
S-C Mode Selector (15)
Concentric with the trigger button for easy
access, this dial sets the motor drive for ei-
ther single frame (S) or continuous (C) opera-
tion. There is also a lock (L) position.
At "S" (Single Frame)
At all shutter speeds, except "B" and "T," the
motor drive trips the shutter and winds the
film in a single sequential step. At the same
time, one LED lights up to indicate film ad-
vance. At~the "B" setting, when the trigger
button is pushed, the shutter fires and remains
open until you take your finger off the button.
Then the film advances automatically to the
next frame. At "T," the shutter remains open
until the shutter speed dial is rotated off the
"T" setting.
Note: With the camera's power switch turned on, you can take
motordriven single frame shots by using the camera's shutter
release button. When you depress the button, the shot is taken,
and when you release pressure from the button, the Rlm B wound
to the next frame. This occurs with the S-C mode selector set
to either "S" or "C."
CONTROLS IN DETAIL