Back to the basic F

John Austin · Feb 25, 2012

clayne said:
I collect Fs, F2s, and F3s like women collect shoes.

You give me visions of a Photo-Imelda - There are people out there who would love to buy an F or F2 for a reasonable price - So, but not wanting to offend, how about selling your excess Nikons to needy photographers?

(I do not need any as I have three already, well, perhaps a 50/55mm f1.2 lens to try for a while)

John

clayne · Feb 25, 2012

semi-ambivalent said:
What is your gut feeling about price trends? Panache and scarcity push them up but they won't last forever and repair costs must negate at least some up the uptick. For a while now it seems Fs alone may be had for less than a couple hundred US$, but if you want that plain prism...yikes!

s-a

That's funny you mention that because I was noticing the same thing about the prisms for F and F2s, assuming you're talking DE-1 or similar - ridiculous prices on both eBay and KEH. The prism with the least amount of features somehow goes for the most amount of cost, it's quite a bit lame.

The rest are just people fighting over various versions of photomics, which IMO, really isn't worth the fight.

Actually, I find dealing with old school cameras on eBay to be quite annoying at times. I wouldn't mind duking it out with other manual focus loving film shooters - but it's turned into a sea of dSLR bokeh-driven idiots and price gouging bottom feeders. Unfortunately, KEH's prices go up as a result of this demand. Too many photographers in general.

jbaphoto said:
You give me visions of a Photo-Imelda - There are people out there who would love to buy an F or F2 for a reasonable price - So, but not wanting to offend, how about selling your excess Nikons to needy photographers?

(I do not need any as I have three already, well, perhaps a 50/55mm f1.2 lens to try for a while)

My comment was a bit tongue in cheek. I do not have 20+ Nikon Fs.

semi-ambivalent · Feb 25, 2012

I wouldn't mind duking it out

When you said in your OP you collected Fs like women collected shoes I took it to be just a turn of phrase. Then you say that.

I have an irrational attachment to my Fs; mostly because I'm old enough to have seen a lot of my world disappear. (Ladies and gentlemen, my name is s-a and I'm a Tri-X hoarder...)

s-see, there's a slot for my fingernail-a

John Austin · Feb 25, 2012

semi-ambivalent said:
I have an irrational attachment to my Fs;

I have an attachment to my Fs which is not irrational, and I sort of doubt if yours is either - My attachment to cameras is based firstly on what prints from their negs look like and then how easy they are to use - The Fs, which is why I started this thread, just seem to keep on working without complaint and without fuss

I have only had one Nikon F die on me and not really me - During my documentation of the SW Western Australian Forest protests in the late 1990s a protestor, whom we shall call Jeff, was asleep in the Boorara base camp with his shorts falling loose and his jewels showing - Another protestor, whom we shall call Peta, picked up one of my Nikons and took a pic of Jeff's jewels - That was the last pic that camera ever made, it has been dismantled and re-assembled three times - Nothing is worn, nothing is distorted and nothing is broken, but it won't work again - No, I don't go in for all that mystical stuff, but. . .

semi-ambivalent · Feb 26, 2012

jbaphoto said:
That was the last pic that camera ever made, it has been dismantled and re-assembled three times - Nothing is worn, nothing is distorted and nothing is broken, but it won't work again - No, I don't go in for all that mystical stuff, but. . .

Sort of like Medusa then...

s-a

Ralph Javins · Feb 26, 2012

Good morning;

I have no idea what to say about the Nikon F that was struck blind by the incident during the SW Australia Forest Protests.

At this time, I admit that there are more than one Nikon F and Nikon F2 here. There is even another Nikon F2 in need of repair, but with a working DP-1, that was purchased recently and should be on the way here starting on Monday our time. Well, I did promise the wife of the local camera guy that I would do what I can to keep his shop in business. Yes, I also like the hand-assembled Nikon F and F2 bodies. It may be truly an emotional thing in this case. For me there is something about a camera where I know that someone was involved in the assembly of the camera before it was even offered for sale. For me, cameras are things for people to be used by those people to record people, things, and events in their lives.

CGW · Feb 26, 2012

Then there's Taizo Ichinose's F:

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue9711/req33.htm

John Austin · Feb 26, 2012

CGW said:
Then there's Taizo Ichinose's F:

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue9711/req33.htm

Thank you very much for this link - I had heard of this Nikon and believed it as history, then it became legend and finally relegated it to myth

As well as the camera the whole page is a sober reminder which put my breakfast job of price quoting for 32 x 40 inch prints into perspective, but we need the money, so back to the kitchen table, but with less arrogance

Thank you

fotch · Feb 26, 2012

Wow, that gives a whole new meaning to the expression, "Bullet Proof".

CGW · Feb 26, 2012

jbaphoto said:
Thank you very much for this link - I had heard of this Nikon and believed it as history, then it became legend and finally relegated it to myth

As well as the camera the whole page is a sober reminder which put my breakfast job of price quoting for 32 x 40 inch prints into perspective, but we need the money, so back to the kitchen table, but with less arrogance

Thank you

Here's another:

http://www.iwm.org.uk/exhibitions/shaped-by-war-photographs-by-don-mccullin

Click thru to frame 4 for the life-saving F image.

clayne · Feb 26, 2012

Anyone else also have an irrational attachment to pre-AI Nikkors? All those satin chrome touches and knurled metal focus knobs. Love it. Actually I like most manufacturers 60s-70s era lenses.

fotch · Feb 26, 2012

I wish I had the F with the non metered finder.

clayne · Feb 26, 2012

fotch said:
I wish I had the F with the non metered finder.

Yeah those are the ones we were just talking about that are currently selling for ripoff prices pretty much everywhere.

Ralph Javins · Feb 26, 2012

clayne said:
Anyone else also have an irrational attachment to pre-AI Nikkors? All those satin chrome touches and knurled metal focus knobs. Love it. Actually I like most manufacturers 60s-70s era lenses.

Good morning, Clayne;

Yes, sir. There a few out here who have an irrational attachment to the nAI or Pre-AI lenses and cameras (freely translated; the original Nikon F). I have often spoken of "The 1960s Nikon Project." A black body Nikon F and Photomic FTn with eight lenses from 24mm to 300mm (including the NIKKOR-S Auto 1.4/5.8cm), a BC-7 folding fan flash bub "flash gun," and some other accessories from that era that make using the Nikon F a little easier. I like the Nikon F, but I admit that for a lot of the things I do, the Nikon F2 is even better. My favorite is still the F2AS.

clayne · Feb 26, 2012

Generally, my F fetish extends from the original F with pre-AI lenses up to the F3 with Ai/Ai-S lenses. Everything after that is pretty much not for me. Even if the lenses may be superior in performance, I just don't care for them and I feel the F3 was the last real manual focus well-balanced F body.

I like your idea of an era-specific project.

walbergb · Feb 26, 2012

I'm, too, am a proud owner of a Nikon F. It was a gift from a friend. It took me a while to figure out that it is a completely manual camera It came with the original 5.8/1.4 lens. One of the elements is cracked, but fortunately it doesn't show up in the pics. I had it CLAd and bought a Ai-S 35-105/3.5-4.5 zoom lens to go with it. I'm taking the F, the zoom, and my AF 24/2.8 D (and a hand-held light meter) with me to Cuba next month (leaving my F5 at home).

BradleyK · Feb 26, 2012

Ralph Javins said:
Good morning, Clayne;

I like the Nikon F, but I admit that for a lot of the things I do, the Nikon F2 is even better. My favorite is still the F2AS.

+1. While I have kept reasonably current with Nikon's analog offerings (although I did stop at the F5), my "all-time" favorite remains - hands down - the F2AS. A chrome 1979 edition still accompanies me on all my longer photo excursions. I have, when queried as to why I still carry this "old timer" in my bag, been known, on more than a few occasions, to refer to this well-worn gem as my "insurance policy." Irrespective of conditions at hand, this battery non-dependent gem will always deliver the goods (my faith in the F2 may well explain why I now hold several in inventory...).

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