Does anyone still use their Nikon F2 regularly?

Paul Goutiere

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I remember buying my first Nikon F2, used, in 1985. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
Occasionally I take it out as a second body to My F3 or F4, but for the most part it sits on a shelf.

It's not that I use a lot of 35mm these days preferring my medium format cameras and their great negatives, but I wonder if
perhaps I should use the F2 a bit more.

Does anyone use their F2 on exclusively or on a regular basis?

 

migtex

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I have a F36 and a F2 always loaded. The last All Mechanic Cameras.
 

Timestep

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Purchased an F2 Plain prism in 1974. Still my main "Axe".
Two F2 Photomics— my wife's— also in our stable ( Used without battery, as the meter needle is difficult to see )

The last Adult Nikon.
 

agnosticnikon

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If you enjoy using the camera, by all means use it often. All mechanical cameras benefit from some regular use. I remember getting my first F2 back in 1973, just a couple of years after they came out. I'd been using a Nikon Ft, and came across a heavily used F2 from a press photographer, who wanted to upgrade to an F2s. I couldn't believe how brassed up this camera was, but the price was right! I liked my Nikon F, but appreciated F2's hinged back, and the repositioned shutter release. I took a lot of great pictures with it and my 50mm f2 lens, and eventually got 35 f2 and a 105 f2.5, and oh yeah, the infamous 43-86mm. I still have 3 F2's which I love to use. I have F's, F3's, FM's an F4 and some various Nikkormats, and like using them all, but the F2 will always be my favorite. It's an incredibly well built, strong camera that's easy to use. Only downside is that the meters are starting to fail on some of the older cameras, and parts for them are hard to come by. Remember these cameras were strapped to Evil Knievel's motorcycle, and survived his crash over the Snake River Canyon! Tough little buggers. So take it for a spin once and while and have some fun using one of the best mechanical cameras ever made.
 

mono

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Yes, 3 of them. Still going strong!
 

JLP

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Bought my F2 new in 75 and have not used it for years. The slow shutter speeds are very slow so i need to get it serviced before i can use it again which i will just because i have had it for so long.
 

E. von Hoegh

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Hell no. An F is my main 35mm camera, made in 1968.
 

M Stat

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The Nikon F2 was without doubt the absolute best camera that Nikon ever made. A slightly refined version of the fabulous F, I would venture to say it is the very best 35mm camera ever made, but it would have to compete with the Leica M4. Maybe the best 35mm SLR then. My two Nikon F2s have been dragged through jungles, frozen in the Andes the Sierras and the Rockies, and blasted by the scorching heat in Death Valley and The Painted Desert. Never (ever) did they give me any grief when I needed to make a photograph. They served me well every day of my professional career for over twenty five years, and I still use them to this day.
 

E. von Hoegh

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A reasonably clean F2 with one of the metered prisms is on my "to get" list; the right one at the right time just hasn't presented itself.
Based on doing internal work on both, I put the F in the Leica class as to manufacture and materials.
 

Someonenameddavid

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I use my F2 plain almost exclusively with my 35 f/2.8 PC Nikkor which is IMHO as good a 35 as was ever made, my 105 f/2.5 Nikkor is on my FM and my Summicron is on my M3.... life is complete
 

BradleyK

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Of course! Of my seven Nikons currently on the "active roster," four are F2s: an F2AS, an F2A and a pair of "plain" F2s (DE-1) - all with MD2/MB1 drives. The F2AS and F2A are usually loaded with E100G and E100VS respectively (the bodies still trusted enough to shoot chrome); the F2s with Tri-X/HP5. And, should any of the bodies ever develop problems, I have a pair of F2 bodies (i.e. finder-less) as potential donor cameras...
 

Doug Smith

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I'm waiting for my F (1967) to give up the ghost before I 'move up' to an F2. But I'm sure it will outlast me. I was out with it last night taking shots of a spectacular sunset with one of my favorite lenses, a Nikkor 35mm f2.0 AI.
 

ArtO

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I just got my F2 Photomic about a month ago and have used it quite a bit. I always wanted one and so now I have one. I have quite a few film cameras and try to rotate them so they all get some "regular" use. I was shooting a couple of F3HPs when I got the F2 -- on color and one B&W. I must say I really love the F2.
 

Rol_Lei Nut

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It was the camera I dreamed about for over a decade before finally getting a used one, but I never managed to reach the artistic/content results I had with the F I used until then.
Strangely, while those results were technically impeccable, I never took a really good picture with my F2...

Both F & F2 were finally put into retirement by my Leicaflexes, which work dreamily at all levels.
 

LJSLATER

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My F2S predates me by twelve years! Hands down my favorite camera, but I recently aquired an F3HP at a price I couldn't refuse (free). As I put the F3 through its paces, it's interesting to note the evolutionary changes Nikon made. I suppose for hardworking pros in the '80s, the F3 probably made their lives easier overall.

But for me, the F2 remains my number one; really the only complaint I have is that I'm afraid of getting it wet (I don't use a flash, otherwise that might be another complaint). Besides that, it feels as though Nikon made it specifically for me. It fits my hands and my shooting style PERFECTLY. I almost always have the MD-1 attached, and my favorite focusing screen is the E.
 

cliveh

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I have one of these, as I thought it the best Nikon ever made. Because it has a shutter speed of 1/4000 I am using it to try and get a panning shot with a distorted wheel like Jacques Henri Lartigue. But don't yet know if this is possible.
 

E. von Hoegh

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cliveh said:
I have one of these, as I thought it the best Nikon ever made. Because it has a shutter speed of 1/4000 I am using it to try and get a panning shot with a distorted wheel like Jacques Henri Lartigue. But don't yet know if this is possible.
Click to expand...

You need a vertically travelling slit to duplicate a Lartigue photo. Get a Graflex or a Speed Graphic, it's pretty easy. The F2's top shutter speed was 1/2000 BTW.
 

cliveh

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E. von Hoegh said:
You need a vertically travelling slit to duplicate a Lartigue photo. Get a Graflex or a Speed Graphic, it's pretty easy. The F2's top shutter speed was 1/2000 BTW.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I mean the FM2.
 
OP
OP

Paul Goutiere

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I guess my old F2 isn't quite out of date yet.

I found 3 rolls of Fuji Pro 160, in my freezer. Expires 2014.
I found 2 rolls of XP-2

I better use it up.
 

Chan Tran

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cliveh said:
I have one of these, as I thought it the best Nikon ever made. Because it has a shutter speed of 1/4000 I am using it to try and get a panning shot with a distorted wheel like Jacques Henri Lartigue. But don't yet know if this is possible.
Click to expand...

Your FM2 with the high shutter speed of 1/4000 does have a vertically travelling slit but since it has 1/200 (fm2) flash sync speed and that means the shutter curtain travels very fast and reducing the distortion you wanted to almost none.
 

lxdude

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Timestep said:
Purchased an F2 Plain prism in 1974. Still my main "Axe".
Click to expand...
I wish I'd never gotten rid of mine. With the plain prism they had great balance and were such sweet, simple machines.

The last Adult Nikon.
Click to expand...
 

cjbecker

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I always wanted a f or f2 non metered for my traveling and snapshot needs. Right now im using a rolleicord.
 
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