• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

Mechanical jewel, which one? Nikon F2, F, FM2 etc or No Nikon?

Les Sarile said:
By corrugated do you mean the honeycomb titanium shutters?
Click to expand...
Yup. that's the one. I've replaced a bunch of them with the later smooth blades. Usually it is only one of the curtains that need replacing; however, I would replace both of them. Apparently the blades would "whip", distort, of something similar due to the strong spring force exerted. The curtain travel time with those shutters was much faster than that of the FM and FE. It was about a 65$ repair. I didn't replace the whole shutter.
 
Actually, I've repaired many more mechanical than electrical problems in my 25 years as a camera technician.
 

I don't know what the exchange rate between euros and dollars is, but my average charge for the cameras you mentioned was $45 USD or less.
 

IMHO, the "mechanical jewels" are the F2A and FM2N. Both compliment each other well. The plain F is not bad either.
 
I can't believe this thread is 4 years old and still gets fresh answers!
 
mohawk51 said:
IMHO, the "mechanical jewels" are the F2A and FM2N. Both compliment each other well. The plain F is not bad either.
Click to expand...

Actually the DP1 and DP11 are one in the same finder except for the mechanical meter linkage. One simply mates with the non-Ai lens while the other mates with the Ai lens and both use the same meter parts. As a result the DP1 Photomic should rank with your list.

Some may not know it but you can swap out the front linkage of the DP1 and DP11 in just a few minutes.
 
Sorry to come to this discussion so late.

the answer is obvious: a plain prism F. Everything else is derivative.:munch:
 
cuthbert said:
I can't believe this thread is 4 years old and still gets fresh answers!
Click to expand...

Well, cuthbert, you can see it this way: full marks for the search capabilities of those new posters!
Someone was just telling me the other day that it is better to add to a discussion, even if many years after, then to open a new thread pretty much about the same thing. It makes
And, in this way you can add or revisit your own posts.

As it is, answering the initial question, I don't think that there are any advantages in the Nikon line up of mechanical cameras that make one significantly better than the others.
True that the use of expensive materials, such as titanium, might extend the useful life of a certain model, but you'll need to go to extremes to see the real advantages.
I consider that the FM series are probably the lightest and easiest to operate than heavier SLR like the F, F2 or the Nikkormats.
BTW, I've been studying and using a bit more the Nikkormats now and they are true beasts weighting slightly more than a F2 with plain prism.
 
I was surprised to see that these discussions live on and on...

I also agree the FM series is very nice and more pleasant to use than my FT3, that in any case feels more "quality" as it's all metal while in the FM there is more plastic. And yes, they weight more or less like a F2 with metered prism and they feel even tougher because of the monolithic design.
 
Yeap. Last Sunday I had a Nikkormat FTN with the Pre-Ai 28mm /3.5 and a FT3 with the Series E 35mm /2.5. Just these 2 felt like I had 3 or 4 OMs.

Off Topic: I get thorn between using the Nikons and the Olympus OMs. It is like when I use one system, I feel I'm "cheating" on the other.
 
camtec said:
Actually, I've repaired many more mechanical than electrical problems in my 25 years as a camera technician.
Click to expand...

However, as cameras have incorporated more electronics, their risk of failure increases (e.g. film wind, film rewind, lens focus, lens aperture, etc., all controlled by electronics. Individual failure rate of one subsystem may be low, but there are so many now compared to, for example, the 1970's. All it takes is one subsystem to fail to make the camera unusable.

In 2059 there will probably be many fully functioning Nikon F's -- but far fewer F6's.
 
In my 30+ years in newspapers I accumulated two F models with straight prisms (both still work) two Nikkormat FTNs, (one of which still works) and an FM (still works). All were heavily used and abused.
The only reason the one -Mats died was I had a soft-shutter release on it and it caught on something and pulled the whole release mechanism out of the top of the camera.
 

You need shooting eg a canon would do you good?
 
Theo Sulphate said:
In 2059 there will probably be many fully functioning Nikon F's -- but far fewer F6's.
Click to expand...

Lets see....2059 will put me at 106 yo if I'm still kicking but at least my G-G-Grandkids will have functioning mechanical cameras after the EMP attack..
 
If I was supposed to buy my "last" mechanical camera it would be Contax S2 with some nice Zeiss lens
 
Xmas said:
You need shooting eg a canon would do you good?
Click to expand...

Uff, that will be like having 2 mistress instead of just on.
I had a Canon before, or 2, well more like 10.
 

Nikon FM or FE: or of course a Hasselblad 500/1 CM)
 
My Nikon F isn't a jewel,more like a exquisitely engineered clock tower. A jewel to me is a fine watch. The F is robust and precise however it's action and make up are far from dainty. It's precision is secondary to the hewn from solid block feel and hearty clack (not click) as the mechanism cycles when the shutter release is pushed. It's heavy and substantial with a reassuring heft that feels good when raised to the eye. It fosters a sense of permanence and confidence in use. A wonderfully designed and executed tool.
 
Mechanical Jewel?

Well, i don't have experience with Minoltas or Pentaxes so can't really include, but resorting to Nikon and Canon, let me first said that a jewel should probably have an HORIZONTAL shutter since for the "classic mechanical cameras" era (1950s-1970s), the vertical shutters were rougher, with more vibration. Also, apply pressure finger on a vertical shutter and you can wreck it, while the same, on a cloth or metal horizontal shutter, will do almost no harm.

So... here's my experience after using many Nikons and Canons:

Nikon F: Mechanical jewel, externally, because the build quality is so high. Internally, as one poster above said, it is a "clock tower". Not sophisticated but solid, reliable and smooth enough.

Nikon F2: Unquestionably a mechanical jewel internally. Sophisicated, reliable and very very smooth. The external build quality is a bit inferior to the Nikon F, in my experience.

Nikon F3: Internally a mechanical jewel as well, the mechanism is really really smooth, perhaps even smoother than the F2. Sadly, it relies on electronic shutter timing, so it's not really a "mechanical" camera. And the F3 electronics' reliablity are controversial.

Canon F-1 New: Externally a mechanical jewel, the build quality and solidness is higher than the Nikon F and F2.

Canon F-1: The winner for me in the "jewel" category. External build quality is higher than the Canon F-1 New and Nikon F AND F2, while internal mechanics are as smooth and refined as the ones in the F2.

I would NOT include the Nikkormats, despite being great cameras, because their operation (in terms of vibration) is definitely not as smooth as the horizontal-shutter Nikons.

I would also NOT include the FM or FE cameras because the build quality is not so high compared to the cameras above. FE2 or FE3, don't know.

It is important to note that I own all the pro cameras listed above save for the F3 (which I sold, but used a lot).

Finally we should include the Leicaflex original models as well. They are mechanical jewels!! Sadly, reliability is not on par as with the cameras above. Most reliable would be the Nikon F hands down, over ALL the other cameras listed here.

But thus, i declare, the original Canon F-1 as the overall winner on the mechanical jewel category. Sorry Nikon fans, you need to own a F-1 to understand. Canon wanted heavily to surpass the Nikon F in build and mechanical quality and they achieved that with the F-1. I still think that a Nikon F2 is a better camera from an users' point of view, though.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Agree 100%. As a previous poster said; a Nikon F and a plain prism; everything else is derivative.
But note that the Nikon F is the most silent of the Nikons and Canons i listed above!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
flavio81 said:


Finally we should include the Leicaflex original models as well. They are mechanical jewels!! Sadly, reliability is not on par as with the cameras above. Most reliable would be the Nikon F hands down, over ALL the other cameras listed here.
Click to expand...


I beg your pardon but saying that Leicalfex is less reliable than the above listed cameras is... funny.



http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00E7nE
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've had more problems with Leica Ms than Nikon SLRs.

The Ms snap shutter ribbons regular, Nikons none yet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register