Nikon F and F2

kivis · May 17, 2018

I have a Nikon F since 1974 (bought it used). A few years ago a friend offered me his F2 on permanent loan. Didn't see anything all that great about it over the F. Now he is calling me again, to give it a second chance. Am I missing something?

Huss · May 17, 2018

I have Fs and F2s. The ergos on the F2s are much better, with a better placement of the shutter button, much improved film loading (hinged back), better shutter speed range etc.
There is a reason Nikon introduced it and phased out the F..

I still have lots of fun using my Fs, but the F2 is the natural progression. If none of the changes matter to you, then they don't matter!

darkosaric · May 17, 2018

Hi Kivis,

I am with you on this one. I had F, F2 and F3. On the end I have sold F2, somehow it did not worked for me as good as original F, cannot explain exactly why.
Now I have F with plain prism, and F3 when I want aperture priority.

narsuitus · May 17, 2018

Back in the 1960s when I was working for a newspaper, I was using two Nikon F cameras. In the early 1970s, when the Nikon F2 was first introduced, I tried one. Some of the features I liked were:

Motor drive - interchangeable from one F2 body to another instead being custom made for each F body.

Shutter release - F2 position was better ergonomically

Hinged back on F2 was better than removable F back

Mirror lockup on F2 did not require loss of one frame like F

After using the F2 for a while, I replaced my two Nikon F cameras with two F2 cameras and never regretted that decision. In fact, I still use one of the two Nikon F2 bodies that I purchased back in 1972. I replaced the other body that I purchased back in 1972 after I dropped it on concrete.

Nikon F2 by Narsuitus, on Flickr

Paul Howell · May 17, 2018

I agree with narsuitus, my first Nikon was an factory modified motor drive body, when I upgraded to a F2S I found the F2 to much easier to use in the field. The F2 is very robust build, and the S head meter was very accurate. Later I again upgraded to a F3P, another great camera with additional features, but like the weight and size of the F2 better than the F3.

mshchem · May 17, 2018

F2 fixed the few things that the F got wrong. Nikon F is derived from Nikon rangefinders. F2 was a clean sheet design. F with the plain prism is beautiful. F2 with a plain prism is beautiful and easier to use . F3 is elegant, more styled and a really wonderful camera. I have all 3,
Smart person buys a perfect F3, romantic buys an Apollo F with plain prism, F2 is a bit of a muscle car, had the most accessories, and with the md-2 motor drive So Cool.

chip j · May 17, 2018

The F2 looks like it was styled by a pimp.

mshchem · May 17, 2018

chip j said:
The F2 looks like it was styled by a pimp.

WHO'S YOUR DADDY? F2, DE-1 Prism MD-2 motor w/ MB-1 battery pack hold 10 1.5 V AA cells. You could start a Buick with that!

PIMP? The APEX of Japanese Mechanical 35mm Design and Manufacturing. MHO YMMV

(It looks even better in black!)

kivis · May 18, 2018

darkosaric said:
Hi Kivis,

I am with you on this one. I had F, F2 and F3. On the end I have sold F2, somehow it did not worked for me as good as original F, cannot explain exactly why.
Now I have F with plain prism, and F3 when I want aperture priority.

My F is a plain prism and I use the Nikon FE for aperture preferred.

kivis · May 18, 2018

mshchem · May 18, 2018

kivis said:

Don't get me wrong I have 2 Apollo F, and an early F. The Apollo F has got the F2 advance lever, probably the best looking Nikon made . There's so much history that was witnessed by the F and F2. Really amazing cameras. The pimp comment I find whimsical. Both cameras are amazing

Theo Sulphate · May 18, 2018

It may be that the improvements of the F2 over the F are not important to you.

In addition to the obvious hinged back, relocated shutter release, and other features mentioned above, many people are still unaware that the F2:

* has stepless shutter speeds between 1/80 and 1/2000

* self-timer delay from 2 to 10 seconds

* slow timed speeds from 2 to 10 seconds

mshchem · May 18, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
It may be that the improvements of the F2 over the F are not important to you.

In addition to the obvious hinged back, relocated shutter release, and other features mentioned above, many people are still unaware that the F2:

* has stepless shutter speeds between 1/80 and 1/2000

* self-timer delay from 2 to 10 seconds

* slow timed speeds from 2 to 10 seconds

And the stepless shutter speeds WITHOUT an electronic shutter.
The F shutter release is definitely odd to me, but I grew into the F2 in high school. F2 is the ergonomic standard that even the D5 uses today. Both the F and F2 are so beautiful I have had a hard time not buying them when the price and condition was favorable. Items of gratification !

Chan Tran · May 18, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
It may be that the improvements of the F2 over the F are not important to you.

In addition to the obvious hinged back, relocated shutter release, and other features mentioned above, many people are still unaware that the F2:

* has stepless shutter speeds between 1/80 and 1/2000

* self-timer delay from 2 to 10 seconds

* slow timed speeds from 2 to 10 seconds

I never had the F so I can't say which is better. I had the F2AS since 1977 until 1984 and I liked it very much. I am aware of all the features you listed and when I bought it I was very proud of those. Today, those features mean nothing to me. I would want the shutter in finer steps but not stepless. Shutter speed longer than 1 sec isn't important to me as I can time those by hand accurately with the help of a watch.

blockend · May 18, 2018

I owned a plain prism F for a long time, and years later bought an F2AS. The F2AS never resonated with me. I think the difference was the prism, the metered head Nikons look Frankenstein and are top heavy. If unmetered versions of either weren't so expensive I'd give them another go, but the market has spoken and it said plain prism pro-Nikons are the aesthetic preference.

mshchem · May 18, 2018

blockend said:
I owned a plain prism F for a long time, and years later bought an F2AS. The F2AS never resonated with me. I think the difference was the prism, the metered head Nikons look Frankenstein and are top heavy. If unmetered versions of either weren't so expensive I'd give them another go, but the market has spoken and it said plain prism pro-Nikons are the aesthetic preference.

F3s are cheap and plentiful in mint condition, lovely lighter weight camera. Put new silver oxide batteries in every year . And the meter is in the body so no gianormous photomic finders. Nikon made a beautiful (Cordovan?) burgundy , leather case for the F3, the bottom half attaches similar to the popular Leica style half cases.
This is a good discussion, I need to get rid of some of these antiques ,all I shoot is medium format and occasionally my F5 for slides. I found a youngster that I hooked up with 2 of my surplus Beseler 4x5 enlargers, and sundries for 100 bucks. He was so happy. I still have 4 ha!
Best Regards Mike

Scott Micciche · May 18, 2018

mshchem said:
F3s are cheap and plentiful in mint condition, lovely lighter weight camera. Put new silver oxide batteries in every year . And the meter is in the body so no gianormous photomic finders. Nikon made a beautiful (Cordovan?) burgundy , leather case for the F3, the bottom half attaches similar to the popular Leica style half cases.
This is a good discussion, I need to get rid of some of these antiques ,all I shoot is medium format and occasionally my F5 for slides. I found a youngster that I hooked up with 2 of my surplus Beseler 4x5 enlargers, and sundries for 100 bucks. He was so happy. I still have 4 ha!
Best Regards Mike

Good cases keep the cameras functioning like new. Even though I don't have an F3, I liked the smallish grip so I had this one made by Luigi.

mshchem · May 18, 2018

Scott Micciche said:
Good cases keep the cameras functioning like new. Even though I don't have an F3, I liked the smallish grip so I had this one made by Luigi.

View attachment 200809

Very Nice!!

macfred · May 19, 2018

The only SLR I favour over my F2 Photomic is my F2 plain prism ...

Uncle Bill · May 19, 2018

Preaching to the converted, I picked up a chrome F2a earlier this week. I love my Nikon F2's.

I have a thing for Nikon F2’s by Bill Smith, on Flickr

Theo Sulphate · May 19, 2018

F2S with MD-1 and MB-1:

Ap507b · May 19, 2018

Have an F eyelevel & a few F2's. As nice as the F is to shoot with the F2 feels more polished when shooting.

Never thought of it as a pimp camera. Anyone know where I can get some leopard skin print replacement leatherette for one? Lol.

F2's are the favourites of all my Nikon' to shoot with.

Scott Micciche · May 19, 2018

mshchem said:
Very Nice!!

Thank you, his work is exquisite and fast!

CMoore · May 19, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
F2S with MD-1 and MB-1:

View attachment 200829

Wow, do you use that occasionally.....the motor drive that is.?
I saw a lot of F2's in my day, but i do not recall the winders very often. Maybe guys at Sports Stadiums, that were down at field level, and kind of out of view.?

chip j · May 19, 2018

That was the camera used in the 2nd King Kong movie.

Nikon F and F2

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