No batteries allowed, which Nikon 35mm?

markbarendt · Oct 3, 2008

naeroscatu said:
there are mechanical watches same as mechanical cameras. Mine is 50 years old and still ticking. I also have 50 year old cameras still ticking.
To your question there is nothing like an F2. cheers

Wow, analogue watches, I'd almost forgotten.

Actually I don't wear watches or jewelry because it can get caught and drag me into the machinery.

markbarendt · Oct 3, 2008

benjiboy said:
I would also go for a Nikon F or F2 with a plain prism and a Selenium cell meter. I understand your problem, I once worked for a company who was doing a heating and air conditioning work on a new coal mine, and the manager in charge of the contract told me he wasn't allowed on site because the pacemaker on his heart was battery powered !

Yep, I worked in coal mines some years back before MSHA got serious. It is way too much "fun" watching your bosses use their gas meters to see if it was safe to light their cigarettes underground.

markbarendt · Oct 3, 2008

Nicholas Lindan said:
Plain prisms for the F2 have become a collectors' fetish and prices are high.

However, busted early model photomics for the F2 are a dime a dozen. Just leave the battery out.

For this sort of location - where equipment is likely to get banged about or covered in glop - it may be prudent to buy the cheapest camera you can get away with, including a spare body or two. Early Nikkormats with busted meters may the be the cheapest thing going.

As for light meters, get an old Norwood Director or Sekonic 398(?) that is known to be accurate. They can take quite a knocking. I have found Westons to be rather fragile in comparison.

Thanks for the lead on the Sekonic.

Actually the camera will stay clean. If we are making a mess it won't be out.

Paul Howell · Oct 3, 2008

markbarendt said:
Thanks for the lead on the Sekonic.

Actually the camera will stay clean. If we are making a mess it won't be out.

If you want to shoot in a mess, get a Nikkous I, great for working in toxic messey places.

PhotoJim · Oct 3, 2008

I have a two-year-old Gruen mechanical watch. Wasn't even very expensive (around $50). Nice timepiece.

Rolexes are mechanical too if you can afford them.

Do you absolutely need "T"? "B" works too but you need a cable release to hold the shutter open (no biggie). If B will work, your list of possibilities:

Nikkormat FS (rare, no meter so no possibility of using a battery)
Nikkormat FT
Nikkormat FTn
Nikkormat FT2
Nikkormat FT3
Nikon FM
Nikon FM2/FM2n
Nikon F
Nikon F2

Cameras that use batteries normally but will work without them at all shutter speeds:
Nikon FM3a

I'm not sure I agree that buying an old selenium meter is wise. The meters lose sensitivity after many years. You can still buy a new one (there are a couple of different brands available) at reasonable prices that will function for 20 years or so if you take care of them. Bear in mind that selenium cell meters are nowhere nearly as sensitive in low light as battery-powered meters are.

eddym · Oct 3, 2008

markbarendt said:
No watches.

So how do you know when it's "quitin' time"?

markbarendt · Oct 3, 2008

PhotoJim said:
Rolexes are mechanical too if you can afford them.

Do you absolutely need "T"?

I'm not sure I agree that buying an old selenium meter is wise.

"T" would be real nice, I'd like to do some really long exposures and paint with light in other situations, but it's not a deal killer.

PhotoJim · Oct 3, 2008

markbarendt said:
"T" would be real nice, I'd like to do some really long exposures and paint with light in other situations, but it's not a deal killer.

You can do that with B, if you buy a $7 cable release.

nsurit · Oct 3, 2008

Let me see if I can make you crazy! It ain't no Nikon, however it would do the job. Olympus OM 1 or if you are interested in spending a bunch of money, an OM 3. Both mechanical, can be used without a battery. Either use superb Zuiko glass or cop a few Tamron SP adaptal lenses that you can use on both your Nikon and Olympus bodies. Meter? Who needs a dang meter. Sunny 16 works pretty good or pick up an inexpensive meter that doesn't require a battery. Bill Barber

markbarendt · Oct 3, 2008

eddym said:
So how do you know when it's "quitin' time"?

The work's done. Duh.

Actually our cell phones in our trucks.

bnstein · Oct 3, 2008

As far as a meter is concerned you can also get away with a couple of small pieces of paper at a pinch: see http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm.

Dollar wise at keh in Ex condition photomic Fs (agree about the pentaprism becoming a collectors item) run about 200-400 F2 similar F2As up toward the 500-700 FMs 130-200 FM2 250-400 and FM3a 500+. There is a nikkormat FT2 with a bust meter for $69! but they are mostly about the 100-150 mark.

The standard advice with all of the older cameras (some of these guys are well into "middle age" ;-)) is also figure in cost of a good service/CLA: Id guess 100-200, which should see them good for another decade or three.

For more info about nikkormat models than you might have wanted see http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikkormat/index.htm; there is a bunch of stuff about the nikons there too.
Remember there were some differences in the lenses with time that may influence your body choice: http://www.cameraquest.com/aidaiais.htm and http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/nikonfmount/lens1.htm (this also demos the step to index the lens to meter for older cameras)

Poohblah · Oct 3, 2008

i got a BGN F2 from KEH for $100 (with broken meter of course) that operates perfectly. self timer, PC port, everything. i think the short shutter speeds are off, though. anyway, my point is that an F2 needn't cost $500-700 like posted above.

markbarendt · Oct 3, 2008

bnstein said:
As far as a meter is concerned you can also get away with a couple of small pieces of paper at a pinch: see http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm.

Great link!

markbarendt · Oct 3, 2008

Poohblah said:
i got a BGN F2 from KEH for $100 (with broken meter of course) that operates perfectly. self timer, PC port, everything. i think the short shutter speeds are off, though. anyway, my point is that an F2 needn't cost $500-700 like posted above.

Yeah been looking there too.

dynachrome · Oct 3, 2008

No Batteries

If you don't need a removable prism then any mechanical Nikkormat would be fine. My FE bodies only have 1/90 without a battery. Most of the time when I'm using my Gossen Scout II meter it's with a Bronica SLR. All of my Bronicas take batteries to regulate the shutter speed but all will also work at 1/500 as a default speed without a battery. If I have to use a separate meter I would rather use a larger format.

Bob-D659 · Oct 3, 2008

And if your real lucky in your hunt, there were coupled selenium cell meters made for the F as well.

markbarendt · Oct 3, 2008

nsurit said:
Let me see if I can make you crazy!

Too late. Got an ex-wife.

Actually if I were going to have to add more lenses I'd pop for a rangefinder.

Michel Hardy-Vallée · Oct 3, 2008

The latest version of the Sekonic L-398 is not selenium but in fact amorphous silicon. So it's nice that you can still buy a new battery-less meter, and maybe amorphous silicon has not the same issues as badly kept selenium cells.

Nevertheless, bear in mind that the 398 uses a heavy magnet and a galvanometer to move the needle. I know next to nothing about electricity v. magnetism, but I thought you would like to know. I'm pretty sure most selenium meters work from the same principle.

markbarendt · Oct 3, 2008

dynachrome said:
If you don't need a removable prism then any mechanical Nikkormat would be fine. My FE bodies only have 1/90 without a battery. Most of the time when I'm using my Gossen Scout II meter it's with a Bronica SLR. All of my Bronicas take batteries to regulate the shutter speed but all will also work at 1/500 as a default speed without a battery. If I have to use a separate meter I would rather use a larger format.

I think I'd rather have all the speeds and stick with 35mm. Larger cameras are tougher to handle.

John_Nikon_F · Oct 4, 2008

Find an F with a Photomic T or Tn finder. Usually no one repairs them anymore, since they aren't usually worth bothering with, at least, in relation to the collectors. So, a chrome F Tn, and just leave the battery cap off when you go to work. If the meter works, then you can put the batteries back in and put the cap back on when you're not working.

-J

2F/2F · Oct 4, 2008

You can use any camera that has a fully mechanical shutter (meaning mechanical at all speeds), and that only uses the battery for the meter or other non-essential functions. Just remove the battery and learn to shoot without a meter, or bring a separate meter (a model without batteries, of course). Turning on your meter on these cameras is always optional anyhow. Take your pick of any Nikon that meets these criteria.

markbarendt · Oct 4, 2008

Thanks for your help all!!!

Sounds like most any F2 will fit my needs and preferences nicely.

I do want to practice and get good at judging the light without a meter, may just start shooting that way for the fun of it.

Now the hard part, deciding what to sell/trade to finance the new box!

Again, Thanks.

haris · Oct 5, 2008

markbarendt said:
..

Now the hard part, deciding what to sell/trade to finance the new box!..

Well, if you have digi imaging tool...

markbarendt · Oct 5, 2008

haris said:
Well, if you have digi imaging tool...

There is one. It has one more paying job to do in late November. Shhhh, don't tell it.

narsuitus · Oct 7, 2008

If I were in your situation, I would take my manual/mechanical Nikon F2 35mm SLR with meterless DE-1 standard prism or meterless DA-1 action finder.

Another option would be to take my manual/mechanical meterless Nikonos III underwater camera.

I would also take my Selenium handheld light meter that I purchased from Adorama in New York.

No batteries allowed, which Nikon 35mm?

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