I've been shooting from the confines of my car the last several months. Not ideal and quite frustrating at times, but it's better than nothing. Although given the latest lockdown in CA I've decided to focus on darkroom printing until things improve.
What is the most rugged F and why?
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I've been shooting from the confines of my car the last several months. Not ideal and quite frustrating at times, but it's better than nothing. Although given the latest lockdown in CA I've decided to focus on darkroom printing until things improve.
I got tired of darkroom printing so I am teaching myself to learn to play not one but two musical instruments. In the past I taught myself to speak a foreign language. I learn new thinks to keep active and young.
I don't know what the most durable Nikon is - since all the ones discussed are old, it depends on condition for any individual example. But anyway:
the Nikon F, Nikkormat, and S-series rangefinders all share similar body styling cues (eg 45 degree bevels on the end, textured black body panels, similar-style top and bottom plates). But the body castings are not the same. The F is a few mm wider than a Nikkormat, and has a detachable back/bottom, which makes the bottom of the casting different also. Meanwhile, the story that the F was built on the S-something body casting is a legend. They do look kind of alike, but the F is a full 10 mm wider than the S3/SP, has the tripod socket in a different place, etc. The layout of the wind and shutter controls is similar though.
I sold an F2AS that lacked the exit wound, but in every other way was in worse condition than Taizo's F. It still worked perfectly.
I’ve had an F, several F2’s, an F3, and an F5. I like them all but really prefer the F and F2. I have no problem with electronic shutters like in the F3 but I prefer all mechanical bodies. I don’t really carry for auto focus and power wind/rewind for the stuff I do but I make an exception for the F5.
If I cared about built in metering which I don’t I’d go with an F3. Otherwise a plain prism F or F2 is my first choice. I’m currently waiting on the plain prism I ordered for my F2. I’ve used a plain prism F but not an F2, yet.
If I cared about built in metering which I don’t I’d go with an F3. Otherwise a plain prism F or F2 is my first choice. I’m currently waiting on the plain prism I ordered for my F2. I’ve used a plain prism F but not an F2, yet.
That DE-1 finder is a bit rich for my blood. They can actually be as expensive as the DP-3!
I'm waiting on an F2S in the mail. It was supposed to come yesterday. I'm gonna set it up as an F2SB and set my first F2 up with the DP-2 off the new body. Eventually I'm gonna try to find some of the other unmetered finders... probably don't care about the action finder but the chimney finder would be nice, especially with my macro bellows.
I lucked out and found a nice DE-1 for $120. It has some brassing but so does the camera. Even that seemed somewhat expensive for what it is but I’ve seen them go much higher. It seemed like a better idea than taking a gamble on another metered finder. I’d really like to have a DP-12 but I don’t currently have any ai or ai-s lenses.
See, I just bought that F2S in working shape (with an ugly wind lever) for less than that. I'll probably never own a DE-1!
I was looking for a plain prism for my F2 so was perusing my local CL listing in search for one when I spotted a complete plain prism F . . . I already had one but the price was right. I went to pick up the F when a complete plain prism F2 showed up on the listing. Well I figured I would just sell the other F . . .
Ended up keeping the extra F as it was a Nippon Kogaku while the other was a Nikon . . .
I was looking for a plain prism for my F2 so was perusing my local CL listing in search for one when I spotted a complete plain prism F . . . I already had one but the price was right. I went to pick up the F when a complete plain prism F2 showed up on the listing. Well I figured I would just sell the other F . . .
Ended up keeping the extra F as it was a Nippon Kogaku while the other was a Nikon . . .
Les, how many cameras do you have?!
Rob Skeoch
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I used Nikon professionally for years, mostly while working as a league photographer for Major League Baseball and the NFL. I'm too young to have used the F or F2 but started shooting with the F3, F4 (which I didn't like for some reason) F5 and then the F6. I thought the F6 was the best of the bunch. It's just too bad it came out when the world had switched to digital and few photographers took advantage of the features. It's a wonderfully built camera.
You had a great job.....if you like baseball and photography.
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The F5 shutter is reputed to have endured 1 million trips. That's pretty stout.
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Depends what you mean by rugged - the strength of the housing or overall mechanical reliability. A number of extreme climbers including Himalayan superstars once hung around my circle. The reliability consensus seemed to be the second generation FM2n. The simpler the better. Anything fancy or battery-dependent ultimately failed. But for my nephew's own arctic and Patagonia extreme climbs, I simply outfitted him with a little Pentax Mx because it was so petite and light. He lost a few shots due to the meter battery failing, but it otherwise did the job and the published shots satisfied the expedition sponsor (there just happened to be a North Face logo "accidentally" somewhere in the corner of every shot, either on a jacket arm or edge of a tent or porta-ledge flap, etc). So I guess it all depends on whether you need a camera heavy enough to clunk a Yeti unconscious, or have different priorities.
That has to be the most duty cycles I've ever heard of any shutter or similar small electromechanical device enduring. Do you know how many it's rated for in actual use? And for that matter what some other cameras have done in similar tests for comparison?
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1 million shots. That's incredible, especially given the likelihood that only 2% are going to be keepers anyway. I like reliable shutters, but not on a 35mm camera that weighs as much as my 4x5. And even the FM3a had way too many bells and whistles for me. But I don't photograph horse races or pie fights.
They're tested to 150K cycles. Here is where I saw the reference to a million cycle shutter. It was actually 1.092,094 releases-without fault. Think about the cost of all that film!
Deleted member 88956
People who choose so. or know no better, will always find a way to destroy the most durable piece of engineering. There is no cure for careless use of anything, camera or otherwise. I take no pleasure in using a beat up piece even if it works. Others feel the opposite, it must be giving them a sense of freedom of expression.
Most of us just can't afford a pristine F-series. I mean have you seen the market prices?
Nikon F4s are remarkably cheap.
If you treat cameras carefully and with respect the F100 is the best film camera Nikon built, but the door latch can be susceptible to breakage.
Deleted member 88956
Not exactly what I meant and if F's case there are hardly pristine ones out there, and those are in "collector's" price point.
And what did I mean? While not so much in this short thread, not yet at least, one can't help noticing how "proud" some are using a camera that's been clearly disrespected for most of its life. Getting a beat up one is not same as p*****g on it every day because it is ... "rugged" and can take it.
Hmmm.....I treat my cameras like I'd treat a violin.
Of course there have been accidents.
Of course there have been accidents.
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