Dear Helen,
Black Fs are the way to go. Not F-anything: just F. The F2-3-4-5-6 are lineal descendants, with ever more disputable 'improvements', but F-anything-else is at best a less well-made Nikkormat -- and you might also want to consider a Nikkormat (I have 5 Fs and two Mats).
Most of the screens are far more usable than you might believe from internet hysteria (I have quite a few): remember that there is to some extent a trade-off between brightness and acuity. I've also got at least one aftermarket screen -- Brightscreen, as I recall -- and that's pretty good too.
My Fs range from an unbelievably ugly chrome body, with dinged prism, self-timer fallen off, etc. to a couple of black Fs with the kind of brassing and patina that make strong men weep and say, "I used to have one like that..." when they see it.
Note that black paint often costs a LOT more than chrome, and that a black prism on its own can cost more than a body on its own.
A few hints on use.
1 Make sure the rewind collar is FIRMLY twisted ALL the way towards 'advance', or the camera will appear to function perfectly while making no exposures whatsoever.
2 Strap lugs can and do wear through. I forget now whether I had two pairs replaced or three. My repairer used harder steel lugs from another camera entirely.
3 Film counters can get sticky but are easy to unstick.
4 Fred's experience notwithstanding, the F36 motors aren't all that clever. Every now and then they will fire an entire roll for no apparent reason. This is from personal experience of using Fs with matched motors, bought new and well maintained, in an AV production house. I must have put hundreds of rolls through those cameras myself, and others used them too. Also, they're bloody great heavy things.
5 The metered heads (Photomic series) are huge, crude and (today) no longer reliable or easily reparable. Go for a plain prism.
Cheers,
R.
