Nikon F2 or F3?

i worked on both extensively. i have had to field repair a Nikon f3 numerous times due to electronics. one of my F2's i still shoot to this day and have not had to do a thing to it.
 
with that said, they are both excellent cameras. keep in ind that what i expose a camera to, conditions wise, may not pertain to your needs.
 
Wouldn't it be nice if some ingenious soul came up with crowdfunding (or similar) project of a replacement LC-Display for the F3, something modern, visible day and night. Yeah the exposure readout in manual would still be subpar, but at least visibility would not be a problem.

Had an F3 and loved its confidence inspiring build etc. Loved the F2 even more, but then I am biased towards mechanical cameras. Both extremely fine cameras.
 
As I recall, the metering in the F3 is more strongly center-weighted (80% metering in the central circle compared to 60% for the F2 and F.)

- Murray
 
Correct about the meter pattern of the F3. The meter pattern for TTL flash is more of a rectangle though. Modern Photography did a thorough review of the camera when it first came out, and that review included the meter sensitivity patterns.

Also, the F3 is virtually immune to the meter being mislead by light entering through the viewfinder port. But, Nikon provided a nifty eyepiece shutter on the F3 prism for those times when you are shooting off a tripod. The F2A meter is more sensitive to light entering through the eyepiece, but lacks the eyepiece blind.


Regarding the F plain prism - mine has no desilvering either. However, when I asked Sover about repairing the FTN prism, he said that he can repair some of them, but he will not be able to fix desilvering, which is very common on the F meter prisms.
 
FrankS said:
"I've always been convinced that if the FA had been built to the same Industrial Strength specs as the Nikon Pro bodies, it would have been the successor to the F2, instead of the F3."

But it wasn't built to that standard, so it wasn't the successor.
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Yeah, I like the idea of the FA, but hate that Nikon used plastic for the top and bottom plates and prism. My FM2 is all metal, not sure why Nikon did not keep it like that.
 
Though I was a Nikon user when it debuted I never wanted an F3.
That digital numerical meter readout with no scale is a dealbreaker.

Chris
 
Huss said:
Yeah, I like the idea of the FA, but hate that Nikon used plastic for the top and bottom plates and prism. My FM2 is all metal, not sure why Nikon did not keep it like that.
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True enough.
But when I finally ran my first FA to death it wasn't the top or bottom plate that gave out, so I can't complain about that particular design decision.
 
What is a good price for an F2 with eye level (DE-1) finder? The finders alone often cost more than the cameras with finder! I have an F2A and love the feel of it, but it weighs quite a bit. I have thought of getting an FM, just due to weight issues. Open to suggestions.
Many thanks,
darya
 
Nikkormats are pretty good too. Built like tanks, like the F2. Just no interchangeable finder.
 
darya151 said:
What is a good price for an F2 with eye level (DE-1) finder? The finders alone often cost more than the cameras with finder! I have an F2A and love the feel of it, but it weighs quite a bit. I have thought of getting an FM, just due to weight issues. Open to suggestions.
Many thanks,
darya
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A good condition DE-1 finder by itself will cost more than the body with most other finders, even body +DP12 (the F2AS) finder. It's because it is the most elemental and now for some, most desired, option. 35mm SLR photography pared down to its most mechanical roots.

I honestly do not notice much difference in weight (but I do in size) when I mount the DE-1 vs the DP-12. I do also have an FM2n, which is a fantastic camera, and would recommend that it you do not want to pony up the big $$ for a DE-1. The FM2n really is remarkable - a full mechanical shutter than goes up to 1/4000 sec. That matches most DSLRs today! It also has a great viewfinder, is light (but still tough) and really nice to handle. They run about $100..

Or... you could get a well used F with the prism finder for about $150. That make a nice familial match to the F2.
 
A nice DE-1 with a bit of patience can be bought at near $100 or even less. For less than $200 you can get a black one in a very good condition. I have bought my F2 for €165 with the DE-1 both in excellent condition. At €250 or a bit more you can get the F2 with the DP-12 on it.

Although the F3 looks nice, I would drop it and go for the FA. Both are electronic, but the FA offers all that an electronic camera should. As for its polycarbonate top and bottom plates they will break if you hit it hard, but even the all metal F3 will fail or at least will look as if a truck came over it when hit that hard. The F3 it is all metal, but by no means a tank. It has relatively thin metal sheets that can be bent or dented easily.
 
Get one of each, they complement each other. I have a few of each, three F3 Professionals, and an F3T, along with an F2 Titan, and an F2AS. All of these have seen heavy use, and all work properly. One of the F3P bodies has a stuck film counter after being repeatedly splashed with salt water for the course of a year, but works fine otherwise.

The DE-1 prisms are easily dented, especially the black ones, the prism on the F2 Titan is very difficult to dent.
 
The only minor issue with the F3 is the LCD in the viewfinder however buy one with good contrast and it will last another 20 years! The film advance is the best of the F series and the camera just feels right. There's nothing wrong with the F2 but the F3 is an easier camera to use with its AE.
Which is most rugged? Both have proven themselves along with the early F that these cameras can take thousands of pics and keep going. Most F2's need servicing by now and Sover is the man for the job. He's done 2 F's and 3 F2's for me to date. I've had 5 F3's and none needed service. One had a faded lcd but it still worked as a camera perfectly.
The only issues I've had with F3's are a sticking frame counter reset pin, caused by interferance corrosion between the body metal and the steel pin. I fixed it myself but it was a pain as I had to take the rh top plate off and the wind head etc to get to it.
The other irritation is the secondary mirror starts to stick to the main mirror because of the old foam and can cause mirrors to slow down on return or even stick. Again it's a PITA to fix as you have to clean off the old foam behind the main mirror, Fiddly job but once refoamed it's back to normal ops.
I still have 2 F2's and an F3 and although I don't use MF much I'd choose the F3 every time.
One last thought, batteries last forever so ignore the 'reliant on battery' non issue.
 
rbsinto said:
I've always been convinced that if the FA had been built to the same Industrial Strength specs as the Nikon Pro bodies, it would have been the successor to the F2, instead of the F3.
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A large number of FA bodies got affected by some abnormal batteries drain problems so I wouldn't recommend it whatsoever. I often found myself forced to use the emergency M250 manual shutter speed while some new SR44 batteries had been installed in my new FA a few weeks before.

So, no Industrial Strength specs with the FA, which has now become something whose place is on the shelves of the Nikon Museum (for being the first camera featured with a multizones built-in meter) and nothing else.
 
Frontman said:
Get one of each, they complement each other. I have a few of each, three F3 Professionals, and an F3T, along with an F2 Titan, and an F2AS. All of these have seen heavy use, and all work properly. One of the F3P bodies has a stuck film counter after being repeatedly splashed with salt water for the course of a year, but works fine otherwise.

The DE-1 prisms are easily dented, especially the black ones, the prism on the F2 Titan is very difficult to dent.
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Yep, get both.
 
Highway 61 said:
A large number of FA bodies got affected by some abnormal batteries drain problems so I wouldn't recommend it whatsoever. I often found myself forced to use the emergency M250 manual shutter speed while some new SR44 batteries had been installed in my new FA a few weeks before.

So, no Industrial Strength specs with the FA, which has now become something whose place is on the shelves of the Nikon Museum (for being the first camera featured with a multizones built-in meter) and nothing else.
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You forgot the preface your remarks with "in my opinion' or "in my experience".
In my experience, the two FAs I've had and used in the last ten or fifteen years have worked flawlessly (right up the the day the first one physically began to fall apart from extreme use). I've never had battery issues, and the AMP metering (Matrix), although primitive by the standards of today has always given me excellent exposures.
I love the cameras so much that I'm thinking of getting rid of my other bodies and replacing them with additional motorized FA bodies.
 
I really disliked Nikon until I found a nearly not used one around 2011. Works smoothly like a Leica SL and has improvements over the F both externally and internally.

I the finders are old tech with old style batteries and aging cells. Repair /update could be a problem.
 
The F3 was designed by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, which is one reason it stayed so long in production! Even today it looks fantastic. He introduced the red stripe on the grip, which is now a Nikon signature.
And that grip, small that it is, does make the camera fit in the hand better than the F/F2.
So why do I like the F/F2 so much? Maybe it's because in my hand I imagine the turmoil that it's photographed in the 60's and 70's. With the F3 in my hand, I imagine the glam rock bands that it's photographed in the 80s!
 
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