What's so good about nikon F2?

[JMQ]

The $4000 is probably for the titanium version or F2 data or the F2 High Speed. These are beautiful and rare versions. Most of the more common F2 with the DP-1 finder should be in the 200-300 range or less. These are all mechanical cameras that will still function after sitting years on the shelf.

 

[Harry Lime]

F2:

Pluses:

- Indestructible
- Compact
- Perfect weight
- Indestructible
- Feels right
- Huge system of accessories
- Fully mechanical, no batteries needed unless you have a metered head.
- 100% viewfinder

Minuses:

- Has one of the louder SLR shutters.
- The area where the removable prism sits could be better sealed against dust.
- The optional motor is quite big
- 100% viewfinder leaves no 'breathing room' for composition on the negative.


I've had a black paint F2 for a few years now and it's one of my favorite cameras. In many ways the F2 is a evolution of the original Nikon F. Similar to the F, but a very different animal.

 

[Aristophanes]

..peace, love, and understanding.

 

[Godfrey]

Hi, I am looking for a reliable all mechanical film slr, so someone suggested I look at nikon f2. I head to eBay and see prices all over the map, from $200 to $4000! So what is up with that, what is a good price, and why are some so expensive? Btw, I really like the black ones with the very tiny prisms, which seem to be higher priced. Is this just collector madness, or are they really that good?

The Nikon F2 was the last of the all mechanical, pro-series Nikon bodies. A magnificent lump it was too, beautifully made and finished, tough as nails. They were expensive in their day. People prize them still, regardless of which prism head they've got. The cheap ones were often ex-professional use and are rather beat up. The pricey ones are often pristine perfect pieces owned by amateurs who used them carefully and lightly.

I had a Nikon F Photomic FTn back in the day (1969-1975), and about seven years after that picked up a Nikon F2 with plain prism and waist level finder. Superb cameras, both of them.

A few months ago, I acquired a lovely black Nikon F Photomic FTn again (for the grand total of $35) in very good shape. I fitted it with a plain prism, A screen and stuck a Nikkor 50/1.2 on it. Wonderful camera, probably worth $700 at least. I like the F just a little more than the F2, mostly for sentimental reasons, but they are both of the same type: strong, reliable, large, heavy.

The 100% viewfinder coverage of the professional Fs made truly precise framing for scientific photography possible. It also raised the price tag enormously, like it always did on the top line SLRs. Not needed for day to day shooting, I used an FM/FM2n/FE2 as my work cameras for years.

 

[RichW]

I have a Nikon F, my first and only SLR (not including DSLRs) and it is a beast but I love it.

I carry it with my Leica (M3 or IIIa) and it is the perfect compliment, the Leica for quick snaps with its quiet shutter and the Nikon for when I have time to compose, focus and check the depth of field preview - snik goes the Leica and CLAK goes the Nikon!

I have the waist level finder and the photomic head but I would love a plain prism (as I dont use the built in meter) but they are just too much to justify at the moment considering the photomic does the same job just with extra baggage

Cheers, Richard

 

[Ronald M]

A well serviced F2 is a pure gem. Get with the later led metered finders or the meterless prism.

All the foam seals are probably goo. I replaced mine with black yarn, plyobond glue.

The mirror stop is now felt as is the seal under eyepiece.

I have seen many F2 Nikons and most are rough and used up or need service. Mine is near mint and operates like a Swiss watch. $200

Got a early Nikormat in same shape, $60. Same heavy pro build as F without inchangeable screen and finder.

Fm and Fe are consumer grade cameras. Not in same league. I have those too.

 

[loneranger]

That is such a beauty!

I have a Nikon F, my first and only SLR (not including DSLRs) and it is a beast but I love it.

I carry it with my Leica (M3 or IIIa) and it is the perfect compliment, the Leica for quick snaps with its quiet shutter and the Nikon for when I have time to compose, focus and check the depth of field preview - snik goes the Leica and CLAK goes the Nikon!

I have the waist level finder and the photomic head but I would love a plain prism (as I dont use the built in meter) but they are just too much to justify at the moment considering the photomic does the same job just with extra baggage

Cheers, Richard

 

[eurekaiv]

anybody who buys an f2 when they can buy a mint f5 for the same price needs to have their head examined,

Just because you prefer a computerized, molded plastic, auto-focus camera covered in buttons and dials, doesn't mean someone else is mental if they don't.

 

[loneranger]

Just because you prefer a computerized, molded plastic, auto-focus camera covered in buttons and dials, doesn't mean someone else is mental if they don't.

Totally agree with you eurekaiv,

 

[biomed]

I purchased my F2 in 1974 and still have it. A few years back I sent it to our head bartender for an overhaul - as good as new now! I put it to use whenever the big SLR mood takes me. The F2 wasn't my first "good" SLR, but it is my favorite.

 

[mynikonf2]

I have owned alot of cameras over the past 35+/- years but I have always owned a F2. In fact it's always been a F2SB (F2+DP-3) & a F2A (F2+DP-11). With these 2 cameras I can do anything I want photographically, with film.
Take your time and look for a camera in EX+/Mint-, being sold by a reputable source (good return policy a must). It will cost you a little more up front but you will be happier in the long run. That's the beauty of the F2, it's a camera made for the long run, and it's not over yet for the F2.

 

[mynikonf2]

Here's a nice one that I have been thinking about.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/33073073937...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_5284wt_1185

I'm not related to this sale in anyway but I do know these people and they have been good to deal with.

 

[steveyork]

I prefer the Leicaflex series of cameras. Functionally, I feel they're better then Nikons (and yes, I have used Nikons), but what I hear about Fs and F2s is that they're very reliable. They're good cameras. You can't go wrong with either an F or F2.

 

[steveyork]

Nothing, if you want a perfectly reliable mechanical Nikon SLR get a Nikon FM2n instead. It's built just as good (you can take it to war) and it has 1/4000 shutter.

The eye relief is poor on FM2s.

 

[steveyork]

It's the BS created by the collectors.. I have three Nikon F's from the Jurassic era all with plain prisms because they were cheap! I did not want to pay some $60 difference then for the FTn prism while having a pocket lightmeter. Today that stupid plain prism makes more than the body.. Buy the one with Photomic prism if you want an F2, the rest is nonsense..

Nostalgia too. All the old farts dream about the camera they could never afford in their youth. And with a plain prism the Nikon looks pretty. I'm afraid there's a bit of the fondler in most photographers.

 

[steveyork]

but he already has an RF.

if he doesnt want an accurate finder or macro/long tele lenses then he could save some cash and just stick with what he has.

Creative people tend to get bored easily. They need new experiences. That's one of the reasons why some of us have a bunch of different lenses and camera systems.

 

[sevo]

but he already has an RF.

if he doesnt want an accurate finder or macro/long tele lenses then he could save some cash and just stick with what he has.

Well, SLRs are accurate beyond and apart from framing issues. Indeed, as I pointed out, a 100% frame is rather inaccurate for most professional applications apart from purely technical photography. That extra bit of margin visible in the finder is lost in projection or third party printing, and will cut into your subject unless you discipline yourself to avoid it...

It doubtlessly is a handy cheat if you subscribe to the "I see so well that I never need to crop" 70's/80's school of black border printing photographic artists. But for one, that stunt was supposed to involve a Leica or other rather inaccurately framing camera and doesn't demonstrate nearly as much talent if you use a finder that displays all of the future print. And for the other, "I never crop" can just as well be interpreted as "I shun every subject that has no 2:3 proportion", so that that fashion has rather lost its former glory.

That said, the bulk of my SLRs (indeed all except for the odd Exakta or two, a FM2n and a lone Canon F-1) are pro Nikons from F to F4. But the only application where I ever felt that 100% finder to be superior was when duplicating...

 

[dave lackey]

Rich,
I love that waist level finder...looks like I need to forego eating a couple of weeks to fund that next KEH purchase for my F2....😱

 

[Ronny]

2 Nikon F is better than one Nikon F2
B&W + C.


Nikon F by Ronny Persson, on Flickr

 

[raid]

I sold my Nikon F and FTN prism, but I kept my user condition chrome F2 with basic finder. I think of it like a Nikon ikon 🙂 (it rhymes)