What's so good about nikon F2?

[Contarama]

Any EMF pulse that will kill an sr77 battery will have a gama, and x-ray pulse that would fog all of the film for miles around.😡
Captain Gumby@beach in SoCal

What about if the film was in a lead lined boxed? 🙂

 

[awilder]

Don't forget about Nikon Authorized Photo Service (APS) in Morton Grove, Il. The techs are Japanese, Nikon trained, especially enjoy servicing older SLRs, very fast turnaround, reasonably priced and produce consistently great results. I use them for all my Nikon service whether film, digital or Nikkor lens service. Equal in quality to DAG, only fast.

 

[68degrees]

what if an F and an F2 were both equipped with a plain head. What would the differences be?

 

[dtcls100]

what if an F and an F2 were both equipped with a plain head. What would the differences be?

Two very practical differences that come to mind are that the F2 has a better located shutter release (more towards the front than the F) and also is easier to load as the camera back is hinged as opposed to sliding completely off. With the F, one has to figure out what to do with the back while reloading the camera.

 

[68degrees]

Two very practical differences that come to mind are that the F2 has a better located shutter release (more towards the front than the F) and also is easier to load as the camera back is hinged as opposed to sliding completely off. With the F, one has to figure out what to do with the back while reloading the camera.

nice. Thank you.

 

[Frontman]

what if an F and an F2 were both equipped with a plain head. What would the differences be?

The F2 also gives you an extra stop of shutter speed.

I have both types, and though the F needs to have the film back removed to load the film, this is not a big deal. The film loading is still easier than any Leica rangefinder.

 

[Godfrey]

The F2 also gives you an extra stop of shutter speed.

I have both types, and though the F needs to have the film back removed to load the film, this is not a big deal. The film loading is still easier than any Leica rangefinder.

Hmm. I have both an F and an M4-2. Takes about 15 seconds to load the M4-2, and a bit longer to load the F (up to a minute).

What do you find harder about loading a Leica rangefinder? Any M4 or later with the quick-load system can be loaded in just a few moments. Shove in the cassette, drop the leader into the fork, flip the back closed and push the baseplate on. Done. The older spool loads do take a bit of time.

G

--- addendum ---

Piqued my curiosity. I am *way* out of practice loading 35mm film cameras (who the heck needs to load these cameras in a hurry these days? ;-), so I pulled out both F and M, and a roll of film. Practiced loading the M and the F once each, then timed loading them. From taking the baseplate or back off to having the camera buttoned up and first frame wound on, the F took 58 seconds and the M took 26 seconds.

Out of continued curiosity, I pulled out the Leica CL and the Leicaflex SL too ... 1:30 seconds to load the CL (removable back, hinged pressure plate, etc, it's not quick). 31 seconds to load the 'Flex SL (hinged back, very fast). 🙂

 

[68degrees]

Im really getting curious about the waist level finder with a F2 for walking around camera?

 

[Robert Lai]

Don't bother with the waist level finder, unless you like looking at a tiny image which is left-right reversed. I put up with that on a Rolleiflex, for the bigger negative. For 35mm, it gets ridiculous. With all the mental gymnastics you'll be doing, you won't be able to take any decent street photos.

Compared to the F, the F2 has several more shutter speeds. The F2 has continuously variable shutter speeds over much of its range, and the higher 1/2000 top speed. On the low end, you can use the self timer to time up to 10 seconds of exposure.

If you are into motor drives, the F's F36 requires special fitting. Then, just try to find one that has all the parts intact.
The F2 had several variants. Clarence Gass just gave me as a gift a non-functioning MD-3. Many of these are non-functioning as they had a nylon gear in the gear train. With time, the nylon gear splits and becomes useless. A trip to Sover Wong got a new replacement brass gear, as well as overhaul of the drive. Cost $80. Now this MD-3 motor rips along! Compared to the MD-4 of the F3, the F2's motors require different winding speeds for different shutter speeds. Somewhat of a pain to use. BTW, Sover Wong records the serial numbers of all items that he has repaired. This list is on his web site. So, you can tell if your item was serviced by Sover or not.

The F3 with MD-4 reigns supreme for an add-on motor. It improves the handling of the F3, and the operation is seamless.

 

[x-ray]

I used F2 Nikons for years and shot thousands of rolls through them. No issues. I had three and two motors and had one minor repair on a rewind gear on one motor. A repairman once told me the F2 was hands down the best built 35 ever. I would agree. I still use one that I've owned for thirty years and it's still going strong.

 

[M Currie]

I have shot F's for years and have no F2, but mostly just because one never fell in my lap. The advantages of the F2 that I really miss on the F are a shutter button lock and a mirror lockup that does not waste a shot.

 

[leicapixie]

The Nikkormat did not have a good framing viewfinder.
Certainly less than 90%.
I think about 87%, similar to my M6...
The only problem of all the pro cameras of Nikon, is weight and bulk.
Superb in every other way.
OH! My Nikon-F does NOT lose a frame to raise or lower the mirror.

 

[Godfrey]

Im really getting curious about the waist level finder with a F2 for walking around camera?

Had exactly that setup. Frankly, 35mm format is a bit too small for the WL finder to really work well. 6x6 works better that way ... A Hasselblad with the 80mm lens and WL finder is a darn nice walk-about camera.

G

 

[Godfrey]

The Nikkormat did not have a good framing viewfinder.
Certainly less than 90%.
I think about 87%, similar to my M6...
The only problem of all the pro cameras of Nikon, is weight and bulk.
Superb in every other way.
OH! My Nikon-F does NOT lose a frame to raise or lower the mirror.

You've done the "RF mod" then, eh?
I had one F body with that. Found it a bit irritating ... I was forever not pressing the shutter release the right amount.

G