Which is the best of the metered Nikon F2s?

Any F2 with an AS finder. It has been a while so no comment on how the finder compares with the F3HP. Just to lazy to go and compare at the moment.

Bob
 
I think hands down that the F2as is the best (most accurate meter), but it's heavy. BTW there a fine guy in the UK who sells and services them. His name is Sover Wong. His email is soverf2repair at yahoo dot com
 
The F2AS for Ai lenses and F2SB for non-Ai lenses are the best, using LED's and Silicon Photo Diodes. Both meter to EV -2. The LED's will outlast the LCD display of the F3, but my 1983 F3AF display is still good.

BUT: You have to make sure the electronics on the F2AS and F2SB are good- I've had one with a bad electronics board and it is not repairable, lack of spare parts.

Eye-relief of the F2 prisms compares with the F3's DE-2 finder. I do not have problems using it with glasses, but the F3HP's DE-3 finder offers more eye-relief.
 
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The F2AS is considered by many to be the penultimate F2 and I'm sure it is. But to get your hands on any good F2 with a properly functioning meter could be satisfactory.

I've seen very nice F2s with the DP-1 finder for $250.00 and fair F2s with the DP-12 finder going for up to $900. As you know, the difference is pretty well only the meter.

I really like my F2s, one with a DP-1 finder the other with a DP-11. I've had the F2 with the DP-1 finder since the early '80s with no trouble. The camera is quite heavy I suppose, for a 35mm SLR but I'm not a really big guy and I don't notice the weight.
 
Although the F2AS has the more advanced meter system (silicon cell + LEDs), I prefer the F2A because I like a meter much more than LEDs.

For me, I find a meter needle much easier to judge how much over or under a scene is.

And I also agree that the F2A(S) is a very large camera.
 
ZeissFan said:
Although the F2AS has the more advanced meter system (silicon cell + LEDs), I prefer the F2A because I like a meter much more than LEDs.

For me, I find a meter needle much easier to judge how much over or under a scene is.

And I also agree that the F2A(S) is a very large camera.
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I have a F2AS and the regular F2, I agree with thed above. The LEDs are very accurate but very finicky. I think it's about 1/2 stop. I much prefer the match needle of the F2. ANd I don' t really think it's any heavier than an F4 or F5.
 
If you don't like the LEDs, just get a Nikkormat-also built like a battleship (same quality as the F2) and much cheaper.

BTW- the electronics on the F2as can be repaired by aforementioned Sover Wong.
 
I'm a bit schizo on this: in the F2 family, I'll side with the F2A (descendant of the original F2 Photomic), but I'll take an F3HP over that any day of the week. But my bias here is that I'm bespectacled, and had little love for any metered F2 (my fave was my F2 Titan, with meterless prism, which I had alongside my F3s once upon a time). The F3 still crystallizes all that was good in non-motorized F-cameraland. Nikon got it damned near perfect for me.

BBva1a.jpg

Moi, Waverly, VA, July 1983, Waiting for a Train (NW 611); yes, digital watch, analog camera.

But you know how photographers are...


- Barrett
 
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The LED readouts are nice for shooting in a theater, such as a play. There is the "DL-1" illuminator for the Nikon F and F2 Photomic finders, but they used bulbs. I converted mine to use an LED, but prefer the F2AS and F2SB for such situations.

The mechanical meters are quite good, but meter down to EV 1 using CDS cells. You get "memory" problems when moving from bright light to dark, they need some time to settle.

As far as weight, the difference between an F2 and F3 body is not that great. But motor drives for the F2 are much heavier than the MD-4 for the F3.

IMO, The prettiest Nikon SLR is the Black F2 with eye-level prism.

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But I end up grabbing the F2AS or F2SB with a 55/1.2 on it for low light.

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The F2 is nice in the way that old Leicas are nice, beautifully made and crafted, mechanical beasts, blah blah. But I agree with Fred that the F3 has better viewfinder. It's brighter and more contrasty. One thing that always bugged me on the F3 is the advance lever which seems descended form the cheapo Nikon EM. It's wobbly and feels crappy. But it's never failed. Still I always felt like the F3 was made to be used with the motor. Works fine without, of course.
 
Pablito said:
[...] But I agree with Fred that the F3 has better viewfinder. It's brighter and more contrasty. [...]
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I've replaced the screen of my F2s with a screen for the F4. That helps a bit. Just replace the screen inside the metal frame. Must say I'm using the F2 not very often these days.

Regards
Ivo
 
Pablito said:
One thing that always bugged me on the F3 is the advance lever which seems descended form the cheapo Nikon EM. It's wobbly and feels crappy. But it's never failed. Still I always felt like the F3 was made to be used with the motor. Works fine without, of course.
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The F3 had a definitive tinge of "oversize FE" to it - and I always felt the strong central weighting which was so excellent for manual TTL metering on the F series exposure meter to be a rather unsuitable pattern for automatic mode. Overall, the F3 did not have much advantages over its predecessor or the parallel Nikon prosumer models, apart from the HP finder. Even though I worked one for years, I never took to it quite as much as to the F2 or, later on, to the F4.

Sevo
 
My F2 just took its last bounce on concrete and is well beyond repair. I'm looking to replace it with another F2 along with the metering head. I'm not familiar with the later variations of the F2. Is any of the finders more reliable -- that is, less likely to break -- than the others?
 
Less likely to break- Assuming the CDS cells are good, probably the later DP-1 finder with the extended mask for the needle readout, that came out just before the DP-11. These also use an improved variable resistor ring when compared with the early DP-1's. Of course, if you have Ai and newer lenses, the DP-11 and DP-12 use the Ai coupling. The DP-1, DP-2, and DP-3 use the Aperture Prong. The Ai system depends on a return spring, if it jams up you get a bad reading.

With that stated, my early 7101xxx F2's and DP-1 meter are doing just fine. The DP-2 meter (F2S) is probably the least reliable.
 
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Dan, I just saw your post. I have a F2 with the DP-2 finder and it works great. I took it into Phoenix Camera Repair and Jay went though the whole camera and meter so its like new. The one thing that seems to do wrong with the meters is the resistor and when it does it gives you some wonky readings. I hope this is not too late for your needs.
 
Prices for those F2s seem to be all over the place. I've been looking at F2ASs for a while and they seemed to go for everything between $300 and $900 and it didn't seem like the price had much to do with what the seller claimed about their quality. KEH has a BGN grade black F2AS for $310 currently, whatever BGN may be worth in practice.

That said, it's a wonderful camera. I used a photographer friend's F2A for a bit and ergonomics-wise it's easily the best film camera I've ever had. It also shows in the output. I'll be on the lookout for one myself for some time.
 
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