Why Do You Prefer the Nikon F Over the F2?

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cary

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I have been a Nikon F user for over thirty nine years. I still have and use my original F and actually use it more than my Leica M3 and IIIF. Why do you prefer the F over the F2?

Every time I consider purchasing an F2 The same question comes up. Why? I find the F fits my hand perfectly, easy to use, always works and just looks fantastic.
 
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Well, on the F2, the shutter release is more to the front. And the F2 is easier to load, and I don't need to juggle the back.

YMMV...

:)

Vick
 
Vickko said:
Well, on the F2, the shutter release is more to the front. And the F2 is easier to load, and I don't need to juggle the back.

YMMV...

:)

Vick
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I've been using them a long time too, but the one glitch for me is that I am slow finding the shutter release. Too far back. I thionk I'd like the F2.
 
Stay with the F (although F2's are also nice)

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I don't. The F2 pretty much is a debugged F, what differences there are are to the better - the release position, detachable back, dimension of the battery-carrying meter heads and mirror lock-up are noticeable flaws in the F.
 
The F body I have is a late one from 1973 the so called 'Apollo' version with plastic tip on self timer and film advance. To be honest it doesn't feel that much different to my 1972 F2 which has the same fine grain F leatherette. The F2 feels more refined and smaller due to the rounded contours. The F feels the more solid camera due I think to the square corners but in reality they are probably the same. The 1976 F2 I have feels like a much younger body than the other 2 and the only thing I can put it down to is the later leatherette.
If I have a preference it's the F probably because it was the first of the line. I find the meter a pain at times to push the button on. I always forget to turn it off! The film advance levers always feel like they are an after thought and of course they are big in metered version. I think everyone who's into film cameras should at some point have one.
 
Better looking, more reliable (we used both in a pro studio in the 70s), iconic, and I already have enough to outlast me.

Cheers,

R.
 
I'd like to think that if I had a nice black F2sb I would ditch my F Photomic... but I can't afford a nice black F2sb, and the F is a beast that has little monetary value if I were to sell it (it is very heavily used) but has a lot of value to me since it works flawlessly. I have never even handled an F2. The F is definitely the sturdiest camera I have ever used, if I had to go into a war zone, it is the one I would take.
 
The F has the best built quality of any Nikon Camera it's a dinosaur by today's standards a simple no frills camera that will probably outlast me. The F2 doesn't feel as archaic as the F and I prefer the archaic in form and feel.

Dominik
 
The F's are only a little ahead in my preferences - and its all irrational, emotional stuff. There is something about that sucker, especially with a non metering prism head, that just looks primal. It's big, it's square, it's boxy. It's a tank. Its a brick-outhouse. No it's just a brick! But lets face it , it somehow is an elegant and quite beautiful brick. Although the F2 is a camera that is worthy of being called great too, the only other camera that really compares with the F as far as I am concerned is Canon's early F1. It is very similar in feel to the F if a bit different in design. The F (and the Canon both sound good too). When you fire them there is no "clattery clunkity" of cheaper consumer cameras - just an authorative "chunk!" like the sound of a Rolls Royce door closing. Beautiful stuff.
 
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I loved my Nikon FTn but I didn't replace it when stolen.
Years later I tried an F2A but it just didn't do it for me.

Chris
 
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I am one of the minority who prefer the F2. I feel that the improvements - more rounded edges, 1/2000 speed, better metered finders, better placed shutter release, better mirror lock, better opening back made it a more user friendly package. Sure the F was the original deal, but to me the F2 went beyond that.
 
My reason for switching from Fs to F2s was the motor drives. Not so much the framing rates with the F2 motors but the speed of changing film. Much faster with the F2 because the camera back just swings open and there's no hand grip brace to loosen. Then add the fact that two of the three F2 motor models also give you auto film rewind and you have a distinct winner in the F2.

But ask me which camera I'm still emotionally attached to, and I'd have to say it's the F.
 
I got into SLR's via Nikkormats so don't have a strong emotional attachment to either. I have owned both but don't like the mirror lock-up of the F. The F2 feels best to me also.
 
dbarnes said:
My reason for switching from Fs to F2s was the motor drives. Not so much the framing rates with the F2 motors but the speed of changing film. Much faster with the F2 because the camera back just swings open and there's no hand grip brace to loosen. Then add the fact that two of the three F2 motor models also give you auto film rewind and you have a distinct winner in the F2.

But ask me which camera I'm still emotionally attached to, and I'd have to say it's the F.
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You mean you don't LIKE your motor-drives firing off the entire roll at random? (I had a couple of F36s -- or maybe even F36's).

Cheers,

R.
 
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