Why Do You Prefer the Nikon F Over the F2?

[Pirate]

Because I own an F, not an F2 😀

 

[Keith]

I prefer the F6 ... it seems to have a few more improvements over the F than the F2! 😀

 

[mynikonf2]

My answer is a definite YES! Strongly attached to them both. The F was my intro to SLR photography. The F2SB became my perfect camera, did not need anymore camera than that. Still have them both and still use them both. I have the operation of those cameras committed to memory and can not place a value on that. It's often the difference between my making the shot or not. 😀

 

[Vics]

The F is the camera I always yearned for. Couldn't afford the price of admission. Then I inherited an F body from my older brother, bought a lens, shot a roll, bought another lens (with a body), etc... It was my salvation from the Minolta Maxxum scare of the '80s, brought me back to Tri-X, led me to Leica... I'm very fond of my F bodies and the seven lenses... I love switching lenses on the F body, so quick and easy. I still want an F2!

 

[David Murphy]

A F with an eye level prism is the ultimate in simplicity and reliability. It looks good too and the Nikkors all have killer glass.

 

[Dave Jenkins]

If we're using the plain prism, I have no preference. But I despise the F2 with the meter prism, because I can't rewind the film without bumping my fingers against the meter housing. The contact knocks the rewind crank out my grip, the crank collapses back into the knob, and I have to start over. The F2 made me a confirmed Olympus OM user until I could no longer see well enough to focus a manual camera accurately.

 

[KoNickon]

I love the nonmetered F. Iconic, as someone has said. The F2 with metered finder is a joy to use -- more compact than the FTn (and takes readily available batteries).

I've never handled an F2 with the eyelevel (nometered) finder, but I think I'd like that best of all.

 

[randolph45]

F2?

F2?

When I owned my Fs,F2 was just a twinkle in the eye of Nikon🙄

 

[shadowfox]

I'm weird in this regard, I want a black F2 but I'm fascinated with the F's all metal advance lever.

Is it quite common to transplant the F's advance lever onto an F2?

 

[RanceEric]

I prefer the F. The body is built just like the S3/SP, which I use constantly, so the position of the shutter release isn't a problem, but I can see how it might be annoying for those who don't regularly use the F or Nikon rangefinders.. For the same reason, the removeable back doesn't ever seem to be a problem.

 

[ray*j*gun]

How else can I use my a hammer to take pics....oh and the wonderful Photomic meter head.

 

[kshapero]

There are no losers here, only winners. Good stuff.

 

[Teuthida]

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.

You're 22? Well done. Good to see the new generation discover the joys of the fully mechanical film camera.

 

[Vickko]

No, the F2 lever can't go onto an F.

Different mounting completely.

But, I have often transplanted the Apollo F lever onto my user Nikons. I really like the black plastic tip and smoother contour.

Vick

I'm weird in this regard, I want a black F2 but I'm fascinated with the F's all metal advance lever.

Is it quite common to transplant the F's advance lever onto an F2?

 

[nobbylon]

I watched a nice looking black Apollo Ftn go for 120 UK pounds yesterday on the bay. At that price everyone should have at least one!
Even factoring in a 120 UK service from Sover makes it cheap by Leica standards for what is a piece of history.

 

[mynikonf2]

Everything is cheap by Leica standards! 😀

 

[redisburning]

Everything is cheap by Leica standards! 😀

tell that to Alpa or Sinar lol.

Seriously though Leica is so pricey I damn near traded in my M2 to spring a Mamiya 7 kit but then good fortune hit which enabled me to afford a lens lol.

 

[cary]

These are great posts, keep them coming!

 

[Pablito]

no one mentioned (that I saw in a quick skim of the posts) the rewind button the F2 vs. the rewind collar around the shutter button on the F , which you have to remember to put back to advance mode when changing films.

 

[CameraQuest]

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.

I have both, and prefer the F2.

The F2 is just as well made, but is more convenient to use.

Stephen