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My Nikon F2 was a steal, although not quite as much of a steal as my Canon AV-1.
I was at a wedding in Cornwall when someone said they had a box of cameras in the boot of their car I might be interested in.
We looked, and the first item at the top of the box was the coveted Nikon F2.
A legendary camera, so they say.
It certainly looked legendary.
Along with it were 24mm f/2.8, 50mm f/2, 105mm f/2.5, and 200mm f/4 lenses.
The lot cost a mere £200–an absolute steal for a Nikon F2 in what appeared to be excellent condition.
The meter wasn’t working, but there were no batteries in it.
After picking up some LR44 batteries and popping them in, the meter came to life.
It was responsive and provided meter readings similar to my Fujifilm X-T5.
The next step was to stick some 35mm Kodak Gold 200 film in and go shoot.
Nikon F2 Review
Before I get going on this Nikon F2 review, I should say this:
It’s not my favourite film camera, although it is my favourite film camera to look at.
My model is the Nikon F2 Photomic with DP-1 Meter Head, which was released in 1971.
Six models of the Nikon F2 were produced between 1971 and 1980 before being superseded by the Nikon F3.
They were:
- F2 with plain prism
- F2 Photomic with DP-1 Meter Head
- F2S Photomic with DP-2 Meter Head
- F2SB Photomic with DP-3 Photomic Meter Head
- F2A Photomic with DP-11 Photomic Meter Head
- F2AS Photomic with DP-12 Photomic Meter Head
Nikon F2 Pros
- Looks fantastic
- Fully mechanical camera operation (although the pro of this is up for debate)
- Automatic exposure meter reading (with a DP Meter Head)
& Cons
- Big
- Heavy
- Some ergonomic issues
- Manual focus
- Manual exposure (without a DP Meter Head)
Body & Handling
There is little doubt about it.
The Nikon F2 is a masterpiece of aesthetic design.
Nikon created an object with such enormous visual appeal, with its impressive shape, form, textures, and style, that it is stimulating to look at.
My F2 attracts almost as much attention from passers-by as my medium format Bronica ETRSi.
The camera represents a bygone era when design was about more than just a light-tight black box.
Perhaps that is why manufacturers are producing cameras such as the Fujifilm X100VI to keep up with the demand for retro-style equipment.
Design aside, let’s talk about the camera’s function.
The body’s functions are entirely mechanical, and if you have anything but the basic F2 model, the only part of the camera that requires batteries is the meter head.
Is this a good thing?
Some may suggest so, and whether a fully mechanical camera is a pro or con is debatable.
Electronics in cameras have significantly reduced their size and weight, plus other things.
The basic F2 model or the F2 body of any model with a DP Meter Head does not have electronics, so the camera is heavy—840g for the body alone.
I’d suggest that perhaps it’s not a good thing and that it is a con of the camera because, without electronics, the body requires gears, springs, and levers, all of which contribute to this heavyweight bruiser.
The counterargument is that a fully mechanical body could be more reliable and longer lasting than an electronic body or that it can be fixed more easily and cheaply.
That may be a fair argument.
After all, this Nikon F2 from the early 1970s still functions well.
Still, electronic systems have proven equally reliable over the years and contribute in other ways beyond their size and weight, making cameras easier and more pleasant to use.
Weight is a significant consideration for me, so I chose the Fujifilm X system for my day-to-day digital photography because it’s small and light.
The F2’s lack of electronics means the camera can be used even if there are no batteries or the meter doesn’t work.
If this is the case, you’ll need another means of measuring exposure, which defeats the object of the meter head and is another reason I’m not entirely convinced a fully mechanical body is a positive for the camera.
When the F2 was first introduced, people would have had access to light meters, but today, you seldom see them being used.
The SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera had been around long before the F2 came along, but built-in automatic exposure had not, having arrived in the Pentax Spotmatic in the mid-1960s.
Because of this, built-in exposure metering was still in its infancy.
The location of the shutter speed dial makes changing the shutter speed slightly uncomfortable because of the ergonomics of the camera and DP Meter Head.
In the DP Meter Heads, the shutter speed control is built into the head itself, unlike in more recent cameras, where these settings are often controlled by a command dial closer to the shutter release.
Because of the weight and ergonomics, the Nikon F2 isn’t as pleasant to use as the more modern film cameras I’ve used.
You would expect a more modern camera to be lighter, easier to use, and more comfortable than its predecessors.
These are some of the things that contribute to a camera’s shooting pleasure, which is why I’d leave the F2 on the shelf and pick a different 35mm SLR.
Optical Quality
One of the apparent selling points of the Nikon F2 and Nikon film system is the F Mount.
This is because it has an endless list of compatible lenses.
Is this a pro for buying the F2?
It makes little difference to the average person shooting film these days unless you already own a lot of F-mount lenses.
Very few people are shooting professionally on film, requiring access to such an arsenal of lenses.
Most of us need only one or two.
I’ve only shot on the 50mm f/2 lens.
It’s convenient, my favourite focal length, and surprisingly versatile (which is why the Fujifilm 33mm f/1.4 is my favourite lens).
As for the optical quality, it was fine.
Among other things, such as the film type, film plane flatness, and developing (to name a few), the lens primarily determines optical quality,
However, the user must determine the focus because no autofocus exists on the F2 models.
My model has a split-screen viewfinder, which I found difficult to use at times because it’s started to degrade.
The camera is over 50 years old, so the viewfinder is expected to dim as it degrades slightly over time.
A new focusing screen would undoubtedly solve the problem.
Non-AI & AI Lenses
While talking about lenses, it’s worth knowing a little about the lenses that go with each F2.
Different Meter Heads determine whether the camera is compatible with AI or non-AI lenses.
AI means Auto Indexing.
Early Nikon F2 models, such as the F2 Photomic (DP-1), F2S Photomic (DP-2), and F2SB Photomic (DP-3), were designed for non-AI lenses, which have “rabbit ears” to communicate aperture settings mechanically.
The “rabbit ears” are the little fork by the aperture scale.
These DP Meter Heads require you to manually index the meter by fully rotating the aperture ring after mounting the lens for the head to determine the lens’s aperture range.
AI lenses will fit on the camera but not meter unless they have rabbit ears.
Later models, such as the F2A Photomic (DP-11) and F2AS Photomic (DP-12), introduced AI compatibility, allowing the camera to automatically detect the aperture setting without manual indexing.
These DP Meter Heads feature a small tab that engages with the AI ridge on the lens aperture ring.
AI lenses work seamlessly with these meter heads, while non-AI lenses will not meter unless modified.
Since the Nikon F2 body has no electronic coupling, lens compatibility depends entirely on the installed DP Meter Head if you want exposure metering.
However, all F2 models can accept Nikon’s F Mount lenses, but only manual-focus lenses with an aperture ring are practical for functionality.
Final Thoughts
Finally, I’d like to mention a schoolboy error I made with the F2.
When unloading a roll of film, the film rewind crank got stuck.
It wouldn’t budge, and I couldn’t open the film back.
It was an entirely user error as I didn’t rotate the O/C Key (Open/Close key) far enough to pop open the film back, so I ended up trying to prise the door open and bent it, which means I’ve had to replace the door.
It turns out the film was stuck in the film spool, and a slightly harder rewind would have unstuck it, solving the problem.
This was a disappointing end, but it confirms how I feel about the camera—it is slightly more unpleasant to use than I’d like.
Nikon F2 Photos
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