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Nikon F2
Type 35 mm SLR camera
Lens mount Nikon F-mount
Focus manual
Flash non-ISO hot shoe plus PC socket

The Nikon F2 is a professional level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. 35 mm film is the basic Film gauge most commonly used for both still Photography and Motion pictures, and remains relatively unchanged since its The single-lens reflex (SLR Camera uses an automatic moving mirror system which permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable Lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35 mm SLR Cameras The F-mount was first introduced The single-lens reflex (SLR Camera uses an automatic moving mirror system which permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging It was manufactured by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K. (Nikon Corporation since 1988) in Japan from September 1971 to June 1980. ( also known as Nikon or Nikon Corp, is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo Japan specializing in Optics It used a horizontal-travel focal plane shutter with titanium shutter curtains and a speed range of 1 to 1/2000th second (up to 10 seconds using the self timer) plus Bulb and Time, and flash X-sync of 1/80th second. In Camera design a focal-plane shutter is a type of photographic shutter that is positioned immediately in front of the Focal plane of It had dimensions (with DE-1 head, see below) of 98 mm height, 152. 5 mm width, 65 mm depth and 730 g weight. It was available in two colors: black with chrome trim and all black.

The F2 is the second member of the long line of Nikon F-series professional level 35 mm SLRs that began with the Nikon F (manufactured 1959 - 1974) and followed each other in a sort of dynastic succession as the top-of-the-line Nikon camera. Introduced in 1959, the Nikon F Camera introduced the concept of the 35 mm Single-lens reflex camera (SLR system; that The other members were the F3 (1980 - 2001), F4 (1988 - 1996), F5 (1996 - 2005) and F6 (2004 - present). The Nikon F3 is Nikon 's third professional Single lens reflex Camera body preceded by the F and F2. The Nikon F4 is a 35mm autofocus (AF SLR camera first introduced in 1988 as the next generation in Nikon 's line of F series professional cameras The Nikon F5 is a 35 mm film -based Single-lens reflex camera body manufactured by Nikon from 1996 through 2004 The Nikon F6 is a 35 mm film -based Single-lens reflex camera body that became commercially available in 2004 and is the sixth top-of-the-line professional film The F-series do not share any major components - unless the continuous use of the redoubtable hardened stainless steel Nikon F bayonet lens mounting flange is considered as a common part. Instead, Nippon Kogaku designed each generation from the ground up to be its contender as the best camera in the world. By and large, they were successful in that mission.

All Nikon professional F-series SLRs are full system cameras. This means that each camera body serves as only a modular hub for a huge variety of accessories that extend its capabilities to perform whatever picture taking task that a photographer might ask for.

F2s body.

F2s Opened body.

Contents

Features

The Nikon F2 is an all-metal, mechanically (springs, gears, levers) controlled, manual focus SLR with manual exposure control. It was completely operable without batteries. The F2 was the replacement for Nikon F. It did not introduce many new features (a faster 1/2000th second maximum shutter speed, a swing open back for easier film loading, a larger reflex mirror to ensure no vignetting, and a shutter release relocated to the front edge of the camera for better ergonomics are the most obvious) or any new technologies. Instead, the Nikon F2 improved upon the already very high standards of reliability, durability, ruggedness and versatility of the Nikon F so that Nippon Kogaku could maintain dominance of the professional 35 mm SLR market in the 1970s.

Lenses

The F2 accepts all lenses with the Nikon F bayonet mount (introduced in 1959 on the Nikon F camera, therefore its name), with certain limitations or exceptions depending on the F2 version. The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable Lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35 mm SLR Cameras The F-mount was first introduced The later F2 A and F2 AS Photomic variants (see below) require lenses supporting the Automatic maximum aperture Indexing (AI) feature (introduced in 1977). The manual focus Nippon Kogaku made AI lenses were the Nikkor AI-S, Nikkor AI and Nikon Series E types. The AF-S Nikkor, AF-I Nikkor, AF Nikkor D and AF Nikkor autofocus lenses are also AI types. The original Nikkor "non-AI" (introduced before 1977) lenses, will mount but require stop down metering. Nippon Kogaku had a service to retrofit non-AI lenses with a new aperture ring with the AI feature to produce "AI'd" lenses, but this service ended decades ago.

The older F2, F2 S and F2 SB Photomic variants (see below) require lenses with a "meter coupling shoe" (or prong, informally called "rabbit ears"). These lenses are the Nikkor non AI, AI'd Nikkor, Nikkor AI and Nikkor AI-S types. Lenses without rabbit ears, such as the Nikon Series E, AF Nikkor, AF Nikkor D, AF-I Nikkor and AF-S Nikkor types, will mount but require stop down metering.

The basic non-Photomic F2 (no light meter; see below) will work with either lens types. Note that the Nikkor AI-S and Nikkor AI types are AI types plus have rabbit ears and will function properly on all Nikon F2 variants.

Nikon's most recent 35 mm film SLR lenses, the AF Nikkor G type (2000) lacking an aperture control ring; and the AF Nikkor DX type (2003) with image circles sized for Nikon's digital SLRs will mount, but will not function properly. A few exotic lenses from the 1960s require mirror lockup and therefore an auxiliary viewfinder is preferred. IX Nikkor lenses (1996), for Nikon's Advanced Photo System (APS) film SLRs, must not be mounted on any F2, as their rear elements will intrude far enough into the mirror box to cause damage even with the mirror locked up. Advanced Photo System ( APS) is a Film format for still Photography.

In 1977, Nippon Kogaku manufactured approximately 55 Nikkor non-AI and Nikkor AI lenses. They ranged from a Fisheye-Nikkor 6 mm f/2. 8 220º circular fisheye to a Reflex-Nikkor 2000 mm f/11 super-long mirror telephoto. This was the largest and widest ranging lens selection in the world by far.

The standard lens for most professionals was the Nikkor 50 mm f/1. 4, because its perspective approximated that of the human eye. Some photographers preferred the Nikkor 35 mm f/2 instead, because its slightly wider field of view made it better for grab shots. The Nikkor 105 mm f/2. 5 was renowned for its superb sharpness and bokeh, and was a favorite for tight head-and-shoulders portraits ("head shots"). This article is about the photographic usage of the term "Bokeh"

Special purpose lenses included the Micro-Nikkor 55 mm f/3. 5 and Micro-Nikkor 105 mm f/4 for close-up "macro" photography, the Noct-Nikkor 58 mm f/1. 2 for low light photography, the PC-Nikkor 28 mm f/3. 5 shifting perspective control lens, the GN-Nikkor 45 mm f/2. 8 for automatically setting the proper aperture for flash exposure based on distance (also useful as a very small/light "pancake" lens), the Nikkor 13 mm f/5. 6 widest angle (118º) rectilinear lens for SLRs ever made, the Nikkor 300 mm f/2. 8 ED IF fast telephoto useful for sports and wildlife photography, the versatile, but heavy Zoom-Nikkor 50-300 mm f/4. 5 ED and the quick framing, but notoriously middling optical quality Zoom-Nikkor 43-86 mm f/3. 5.

There were also innumerable independent manufacturer lenses available in the Nikon F mount. The most famous was probably the Vivitar Series 1 70-210 mm f/3. Vivitar Corporation was a manufacturer distributor and marketer of photographic and optical equipment originally based in Oxnard, California. 5 Macro Zoom (released 1974), the first zoom lens to meet most professional photographers' quality standards.

Viewfinders

However, it was the F2's interchangeable viewfinders (colloquially called "heads") that marked it as a truly professional level SLR and was its greatest strength. By providing updated heads every few years, Nippon Kogaku was able to introduce new versions of the F2 and keep the basic body in the latest technology until production ended in 1980. Note that F2 heads were often sold separately from the body, mostly in black finish with about 10% in chrome, and it is therefore not unusual to see body/head combinations with mismatched serial numbers and/or colors.

The head on the basic Nikon F2 was called the Nikon DE-1. It provided a virtually 100% accurate viewing image, but was a plain pentaprism eyelevel viewing head with no built-in light meter and so had no metering or exposure information display, except for a flash-ready light. Unlike the other heads, about 90% of DE-1s were chrome finished. It was unpopular because of the lack of a built-in meter, but remained available for the life of the F2.

If a pentaprism head with a built-in light meter was mounted on the F2, the camera became an F2 Photomic. However, since Nippon Kokagu made five different metering heads over the life of the F2, there were five different F2 Photomic versions. The use of any Photomic head requires that batteries (two S76 or A76, or SR44 or LR44) be installed in the F2 body to power the head's electronics.

The original Nikon F2 Photomic, packaged with the Nikon DP-1 head, was manufactured from 1971 to 1977. The DP-1 had a center-the-needle exposure control system using a galvanometer needle pointer moving between horizontally arranged +/– over/underexposure markers at the bottom of the viewfinder to indicate the readings of the built-in 60/40 percent centerweighted, cadmium sulfide (CdS) light meter versus the photographer's actual camera selections. Flanking the needle array on the left and right were a readout of the camera set f-stop and shutter speed, respectively. The needle array was duplicated on the top of the DP-1 head to allow exposure control without looking through the viewfinder. A Nikon F2 Photomic with Nikkor-S 50 mm f/1. 4 lens had a US list price of $660 in 1972. Note that SLRs usually sold for 30 to 40 percent below list price.

Nikon F2s using the DP-2 viewfinder
Nikon F2s using the DP-2 viewfinder

Manufactured from 1973 to 1977, the F2 S Photomic used the DP-2 head. Although it looked very different, the DP-2 was functional very similar to the DP-1. It substituted an all solid-state light-both-LEDs exposure control system using two arrow shaped light-emitting diode (LED) over/underexposure indicators for better visibility in low light situations and better overall reliability. This was important, because the DP-2's CdS meter had better low light sensitivity than the DP-1 - down to Exposure Value (EV) -2, instead of EV 1, at ASA 100. A chrome Nikon F2 S Photomic with Nikkor 50 mm f/1. 4 lens had a US list price of $961 in 1976. Note: SLRs were usually discounted 30 to 40 percent from list.

With the DP-3 head, the camera became the F2 SB Photomic, available 1976 to 1977. The DP-3 introduced three innovations: a silicon photodiode light meter (a first for Nikon SLRs) for faster and more accurate light readings, a five stage center-the-LED exposure control system using +/o/– LEDs, and an eyepiece blind.

These three early Photomic heads required Nikon F-mount lenses with a meter coupling shoe ("rabbit ears", see above). Rabbit ear lenses required a special mounting procedure. First, the "meter coupling pin" on the Photomic head must be pushed all the way to the right and the lens aperture ring must be preset to f/5. 6 to line up the shoe with the pin before mounting. Then, after mounting, the lens aperture ring must be turned back and forth to the smallest aperture (largest f-stop number) and then to the largest (smallest number) after mounting to ensure that the lens and the head couple properly (Nippon Kogaku called it indexing the maximum aperture of the lens) and meter correctly. This system seems unwieldy to today's photographers, but it was second nature to Nikon and Nikkormat camera using photographers of the 1960s and 1970s. Nikkormat ( Nikomat in Japan was the brand used by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K

An F2AS with the DP-12 metered prism. The EV metering range is a remarkable -2 to 17 with 100 ASA film.
An F2AS with the DP-12 metered prism. The EV metering range is a remarkable -2 to 17 with 100 ASA film.

The F2 A Photomic came with the DP-11 head; the F2 AS Photomic used the DP-12 head. The DP-11 and DP-12 (both introduced in 1977) functioned exactly the same as the DP-1 and DP-3, respectively, except that these heads supported Nikkor lenses with the Automatic Indexing (AI) feature (introduced 1977, see above). Nikkor AI lenses had a "meter coupling ridge" cam on the lens aperture ring that pushed on a spring loaded "meter coupling lever" on the Photomic head to transfer lens set aperture information. AI lenses allowed carefree lens mounting and ended the double twisting that used to allow observers to spot a Nikon/Nikkormat user from a hundred paces. The F2 AS Photomic with DP-12 head was the most advanced F2 version and the chrome version with Nikkor AI 50 mm f/1. 4 lens had a US list price of $1278 in 1978. (SLR selling prices were typically 30 to 40 percent below list. )

The F2 S Photomic (DP-2 head) and F2 SB Photomic (DP-3 head) also accepted the unusual Nikon DS-1 or DS-2 EE Aperture Control Units. The F2 AS (DP-12) required the equivalent DS-12. These were early attempts by Nippon Kogaku to provide shutter priority autoexposure by having an electric servomotor automatically turn the lens aperture ring in response to the set shutter speed and light meter reading. The DS-1, -2 and -12 were bulky, slow and unreliable, and were feeble and inelegant attempts to add autoexposure to the manual exposure F2.

There were also three special purpose meterless heads available for the F2: the Nikon DW-1 waist-level finder (a non-pentaprism head; look down directly at the mirror-reversed image on the focusing screen), the DA-1 action finder (providing 60 mm of eye relief; extremely large exit pupil that can be viewed while wearing face masks, safety goggles, etc) and the DW-2 6X magnifying finder (waist-level finder with magnifier; good for precise focusing).

Focusing screens

The F2 also had interchangeable viewfinder focusing screens. Nippon Kogaku's standard Type K screen had central 3 mm split image rangefinder and 1 mm microprism collar focusing aids on a matte/Fresnel background plus a 12 mm etched circle indicating the area of the meter centerweighting. There were 18 other screens available with a variety of focusing aids or etched guidelines choices, including none at all. Note that the screens for the F2 were interchangeable with the ones for the Nikon F, but not with later F-series SLRs.

The optional screens were:

The combination and wide selection of heads and screens allowed photographers to customize their F2s to their heart's content.

Accessories

Major accessories for the F2 included the Nikon MD-1 (introduced in 1971) and MD-2 (1973) motor drives, providing automatic film advance up to 5 frames per second plus power rewind. A motor drive, in the field of Photography, is a powered film transport mechanism They both required a Nikon MB-1 battery pack holding 10 AA or LR6 batteries in two Nikon MS-1 battery clips. Note that the 5 fps rate required that the F2 have its mirror locked up and the MD-1 or -2 be loaded with two Nikon MN-1 nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries. (These batteries are long since dead. ) With the mirror operating, the maximum advance rate is 4. 3 fps; with AAs, the rate is 4 fps. The addition of the MD-1 or MD-2 greatly increased the overall weight of the camera. With a fully loaded MD-2/MB-1 and 50mm lens, the F2 would weigh in at just over six pounds.

The F2 also accepted the lighter, cheaper and less capable Nikon MD-3 motor drive. The MD-3 did not have power rewind and had an advance rate of 2. 5 fps with the standard MB-2 battery pack holding 8 AA or LR6 batteries. Optionally, it could reach 3. 5 fps with an MB-1 battery pack with 10 AA or LR6 batteries; 4 fps with MB-1 and MN-1 nicad battery.

The F2 could also mount the Nikon MF-1 (33/10 feet/meters film = 250 frames; required two Nikon MZ-1 film cassettes) and MF-2 (100/30 feet/meters film = 750 frames; required two MZ-2 film cassettes) bulk film backs. These were very useful if a photographer had a motor drive mounted and needed to take more than seven seconds worth of photographs. Note that the MF-2 and its MZ-2 cassettes are very rare.

Starting in 1976, Nippon Kogaku introduced the Nikon Speedlight SB-2 (guide number 82/25 (feet/meters) at ASA 100), SB-5 (guide number 105/32 (feet/meters) at ASA 100), SB-6 (guide number 148/45 (feet/meters) at ASA 100) and SB-7E (guide number 82/25 (feet/meters) at ASA 100) electronic flashes. A flash is a device used in Photography that produces an instantaneous flash of artificial Light Note that the F2 did not use a standard ISO hot shoe to mount flash units. Instead, the SB-2, -6 and -7E mounted in a unique-to-Nikon-F-and-F2 hot shoe surrounding the film rewind crank. Manually rewinding film could not be done with a flash mounted in this shoe because the flash blocked the crank. Standard ISO foot flashes can be connected to the Nikon shoe via the Nikon AS-1 Flash Unit Coupler.

The Nikon ML-1 Modulite was a wireless infrared remote controller with a 200/60 feet/meters line-of-sight range. It was a two part device: a handheld transmitter plus a camera mounted receiver. Note that the receiver needed to be connected to a motor drive. The Nikon MW-1 was a similar device, but was larger and more powerful and used radio signals for a longer 2300/700 feet/meters obstructed view range. The MW-1 could also control three separate F2s by broadcasting three different codes.

The Nikon MT-1 intervalometer allowed completely untended time lapse photography. It could fire the F2 for a specific number of frames at a particular shutter speed at set time intervals.

Nippon Kogaku also made scores of minor accessories for the F2, such as camera straps, cases and bags, remote firing cords, eyecups, eyepiece correction lenses, supplementary close-up lenses, and lens hoods, filters and cases. In 1978, the complete Nikon photographic system of cameras, lenses and accessories totaled nearly 450 items priced in excess of US$110,000 – the most extensive and expensive in the world.

Special F2 Versions

There were several special purpose versions of the F2 manufactured in small numbers. Although they were all working cameras, today they are all rare collector's items.

The F2 T was a special ultra-rugged version of the F2 (DE-1 head) with titanium bayonet mount, top and bottom plates, and camera back, plus a special DE-1T titanium covered meterless prism head, sold in parallel with the regular F2s from 1978 to 1980. Titanium (taɪˈteɪniəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Ti and Atomic number 22 Most F2 Ts were given a special textured black finish, but a very few came in natural titanium finish, including the first F2 Ts and the very last F2s ever manufactured.

The F2 Titan was a black only late variant of the F2 T, distinguished by the word "Titan" engraved in Roman script on the front of the camera below the shutter release.

The H in the F2 H of 1978 stood for "High Speed". It was yet another titanium armored F2, but this time with a fixed semi-silvered pellicle reflex mirror, manual lens diaphragm control, and a mechanically matched titanium armored Nikon MD-100 high speed motor drive. The MD-100 was a modified version of the MD-2 motor drive, using two MB-1 battery packs (20 AA or LR6 batteries, or four MN-1 nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries total), weighing a massive 960 g empty and reaching a 10 frames per second film advance rate. A bulk film back is almost a necessity with the F2 H. The drive is removable from the body, but they have matching serial numbers.

As the name implies, the F2 Data had a primitive data back. It used a tiny internal flash unit to imprint the time, date or sequential number on the film. This data back recorded the time by imprinting a tiny picture of a slightly less tiny Seiko made analogue clock onto the film. ( (more commonly known simply as Seiko say-co is a Japanese Watch company It also had a special insert plate that the photographer could write on and have this note imprinted on the film. There were two versions of the F2 Data: one with the MF-10 camera back for standard 35 mm film cartridges and one with the MF-11 250 frame bulk film back. The F2 Data also came packaged with an MD-2 motor drive and your choice of DE-1, DP-11 or DP-12 head plus a special Type S focusing screen that marked the left side data imprint area.

Finally there was the F2 A Anniversary model. This was a deliberately made collector's item of 4000 specially numbered bodies intended to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Nikon cameras in the USA. It had a plate mounted on the front of the camera below the shutter release saying "25th Anniversary" (which has fallen off many of the bodies) and came in a special silver colored box. The F2 A Anniversary was not authorized by Nippon Kogaku; it was completely the creation of the American importer, Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Industries (EPOI).

Design history

During the 1960s, one professional level 35 mm SLR - the Nikon F - towered above all others; the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, if you will. The F had defeated (sometimes embarrassingly so) such contenders as the Canonflex (introduced in 1959) and Canonflex R2000 (1960), Contaflex Bullseye/Cyclops (1959), Konica F (1960), Leicaflex (1964) and Leicaflex SL (1968), Minolta SR2 (1959) and Topcon RE Super (1963; Super D in the USA/Canada). The Konica F was the first 35 mm SLR camera produced by Konishiroku, released in February 1960 The Leicaflex was the first series of 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR cameras manufactured by Leitz. It was the camera that immediately came to mind, among both professional and amateur photographers, whenever SLRs were mentioned. The Nikon F even managed to drive interchangeable lens, focal plane shutter, 35 mm film, rangefinder (RF) cameras, like the Canon 7S (1961), Contax IIA (1950), Leica M3 (1954) and Nippon Kogaku's own Nikon SP (1957), into near extinction. The Nikon SP is a professional level interchangeable lens 35 mm film Rangefinder camera introduced in 1957

The F combined every SLR technological advance available in 1959 (automatic diaphragm lenses, instant return mirror and eyelevel pentaprism viewfinder) into one superbly integrated package with bulletproof mechanical durability and reliability, plus topnotch optical quality. It also came with the most complete system of accessories in the world: including interchangeable prism heads, viewfinder screens, motor drives, flashbulb units, bulk film backs and eventually over fifty lenses.

However, the 1970s threatened to be a different story as Nippon Kogaku's competitors readied new and better title challengers, like the Canon F-1 (1971), Leicaflex SL2 (1974) and Minolta XK (1974). The Canon F-1 is a 35mm Single-lens reflex Camera produced by Canon of Japan from March 1971 until 1976 's introduction Nippon Kogaku's response was the Nikon F2 - its most emphatic statement that it would not be surpassed. "Building-block construction, total ruggedness … and precision without compromise" was the F2's byword. Interestingly enough, many professional photographers were so used to the old Nikon F that they were originally reluctant to switch to the obviously superior F2 and the F remained in production until 1974, three years after the F2 came out.

Eventually, the F2 gained acceptance through hard experience. The F2 repulsed the new pretenders, wrested the belt of undisputed heavyweight champion of the world from the F and went on to build its own legend.

As the 1970s continued, it evolved into an era of major advances in SLR electronics and construction technology. Originally, this only affected amateur level SLRs and did not touch professional level SLRs like the Nikon F2. Generally, there was a dramatic shift to much more compact camera bodies modularly built with substantial amounts of lightweight plastics, and using integrated circuit (IC) microprocessor electronic automation to provide convenience features like electronically timed shutters, electronic autoexposure, electronic information displays (using digital LEDs or LCDs) and using electronic computer calculated zoom lenses. The industry was competing fiercely to expand out from the saturated high-end professional and advanced amateur market and appeal to the large mass of low-end amateur photographers itching to move up from compact automatic leaf shutter rangefinder (RF) cameras to the more versatile and glamorous SLR but were intimidated by the need to learn all the gritty details of operating a traditional SLR. In Photography, a shutter is a device that allows light to pass for a determined period of time for the purpose of exposing Photographic film or a light-sensitive

After decades of evolutionary progress, the perfection and miniaturization of the mechanical and optical components plus the addition of electronic controls reached a critical mass. This allowed the electromechanical cameras of the era to provide a revolutionary level of precision, reliability and ease of use to photographers far beyond that of any previous era. The best SLRs of this period include the Olympus OM-2 (1975), Canon AE-1 (1976), Minolta XD11 (1977), Canon A-1, Nikon FE (both 1978) and Pentax ME Super (1979). The Olympus OM-2 was a Single-lens reflex Camera produced by Olympus of Japan. The Canon AE-1 was an amateur level interchangeable lens 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR Camera. The Minolta XD-7 (sold as the XD-11 in the US and as the XD in Japan) was a 35mm SLR Camera manufactured The Canon A-1 is an advanced level interchangeable lens 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR Camera. The Nikon FE is an advanced semi-professional level interchangeable lens 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR Camera. The Pentax ME Super was a highly successful 35 mm Single-lens reflex Camera produced by Pentax of Japan between 1979 and 1984 An amateur photographer could now operate an SLR nearly on autopilot, with only a tiny amount of knowledge of the technical craft of photography.

Against this backdrop, the F2 began to fall behind the times - a heavy all-metal, manually controlled, mechanical beast of a camera in a time of ever increasing electronic automation. The F2's ultra high quality mechanical construction (especially its ultra high precision, bearing-mounted shutter) came at a price and in the inflationary 1970s, the F2's price kept rising.

Even professional photographers began to notice that some of the better quality electronic SLRs could do most of what the F2 could do, but much more easily and cheaply. The Canon A-1 (with its better handling 5 fps Motor Drive MA) comes to mind as an ostensibly amateur level SLR that attracted professionals' interest, despite its weaker construction.

And so, after reigning for a decade, even the mighty Nikon F2 fell before the inexorable tide of electronics when the Nikon F3 came out in 1980. The Nikon F3 is Nikon 's third professional Single lens reflex Camera body preceded by the F and F2. (Nevertheless, some professional photographers stuck with the tried-and-true F2 until Nippon Kogaku discontinued support and repair services for it circa 1990. )

Current status

Because of the F2's incredible durability, because there were so many manufactured (816,000 units) and because film SLRs have been largely replaced with digital equivalents in many markets, the F2 is still relatively common today and is available on the used market for startlingly low prices - US$150-400 depending on the head. However, these may be well worn examples used by real professional photographers and are in generally mediocre condition. Time has also taken a toll on the electronics - for instance, many Photomic heads are nonfunctional and, without any available spare parts, can only be repaired by cannibalizing other heads.

The Nikon F2 has reached that age (about thirty years) when it is old enough to become collectable. If a truly pristine condition F2 body and head with matching serial numbers is found, it will carry the hefty collector's items price tags worthy of the F2's magnificent pedigree, quality, technical capabilities and historical significance. The black body version of the F2 AS model, in near new condition, frequently exceeds $1,200 at auction (in late 2006).

References

External links

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