cary_chin1 Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 Here is a pix of my three black Nikon F's with Photomic meters. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Vongries Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 Nice - looks left to right F Photomic, F Photomic Tn and F Photomic FTN, though the self timer lever on that looks like the one on the F2. The only one I never had is the F Photomic. Great cameras all. I still have them and a couple later models as well. Good fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodeo_joe1 Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 (edited) I'll see your Photomic Fs with a brace of F2As and a Spotmatic F - the meters in all of which can take a currently available battery. (The Spotmatic meter works just fine with an alkaline 625 cell.) And I'll raise you a battered old Mamiya 645 1000s than can easily trounce any puny 35mm camera's image quality. Edited May 9, 2021 by rodeo_joe|1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Vongries Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Lets shuffle, cut and deal up to the land of the giants - F2, F3HP, F4, F5 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Nah, let us go to the original All original Nikon F finders 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels - NHSN Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 5 Niels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg M Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Nice! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cary_chin1 Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 Please post photos of your Photomic bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luis triguez Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 1970 FTN ) 1972 FTN 1972 F2 1974 FT2 FA FE FM 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham_evans2 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Mostly use this camera with a non metered prism but this meter does work and work well. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanKlein Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 I bought my Nikon F Photomic T in 1965 while serving in Japan in the USAF for $189.00 with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. They just came out with it and it was my first "real" camera. Unfortunately, I lost it on a NYC subway years later. Maybe one of those in the pictures is mine? :) 3 Flickr gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Bowes Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 You guys and your porn ! Lov'in It ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cary_chin1 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 Here are a few more: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodeo_joe1 Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 Sorry, but for me Nikon didn't get it right until the F2. Who wants finger cramp from a release button in entirely the wrong place, and a grazed and dented thumb from a leverwind with a stupidly sharp serrated end? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Vongries Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 Sorry, but for me Nikon didn't get it right until the F2. Who wants finger cramp from a release button in entirely the wrong place, and a grazed and dented thumb from a leverwind with a stupidly sharp serrated end? I used the Photomic F Tn and then the Photomic FTN for a lot of years without similar experiences. We are all different. I agree that the F2 was an design improvement. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_bowring Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 They all work 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 I don't think I ever handled a Nikon F (in any of its many model variations) - my dream camera when I got interested in photography in the late 70s had been the F2AS - but for lack of funds I had to settle for the FM instead. When I could afford the F2AS a few years later, I opted for the F3 instead; it's now the only film SLR I still own (but no longer use). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen_h Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 Sorry, but for me Nikon didn't get it right until the F2. Who wants finger cramp from a release button in entirely the wrong place, and a grazed and dented thumb from a leverwind with a stupidly sharp serrated end? With the right motor drive, you can avoid both of those. My dad had borrowed a Nikon F with motor drive about 1969, which was used to take pictures in places where a hand couldn't reach. With the motor drive, you can trigger the shutter electrically. I got to use it for one weekend at the time. -- glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen_h Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 I don't think I ever handled a Nikon F (in any of its many model variations) - my dream camera when I got interested in photography in the late 70s had been the F2AS - but for lack of funds I had to settle for the FM instead. When I could afford the F2AS a few years later, I opted for the F3 instead; it's now the only film SLR I still own (but no longer use). In the late 70's, many of my college friends were buying FMs. I hadn't thought I could afford a Nikon, but then found that I could. I don't know by now the price of the F2 at the time, though. But the FM did what I wanted a camera to do, until time for a D70s. -- glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 I don't know by now the price of the F2 at the time, though. IIRC, then the price in Germany in 1979 for a black FM was some DM 550; an F2AS was close to three times as much. As soon as I could, I got the MD-12 for the FM - mostly for the grip and so that I didn't have to flip out the leverwind to turn on the meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen_h Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 IIRC, then the price in Germany in 1979 for a black FM was some DM 550; an F2AS was close to three times as much. As soon as I could, I got the MD-12 for the FM - mostly for the grip and so that I didn't have to flip out the leverwind to turn on the meter. My black FM and AI 35/2.0 were about USD200 each. (plus tax) -- glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 (edited) My black FM and AI 35/2.0 were about USD200 each. (plus tax) DM vs USD were about a factor of 2 back in 1979. I might misremember the cost of the FM - maybe it was closer to DM 450. I purchased the 105/2.5 Ai with it and the 35/2.8 Ai and 200/4 Ai later. Edited May 12, 2021 by Dieter Schaefer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen_h Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 DM vs USD were about a factor of 2 back in 1979. I might misremember the cost of the FM - maybe it was closer to DM 450. I purchased the 105/2.5 Ai with it and the 35/2.8 Ai and 200/4 Ai later. It is US tradition to give prices without tax, but then they add the tax on when you buy things. It looks like the tax was 5% at the time. The supposed reason is that each state has their own tax, but the real reason is that it makes prices look lower, so people buy more. 1 -- glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels - NHSN Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 Sorry, but for me Nikon didn't get it right until the F2. Who wants finger cramp from a release button in entirely the wrong place, and a grazed and dented thumb from a leverwind with a stupidly sharp serrated end? Didn’t matter. Only pretentious amateurs used F’s without motor drives back then. Today, those of us using Nikon F use them as an excuse for a manicure. Anyway, a perfect F sounds much better than perfect F2. That’s what’s matters! Niels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodeo_joe1 Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 With the right motor drive, you can avoid both of those. Did Nikon ever make the 'right' motor drive? I bought an MD for the F2. It was a heavy and pernickity thing that ate batteries and jammed itself and the camera solid if you looked at it wrong. A high price to pay for finger and thumb comfort, and not needed with the ergonomically designed F2. So I sold the motor drive after putting about 5 films through it. Hindsight is a great thing, and we can appreciate how much better (some) cameras got as they evolved over time. So why use a model-T Ford for your daily drive when there are cars that are much faster, more comfortable, reliable and economical to run? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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