The Forgotten Nikon

I really enjoy the process of unboxing a consignment of old photographic items, fresh from the hands of the courier. There's a delicious feeling of anticipation, tinged by a dollop of trepidation. Will these items be up to expectations, or is another disappointment in the offing? Sometimes, as in this case, there's a well-packed little time capsule, a complete outfit that must have delighted a previous owner when he or she first unpacked it, and for a moment I'm transported back in time and share their world. In this case I knew the items had been in the hands of one owner since new, over thirty years ago, and my hopes and exceptions were fulfilled. Here's a picture of the consignment.

The camera is a Nikon F301(aka N2000), circa 1985-90, pretty much a "forgotten" Nikon, sometimes rather unkindly referred to as "the poor man's F3". It came with the heavy-duty fabric Nikon neck strap complete with dog clips and leather tabs, a Nikon-branded camera bag and a very well-thumbed copy of the instructions. It was fitted with the excellent Vivitar 35-70mm f/2.8-3.5 lens, and while I suppose a Nikon lens might be deemed more desirable by some readers, from experience I know the little Vivitar to be a fine performer, somewhat better than the Nikon "kit" lenses of the era. I speculated that the original owner owner might have done the homework and had come to the same conclusion.

The F301 was a landmark camera for Nikon in several respects. It was Nikon's first real move into the new poly-carbonate body, though a metal chassis was retained, and the first to have DX code ISO setting, with manual override. It was also the First Nikon to have an integrated motorised film advance, though film rewinding was still a manual process. The wind offered single frame advance or continuous advance at the rate of 2.5 frames per second. The shutter speeds ranged from 1/2000th down to B, step-less in A modes, though the proprietary Nikon release cable is required for the bulb setting. The camera is switched on by lifting and rotating a collar to the choice of drive options, rather a fiddly procedure.

Exposure metering is full-frame 60/40 centre-weighted averaging, and there is a choice of full manual metering, aperture priority auto and two program modes, High Speed and Normal. The viewfinder features a LED display indicating shutter speed information but not aperture details, and it has the non-interchangeable K2 focusing screen with a split image central rangefinder spot surrounded by a microprism collar. The camera is powered by 4 AAA batteries, accessed by removal of the bottom plate, and an adapter plate was available that permitted the use of four of the larger AA cells. Unfortunately, due to the battery configuration, the tripod socket shifted to the far end of the base plate, certainly not an ideal position for steadying the camera. Apparently Nikon offered yet another adapter plate to remedy this situation. I fitted new batteries and, as usual, nothing happened, but a thorough cleaning of terminals and contacts brought the camera back to glorious life.

I'll post some frames from the first film I've put through the F301, a length Of Arista EDU Ultra 100 developed in PMK Pyro. I found the camera very pleasant to use; the viewfinder is bright and the focusing aids unusually clear and positive, the shutter sound is subdued and the film wind reasonably quiet. The camera has an overall sturdy feel to it and is surprisingly weighty for its size. Exposure in "A" mode were consistent and accurate, though the system tends to favour highlight areas at the expense of shadows, and on a future expeditions I'll make more use of the exposure compensation dial and auto exposure lock button. The Vivitar lens performed impeccably; I'm familiar with the lens as I already have a copy in Canon FD mount, and it's one of my go-to short zooms.

Overall, I'm impressed. The F301 is a sensible, practical camera that gets very little attention in this era, and it's completely overshadowed by the Nikon's that came both before and after. It doesn't accept non-AI lenses, which brought it into disfavour with many Nikon users of its era, and it doesn't have the bulk and glamour of some of the late behemoths. But I like it, and I'll certainly be using it again.

Construction

Vine

Lattice

Flow

The New Hospitality

Ripples

The Smokers' Chairs

Bee-Friendly

The Bottle-O

It's always good to hit the Jackpot isn't it. The pieces look like they came from a shop's display case in 1990!

Great photos Rick.

I've a soft spot for the F301 although I never got around to putting a film through one. The viewfinder is one on the nicest on a manual focus Nikon. I spent a few minuted fumbling around trying to get it to rewind the film before I realised it was manual.

Something about the Nikkorex F here John:

LINK --- --- Using a Nikkorex F

Thanks Rick.

The F-301 seemed to have been favoured by some of the Nikon engineers.

On Nikon's historical site, buried deep in the article where Kouichi Ohshita describes the development of the legendary Ai 28/2.8S, you'll find the following information (my emphasis):

"It was important that our Nikkor lenses offer clearly superior performance than Series E lenses. This is how optical design of the 28mm lens was renewed. Mr. Daijiro Fujie was put in charge of design.

Mr. Fujie was active in many fields, not only with photographic lenses, but also with viewfinder optics and device optics. He also took the initiative in the development of PF lenses, though none of these lenses were ever released. Photography was also one of Mr. Fujie's hobbies, one that I hear he continues to actively pursue even in retirement. Mr. Fujie has been a great influence on me as well, both at work and with my own photography.

Many of the sample images included in early The Thousand and One Nights tales were captured with the F301. This has much to do with the fact that the F301 was a favorite of Mr. Fujie's in those days. Mr. Fujie designed the viewfinder and developed a new and brighter focusing screen that made focusing easier. He made the camera smaller and lighter, even with its built-in motor drive, and made the camera capable of auto-exposure with instantaneous metering with which the aperture is stopped down. The result was, in Mr. Fujie's words, "not a high-end, professional sort of camera, but a good camera nonetheless". I purchased an F301 based on Mr. Fujie's description and discovered why it was a camera that he would recommend. There is nothing that particularly stands out about its specs, but it is equipped with all of the functions needed for photography. It is a camera that becomes more and more familiar and comfortable with use. Those were the reasons that my main camera changed from the F2 to the F301."

I have long been thinking I would want to try a F-301 for the reasons quoted above.

NHSN said:

The F-301 seemed to have been favoured by some of the Nikon engineers... There is nothing that particularly stands out about its specs, but it is equipped with all of the functions needed for photography. It is a camera that becomes more and more familiar and comfortable with use. Those were the reasons that my main camera changed from the F2 to the F301."

Niels, that's really interesting information, and thanks for fleshing out the post. I think Kouichi Ohshita and I are on the same page!

I really like these kinds of posts. Thanks.

It's as close to time-travel as we can get, I guess.:D

Nice post Rick. The N2000 was the first manual focus camera I ever purchased. I have a bit of a soft spot for it. I love the sound the shutter and winding mechanism make. It reminds me of the generic shutter sounds used in movies and TV back in the days before digital became the norm. I haven't used mine in a while as I'm very slowly working my way through the backlog of cameras that I've purchased a few years ago when I spent more time shopping on eBay for cheap cameras than I did actually using said cameras.

That Vivitar lens looks like a good performer as well. If I had a need for another mid-range zoom, I'd definitely give it a look. I may or may not have already taken a peek at the going prices on eBay.

Thanks for posting about this model. I had the good luck of receiving my copy from a good friend. As people moved to digital their Film cameras were gathering dust. My friend knowing my interest gave his; with 3 lenses to my brother (for me ) who eventually sent me the package. The lenses were the Nikkor F2, a 28mm Kiron, and a mirror lens 300??

I also came into the F801 in a similar fashion which I shared in a post, that seems like yesterday, but I think was now a year ago. The 801 is a more fully developed modern polycarbonate etc so as you mentioned " it doesn't have the bulk and glamour of some of the late behemoths. But I like it, and I'll certainly be using it again"

I like using it too and generally take it when I know I will be distracted by the event and can depend on autoexposure etc

FWIW my old report on the 2020:

Nikon N2020 (F-501 outside North America)

I really enjoy the process of unboxing a consignment of old photographic items, fresh from the hands of the courier. There's a delicious feeling of anticipation, tinged by a dollop of trepidation. Will these items be up to expectations, or is another disappointment in the offing? Sometimes, as in this case, there's a well-packed little time capsule, a complete outfit that must have delighted a previous owner when he or she first unpacked it, and for a moment I'm transported back in time and share their world. In this case I knew the items had been in the hands of one owner since new, over thirty years ago, and my hopes and exceptions were fulfilled. Here's a picture of the consignment.

 

[ATTACH=full]1418261[/ATTACH]

 

The camera is a Nikon F301(aka N2000), circa 1985-90, pretty much a "forgotten" Nikon, sometimes rather unkindly referred to as "the poor man's F3". It came with the heavy-duty fabric Nikon neck strap complete with dog clips and leather tabs, a Nikon-branded camera bag and a very well-thumbed copy of the instructions. It was fitted with the excellent Vivitar 35-70mm f/2.8-3.5 lens, and while I suppose a Nikon lens might be deemed more desirable by some readers, from experience I know the little Vivitar to be a fine performer, somewhat better than the Nikon "kit" lenses of the era. I speculated that the original owner owner might have done the homework and had come to the same conclusion.

 

[ATTACH=full]1418262[/ATTACH]

 

The F301 was a landmark camera for Nikon in several respects. It was Nikon's first real move into the new poly-carbonate body, though a metal chassis was retained, and the first to have DX code ISO setting, with manual override. It was also the First Nikon to have an integrated motorised film advance, though film rewinding was still a manual process. The wind offered single frame advance or continuous advance at the rate of 2.5 frames per second. The shutter speeds ranged from 1/2000th down to B, step-less in A modes, though the proprietary Nikon release cable is required for the bulb setting. The camera is switched on by lifting and rotating a collar to the choice of drive options, rather a fiddly procedure.

 

[ATTACH=full]1418264[/ATTACH]

 

Exposure metering is full-frame 60/40 centre-weighted averaging, and there is a choice of full manual metering, aperture priority auto and two program modes, High Speed and Normal. The viewfinder features a LED display indicating shutter speed information but not aperture details, and it has the non-interchangeable K2 focusing screen with a split image central rangefinder spot surrounded by a microprism collar. The camera is powered by 4 AAA batteries, accessed by removal of the bottom plate, and an adapter plate was available that permitted the use of four of the larger AA cells. Unfortunately, due to the battery configuration, the tripod socket shifted to the far end of the base plate, certainly not an ideal position for steadying the camera. Apparently Nikon offered yet another adapter plate to remedy this situation. I fitted new batteries and, as usual, nothing happened, but a thorough cleaning of terminals and contacts brought the camera back to glorious life.

 

[ATTACH=full]1418265[/ATTACH]

 

 

I'll post some frames from the first film I've put through the F301, a length Of Arista EDU Ultra 100 developed in PMK Pyro. I found the camera very pleasant to use; the viewfinder is bright and the focusing aids unusually clear and positive, the shutter sound is subdued and the film wind reasonably quiet. The camera has an overall sturdy feel to it and is surprisingly weighty for its size. Exposure in "A" mode were consistent and accurate, though the system tends to favour highlight areas at the expense of shadows, and on a future expeditions I'll make more use of the exposure compensation dial and auto exposure lock button. The Vivitar lens performed impeccably; I'm familiar with the lens as I already have a copy in Canon FD mount, and it's one of my go-to short zooms.

 

Overall, I'm impressed. The F301 is a sensible, practical camera that gets very little attention in this era, and it's completely overshadowed by the Nikon's that came both before and after. It doesn't accept non-AI lenses, which brought it into disfavour with many Nikon users of its era, and it doesn't have the bulk and glamour of some of the late behemoths. But I like it, and I'll certainly be using it again.

 

Construction

 

[ATTACH=full]1418266[/ATTACH]

 

Vine

 

[ATTACH=full]1418267[/ATTACH]

 

Lattice

 

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Flow

 

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The New Hospitality

 

[ATTACH=full]1418270[/ATTACH]

 

Ripples

 

[ATTACH=full]1418271[/ATTACH]

 

The Smokers' Chairs

 

[ATTACH=full]1418272[/ATTACH]

 

Bee-Friendly

 

[ATTACH=full]1418273[/ATTACH]

 

The Bottle-O

 

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I have one in reserve for difficult trecks that might put my FM3a at risk.They are very nice to handle and apart from a depth of field preview do everything you could need.The meter is pretty good and the screen is very good for a camera that seems to fetch between £10 to £20 on eBay for body only.Very easy to fix most of the faults that might occur as they are easily dismantled, within reason.Hard on batteries but they are cheap and available anywhere.Good luck with it.

David

' date=' post: 5957705, member: 10999298"']AutoFocus speed on this model is laughably slow.

Are you confusing the F301 with the F501? You will have to wait an awful long time for the former to auto focus.

Are you confusing the F301 with the F501? You will have to wait an awful long time for the former to auto focus.

Maybe, but still an excellent manual focus option.