bruce_margolis Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>Great post, Wayne. The F2 was my first Nikon camera. Oh how I wish I still had it. Hope it gives you as much pleasure as it did for me.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>ian:<br> I always admired the M Leicas--have had two M3s over the years--but never kept them very long for some reason. I'm not a big RF shooter--probably because I wear glasses. Traded the last one I had, which had some cosmetic issues, for a same as new F100 (which I later sold to get an F3HP, which I traded. . . ).</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_pratt Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>I couldn't afford an F2 back in my service days even though they were little less expensive on base.I ended up buying a Petri FTX in 73 because I had a chance to buy a few M32 lenses at a low price....secretly though I coveted the F2 & a few other Nikon SLR's over the years,but I had a family to raise & couldn't justify buying the F2 or any other Nikon,just because I wanted one.</p> <p>Shot thousands of pics with the Petri...when digital pics really started to look decent,I jumped on the digital bandwagon....checked what was out there pretty thoroughly....I liked the Canon AF lenses so I went the Canon route progressing through the 20D, 40D,1DS,5D II,then a 50D.....</p> <p>Still after all these years I wanted a F2 and a few other Nikons ...so I bought the cleanest and closest to mint black F2 I could find, from a doctor who rarely had time to shoot ...this F2 was like new,didn't want to shoot it...so I picked up a chrome F2 w/DP-1 finder for a shooter...</p> <p>There were a few more 35mm Nikons I wanted to shoot that had built a reputation...so why not pick up a few of these Nikon if I'm selective....liked FE since it first came out....so a chrome FE w/MD12 was the next acquisition a sweet part of this deal was the 80-200mm F4.5 w/rectangular rear mount cutout....then an F3/MD-4 which had,the last series of the 43-86mm which were a bit improved from the early 43-86,which were known to be one of Nikon's least desireable lenses...then I picked up a MD1/MB1 for the F2 ...then a late model chrome FM2n/MD-11 was next with a 28mm F2.8...then a Nikonos V and the 28mm and 35mm underwater lenses and a SB1....then a minty black FE body...hmmm,I was on a roll now and there were still a few more Nikons I wanted...</p> <p>Had shot a friends FG back in the 80's and thought they were a real neat little camera...so acquired a very mint chrome FG with a sweet shutter and another 80-200mm,a 24mm F2.8,28mm F2.8 and a 35mm F2. and accessories...all for $119 (couldn't believe my luck)...these little jewels are just so fun to shoot,that my daughters and daughter in law asked me to find some FG's for them...so I picked up three more....</p> <p>The little lady is in Phoenix vistiing my oldest daughter the past few week...so the cats away the old man will play on ebay.....</p> <p>Liked the little FG's so much I figured I would try the rest of the Nikon compact SLR's,so picked up a black EM w/N-1(I believe the EM was only made in black),then a chrome FG-20 w/MD-E with another 28mm & two 80-200mms, another chrome FG w/MD-14,a black FG w/MD-E with the 28mm,50mm & the 75-150mm e-series , and another 80-200mm.(I'm going to have to give a few of these extra 80-200mm to the girls).</p> <p>This morning...a black FG-20 (didn't know Nikon made a black FG-20) with a Vivitar 28-50 & a 90-200....and I've got a black FA/MD-15 and a black FM2n/MD12 in my sights....then perhaps a N90s or a F100(if I can find one at a reasonable price)....and I would like to have just one F4,just to see if they're as good as they say....the F5 just seems to bulky and not having a removeable battery pack doesn't interest me...the F6 doesn't really do much for me either.</p> <p>Also acquired some of the more sought after Nikkor prime regular,wide,macro and tele's since the beginning of the year....the only thing I've been using my digital for is seeing how all these Nikkors shoot digitally(what amazes me is some of these old Nikkors shoot just as good as my Canon L lenses)...</p> <p>Guess I waited to many years to finally get a Nikon SLR and some Nikkor lenses....or it's just that I'm enjoying shooting film again and it's just very interesting to just learn how these cameras shoot.</p> <p> </p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zweeko Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>@ dick: what a lovely machine! just like what i had [x 2 : ]<br> @ wayne: i wear glasses, too : B</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_pratt Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>I keep them in a glass cabinet once they're cleaned like this...but with the wife gone on her trip,I've been shooting in the mornings and evenings with most of the cameras....I want to know how they're metering and each cameras quirks, before I pass it on to one of the kids with a detailed report on what +- settings may be needed for a particular camera...<br> Many of the Nikons are in my shop right now...for an internal and external cleaning....only a few of the cameras had new dampers and light seals...so damper and seal replacement on the rest and replace the screens with the E2 screens on some of the FE's,FG's and FM's and carefully clean the rest of the screens.</p> <div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham john miles Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>Just imagine if some smart designer came up with a removable sensor that would fit into the back of any film camera. Build the processing electronics into the area where the canister would fit. Put the power supply into the film take-up area on the other side. Just fantasizing, but wouldn't that cause a renaisscence in film cameras, having a choice of film or digital in a classic body. <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-post-reply-form.tcl?refers_to=00TnZN"></a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_pratt Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>It's pretty amazing the pix that can be taken with a compact P&S digital....so the technology is there.....<br> Quite often old fart photographers(like myself)or aspiring photographers shoot film because they want to shoot film and have a fondness for these vintage cameras.<br> What I find interesting is people actually returning to film for a host of reasons....especially some of the younger generation because of the high cost of pro or prosumer digital cameras....others because digital B&W just isn't the same as film B&W...many who are into IR prefer film over digital...then there are those that just like shooting film...</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamespjones Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>about a year ago my local camera shop was selling a black Nikon F2 with broken meter for $10.<br> a happy shopping day for me.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey1 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>Nothing like a Nikon F2AS in hand and shoulder with rolls of Kodachrome and Tri-X. Congratulations on the purchase!</p> <p> </p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>The F2 is going to outlast Kodachrome.<br />Here's my first effort with my acqusition -- (granddaughters :)) Fujicolor 400, 50mm f2 Nikkor.<img src="http://swcornell.com/webphoto/graceella06.jpg" alt="" /></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_pratt Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 <p>Wayne that is an appropriate first pic,for a 35-40 year old camera....nice<br> What are the odds of a digital camera capturing an image after 35-40 years....</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_drutz Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 <p>Enjoy your F2. Maybe you'll catch the collecting bug. The price of very nice classic 35mm SLR's is so low that a couple of years ago I started collecting them. Three of my favorites are an original model Nikon F (made in 1969 from the serial number), a Canon Pellix, and the original Konica Auto-Reflex (the first high quality autoexposure SLR). These are cameras that I loved but couldn't afford at the time.<br> Now that you have the F2, what's next?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 <p>I have already had and pretty much cured the collecting bug with the 47 Soviet rangefinders I have dating from 1937 to 1980. I have two F bodies--on a TN and one an FTn. Also a near mint FM. I did have a near mint F3HP that I wish I had kept but sold it to help finance my D300. Sam story with an F4 I owned and sold.<br> I actually would like to find a really nice F with the FTn Finder and as previously mentioned, an F2AS--but I'm too cheap to pay the price for an F2AS.<br> Anybody wanna trade for a 1937 NKVD FED 1 rangefinder? :) </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_pratt Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 <p>It's pretty amazing the pix that can be taken with a compact P&S digital....so the technology is there.....<br> Quite often old fart photographers(like myself)or aspiring photographers shoot film because they want to shoot film and have a fondness for these vintage cameras.<br> What I find interesting is people actually returning to film for a host of reasons....especially some of the younger generation because of the high cost of pro or prosumer digital cameras....others because digital B&W just isn't the same as film B&W...many who are into IR prefer film over digital...then there are those that just like shooting film...</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_pratt Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 <p>I keep them in a glass cabinet once they're cleaned like this...but with the wife gone on her trip,I've been shooting in the mornings and evenings with most of the cameras....I want to know how they're metering and each cameras quirks, before I pass it on to one of the kids with a detailed report on what +- settings may be needed for a particular camera...<br> Many of the Nikons are in my shop right now...for an internal and external cleaning....only a few of the cameras had new dampers and light seals...so damper and seal replacement on the rest and replace the screens with the E2 screens on some of the FE's,FG's and FM's and carefully clean the rest of the screens.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eb_harris Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 <p>What a nice story...and nice pic.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_newell2 Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 <p>Definitely agree on the left nut comment above. I went to a Nikon School event with my Nikkormat FTn in 1972 and watched the two instructors with their F2 cameras. It was a dream. I found a nice one (nice body, perfect DP-12 finder) a while back and bought it. All these years later it's a great tool. This one came with the original literature pack, which was nice. Functions beautifully 30 years later. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/j-newell/?action=view¤t=F2AS1of2-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/j-newell/F2AS1of2-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/j-newell/?action=view¤t=F2AS1of2.jpg" target="_blank"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/j-newell/?action=view¤t=F2AS2of2-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/j-newell/F2AS2of2-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii127/j-newell/?action=view¤t=F2AS2of2.jpg" target="_blank"></a><br /></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_bradley4 Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 <p>Yes Wayne I agree with you 100% I have owned so many film cameras, especially rangefinders, and ended up with a collection that only contributed to taking up space in my wardrobe. Every camera had its own particular attraction and feel, and I just love the precision engineering that goes into a quality 35mm and medium format camera. Especially if you compare them to the Carbon Plastic bodies of todays DSLR. Even if they do have a 'magnesium' frame. So What!<br /> I decided to sell all of my cameras and settle for one digital and one 35mm and one camera case. For my latest digital camera I chose the Fujifilm XE-1 Compact but great on performance. For my 35mm film camera there was no competition, and although I do love rangefinders the Nikon F2A was the chosen one. <br /> Holding a Nikon F2A just makes me feel good. And it fits well with my 1971 Series IIA Land Rover.<br /> <br /> Regards<br /><img src=" alt="" /></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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