Information about Nikon F and F2

I am in the process of superseding these pages with an updated site. Work on this site (ff2.html) has been indefinitely suspended in favor of finishing the new site (hey, at least I'm getting around to all of the accessories, finally!). The work-in-progress may be viewed through this link. Current (15th April 1998) status:

My motivation to write this page is to clear up any questions relating to the F or F2.

I have moved my external F/F2 links to a separate page (they were getting unwieldy).

The Nikon F was introduced in 1959 at the Philadelphia Master Photo Dealers and Finishers Association Convention as Nikon's first single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, after a distinguished tradition of rangefinder cameras. In fact, much of the F's styling derived from Nikon's top-line rangefinder, the SP. The two cameras shared similar wind knob/frame counters, shutter releases, shutter speed dials, rewind knobs, and self-timer levers. They were both designed with slip-off camera backs. They also shared the same shutter mechanism, a horizontally-travelling titanium foil shutter, which while tough, is not unbreakable (I managed to put my finger through one).

Like most cameras of its time, the F was part of a system, meaning that it was meant to be customized with a line of accessories, including a motordrive, separate viewfinders, and different focussing screens. In the end, the F was successful (if expensive -- appox. $400 in the mid-60's, when $2000 would buy you a new car) with over one million units produced from 1959 to 1972. (note that serial numbers run from 640xxxx to 74xxxxx, so the common trick to use the first two digits as the production year is somewhat inaccurate, although it does give a rough estimate of the age of the camera) In fact, it has had the longest model run of any Nikon camera, except for the F3 (1980-present)

The original lenses introduced by Nikon for the F were the first Nikkors to have an auto-diaphragm, which meant that the aperture remained wide-open until just before the picture was taken, and returned to wide-open after the exposure. Several of them were lens designs that had been originally formulated for the rangefinders, including a 21f/4 non-retrofocus (i.e., not one of the "modern" wide-angle designs that are designed to stay out of the mirror's way) and the ever-popular (and still produced) 105f/2.5.

Since the Nikon F was born essentially at the dawn of modern SLRs (with auto- diaphragms and auto-return mirrors), Nikon engineers had a fun time tinkering and modifying the F to fit various special needs.

F Specs | F Prisms | F Questions | F Accessories | F Lenses | F Specials

The F2 was introduced in 1972 as an upgraded F, with similar, if more rounded styling. With some modification, F prisms will fit on F2 bodies and the screens are interchangeable, so the F2 is really an improved F, with simpler (modularized) construction and various modifications that Nikon felt were needed, such as a simpler motordrive coupling, a hinged back, and a shorter-stroke, smoother advance lever. In addition, the F2 carried its batteries in the body, so its metered viewfinders were notably more compact than similar ones for the F. The F2 was just as (weighty) solid-feeling as the F, and it had a similar shutter mechanism, but a little speedier (top end 1/2000 and flash sync at a luxurious 1/80, as opposed to 1/60 for the F). The F2 also has provisions for shutter speeds up to ten seconds and it has stepless shutter speeds between 1/80 and 1/2000, meaning that if you wanted 1/365, you'd nudge the shutter dial between 1/250 and 1/500 and hope that the shutter mechanics were still fairly accurate.

The F2 also introduced its own line of accessories, some of which have yet to be re-released by Nikon for its later bodies, such as the MF-2 750 exposure back, which takes one-hundred foot (30 m) rolls of film. Again, the F2 was more expensive than most of its 1970's rivals. Just like the F, the F2 also had its own special models, most notably a hot-rodded F2H and the, ah, durable F2T.

F2 Specs | F2 Prisms | F2 Questions | F2 Accessories | F2 Specials

External F Links | External Nikon Links | Nikon Bibliography

Please supplement my banal comments with comments of your own.

Take me back to Mike's home page