Nikon F2 - Camera Body and Features

Modern Classic SLRs Series :
Nikon F2 - Camera Body and Features - Part I

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To HELP you visualize what is in a mechanical camera such as a F2, we take the example of the 100% view field of the F2 viewfinder; Nikon F2 body makes up of 1,506 component parts while a comparing midrange mechanical SLR such as Nikkormat may made up of around 860 over components.

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The number consists of the die cast aluminum alloy shell, base plate, mirror box, front cover, top plate, bottom cover and camera back; with each of this thousand of components which may comprised of high quality gears, joints, fitting, mirror, strings in steel or metal parts; they were then, process, milled, finish and assembled them into a camera. Tolerance and quality in manufacturing has to be of exacting standard so as to achieve a 100% image field coverage.

BIG DEAL...you must have been saying. But other than the Nikon F-series of F, F3, F4 and F5; but a fact remains - So far there has never been a camera manufacturer* which came close to achieve such exacting standard except for two high profile AF camera introduced in Y2K: Canon EOS-1v and Minolta's 9Ti.

Both these cameras are products that took their respective makers almost 30 years to equal a standard which the F2 has already been offering back in 1971 - further, both of these cameras achieved via a fixed pentaprism design while the Nikon F2 has a more demanding requirement of ensuring all its metered Prisms and special purpose finders within the 2 system will fit perfectly on the top mount opening.

I would believe automatic camera such as Nikon F3/F4/F5 or any of the camera mentioned above do not have similar degree of mechanical sophistication; which also means a lesser degree of mechanical components inside to be assembled (while sophistication in electronic form can be horrific !); but just to think assembling the 1500 + mechanical parts into a highly functional camera while maintaining high degree of precision good enough to be a professional camera truly deserve a more respectable remarks by those who never gave a shit about mechanical cameras.

You may be asking "..what the hell is it ?

It looks more like an interior of a consumer electronic item rather than a camera. Oh.. this is just an image of a partially dismantled mirror box section of a Nikon F5 camera. Regardless it is a Canon, Minolta or even say a ... Leica R8, all these AF camera bodies will look quite a like after taking off their "cloths"... these are the essential components that has helped you solve your metering problems, multi programmed exposure control modes and rapid firing and tracking of the subject and with such camera, it is almost impossible to make a badly exposed shots nor a out focus picture.

Without battery power, the camera will just drop dead like an expensive electronic toy.. so 80% of your nicely exposed pictures may be the effort of these electronic inside.

Anyway, the point is, it would not take long for even the newest beginner to photography to realize that there is a bit more to the F2 than merely another system camera. And even old-timers who think they are reasonably familiar with Nikon cameras may sometimes have little idea of just how extensive the F2's capabilities really are. For, with the F2, words like "system camera" or "photographic system" fall far short of the mark. This is because in actuality there is not one but SIX Nikon F2 with another few more special production models, each not only with its own individual spec and functionality as a basic picture-taking tool, but each also possessing the capability for virtually endless change by utilizing to the full the almost inexhaustible resources of the extensive F2 System.

If you want to pick on something out of nothing, Errr,,, perhaps, "Size does matter" is the only issue you can complaint about.

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The Eyes of Nikon:-
Nippon Kogaku KK Rangefinder RF-Nikkor lenses:- Main Index Page
Nikon Auto Focus Nikkor lenses:- Main Index Page
Nikon Manual Focus Nikkor lenses- Main Index Page

Fisheye-Nikkor Lenses - Circular | Full Frame | Ultrawides Lenses - 13mm 15mm 18mm 20mm | Wideangle Lenses - 24mm 28mm 35mm |
Standard Lenses - 45mm 50mm 58mm | Telephoto Lenses - 85mm 105mm 135mm 180mm & 200mm |
Super-Telephoto Lenses - 300mm 400mm 500mm 600mm 800mm 1200mm |
Special Application lenses:
Micro-Nikkor Lenses - 50mm~55mm -60mm 85mm -105mm 200mm Micro-Zoom 70-180mm
Perspective Control (PC) - 28mm 35mm PC-Micro 85mm
Dedicated Lenses for Nikon F3AF: AF 80mm f/2.8 | AF 200mm f/3.5 EDIF
Depth of Field Control (DC): 105mm 135mm
Medical Nikkor: 120mm 200mm
Reflex-Nikkor Lenses - 500mm 1000mm 2000mm
Others: Noct Nikkor | OP-Nikkor | UV Nikkor 55mm 105mm | Focusing Units | Bellows-Nikkor 105mm 135mm
Nikon Series E Lenses: 28mm 35mm 50mm 100mm 135mm | E-Series Zoom lenses: 36~72mm 75~150mm 70~210mm
MF Zoom-Nikkor Lenses: 25~50mm | 28~45mm | 28~50mm | 28~85mm | 35~70mm | 36~72mm E | 35~85mm | 35~105mm | 35~135mm |
35~200mm | 43~86mm | 50~135mm | 50~300mm | 70~210mm E | 75~150mm E | 80~200mm | 85~250mm |
100~300mm | 180~600mm | 200~400mm | 200~600mm | 360~1200mm | 1200~1700mm

Tele-Converters: TC-1 | TC-2 | TC-200 | TC-201 | TC-300 | TC-301 | TC-14 | TC-14A | TC-14B | TC-14C | TC-14E | TC-16 | TC-16A | TC-20E

Nikon F | Nikon F2 | Nikon F3 | Nikon F4 | Nikon F5 | Nikon F6 | Nikkormat / Nikomat |
Nikon FM | Nikon FE/ FA | Nikon EM/FG/FG20 | Nikon Digital SLRs | Nikon - Other models

MIR Supports for Photographic Community: Various Message Boards/Community Forums
Nikon F-series| Nikon F2-series| Nikon F3-series| Nikon F4-series| Nikon F5-series|Nikkormat/Nikomat-series
Nikon FM-series|Nikon FE-series|Nikon FA|Nikon Digital SLR series|Various Nikon Models|Nikkor Optic -shared

Others:- Free Trade Zone - Photography| Free Trade Zone - Business Community |Free To Zouk - Photographic Community
Apple's Mac Public Community Message Board | Windows based PC & Apple/Mac Public Community Trade Exchange Centre

Recommended links to understand more technical details related to the Nikkor F-mount and production Serial Number:
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-153.html by: my friend, Rick Oleson
http://www.zi.ku.dk/personal/lhhansen/photo/fmount.htm by: Hansen, Lars Holst
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/nikonfmount/lens2.htm
http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html

About this photographic site.

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Copyright © 2000. leofoo ®. MIR Web Development Team.

In memory of my friend Com. Augusto Staut, Brazil, 1971-2000.

Credit: Chuck Hester, US for his patience, encouragement and help to setup the various content in this site; Robert Johnson for some of his original images on the F2H-MD appeared in this site; my ex-staff, KiaSu for his superb 3-D logo appeared in this Nikon F2 site; Marc Vorgers from Holland who generously provide me with some of his images of F2AS; MCLau®, who has so much time with me to re-edit the content in this site and not to mention buying a Nikon Coolpix 990 just for this site. Keat Photo, Kuala Lumpur for providing their Nikon F2A to take some images for this site; again, Mr Edward Ngoh the great camera collector who provides us his collection of F2AS with MD-2; hawkeye.photographic.com for their images on the Speed Magny film backs; Sean Cranor for his image on Nikon F2 25th Anniversary Model; Ted Wengelaar®, Holland for his continuous flow of input on some of the early Nikon bodies; CYLeow ® , photo editor of the Star newspaper, Malaysia for some of his images used in this site. Ms Rissa Chan, Sales manager from Shriro Malaysia who has helped to provide some of the very useful input. HiuraShinsaku®, Nikomat ML, Japan for some of his images on various F2 models; my staff, Wati, Maisa, Mai and my nephew, EEWyn®, who volunteered and helping me did so many of the film scanning works. Contributing photographers or resellers: Jen Siow, Foo KokKin, Arthur Teng, Mark Fallander, John Ishii, Ed Hassel, YoonKi Kim, Jean-Louis, M.Dugentas (Dell Corner.com.), Mr "Arsenall" and a few images mailed in from surfers with no appropriate reference to their origin. Dedicated to KU Yeo, just to express our mutual regrets over the outcome of a recent corporate event. Made with a PowerMac, broadcast with a Redhat Linux powered server.