Want to have auto exposure? There’s a tool for that. Want to change out the focusing screen for something else? There are over a dozen to choose from (I personally prefer the “H” model which is a full screen of micro prisms). Want a digital back that can print the time and a note on the film? They have that. Just about everything you can think of can be changed out. This is the part where there is quite honestly more to talk about than I have room for. Image of Burnt Nikon F2 Courtesy Of Matt Seal Accessories It used to be 1/30th but I think the loss of some of the dampener made it land a bit too hard at slower speeds. It looked a little rough after but worked just fine from shutter speeds of 1/60th or faster for a 35mm lens. On my first F2, it was pretty brittle from years of not using and me changing out the focusing screen. The only thing that could possibly be conceived as a weakness of the F2 is the mirror dampener. So much so that a good friend of mine had one survive a house fire and it still works (see below). It’s such a solid, well built machine that feels unstoppable. I would best just about anything that if someone was to shoot through a couple rolls using an F2 and then picked up a Pentax, Minolta, or Canon, you’d be disappointed. Build QualityĪs I mentioned above, the build quality of the F2 is superb. The S model using the DP-2 prism is kind of the odd man out still using “+ > < -” LEDs. Similarly, the AS (DP-12 prism) and the SB (DP-3 prism) offer the same performance metering using “+ 0 -” LEDs. Otherwise, the A model (using the DP-11 prism) and the original model (using the DP-1 prism) are the exact same prism which use a more primitive metering needle which can be a bit difficult see when there isn’t ample light coming through the top of the meter. The biggest difference between the A and AS models and their earlier counterparts is that they only work with Ai-S lenses whereas the other lenses can work on all mechanical Nikon F mount lenses so long as they have the meter coupling shoe (a.k.a., “rabbit ears”) to communicate the aperture you’ve got the lens set to with the metering prism. Of the primary 5 models of the F2, the only difference between them is the metering prism. Other editions were made as well but are far rarer and more expensive. There are 5 different “Photomic” models of the F2 which have a metering prism that use the original body: original, S, SB, A, and AS. To start, they’re pretty affordable and can be had for around $125-$150 for the body of the cheapest model. They were made for nearly 10 years (1971-1980) before it was replaced by the F3 an electronic camera compared with the all mechanical F2. The Nikon F2, however, is on a level entirely on its own. I don’t mean to knock on other 35mm cameras – I still have a soft spot in my heart for a good copy of a Minolta X-370 (my first camera growing up) or a Pentax Spotmatic (my father’s camera from his time in the service). Once you get used to it, most alternatives just seem cheap or flimsy. Photographing using prime lenses with large apertures also means you can get a shallow depth of field which is useful for portraiture where you might want a softer or blurred background (also known as bokeh).If you’ve ever used a Nikon F2 before, you already know that it is rare to find such quality in a 35mm camera or even a digital camera for that matter. This is an advantage when shooting in low light conditions as it will increase the possibility of hand holding the camera and freezing the subject without shake or blur caused by the longer exposures. Prime lenses also tend to have a larger maximum aperture (f/1.4 to f/2.8). The main advantages of prime lenses or fixed focal length lenses are their size and weight as well as their maximum aperture or f/stop. Prime lenses tend to be more compact and lightweight than zoom lenses. They are ideal when you are photographing a variety of subjects such as landscapes and portraits, and you just want one lens for both situations. Using a zoom lens also reduces the number of times you need to change the lens which saves time and limits the possibility of getting dust in the camera's mirror box or on the sensor. Zoom Lens BenefitsThe advantage of a zoom lens is versatility. Prime lenses have a fixed focal length and zoom lenses have variable focal lengths. There are two types of lenses-prime and zoom.
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