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The Legendary Nikon F2

Nikon F2 Camera with 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor Lens

The Nikon F2 is one of the all time classic SLR film cameras. Its all mechanical design harkens back to a day when things were built to last. A camera that was state of the art in its day and of a design that has remained virtually timeless. Many of the greatest photographers and explorers had these cameras with them on trips to the tops of the highest mountains, in searing hot deserts, through oppressively humid jungles, war zones, or just about any hostile environment on this planet. The Nikon F2 was virtually built for the task.

This particular F2 model was one that I purchased many years ago. It was an older model even back then. While I certainly did not test it in every extreme, it did see its share of mountain cold and desert heat. Now, nearly fifty years after it was made, it sits on a shelf in my office. It still looks great and still functions perfectly. I do know the shutter still works as I fire it periodically to keep things lubricated. There is definitely something confidence inspiring about that crisp and positive shutter sound.

The light meter still works fine and is the only reason the camera needs batteries. The shutter is completely mechanical and thus can be fired without battery power. As I have not run a roll of film through it in a while, about the only thing that I am uncertain of is the condition of the light seals. Visually they seem fine though.

The F2 is a big and heavy camera made almost entirely of metal. The top plate is real brushed metal, not painted plastic like today’s modern retro-inspired cameras. Any plastic on the F2 is used sparingly. When it is, it is more for accents than as part of its construction. Controls are all positive and solid. They are not overly stiff but moving them requires a certain amount of deliberation. While there are a number of other great classic cameras that were built during its time, I feel the Nikon F2 stands out like no other.

The lens mounted on this F2 is a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4. This particular lens, like virtually all of Nikon’s manual focus lenses, included a meter-coupling prong to engage the pin in the F2 Photomic finder. This indexed the lens to the camera’s meter. Later versions of the F2 and lenses were upgraded to Nikon’s automatic-indexing system (AI or AI-S), so the metering prong was no longer needed. Nikon, however, retained it on their manual focus lenses long after so they would continue to work with the older F2 cameras. Remarkably, all of these manual focus lenses still work even with Nikon’s latest Z-system cameras via an FTZ adapter. Focus must, of course, be done manually. With focus peaking turned on, accurate focus is actually easy to attain. Since the Z cameras meter off the sensor, exposure can easily be set in aperture priority or manual mode. Below in figures 1 and 2 are respective images of the Nikon F2 and a Nikon Z6 II with the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 attached.

Nikon F2 Chrome with 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor Lens
Figure 1 - Nikon F2 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 Lens
Nikon Z6 II with FTZ adapter and manual focus 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor Lens
Figure 2 – Nikon Z6 II with FTZ Adaptor and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 Lens

The images below were shot with the Nikon Z6 II and the adapted Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens. Optical design has advanced significantly over the years but this lens still makes stunning images. Picture control on the Z6 II was set to standard. Only minor adjustments to exposure were made. Note the wonderful colors and bokeh in figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3 – Roses, Nikon Z6 II and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 at f/2
Figure 4 – Oil Paints, Nikon Z6 II and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 at f/2
The Nikon F2 and the many lenses that can still be had for it are a true testament to its longevity, quality, and excellent mechanical engineering. The Nikon F2 may be out of date, but in many ways it is not obsolete. Many creative photographers do still use them when they want to experiment with or experience film photography. It is unlikely that the world will ever see cameras of this timeless quality ever again. I cannot even imagine similar longevity for any modern digital camera. They come and go quickly and have too many things to go wrong.

I could write a lot more about all of the controls and functions of this camera. However, there are already many sources on the web that have already done so. The beauty of this timeless design, though, is really that most anyone reasonably familiar with manual film SLRs could simply pick it up and start shooting. I might even get the urge sometime soon to load up a roll of film myself and take some actual photographs – a distinctly different thing than making digital images.