I have the F2AS version. Solid and supremely reliable. Can use as wheel chock or hammer :-) Simple, straightforward to use. 100% viewfinder. Low light reading to EV-5. Great lenses, huge selection, uses anything with an F mount (although non-AI with DP-3 is stopped down metering). Mirror lock up. Mechanical shutter to 10 seconds. Infinitely variable shutter speeds over 1/80th to 1/2000. Lots of accessories. Controls fall naturally under fingers. DP-3 has eyepiece blind.

No auto-off meter. Needs special adapter for standard cable release (just buy a few)
Finder is bright but not as super bright as the newest cameras out there, but has good contrast for easy focusing. Not bad for a 20 year old system.

Ah, my first real camera in 1977. Had a Photomic DP-1 meter back then. Have had several over the years. Still have first body but upgraded to DP-3. Has never ever failed me in any weather or abuse. MD-2 motor is also super solid. With minor modification can be used to winch small cars out of ditches. Gets up to 4.5fps with nicads and mirror down, 5fps mirror up. Gets a bit heavy with those 10 AA's loaded. A classic camera which will keep your skills honed and keep you close to photography. And produce wonderful, technically excellent photos. Can't go wrong. Good supply on used market. Not too expensive.

Customer Service

Never needed except for normal CLA

Similar Products Used:

Canon new F-1, Leica R, Contax SLR

Tank like built classic, the hallmark against all Nikon are held

None, although I wish it were cheaper second hand.

I'm a bit ashamed to admit that for the last few years I haven't used my F2AS, bought in 1979, as much as I should, due to having switched over to AF, although that's easy with Nikon. Great plus is that I can use all my lenses on both my manual FE and F2AS and AF F90X's and F100.
In short a great classic camera I'm proud to own, never has let me down, and will think twice about before ever parting with.

Customer Service

Not really needed, only had them contact me and send me some PR gifts

Similar Products Used:

FE, F801, F801s, F90, F90X, F100, Canon FT-QL Canon TX

Durable.
Mechanical.
Extensive choice of lenses, new and old.
Large, full field viewfinder image helps with composition.
Controls fall easily to hand - this is a heavy camera, but its size makes it more natural to use than an FM2.

Photomic heads seem to be an ugly addition to a classic camera.
My DP-2 broke when it fell off a bunk bed, although it was repaired for $40.
Battery will be finished quickly if you leave the meter on.
Plastic gear in MD-3 breaks easily - find an MD-2.

Don't worry about your camera-just use it! Taking pictures become second nature with an F-2. And as long as you don't shoot transparencies, you don't need a meter while you're outdoors in daylight. Try it! How much are you squinting against the light? or look at the sky; estimate the exposure, check it against the meter. With a bit of practice, you'll be within half a stop.

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FM2/T. FM2n. Canon AE1. Zenit-E !

Built well. Controls logically placed. Easy to use. Many lenses, Nikkor and independents, available and reasonably priced.
Fine optics available.

Heavy. Original Photomic meter prism requires coupler on lens for wide open metering (minor weakness). Mounting a flash unit is a minor inconvenience.

In spite of its size and weight,I believe that the F2 is the best manual slr camera that Nikon (or anyone else) has ever made. Using it keeps you close to photography.

Customer Service

No experience.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F, Nikkormat FT2,Minolta SRT-101

Images produced are only limited by the availability of lenses and the photographers imagination. Built like a tank to last a lifetime

Go for the solid state metering of the SB prism as the standard Photomic finders become unreliable over the years

A modern day classic, fully capable of producing images that will stand the test against the majority of todays 'do-it-all' cameras

Customer Service

None of my SB equipped models have needed servicing yet, so cannot comment

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Nikn F, Nikkormat FT series, Nikon F4 (YUK!), Nikon Pronea range (Also YUK!)

Body was nearly indestructible. Shutters worked well even after treatment bordering on abuse.

Photomic meter heads were just plain junk. Had to have mine recalibrated ($$$!) 2x in 3 years. Finally drove me to Canon products. Motor drive ridiculously expensive, heavy and loud.

I replaced my F2, Nikkormat and Nikkor lenses with a Canon A-1 and T90 and a bagful of Canon FDs and never regretted my decision.

Customer Service

Expensive and unsympathetic about Photomic head shortcomings.

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Nikon F, Nikkormat FT2
Canon A-1, T90

Only camera that survived falling off the back of a speeding 750 Honda twenty years ago and is still being used to this day. On a recent photo shoot in Canyonlands National Park, my associate was using an F5 which failed due to a battery poop-out. He left the site in disgust while my 25 year old F2 kept on truck'n. I'm the only one who has images from that location.

Prism head should be used instead of the Photomic heads because dust migrates into the viewfinder. Must be sent in for repair to have viewfinder cleaned. Meter hasn't worked in 15 years!

The F2 will be used as my primary camera with an F5 as backup.

Customer Service

Certainly not!

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Cannon FTB, Nikon F

THIS CAMERA IS A TANK! YOU NEED TO WORKOUT THE BICEPS IN ORDER TO TAKE THAT MAGNIFICENT SHOT. THIS DARN THING NEVER FAILED ME. ALL MANUAL AND SUPERIOR TO MOST IF NOT ALL CAMERAS I'VE OWNED. ALSO, THE LENS MOUNT IS UNIVERSAL TO ALL OF THE NIKON LINE-UP. THE MAIN REASON I OWNED THIS CAMERA IS IT'S STRAIGHT FORWARD CONTROLS, DURABILITY, AND MARKET VALUE. I STILL SEE THESE CAMERAS BEING SOLD AROUND $500-$700. GOOD INVESTMENT WITH A PIECE OF MIND IN IT'S CAPABILITY. A PLUS!!

THE VIEW FINDER METER IS NOT VERY RELIABLE. ALWAYS DEAD! TRY TO BUY A SIMPLE FINDER WITH THE METER. IT'S BETTER TO USE A HAND HELD METER! IN MY OPINION THEY ALSO LOOK BETTER.

IT'S A NIKON!

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CANON AE-1, A-1, & F-1
MINOLTA MXG, X-700, & XG-9
OLYMPUS OM-1 & 2

My F2AS has all of the features I want in a camera, especially depth-of-field preview and mirror lock-up. Plus it's reliable, rugged, fun, practically weatherproof, mechanical (not reliant on batteries), versitile and accurate.

Daylight fill-flash is a challenge but not impossible. That's it.

I'll never give up my F2AS (blk)! There's hardly a situation I can't handle with this camera. And it's never given me a problem. Nikon also made many, many accessories for the F2 system so there are alot of reliable used F2 accessories out there. Why would one shoot with anything else?

Customer Service

Never a problem.

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Minolta SR-T 102, XK & XE-7. Nikon F, FM, FE, EM, FA, Nikkormat FTN, FT-3. Olympus OM1. Pentax KM & ME Super. Zeiss-Iko

Reliability, build quality, robustness,

Wieght, its heavy

How does a camera qualify to become a classic camera? This in itself is quite an emotive question! However, if you count reliability, adaptability, robustness and build quality as prerequisites, then this camera is surely a classic. It will appeal to any photographer who understands the limits of centre weighed metering, who demands high quality, reliabilty and adaptabilty. Finally, the system associated with Nikon is vast, the lens quality legendary, just hold an F2 and you'll never part with it. My advice, however, buy a AR-1 Shoft Shutter Release, it really complements the F2, and most of all saves your fingers!

Customer Service

Greys of Westminster, Nikon Specialists, London Uk, the best Nikon and only sole Nikon dealers in the World! and I'm not getting any commision for this!

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Pentax Lx
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