Solid metal body
Lens selection
Versatility
Just looks good

None. Might be a little heavy for some, but quality costs something.

I believe the best 35 mechanical camera ever produced. I tried the Canon F1 and it just didn't 'feel' right. Also tried the F, but it was replaced by the F2 so that is what I purchased in 1973. I got the photomic meter on that one. I purchase a second F2, and F2s, a year later. Both are black bodies. Never regretted either purchase. At $350 in 1973 it was a very expensive 35mm (the F2 Photomic, I believe the F2s was $375). The Canon F1 was less, but it seemed all the pros at the time were using the Nikon. Plus the lens selection was tremendous. I had asperations to be a photographer at the time and wanted the best equiptment I could get. I definitely got the best. Every option in the world was available for it at the time, motor drives, remotes, bulk packs, timers, interchangable meters/heads, even focusing screens (I use the 'P' screen). Everything is just where it seems natural to be. The only exception was the shutter release. I purchased the extension and then it was perfect too. These cameras have been through a lot and have never let me down. The only repair in 28 years is last year I had the foam in the interior replaced as it had deteriorated and was crumbling. When I took it in, the camera shop owner told me to never let them go. He said the new ones just couldn't match the quality or durability of the F2's. He didn't have to tell me that. This camera is a true classic and a beautiful example of Japanese quality. The mechanics of it are impecable. I don't like automatics as they have a slight hesitation after you press the shutter release and I really don't know what the shutter speed or aperature is. My wife loves the convenience of a point and shoot. I want total control of the exposure. I also have a CoolPix 990 and she uses a Canon APS elf. Neither can produce anything near the quality of my F2's photographically. I think these will be the only camera's I will own and use on a regular basis. Our vacation to Banff and Jasper produced pictures that rival anything I've seen in any brochure or postcard. The APS couldn't compare. For snapshots at parties, the Coolpix is fine. But for scenery, the F2's can't be beat. I will gladly carry the 20 pounds of cameras, lenses and tripod for the perfect pictures this camera is capable of.

Customer Service

Wrote to EPOI once in 1974 and got an immediate response to a question. Also wrote to Nippon Kogaku in Japan back in 1975 and they responded within a week via airmail.

Similar Products Used:

Owned Canon TLB and FTB
Used Nikon F, Canon F1 and Minolta (can't remember the model)

shutter, metal body, ' a pro looks', the optical inside, the mechanical functions.

i don't know! in my 11 years experience with this superb one, i never find difficultness, although the body of the camera drop upon the stone or floor 2 or 3 times. from the salty air on the archipelagos to the freezing mountains.

it's very good for extreme conditions in outdoor photography. especially with nikkor 50 mm, 1:1.4.

Customer Service

just to clean the fungus in my nikkor 50 mm 1:1.4 lens.

Similar Products Used:

pentax mx, nikkormat el.

There isn't much about the F2 that isn't a strength - and any nit-picking one can do is probably attributable more to the fact that this is an almost 30 year old design. Having said that, its strengths: bulletproof reliability, positive mechanical feel, a complete non-reliance on batteries for anything except the metered head, a film transport that has yet to jam on me, and fairly easy-to-find accessories like the MD-2 motor drive.

Perhaps the biggest weakness/strength of this camera is the rather ersatz aperture indexing of the earlier models. A throwback to the Nikon F FTn, the original photomic prisms on the F2 use the funny mechanism that sets the minimum aperture as you turn the aperture ring back and forth a few times. It works, but I've forgotten to do that once or twice and ended up with understandably underexposed shots. However, that's about the only thing I can fault the F2 for - and really, this is something you could categorize under "quirkiness".

If you're going to compare this to your F90x, forget it. It's a 30 year old mechanical camera, and it claims to be nothing more than that. However, for a fraction of the cost of the F90x, you get a camera that is undoubtedly more durable (show me a working F90x in 30 years that has never been serviced once ...), easier to accessorize, and uses a wider range of lenses. The MD-2 motor drive does a completely respectable 5 fps, and in the end, it's just a d*** godo camera.

Customer Service

The F2, sadly, is no longer serviced by Nikon. There are lots of good people out there who know how to keep these gems alive.

Similar Products Used:

I use an F and an F2 as my regular shooters. Also owned a Pentax Spotmatic and used a Canon T70. Also shooting with a Rolleiflex, Minox, and a few others.

Build Quality,precision engineering,reliability.
The shutter is great with the variable settings.

Could any one tell me whether all A screens display a grainy appearence particularly with telephotos.(My screen is a mint version from Grays in London).Otherwise superb.

I also own an F4 but for general photography where speed and flash are not needed I still use the F2.It is nothing like as high profile as the F4 + MB21 which I find a big advantage in Asia.

Customer Service

Grays of Westminster were very good.

Similar Products Used:

FM,F4,F5

C'mon, everyone knows this is one of the toughest manual 35mm bodies out there...attach a non-AI 300mm Nikkor lens and use as a hammer or an offensive/defensive weapon.

I think, that before too long, parts for the meter type finders are gonna be tough to find (read that as expensive). But then, who uses the meter anyway?

Plenty-o-inexpensive F2 bodies and decent Nikkor lenses out there, I use this older equipment as backup and/or candids at wedding receptions, etc. If you have a passion for mechanical cameras or are too lazy to learn digital, check out an F2.

Customer Service

I've dealt with Nikon for cla and/or foam replacement, light baffle etc., and other than cost, have never had a problem with them.

Similar Products Used:

70's Spotmatic and Nikon F bodies. 80's, RTS. 90's on to OM-1 and OM-3, late 90's back to Nikon, F2 and F3.

Built like a Sherman Tank!

N/A

If you are an avid photographer (you wouldn't be here if you were not, I guess)using a 'do it all/everything" 35mm camera at the present time, go out and get the Nikon F2. There are plenty around (eBay for example) experience the joy of a piece of workmanship, fine quality and a camera that will last a long, long time. The manual loading of film, manual re-wind. Brings me back to the good old days when life was a bit slower paced and you had to think about what you were doing and now let the auot-everything do it for you.

Customer Service

Just a dusting and a cleaning. General check-up.

Similar Products Used:

None

Solid and asbsolute reliability. There is nothing that compares in the world of manual photography. I own 2 F2 photomics and several non-ai lenses, all of which have superior sharpness and color rendition. The amount of accessories and availability make the nikon system hard to beat by any standard.

None.

This camera is simply the best camera I have ever had the privilege of owning. I use it all the time as my main body. Flash work with this camera is not as complicated as some would have you believe. Pictures are always tack sharp with nikkor optics-I dont use independent optics as they are inferior. An F2 body(any finder) and a nikkor s 50mm f1.4 are all you need to truly appreciate this photographic marvel. I also recommend the 35 f2,105 f2.5, and the 300 f4.5.

Customer Service

Never needed.

Similar Products Used:

Leica M Cameras; F100;N90s;F4e;N60;N70:N80;Olympus XA;Pentax 6x7;Mamiya 645 pro tl

- All mechanical
- Tougher than a $3 steak
- Pure, simple, reliable. The essence of a mechanical SLR.
- More usable than the original F.

- Yes, it's heavy.
- Good but not super for eyeglass wearers

You want a mechanical, all manual camera that's reasonably modern and can use a huge variety of superb lenses? Can't beat an F2. Get an F2A or F2AS and buy a separate Photomic prism and use every lens Nikon's ever made.

Of all my cameras my F2 would be the last I'd part with, and only when they pry it out of my cold dead hands.

Customer Service

The camera's old enough to buy beer - Nikon doesn't support it now.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F
Nikkormat FT2
Nikon F3
Nikon F3

For nearly 25 years I have used this marvelous camera and I guess I never considered it in terms of strengths or weakness. It is a Nikon and it hasn't required anything more than batteries for
the DP-2 Viewfinder.

That's what I expect from a Nikon. I was surprised at how old it was. It is always ready to go.

It has no weaknesses...I do, but it doesn't. Now I have more difficulty using the viewfinder (as in knowing that I have things in focus).

It saddens me that I am now using an N70 more frequently (my wife's) than my F2, and am seriously considering buying an N80 or N90 for my use. The auto-focus is very helpful with my tired eyes.

D*m*ed fine camera. I'll not sell it, even if I replace it.

If you can find one, buy it. Everyone who loves fine things, should have one of these, even if just to look at and to remind them of how things were.

Customer Service

Nada

Similar Products Used:

F Ftn, Nikkormat EL, N70, Lite Touch 140

THE best mechanical 35mm ever made, bar none. Solid, dependable, superb design

None, and I am serious

While I will never sell my Leicas and still use them, and my Nikon F4 is now my primary SLR, nothing but nothing beats the F2 for elegance and utility.

Customer Service

Replaced the felt bumper, period, in over twenty years of Nikon use

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F, F3, F4, FM, FM2, Leicaflex SL and SL2, M-Leicas (all), Canon F1, FTb, Pentax, Olympus, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad, large format