Talk:Nikon F2

I have removed the Type F, Type R and Type T (TV Format) focusing screen entries; the The New Nikon Compendium specifically states that they are Nikon F4, F3 and F3 screens, respectively.

gsandberg: This is not correct. -the F screen was made for the Nikon F and will fit the F2, however it was discontinued when the Photomic T metering head was introduced. Also a type F screen was made for the F4 camera. -the S and T screens were also made for the F2 camera (I own samples of both), however these screens were introduced as the related accessories came to market, not with the introduction of the F2 camera in 1971. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gsandberg (talk • contribs) 10:13, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

POV Tag
This article was POV-tagged over a month ago, yet the tagger has not posted anything to this talk page. I would suggest the tag be removed until something is posted to clarify the dispute. Vancleef 09:47, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

Who says this?
To the person (Vancleef?) who asked "Who says this?" of my statements in the F2 article: "lenses with a 'meter coupling shoe' (or prong, informally called 'rabbit ears')" and "the F2's interchangeable viewfinders (colloquially called 'heads')."

I presume that you mean "Who has actually used these terms in the manner described? Show me a citation using these terms." and not "Who certified these terms for use in the manner described? Show me an authority allowing the use of these terms." because no one certifies colloquialisms – they're just used in informal speech or writing.

Here are six citations showing "rabbit ears" and "heads" in use (three for each). I hope that they satisfactorily answer your question.

"Non-AI [Nikkor] lenses are identifiable by their solid meter coupling shoes, the famous 'rabbit ears.'" (quotation marks in original) on page 146 of Comen, Paul. Magic Lantern Guides: Nikon Classic Cameras; F, FE, FE2, FA and Nikkormat F series. First Edition. Rochester, NY: Silver Pixel Press, 1996. ISBN 1-883403-31-6.

"The [Nikon F2 Photomic's] meter couples with lenses that have a meter coupling shoe (rabbit ears) via a meter coupling pin, which extends from the prism to the lens' meter coupling shoe for semi-automatic indexing (as on the early Nikkormats)." on page 32 of Peterson, B. Moose. Magic Lantern Guides: Nikon Classic Cameras, Volume II; F2, FM, EM, FG, N2000 (F-301), N2020 (F-501), EL series. First Edition. Rochester, NY: Silver Pixel Press, 1996. ISBN 1-883403-38-3.

"The [Nikon Series E 28 mm f/2.8] lens was not provided a meter coupling prong (rabbit ears) on its aperture ring and may not be usable for full aperture metering with non-Ai Nikon SLR camera bodies." from leofoo. "Nikon Series E Lenses - 28mm f2.8 & 35mm f2.5" http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/emfgfg20/eserieslenses/htmls/283550mm.htm retrieved 3 February 2003; rechecked 16 July 2007.

"Each camera, [Nikon] F and F2, required a different motor drive, bulk film back and metering heads but did accept the same lenses and interchangeable viewing screens." from page 80 of Anonymous. "Nikon F3: Successor to Nikon F2 and F" pp 80-86. Modern Photography’s Photo Buying Guide '85. reprint from Modern Photography, June 1980.

"The [Nikon F2's] film advance lever operates with a single 120º stroke and, at the 20º position, switches on the exposure meter in those bodies fitted with a Photomic head." from page 24 of Stafford, Simon and Rudi Hillebrand & Hans-Joachim Hauschild. The New Nikon Compendium: Cameras, Lenses & Accessories since 1917. 2004 Updated North American Edition. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 2003. ISBN 1-57990-592-7.

"Photomic AS Finder (DP12) Nikon's best and most expensive meter head for the F2." from Gandy, Stephen. "Nikon F2 Meters & Finders" http://www.cameraquest.com/ff2finde.htm retrieved 14 December 2004; rechecked 16 July 2007.

Most of these sources have already been bibliographically cited in the References section of this article. If you wish to cite them as footnotes, please do so.

Also, contributer 204.126.130.10 is incorrect in saying "F2 never had a hot shoe." The Nikon F2 always had a hot shoe. It was not a standard ISO configuration hot shoe atop the viewfinder such as on most other 35 mm SLRs, but it was a hot shoe nonetheless. Surrounding the film rewind crank was an accessory connector shoe with an electrical contact for direct flash synchronization with the Nikon SB-2, -6 or -7E flashes. (Most of this was already in the Accessory section of the article.) Standard ISO foot flash flashes can be mounted to this unique-to-Nikon shoe via the Nikon AS-1 Flash Unit Coupler - no sync cord is required. See pages 233-236 in Stafford, Hillebrand & Hauschild; The New Nikon Compendium and pages 45-49 in Peterson; Nikon Classic Cameras, Volume II.

I have changed the box to say "non-ISO hot shoe plus PC socket." I have also amended the flash information to make this all more explicit. Paul1513 14:37, 16 July 2007 (UTC)


 * The "who said this" is not meant to offend you, just to signal that a reference to the citation is needed.
 * You can put one with
 * right after the statement, for instance. This will automatically generate a note. Cheers ! Rama 15:01, 16 July 2007 (UTC)
 * right after the statement, for instance. This will automatically generate a note. Cheers ! Rama 15:01, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

Lens mounting
Hi, Folks! Just in case that it hasn't been already mentioned: It is NOT necessary to preset the aperture ring to 5.6 to mount a lens on non-AI Photomic-Heads. This is only required on Nikkormats. Believe me, I've been using all F2- and Nikkormat-models, ever since Ebay made them very affordable ;-). (However, I don't know about the procedure on the Nikon F.) If you need references on this: both Keppler's "The Nikon- and Nikkormat-Way" and Cooper's "Nikon and Nikkormat Handbook" should do. 195.160.248.22 (talk) 10:50, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

The aperture ring can be in any position for mounting with an F also. In fact, for all but the F Photomic FTN head, you don't even have turn the aperture ring to the maximum aperture after mounting, although I do it both out of habit with F2s and the F FTN, and also because it's a good way to make sure the coupling prong has engaged the meter pin. With that said, on the Photomic T and Photomic TN, you DO have to set the maximum aperture manually on the film speed dial. The FTN added the familiar "semi-auto indexing" that first showed up on Nikkormats and carried over to the pre-AI F2 meters. 96.29.232.210 (talk) 04:46, 23 March 2018 (UTC)

Objectivity
Now I'm a long time F2 owner and user but, bald statements like "During the 1960s, one professional level 35 mm SLR – the Nikon F – outperformed contenders like ..." seem pretty subjective (and the statement is not even sourced). Users of some of these other cameras might not agree - at least in some respects. And was it only the Nikon F - or SLR cameras as a whole - that  "managed to drive interchangeable lens, focal plane shutter, 35 mm film, rangefinder (RF) cameras, like the Canon 7S (1961), Contax IIA (1950), Leica M3 (1954) and Nippon Kogaku's own Nikon SP  (1957), into near extinction"? Chris Fynn (talk) 06:30, 14 March 2010 (UTC)


 * To be honest, the article's a train wreck; it reads like the first draft of a blog post. Given a couple of hours I could fix it up good and proper, but I've seen how these fanatics operate on Wikipedia; I would be reverted immediately and the work would be a waste. A couple of years hence someone else will have a go, and the source of the plague will have either died or been arrested, and he won't be around to revert the changes. The trick is to identify the problem contributor and wait until they stop contributing, which in this case hasn't happened yet. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 18:36, 11 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Leica came into severe financial difficulties during the 60s because of Nikon. Not only were the Nikon lenses for the Leica mount during the 50s better than Leicas own lenses, many pros bought Nikkor lenses instead of Leica for their (pre-M-)Leicas, the later Nikon F was much more convenient and faster to use. That is why many pros switched from Leica to Nikon. There is plenty of evidence on the internet for that. Later (nearly too late), Leica reacted with it's own R-System 77.119.128.219 (talk) 09:18, 4 October 2017 (UTC)

"It was manufactured [...] from September 1971 to June 2000."
Is this really true? I remember it was only manufactured until 1980 or so. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Groewi (talk • contribs) 01:17, 23 May 2017 (UTC)

Incorrect statement in 2nd paragraph
'The F-series do not share any major components except for the all-important bayonet lens mount ('F mount').' is definitely not correct. There are: -) viewfinders interchangeable between F and F2 -) common film guiding axles, spools and film roll spools in F2 and F3 -) common film rewind cranks on F2 and F3 -) the same DOF-preview buttons on F3 and F4 -) the same film release buttons on F2 and F3 -) interchangeable focusing screens on F3 and F4 -) same battery lids on F2 and F3 -) common motor coupling flanges on F2 and F3.... The list probably goes on and on for components inside the cameras.178.165.131.90 (talk) 18:30, 3 October 2017 (UTC)

Calling F and F2 prisms interchangeable is technically true, but not something regularly done and also presents a few issues that make it not exactly a direct swap. F2 prisms will fit an F body if you remove the front nameplate, but at least with metered prisms you're left with no way to power them. F prisms onto F2s are a bit easier, but it's one of those "why do it" things as even the DP-1 is better than the best F meter-the FTN. Also, for whatever reason any time I've put an F eye level finder on an F2 body, I find myself struggling to get it off.

With that said, focusing screens are 100% interchangeable between the two bodies. Screen boxes from the F2 era indicate that they fit both bodies. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.29.232.210 (talk) 04:42, 23 March 2018 (UTC)