The Nikon F2
The Nikon F2 was launched in 1971 and it was made until 1980. It's an all-mechanical, very sturdy, large and heavy camera. But it was also extremely reliable, aimed at the professional market.
The weight is nothing less than 840g without lens. It's compatible with Ai and old non-Ai lenses and has a huge, bulky removable prism with the light meter built in it. The DP-1 model has a match-needle light meter and the DP-2 has LEDs. The light meter works with two 1.5V button batteries.
The mechanical coupling of the lens with the light meter is clumsy. You need to match the lens "horns" (on the aperture ring) with a lever on the meter assembly, then turn the aperture to the lowest value to set properly the light meter.
The shutter is all-mechanic with speeds from 10s (combined with the self-timer) to 1/2000s and the curtain is made of titanium foil.
Personally, I think the F2 is a mix of good and bad things and it's up to you to decide, it's a matter of taste.
The viewfinder is excellent and there are at least 14 different focusing screens from Nikon if you need something more specific.
Pros:
- Sturdy
- Very reliable
- Excellent viewfinder
- Uses easy to find batteries
- Lasts for decades
- Mechanical
Cons:
- Very bulky and heavy
- Detachable finder-meter not very practical and clumsy to change shutter speeds.
- Overpriced
- Very awkward flash hot shoe that covers the rewind crank.
- So-so light meter.
I prefer smaller cameras, like the Nikon FM, but if you don't bother about weight it's a very good camera.
I ended up selling it.
