The Nikon F2 is a professional-level 35 mm single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K. (Nikon Corporation since 1988) in Japan from September 1971 to 1980. It used a horizontal-travel focal plane shutter with titanium shutter curtains and a speed range of 1 to 1/2000 second (up to 10 seconds using the self-timer) plus Bulb and Time, and flash X-sync of 1/80 second. It had dimensions (with DE-1 head, see below) of 98 mm height, 152.5 mm width, 65 mm depth and 730 g weight. It was available in two colors: black with chrome trim and all black. The F2 was adopted by both casual photographers and professional photographers, the latter of those especially photojournalists covering the later half of the Vietnam War.
The F2 is the second member of the long line of Nikon F-series professional-level 35 mm SLRs that began with the Nikon F (manufactured 1959–1974) and followed each other in a sort of dynastic succession as the top-of-the-line Nikon camera. The other members were the F3 (1980–2001), F4 (1988–1996), F5 (1996–2005), and F6 (2004–2020). The F-series do not share any major components except for the all-important bayonet lens mount, the Nikon F-mount.
All Nikon professional F-series SLRs are full system cameras. This means that each camera body serves as only a modular hub.
Features The Nikon F2 is an all-metal, mechanically controlled (springs, gears, levers), manual focus SLR with manual exposure control. The camera itself needed no batteries, though the prism light meter did (and the motor drive if added). The F2 replaced the Nikon F, adding many new features (a faster 1/2000-second maximum shutter speed, a swing open back for easier film loading, a wider assortment of detachable finders and metering heads, a 250 exposure film back, a larger reflex mirror to ensure no vignetting, and a shutter release nearer the front of the camera for better ergonomics). It also offered a detachable motor drive, something the F only had as a custom modification. It was the last all-mechanical professional-level Nikon SLR.
Lenses The F2 accepts all lenses with the Nikon F bayonet mount (introduced in 1959 on the Nikon F camera), with certain limitations or exceptions depending on the F2 version. The later F2A and F2AS Photomic variants (see below) require lenses supporting the Automatic maximum aperture Indexing (AI) feature (introduced in 1977). The manual focus Nikon-made AI lenses were the Nikkor AI-S, Nikkor AI and Nikon Series E types. The AF-S Nikkor, AF-I Nikkor, AF Nikkor D and AF Nikkor autofocus lenses are also AI types. The original Nikkor "non-AI" (introduced before 1977) lenses, will mount but require stop down metering. Nikon had a service to retrofit non-AI lenses with a new aperture ring with the AI feature to produce "AI'd" lenses, but this service ended decades ago.
The older F2, F2S and F2SB Photomic variants (see below) require lenses with a "meter coupling shoe" (or prong, informally called "rabbit ears" by photography enthusiasts). These lenses are the Nikkor non-AI, AI'd Nikkor, Nikkor AI and Nikkor AI-S types. Lenses without rabbit ears, such as the Nikon Series E, AF Nikkor, AF Nikkor D, AF-I Nikkor and AF-S Nikkor types, will mount but require stop down metering.
The F2 with plain/eye-level DE-1 prism (no light meter; see below) will work with either lens types. Note that the Nikkor AI-S and Nikkor AI types are AI types plus have rabbit ears and will function properly on all Nikon F2 variants.
Nikon's most recent 35mm film SLR lenses, the AF Nikkor G type (2000) lacking an aperture control ring; and the AF Nikkor DX type (2003) with image circles sized for Nikon's DX digital SLRs, will mount but will not function properly. A few exotic fisheye lenses from the 1960s require mirror lock-up and therefore an auxiliary viewfinder is preferred. IX Nikkor lenses (1996), for Nikon's Advanced Photo System (APS) film SLRs, must not be mounted on any F2, as their rear elements will intrude far enough into the mirror box to cause damage even with the mirror locked up.
In 1977 Nikon made about 55 non-AI and AI lenses, ranging from a Fisheye-Nikkor 6 mm f/2.8 220° circular fisheye to a Reflex-Nikkor 2000 mm f/11 super-long mirror telephoto. This was the largest lens selection in the world by far.
The standard lens for most professionals was the Nikkor 50 mm f/1.4, but some preferred the Nikkor 35 mm f/2 with a wider field of view for grab shots. The Nikkor 105 mm f/2.5 was renowned for its superb sharpness and bokeh and was a favorite for head-and-shoulders portraits ("head shots").
Some special purpose lenses include:
Micro-Nikkors 55 mm f/3.5 and 55 mm f/2.8, Micro-Nikkor 105 mm f/4 for close-up "macro" photography, Noct-Nikkor 58 mm f/1.2 for low light photography, PC-Nikkor 28 mm f/3.5 shifting perspective control lens, the GN-Nikkor 45 mm f/2.8 for automatically setting the proper aperture for flash exposure based on distance (also useful as a very small/light "pancake" lens) Nikkor 13mm f/5.6 widest angle (118°) rectilinear lens Nikkor 300 mm f/2.8 ED IF fast telephoto Zoom-Nikkor 50–300 mm f/4.5 ED and the Zoom-Nikkor 43–86 mm f/3.5.
Independent manufacturer lenses were also available in the Nikon F mount. One example is the Vivitar Series 1 70–210 mm f/3.5 Macro Zoom (released 1974).
Viewfinders The F2's interchangeable viewfinders (also known as "heads")Nikon Article on F2's Debut, Nikon marked it as a professional-level SLR and was considered by consumers one of its biggest strengths. By providing updated heads every few years, Nikon was able to introduce new versions of the F2 and keep the basic body in the latest technology until production ended in 1980. Note that F2 heads were often sold separately from the body, mostly in black finish with about 10% in chrome, and it is therefore not unusual to see body/head combinations with mismatched serial numbers and/or colors.
The head on the basic Nikon F2 was called the Nikon DE-1. It provided a virtually 100% accurate viewing image, but was a plain pentaprism eyelevel viewing head with no built-in light meter and so had no metering or exposure information display, except for a flash-ready light. Unlike the other heads, about 90% of DE-1s were chrome finished. It was unpopular because of the lack of a built-in meter, but remained available for the life of the F2. F2 bodies with DE-1 finders maintain the highest prices on the secondary market.
If a pentaprism head with a built-in light meter was mounted on the F2, the camera became an F2 Photomic. However, since Nikon made five different metering heads over the life of the F2, there were five different F2 Photomic versions. The use of any Photomic head requires that batteries (two S76 or A76, or SR44 or LR44) be installed in the F2 body to power the head's electronics.
The original Nikon F2 Photomic, packaged with the Nikon DP-1 head, was manufactured from 1971 to 1977. The DP-1 had a center-the-needle exposure control system using a galvanometer needle pointer moving between horizontally arranged +/– over/underexposure markers at the bottom of the viewfinder to indicate the readings of the built-in 60/40 percent centerweighted, cadmium sulfide (CdS) light meter versus the photographer's actual camera selections. Flanking the needle array on the left and right were a readout of the camera set f-stop and shutter speed, respectively. The needle array was duplicated on the top of the DP-1 head to allow exposure control without looking through the viewfinder. A Nikon F2 Photomic with Nikkor-S 50 mm f/1.4 lens had a US list price of $660 in 1972.
Manufactured from 1973 to 1977, the F2S Photomic used the DP-2 head. Although it looked very different, the DP-2 was functionally very similar to the DP-1. It substituted an all-solid-state light-both-LEDs exposure control system using two arrow-shaped light-emitting diode (LED) over/underexposure indicators for better visibility in low light situations and better overall reliability. This was important, because the DP-2's CdS meter had better low-light sensitivity than the DP-1—down to Exposure Value (EV) −2, instead of EV 1, at ASA 100. A chrome Nikon F2S Photomic with Nikkor 50 mm f/1.4 lens had a US list price of $961 in 1976. Note: SLRs were usually discounted 30 to 40 percent from list.
With the DP-3 head, the camera became the F2SB Photomic, available 1976 to 1977. The DP-3 introduced three innovations: a silicon photodiode light meter (a first for Nikon SLRs) for faster and more accurate light readings, a five-stage center-the-LED exposure control system using +/o/− LEDs, and an eyepiece blind.
These three early Photomic heads required Nikon F-mount lenses with a meter coupling shoe ("rabbit ears", see above). Rabbit ear lenses required a special mounting procedure. After mounting, the lens aperture ring must be turned back and forth to the smallest aperture (largest f-stop number) and then to the largest aperture (smallest f-stop number) to ensure that the lens and the head couple properly (Nikon called it indexing the maximum aperture of the lens—users called it the Nikon Shuffle) and meter correctly. This system seems unwieldy to today's photographers, but it was second nature to Nikon and Nikkormat camera using photographers of the 1960s and 1970s.
The F2A Photomic came with the DP-11 head; the F2AS Photomic used the DP-12 head. The DP-11 and DP-12 (both introduced in 1977) functioned exactly the same as the DP-1 and DP-3, respectively, except that these heads supported Nikkor lenses with the Automatic Indexing (AI) feature (introduced 1977, see above). Nikkor AI lenses had a "meter coupling ridge" cam on the lens aperture ring that pushed on a spring-loaded "meter coupling lever" on the Photomic head to transfer aperture setting information. AI lenses enabled lenses to be mounted without having to align the lens with the camera body's "rabbit ears". The F2AS Photomic (DP-12 head) was the most advanced F2 version and the chrome version with Nikkor AI 50 mm f/1.4 lens had a US list price of $1,278 in 1978. (SLR selling prices were typically 30 to 40 percent below list.)
The F2S Photomic (DP-2 head) and F2SB Photomic (DP-3 head) also accepted the unusual Nikon DS-1 or DS-2 EE Aperture Control Units. The F2AS (DP-12) required the equivalent DS-12. These were early attempts by Nikon to provide shutter priority autoexposure by having an electric servomotor automatically turn the lens aperture ring in response to the set shutter speed and light meter reading. The DS-1, -2 and -12 were bulky, slow and unreliable, and were feeble and inelegant attempts to add autoexposure to the manual exposure F2.
There were also three special purpose meterless heads available for the F2: the Nikon DW-1 waist-level finder (a non-pentaprism head; look down directly at the mirror-reversed image on the focusing screen), the DA-1 action finder (providing 60 mm of eye relief; extremely large exit pupil that can be viewed while wearing face masks, safety goggles, etc.) and the DW-2 6X magnifying finder (waist-level finder with magnifier; good for precise focusing).
Focusing screens The F2 also had interchangeable viewfinder focusing screens. Nikon's standard Type K screen had central 3 mm split image rangefinder and 1 mm microprism collar focusing aids on a matte/Fresnel background plus a 12 mm etched circle indicating the area of the meter centerweighting. There were 18 other screens available with a variety of focusing aids or etched guidelines choices, including none at all. Note that the screens for the F2 were interchangeable with the ones for the Nikon F, but not with later F-series SLRs. The combination and wide selection of heads and screens allowed photographers to customize their F2s to their heart's content.