Tips on Buying a Nikon F Camera

What to look for when Buying a Nikon F Single Lens Reflex 35mm camera.

Email me with any questions.

[charlesaeneas]

I don't think I'll be selling mine any time soon. I've had it since 1970 and it's become a part of me :-)

[ChrisEbbrsen]

Dear Mark Rowland! Im not the producer of this vidio but as a Nikon F owner three times over, you couldnt want a better 35 mm camera for beginning photography! I made the mistake of letting my dads F go after I lost my home. Then I lucked out and found a similar F in an antique store. Then I let it go. What a mistake! So the other day I lucked out a third time and found one! Praise God. Nikon F! Best camera in the world! And manual to boot! If you can, I would hunt for a standard prism and not the meter type prisms as mine is not funtioning at the moment. So if you want totally manual go for the penta prism model and a weston meter. The weston is also battery free. Hollywood still uses the weston and can repare it if it pops off the gimble. Definatly nikon f best camera to start with photography. If you cant find an f nikon go for asahi pentax. Happy photogrsphing. Keep electrical tape handy for light leaks!😅

[JoeLopez]

Great walkthrough. I was able to pick up a clean late build with a 50 1.4 for $50 last year. Just needed a little cleanup!

[markgoostree]

Today is 10/14/2024. I expect to receive my Nikon F by weeks end. I wanted to add the "F" to go with the FM, F2, and F100. Now, I need to spend more time looking through the viewfinders! Always a good thing to find one of your videos when I am looking at another camera. Thank you...good stuff!

[lumenlarry]

Thanks Jules for another great video on Nikon, this time on the iconic F and its finders. I love vintage Nikon so please keep up the good work! Got my start with a new Nikkormat FTN in the mid '70s while taking a photography class in high school. I saved my lawn mowing $ at 2.00 per hour to get it and it was worth every penny. My friend bought a used F which had more status being a pro body, but my baby Nikon was a good starter camera, easier to load with a hinged back and the shutter speed lever was handy being near the aperture ring. If you can make more videos on pre and Ai, Ais lenses you own or recommend it would be great, thanks!!

[BillWittman]

Thinking that the later production camera may have been ‘retired’ earlier for a new improved model. I began my Nikon adventures with the F3 - which has been dinged a bit but still operates perfectly. Thanks for this worthwhile video.

[evrati_music]

I just found my grandmas 68 Nikon F with the photomic prism and it is in pretty good condition. I look forward to shooting my first roll of film!

[catey]

Also, at 8.47. if you look at the legs on the 'M' in made in japan on the camera back you'll see they are slanted. this denotes an earlier model. the legs one the 'M' on later model F's are straight up and down. I might have to disagree with you on the early 'Nippon Kogaku Tokyo' versions. from what I've read they were phased out in the early 60's. and looking at the site to date my F, which just has 'Nikon' on the top plate dates from 1965. I'm not trying to disprove anything you've said, just sharing things I've learnt along the way.

[ChrisEbbrsen]

Thank you Sir! Very Thorough and well cadences. Most appreciated! I'm on my third F! I look forward to any more info. You can produce on the F. But I think you've covered the most important things extremely well. Well done and I look forward to watching this again multiple times. Most greatful!😅

[blackbelt]

Great video. I’d like a video on vintage iconic non Ai glass and what is the optical difference between them and the newer Ai or AiS versions. Specifically 50 f1.4, 105 F2.5 and 135 F2.8. Keep up the great work. I’ve been shooting the Nikkormat and F2 for 50 years and wouldn’t trade them for anything. Most of your videos really resonate with me. Thanks

[jeffirish]

Old Nikons and Leicas are similar, in that they were expensive camera's in the day. As such, they were used by professionals and well heeled amateurs. You're right, condition is everything! Better to get a camera that was owned and pampered by a dentist in Toledo than a camera that was used by a photo journalist who was using it in the back country in Vietnam and ran several thousand rolls through it. That said, both deserve a CLA, and even an old warhorse can be brought back to life. These are fun cameras with an amazing history. Nikon not only revolutionized 35mm photography with their cameras and lenses, but the F's introduction also signaled the comeback of Japan as an economic powerhouse after their destruction during WW2.

[terrywbreedlove]

I love your F with the eye level finder. I would also like the F2 with the same finder. I have a very nice F2 with the photomic finder and it looks in great condition except the shutter is stuck.

[davyboyo]

I've heard there is some compatibility with using f2 prisms on the f or perhaps f prisms on the f2. I have an f with the eye level but I'd sure love to use one of the SPD f2 prisms on it!

[garygruber]

My father brought me a Nikon F (and 4 lenses) straight from Tokyo in 1969 as I began my 3rd year as a photojournalism student at Syracuse University. I have used Nikon's almost exclusively for nearly 60 years now. Marty Forscher of Professional Camera Repair in NYC called them a 'brick' because of all the abuse they sustained from photojournalists all over the world.

[Cata]

I have a question, can I use my lens AF-S NIKKOR 50mm 1:1.4G
on this camera? Very good video greetings

[josephde-haan]

Hi Just to say you are missing a zero from the serial number of the 1st Nikon F.

[mightya]

Hi Jules. Are you in the Philadelphia area? You’ve got the accent!

[MarkRowland-xuiu]

Hello Jules - would you consider an F as a camera for a beginner? I dabbled briefly many years ago with a Nikon EM, but would like to get into photography with a fully manual camera, having no interest in digital. I’d be looking in the main to use the camera for landscape work.
Many thanks
Mark

[eddiegee]

Imo, don't buy it bargain. Bargain also can mean heavily used, which parts are on its last leg. Talking from experience. Buy it in super mint condition, after all, it's 70 years old.

[namnamnam]

oh your nikon F seri is 7042771, and 7048446 is my nikon F seri
thank you sir for your video