Nikon F2AS. This one was made in 1979. This is a great time to be a film photographer. All the cameras I dreamed of as a teenager are now easily affordable.





Now if the weather would just warm up a bit...

Congrats!

I dreamed of the Swiss Alpa 6c.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.mikee...-alpa-reflex-6c/amp/

Neat camera! But I’m out of film photography now, even though I still have a great 35mm Durst enlarger that mechanically keeps the image focused as you adjust magnification.

Now thats what I call a camera!!!!

Beautiful....

I could only afford an Olympus OM-10 back then...still have it, still works (I think...)

Wish Id gone even entry level Nikon for the glass.

Have a D7000 now and have purchased several older all metal/glass Nikon AF lenses from Japan on ebay

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
Nikon F2AS. This one was made in 1979. This is a great time to be a film photographer. All the cameras I dreamed of as a teenager are now easily affordable.





Now if the weather would just warm up a bit...

Where do you plan to buy film, have it developed and, pictures printed?

I have a Canon T90 and considering using it however; $15 - $20 for an 8×10 (San Diego rates) seems a little high and I've been considering building up a darkroom yet, the film, chemicals and paper child be hard to come by.

I am so jealous! I have always wanted one of those. I have 2-FM2’s. 1 Cannon AE1. Thanks 6Guns and would like to pick up a Minolta XG7, it was my first 35mm. I would love to have a F2

If you don’t mind me asking, how did you acquire it and what did you pay for it?

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Where do you plan to buy film, have it developed and, pictures printed?

I have a Canon T90 and considering using it however; $15 - $20 for an 8×10 (San Diego rates) seems a little high and I've been considering building up a darkroom yet, the film, chemicals and paper child be hard to come by.

Film is still available, even on Amazon. It's a little more expensive now than in the past, but, surprisingly, there's been a resurgence in film shooters over the last several years. Kind of like vinyl albums.

As far as processing, I'll do it myself. I've been processing B&W film for about 40 years now.

quote:

Originally posted by Valpo Fz:
If you don’t mind me asking, how did you acquire it and what did you pay for it?

I found this on ebay from a seller in Japan. All the F2's I saw for sale the in the US were pretty beaten up, while all the ones in Japan, for some reason, looked pretty nice. I paid $355 for the camera, about $30 for shipping, and local taxes. This seller shipped really fast - I had the camera in my hands less than a week after buying it. The lens I found in the local classifieds for $75.

This is the 'AS' model, so it typically commands a slight premium over the other F2 models. You could get a nice F2 Photomic for right around $200 - $250

Nice outfit and in great shape for its age. I like my DSLR but not its "feel". It feels plastic, which it is. It just does not have the substantial heft that my all metal film cameras had.

I worked as a pro photographer for over 25 years doing mostly advertising,packaging, and corp. reports.Primarily used large format (8x10 view cameras). I did have and still have my 35mm Nikon F2 and Nikormat camera body's and an assortment of Nikor lenses.

Back in the day the F2 was coveted by the pro's.NOBODY wanted the F3 when it came out.The F3 was electronic and only a F or F2 being mechanical was considered durable enough to work in cold weather or a tough environment.
The light meters on the Nikons were never used only hand held meters were trusted.

Very nice. My last 2 film cameras (still have them somewhere) were a Nikon FE and N70--on my last several trips before going digital I carried both of them--the FE with ASA 800 film and a 28mm f/1.8 lens carried high on my chest and the N70 carried low (stomach) with ASA 400 film and wearing a 28-200mm zoom. I used the FE for indoor shots and the N70 for most everything else. It worked for me.

Prior to those, my camera was a Nikkormat FT with the Tamron 28-200 zoom.

flashguy

Nice camera. School photographer back in the mid '70s. Shot with schools beatup Nikormat.

Dad cosigned on my credit card app so that I could buy on credit a Fujica ST701. Fortunate to setup a darkroom in basement doing B&W on Durst F30. Simple tech but I was fairly competent and loved shooting, developing and printing B&W.

Glad you were able to find one in such good shape.

Did you know Nikon is owned in part by Mitsubishi?

BTW that's a nice camera. But I'm not sure where the nearest photo hut is? Cant find them on Google Maps.

What a great find. I hope you have fun using your film camera. For the most part, today's generation will miss the experience of dealing with film and the excitement of seeing the processed film images. I would not want to give up today's digital photography equipment and processing software. And, there is more amazing stuff in the development pipeline. Maybe my memory is romanticizing too much, but I think much of the "magic" of dealing with film is gone. A smart phone can easily capture some great images.

I too have an old Nikon F2 (non-photomic head) camera and a Nikkormat which I inherited from a dear uncle along with a case full of Nikon lenses while I was in college. At the time, all I could afford was Kodak Tri-X B&W film. Using a handheld meter and shooting B&W helped build my photography skills.

The F2 was a precision piece of equipment yet built like a tank for daily professional use and probably still works well today. You've motivated me to dust it off and give it a try.
I hope I can find that box of Kodachrome that I know I still have somewhere.

I still have my old Olympus OM-1's, one silver and one black; and a number of excellent Zuiko lenses. Not shooting them now, but good to know I could--or one of my kids or grandkids could as a way of learning photography.

My son now has my Nikon F2 and all I had with it. He used it in 1999 while in college.

I loved that camera. Just was perfect to me.

Was a big Canon user then switched to Nikons in the 90's. Congrats on your score.

The Nikon F2 was a real work horse and miles ahead of anything Leica had to offer. You got a great deal, IMO.

I'm partial to German cameras. Leica, Contax rangefinders, along with Japanese copies of German cameras. Leica M3, R8 and an old Leotax get a workout at times.

We have a film process developer in Tucson, thank goodness, that does E6.

I miss Kodachrome ASA 25.

I earned a living with that camera. I photographed Ronald Reagan,George H.Bush and Coretta King with it. Mine is a bit more worn.

Nikon am me go back a long ways, have a model S and S2 rangefinders and array of lenses dating back into the 1950's. It all started with a 25 dollar Nikkormat FS, a somewhat rare version that was meterless. Mine was an ex press photographer's beater and what I hauled to Ohio State my freshman year. While the bodywork is rather worn, dented, and dinged this camera still works perfectly if you ignore the light scratches on the mirror.

As for your model, I have 3 of the predesessor to your AS12. What I have is the F2 SB that uses the same electronics as your camera but uses the older style metering prong (hog nose).

BTW, back in the early 80's I took the time to purchase the "conversion kits" that were simply new AIS aperture rings to install on the earlier lenses. As a result I have a 50mm f2 Nikkor H that was made in 1965 and is still functional on my D750. One thing that Nikon is seldom praised for is their policy of building new cameras compatible with older lenses. Just something to keep in mind, today you can find manual focus Nikkors on ebay for pennies on the dollars prices.