Alfonso,
the Nikon F is a great camera, but something of a dinosaur:
- the Photomic viewfinder is the only electrical part and the light
sensitive element is likely to be gone by now, actually a working
viewfinder is sometimes more expensive than the body itself; try it with
some fresh batteries and compare it with another camera
- of course autofocus, TTL, etc. _is_not_available_
- you have to modify modern lenses to go with the photomic viewfinder (it
needs 'rabbit ears') and some lenses don't fit under the photomic head;
anyway the action of the F shutter is very aggressive and personally I
wouldn't like to try it in combination with the flimsy mechanic of modern
lenses
- the cheaper old lenses are often not good (flare, aberrations, ... worst
probably the infamous 43-86 zoom) compared with todays standards and some
good lenses are still expensive; some of the old lenses show kind of 'cold'
colors, so you should use a filter with those lenses
- older lenses even if they don't have dust or fungus tend to have sticking
apertures (even Nikon/Nikkor) from grease reaching the blades of the
aperture; so make sure your lens does not stick: take the lens of, view
through the lens and move the lever for the automatic aperture several
times and release rapidly; check the blades - if they show shiny spots from
grease the aperture will stick at some point
- the rubber which stops the mirror in its upper position tends to decay,
which creates two problems: 1) rubber particles get into the body 2) during
exposure, light can reach the film through the screen or viewfinder,
especially if you are not using the viewfinder; so make sure the rubber is
still reasonably good
- clumsy film exchange
- clumsy with flash
- very heavy
- ...
+ it is extremely reliable and even after 30 years most F's still work
+ works with non AI lenses, which are relatively cheap (but not necessarily
good: no multicoating,...)
+ you can take of the Photomic viewfinder (set aperture to 5.6 and push
button in back) and look directly at the screen
+ DOF button
+ mirror lockup
+ ...
I don't know the quality of that 45 mm lens.
I bought a Nikon F with working Photomic and a 'sticky' lens for $130 on a
fleamarket. However, usually they are more expensive. Some have collector
value. The particular camera you are talking about was build in the mid
sixties (with exception of the first F's, the first two digits of the
serial number indicate the year), so it is more than 30 years old.
Check out the very good web page
www.mir.com.my/rb/photograpy/
for more details
If you generally like old cameras the Nikon F is certainly a good choice,
but if you just want a cheap body for your lenses, don't buy the F. Buy
something more recent. The newer bodies (AI, ~1980) allow you at least to
use the meter without modifying your lenses.
Hope that helps,
Markus
>I just saw a Nikon F Photomic FTn at a store.
>The camera looks clean, has a price tag of $210 USD,
>and comes with a Nikkor 45 mm f/2.8 GN.
>
>Will it work with my AF and AF-D lenses?
>
>Do you think its a fair price?
>
>What details should I look for when buying a camera like this?
>
>It's serial number is 6427168. Any idea about production year?
>
>Thanks!
>
>Alfonso Betancourt
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Markus Berheide Phone: (203) 431-5318
Schlumberger-Doll Research Fax: (203) 438-3819
Old Quarry Road
Ridgefield, CT 06877-4108 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
