{"id":51548,"date":"2024-05-30T07:03:46","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T06:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=51548"},"modified":"2026-03-23T14:37:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:37:00","slug":"analogue-adventures-part-31-which-nikon-f-mount-film-camera-to-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/analogue-adventures-part-31-which-nikon-f-mount-film-camera-to-get\/","title":{"rendered":"Analogue Adventures \u2013 Part 31: Which Nikon F-mount film camera to get?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some of you may still remember the first part of this series<\/a>, where I described what analogue cameras I had a look at and why I ultimately ended up with a Leica M6. An F-mount analogue camera was also in strong consideration, but I did not go for it because I did not want to buy a set of F-mount lenses – and the F-mount being a dead mount anyway. But in the meantime some things have changed, so here I am again…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

F-mount Lenses in 2024<\/h2>\n

The Nikon F-mount was around for a very long time (1959 to 2018), as unlike Canon (FD-mount 1971 to 1990) and Minolta (SR from 1959 to 1984), Nikon kept their mount when making the transition from manual focus to auto focus. This means a wider variety of lenses is avaliable for the F-mount and many lenses released in the 2000s still work flawlessly on the older analogue cameras.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nikon AF-D 28mm 1.4 | Nikon AF-D 85mm 1.4 | Nikon AF-D 180mm 2.8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Nikon decided to only release an F-to-Z adapter that does not allow the screw-driven auto focus of the older F-mount lenses to work on their Z-mount mirrorless cameras, their prices on the used market dropped quite a bit lately. Now interestingly in early 2024 Monster released an adapter that allows this screwdrive AF to work on Sony cameras. These two aspects lead to me acquiring a few of those AF-D lenses (Nikon AF-D 28mm 1.4<\/a>, Nikon AF-D 85mm 1.4<\/a>, Nikon AF-D 180mm 2.8).<\/p>\n

\"voigtl\u00e4nder
Voigtl\u00e4nder 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | 55mm 1.2 SL IIs Nokton | 58mm 1.4 SL IIs Nokton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another interesting development was Cosina’s release of a new F-mount lens, the Voigtl\u00e4nder 55mm 1.2 SLII-S<\/a>, in early 2023. I certainly did not see that coming, but it shows, that the F-mount might not be as dead after all. Currently (2024) Cosina still offers a line up of five interesting modern manual focus lenses for the F-mount under the Voigtl\u00e4nder brand.<\/p>\n

Which camera to get?<\/h2>\n

Because the F-mount was in use for so long, also the amount of film cameras to choose from is staggering and I cannot possibly talk about all of them, so I will tell you which series I personally think are most interesting these days.<\/p>\n

F80, F100, F5 and F6<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Nikon F80 with Nikon AF-D 85mm 1.4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These AF cameras offer the highest compatibility to modern lenses, as they support G lenses without aperture ring and even the in lens VR works (the latest E lenses with electronically controlled diaphragm do not work though).
\nThe problem with the F80 and F100 is that these cameras use some disgusting rubber coating similar to the finish of the Sigma Zen series lenses. This gets sticky over time and there is not a lot that you can do about it.
\nThe F80 and F100 also come with focusing screens without a split prism, so out of the box they may not be the best choice if you want to mainly use manual focus lenses. The F80 also needs lenses with a CPU for metering to work.<\/p>\n

From this category I have a Nikon F80, as it is the cheapest and lightest film camera that can make use of the AF-S G VR lenses.<\/p>\n

Find an F80<\/strong> starting at $60 on ebay.com<\/a> (advertisement\/affiliate link) <\/em>
\nFind an F100<\/strong> starting at $180 on ebay.com<\/a> (advertisement\/affiliate link)
\nFind an F5<\/strong> starting at $280 on ebay.com<\/a> (advertisement\/affiliate link)
\nFind an F6<\/strong> starting at $900 on ebay.com<\/a> (advertisement\/affiliate link)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

FM and FE Series<\/h3>\n
\"nikon
Nikon 200mm 2.0 IF-ED on Nikon FE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you already know about the differences between the Leica cameras M6 and M7 we could say that the FM is Nikon’s M6 and the FE is Nikon’s M7.
\nThe FM and FM2 are purely mechanical cameras except for the exposure meter. The FE and FE2 feature an electronic shutter and an aperture priority mode.
\nThe FM3a is a really special camera, as it combines the best of both worlds: it has an electronic shutter and aperture priority mode, but if you ever run out of battery it is a fully usable mechanical camera like the FM2.
\nThese cameras work with all the manual focus Ai(-s) lenses, so they are fully compatible to manual focus lenses made since 1977 and earlier ones that have been modified to Ai.
\nThey also work with modern AF lenses in manual focus mode, as long as they feature an aperture ring (this means you can not use the latest G and E lenses).
\nThese cameras come with focusing screens that feature a split prism and micro prisms and are therefore a good choice for (fast) manual focus lenses.<\/p>\n

From this category I have an FM2n, as I was looking for a mechanical camera with good manual focusing aids.<\/p>\n

Find cameras from the FM<\/strong> series starting at $150 on ebay.com<\/a> (advertisement\/affiliate link)<\/em>
\nFind cameras from the FE<\/strong> series starting at $100 on ebay.com<\/a> (advertisement\/affiliate link)
\n<\/em>Find an FM3a<\/strong> starting at $700 on ebay.com<\/a> (advertisement\/affiliate link)<\/em><\/p>\n

Which Lenses (not) to get?<\/h2>\n

As said before not every F-mount lens is fully compatible to every analogue F-mount camera. I created this simple table for you to get a rough overview, but if you are looking for more in depth information there are also more detailed tables available, e.g. here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n*check compatibility list<\/a>
\n**metering only with lenses with CPU (Ai-P, AF)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"nikon
Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ai and Ai-s lenses are fine. Generally you also don’t need to care about the differences between Ai and Ai-s.<\/p>\n

I would stay away from pre-Ai lenses though, unless they have still been factory-converted to Ai by Nikon. The lenses with home-made conversions have no collector’s value at all and are therefore much harder to sell.<\/p>\n

How to tell Ai(-s) and Pre-Ai lenses apart? The aperture ring needs to have small parts sticking out, like you see above between the smaller f\/5.6 and f\/8.0 markings, if it does, it is an Ai(-s) lens.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"nikon
Nikon AF 105mm 2.0 D DC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nikon AF(-D) lenses with aperture ring are compatible to manual film cameras, AF film cameras and all the digital fullframe SLRs. They will not auto focus on Nikon Z cameras but they will on Sony E-mount cameras with the Monster LA-FE2 adapter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AF(-D) lenses feature electronic contacts and a physical aperture ring like you see above.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"nikon
Nikon AF-S 70-200mm 2.8G IF-ED VR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you are not interested in the (mechanical) manual focus cameras and decide to go for one of the aforementioned later AF SLRs also the AF-S G (VR) lenses are a good choice. A huge benefit is that these can also be used without limitations on the Z-mount cameras via the FTZ adapter and also on Sony E-mount cameras with the Monster LA-FE1\/2 adapters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

G lenses do not feature a physical aperture ring anymore, but there is still a small spring loaded lever (top right corner of the bayonet above) to mechanically control the aperture diaphragm.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"nikon
Nikon AF-S 28mm 1.4E<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Generally, if you want to use an analogue camera, you should stay away from the “E” lenses with electronic aperture diaphragm like the Nikon AF-S 28mm 1.4E or Nikon AF-S 105mm 1.4E and also the PC-E lenses, as you will not be able to change their aperture value.<\/p>\n

E lenses look very similar to G lenses, but there is no more small lever for mechanically controlling the aperture diaphragm.<\/em><\/p>\n

This should be ovbious but I will still mention it: you should also stay away from the DX crop-format lenses as their image circle is simply too small for 35mm film.<\/p>\n

Last Words<\/h2>\n

In 2024 you can get a lot of high quality Nikon lenses from the past at affordable prices. Some of them are very versatile, as you can use them on mechanical film cameras, electronic AF film cameras, digital SLRs and also the latest mirrorless models.<\/p>\n

\"voigtl\u00e4nder
Voigtl\u00e4nder 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar | Nikon 55mm 1.2 Ai | Nikon AF-D 105mm 2.0 DC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An FM2 is generally a more capable camera yet noticeably cheaper than a Leica M6, so if you want to delve into analogue photography with a mechanical camera today, I think an F-mount camera is a good choice – as long as you can find what you are looking for among the wide variety of F-mount lenses available.<\/p>\n

\"voigtl\u00e4nder
Voigtl\u00e4nder 55mm 1.2 SL IIs Nokton on Nikon FM2n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Further Reading<\/h2>\n