Nikon F2 with ISO hot shoe.

[angelodal]

This morning, I started wondering why Nikon didn't make prisms for the F and F2 with ISO hot shoes ( I mean, they were able to make it for the F3P, why not for the rest?) after running into this.

de-1.jpg

I thought it was just an accessory shoe until when I opened it and found out it was actually wired.

de-1b.jpg

I know it ain't authentic but it actually is more practical than looking for a dedicated flash. What do you guys think? Anyone else have seen this modification?

Cheers,
Angel

[Brian Sweeney]

The camera body would also have to be modified. I guess you could rewire the flash contacts of the camera to the electrodes used for battery power to the Photomic head, if you were to use only with non-metered prisms.

[angelodal]

I think that's how it was done here, the wire leads to a post connecting to a contact on the body. I have yet to try this one, tho.

[angelodal]

It came with a beat up F2 body, does that mean that body has modifications for this set up to work? The body's really beat up and the lever doesn't go past 60 deg, so I can't get the shutter to fire.

[sevo]

Unless it merely is a cold shoe with ready light (the ready light contact is on the prism itself and could be internally wired to the shoe), there must have been some body modification - the most obvious modification would be to run a connecting wire from the power terminal for the metering prisms to some place where the flash contact is accessible (hot shoe base, hot plug or shutter flash contact).

[BillBingham2]

I always worried about this sort of design (hot shoe on top of a removeable prism) leading to miss allignment of the head or worse. People tend to put such heavy flashes on them.

While it's the wrong forum has anyone ever ripped a head off an F1 with a flash?

B2

[angelodal]

Sevo

I doubt that it still has the ready light function because there seems to be no led where the ready light is.. Hmm. While inspecting the body, I found it had batteries loaded, I'm not sure if they're needed for the hot shoe or someone just forgot to remove them.

B2

Other than the body it came with, I have no other F2 to test it with (just sold my F2A two days ago) so I really don't know how effective it is. Maybe it's a sign that I should get another... Or maybe that's just GAS. Haha

I've seen F1's (I assume you're talking about Canon F1's) with dented prisms
as if it landed on top right where the hot shoe is.

Angel

[sevo]

There would be no LED, the F2 used a miniature neon flash ready lamp above the eyepiece, just like contemporary flashes (the neon lamp itself acting as the voltage threshold detecting device).

[angelodal]

That I didn't know. HAHA I got the body to fire (after forcing the lever) and it actually works as a hot shoe with a flash set to manual.

[rbsinto]

Great idea and very Sover Wongish!
I always considered the hotshoe on the rewind crank base on the F, F2 and F3 to be one of Nikons greatest design mistakes, and so I toyed with the idea of adding either a coldshoe or a shoe with a short cord and hotshoe connector to my DP-12 so my F2 would have become essentially an F2P.
However, the possible strain on the finder's attachment points to the body is what stopped me from making the modification.
Instead I just use a flash bracket on those rare occasions when I need flash, which works just as well.

[rbsinto]

Originally Posted by photomoof

The hot-shoe mounting on the F~F2 is mounted directly to the body casting.

The design was unavoidable since they were using the SP design, and apparently wanted to maintain the same kind of stability, and had plans to mount a meter on top of the prism, and later a head. The mount they came up with will support a very heavy flash. Mounting a flash on the thin metal around a prism always seemed rather an afterthought to me.

Yes it does, but being off-center, it also makes the camera a little unstable and difficult to hold, not to mention the need to remove the flash every time one needs to reload.
I bought a bracket when I was asked to do a wedding and didn't want to go through that song and dance every 36 frames.

[rbsinto]

Originally Posted by photomoof

For heavy use a bracket is far superior - however on a Nikon F a bracket is actually just as much trouble, since it must be removed to change film.

I find the shoe very easy to slide off -- a side bracket would be best, but the Nikon SP/F body casting just would not allow it. I still think the system of mounting the tripod socket and the flash directly to the body casting is the strongest in the industry, at least up to that point in history. Some companies still do not mount the tripod socket to the body casting!!

I've got quick-release plates on most of my bodies except for the F when it is motorized, because I never use it in that form on a tripod.
I noticed the problem of removing the plate in order to take off the back to load/unload the F when it is mated to a plain back, and got around it by simply epoxying the plate to the bottom of the back.
Another reason the Collectors hate me.

[rbsinto]

Originally Posted by photomoof

"We" were not aware of you.

But you are in luck, only the first 10k of Nikon Fs are really collected (with a few specific exceptions). Mangle the rest of them to your heart's content.

Appreciate that. I'll mention your name next time I mangle an F.
But I'll check the serial number first, of course.

[angelodal]

Got around shooting with the camera and a Nik-O 35/2. It's refreshing, finally being able to shoot with flash around at night (I don't have an AS-1). The finder seems strong enough to handle placing and replacing of flash units, it's still keeping its shape.

Just wondering, anyone knows what prism (the glass/mirror part) would fit inside a DE-1? There is now a line in the middle of the prism and is quite distracting.

Thanks

Angel