best channel I discovered recently, great content, excellently explained and so far I learned something new in every video, subscribed!

I had one of these back in the day and was quite fond of it. Made me smile when I heard the camera winding on, it always sounded like the batteries were about to die even when fresh! There was a baseplate that enabled the use of AA batteries.

I have the F-301 and F-501, and about 30 other Nikon bodies in my collection. A number of accessories were available for these cameras. The AH-3 will attach to the base of either camera, with AAA or AA battery holder and will provide a central tripod mount. This device van also be used with certain motor drives for older cameras, such as the MD-11/12/14 and 15. A similar device, the AH-1, can only be used with the motor drives but not with the F-301 or F-501, but is smaller and lighter. There is a shutter release button which attaches to the remote control terminal and which can take a standard cable release. I think from memory this is the MR-3 but my one is on a camera which is on loan to somebody at the moment, so I cannot check that. The AS-15 flash coupler attaches to the hot shoe and provides a standard pc flash terminal for off-camera flash or studio flash set-ups. The TC-16a is a 1.6x auto-focusable teleconverter which can be used with many ai and ais manual focus lenses, so that when mounted between the body and a 50mm focus lens it converts it to a 80 mm autofocus. There was a data back available for the F-301/501. These cameras had quite a lot of features for entry level models. There is a little known fact about the F-501. The first autofocus camera sold by Nikon was the F3-af. I believe that only a few thousand were produced. This camera used lenses which contained the focus motor. Only two lenses were produced for this system, the 80 mm F2.8 and 200 mm F3.5. These lenses were large and heavy, as was the TC-16 (without rage ‘a’) teleconverter. For their next autofocus models, the F-501 and the F4 Nikon moved the focus motor into the camera body, with a mechanical coupling to the lens. These new lenses were much smaller and lighter, but surprisingly the F-501 is the same size and almost the same weight as the F301, despite having to contain the focus motor, and various control components for it. The F-501 and F4 also still supported the earlier autofocus system. In the lenses made for the F3af, the only other dodges to do so. This earlier af system is not compatible with the later Nikon af-I, af-s and af-p lenses, all of which moved the focus motor back to the lens.

Really enjoy the channel!

Thank you for sharing your mistakes but you were able to recover from it, so that's great too. I have a series of posts on my blog called "Stupid Photographer's Tricks" but none of them have happy endings like yours. Thanks for re-inspiring my interest in film photography. Great video as usual.

Nice video! Headed back to Atlanta for work next month. Looking forward to doing some more photowalks in Chattanooga again also! I'll be using my new to me F-301 and my trusty FM.

Excellent video and I'm glad the camera was all right - I felt your pain. I don't have anything chronologically between the FM2N and the F80 so this was fascinating - thanks!

Useful information! Thank you very much for all your great work 📸

I bet that almost every video blogger would wipe the shutter curtains issue on the video final version. Please accept my respect for your decision. That's real photography life, every each of us had sad days like that one, and when it happens, the happiness of the fix moment is superb. It was not really my problem, but I felt an enormous relief the moment you showed the N2020 back to operating order. My youngest son is my photographing companion, and we try to match his and my camera whenever we go for a shooting walk and, although I have a Minolta 7000, I always pick the Minolta 9000 when my son picks his Nikon F-501 because, somehow they look more on the same league. Finally, I found time to look to your site. It's very, very juicy for a camera addicted and, wow, that ads section 👍👌I wonder if I can contribute with some scans from lots of owner's instructions and Modern and Popular Photography magazines that I have, if ever I get a borrowed scanner. Cheers

Nice well done piece. I’m glad you mentioned the N2000. I worked in a photo electronic store during the mid ‘80’s and thought it was interesting that Nikon marketed the N2000 side by side with the N2020 since they were not sure if their base would accept AF cameras. Nevertheless it was very smart to maintain the F mount lens which can still be used even into the DSLR era.

Very complete overview of the Nikon N2020. I have the same one but currently I have an issue with the rewind button. It looks to me as if it’s stuck. Did anyone have the same issue?

Ha, I put my old Vivitar 24 on a Nikon D300 yesterday to play with. Camera handles non CPU primes well in aperture mode with lens parameters dialed in. Glad you were able to fix the shutter. Back in '89 I managed to rip the lens mount off a Nikkormat by dropping it -- in a spectacular fashion -- with a heavy 70-210. No fix there. I no longer shoot film (can't afford it) but really enjoy your channel. Always something to learn.

All your compositions are right on the money 💴!

The N2000 has a lot to answer for in my books... It was my first "real" camera back in the 80s, and while I don't subscribe to the 'gateway drug' theory, I do think of it as my gateway Nikon. My bank account has taken repeated hits over the years thanks to that thing as it was replaced by an F3, which was then joined by an F90, then an FM2, FE, F4., some digital SLRs, etc and so on. I would have saved a fortune over the years if it weren't for that camera dragging me into the Nikon rabbit hole. I always did kind of wonder how the N2020 compared... now I'm off to do some shopping to find out first hand. Thanks a lot! 🤣😁 Very glad your shutter blade popped back in to place. 👍

Great video. I have both (in Europe they are named F-301 and F-501) but I must admit I prefer the N2000 because the AF is slow and is a hit and miss.

I am impressed that you can leave your gadget bag while you are shooting and not have it victim of a grab and run!. I had a customer bring in their Minolta 7000 that had gone for a swim on their canoe trip. I dried the camera off and found that aside from water on the shutter blades, it seemed to work! I started using a hair dryer on the shutter and found those blades were plastic! Yup, melted shutter!!! The things you learn the hard way!😯

It’s hard to resist not watching your videos this few days… 😂

The F501 was my first Nikon ... the D90 was the next one. I loved both of those cameras.

I have a perfectly operational F501 . I quite enjoy using it and have got plenty of nice photos with it. It’s very slow and old fashioned compared to more modern cameras but I find it very predictable and the “old fashioned “ layout is preferable

Thanks for great review. This camera is all about how it feels. Nikon F80 or F100 look and feel like digital camera and I treat them that way and I don't like it.

Interesting to see how Nikon tippy toed into AF while Minolta did a big ol cannon ball into the deep end. It’s also surprising these cameras are almost give away cheap. Sure, there are quieter locomotives but the camera is coming up on 40 years old. Not that I would ever spend the $$ but I wonder if they would be a lot quieter with a full service? I like that while these are just camera tests to you, you treat us with some very good photographs.

I accidentally poked the shutter on my N2020 once. Fortunately I could coax the shutter blades back into place. The shutter blades are plastic and apparently can take a lot of punishment. Chattanooga really is the Scenic City.

The N2000 or F-301 was a premature release of F-501 by Nikon for the sale reasons (started making profit on which it had during the time before the intended F-501 rolled out.

Oh, you did fix it. I know you’re a good camera repairman 👨‍🔧 too! haha

I think that Nikon was indeed aiming for their professional customers and wanted this camera to be a try out for future professional models like the F4 and F5 I think most camera companies were not fully convinced by that time that professional photographers were seriously interested in autofocus systems especially when that meant that they had to buy a complete new set of lenses. B.t.w. ; I'm glad that you could repair the camera.

Do you know whether it's a Copal shutter or made by Nikon in-house?

I’m so sorry to hear about the cause of ending the video. I hope this’s repairable. How did that happen anyway I’m just curious. That’s almost impossible. I don’t know if there are still any Nikon Authorized Service Centers around where can accept film cameras these days now. 😢

Nikon afraid of disappointing or losing the long time loyal F-mount users, it compromised. But Canon and Minolta on the other hand took off ‘freely’ with their innovative brand new designs in the autofocus technology both in consumer and professional levels. Theoretically or technically, the last two had the upper hand. That just IMHO

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