Nikon F-501 / N2020 - 80s Icon Complete With Electrical Gremlins
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- In this video we're taking a look at the 1980s Nikon F-501 also known as the Nikon N2020 in some countries. The sibling Nikon F-301 (aka Nikon N2000) will also make a few appearances as the cameras were largely identical, the F-501 just having the addition of autofocus and an additional program mode.
There were a few issues with electrical gremlins on all 4 examples that I've got my hands on, although many of these could have been avoided if old batteries hadn't been left to rot in the battery compartments.
I'll do a separate video looking at the shots taken on the F-501 using a roll of Kodak Vision 3 500T (tungsten balanced movie film), but there are a few examples at the end of this video.
Start 00:00
The pains of buying used cameras 01:24
Spare F-501 and F-301 bodies 05:47
Overview and controls 06:39
Auto & Program modes 12:48
Batteries 14:09
Viewfinder 14:48
Loading & unloading film 17:35
Sample shots 19:02
Outro 19:52
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Outro Music
"As Yet Untitled"
by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page)
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Additional Music
"Where Was I Going"
by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page)
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www.grumpytim.com - Наука та технологія
Another great video. I am not a camera fanatic and dont under stand all the technical words but always like to watch these. A blast from the past is always nice.
Cheers Joseph, they're fun things to use and to work on (although sometimes they can be quite frustrating to work on too), the older ones can be relatively complicated to use but once we'd got to cameras like this one from the 80s, they seem almost simple to use compared to modern digital cameras with so many settings, options and menus to get lost in.
I have an F501, which thankfully works perfectly. On another note, I spat out my drink laughing at the “blubluwb rewind voice “ bit
Hi Conrad, I do have a particular soft spot for both models - I think they were my dream cameras at the time, and hopefully mine will keep working now, but at least I have a workable plan if it plays up again. If I didn't edit them out, my videos would be littered with similar speech processor failures - something about the act of recording renders me incapable of talking coherently.
I've several copies of the F301 and F501 I really like them but ive had the same issues as you've had, but I've never thought of just wiggling the focus selection switch to see if it frees up the same autofocus issues as you've described. So thanks for that tip.
Hi Gary, I really like the F-501 (and F-301) now mine is working properly, and it's nice to finally own the camera that I wanted in the 80s. It would be good if my simple switch wiggling method worked for your camera too. I will at some point disassemble one of my spare copies to learn a bit more about what's going on inside, and maybe identify where the electrical fail points are.
From those who know it is considered that early Nikon AF film cameras were a definite... no no
I have a Nikon F 301 film camera... which I like a lot... some even say it may be a Contax in disguise....some may not like the plastic top...(no brassing there)
And it runs on aaa batteries which are available every where I use lithium ones...
Of course you have to like the built in motor drive at around 3 frames per sec.... Anyway nuff said etc etc
I agree, bang for buck F301 is one of the best camera's I've ever owned and used, even though mine only lasted 38 years! My earliest Nikon AF camera was an F100, which for the first few months I only ever shot in MF......I found my MF technique was quicker than the F100 AF, though that probably had something to do with how I'd set up the AF in camera. It took me a while to understand AF modes. Anyway, at some point I got lazy and switched to AF, then I got annoyed that I'd done that, and that I was relying so much on automation, so I went and bought another MF camera, an FM3a, which I don't regret now, its my favourite camera, but at the time it was just a case of GAS. Some of my best pictures were taken with the F301.
I only really shoot my F-501 as manual focus anyway, but I wanted a fully working example just to experience the AF system for myself. I think the F-301 or F-501 are brilliant cameras, I'm using mine lots - it's very 1980s but extremely usable at the same time. I've also got a Canon T-50 in my collection, that camera is very clunky, both audibly and functionally. My brother has a few of the Canon T series from the 80s, they're all a bit quirky whereas Nikon got the F-301/F-501 just right. I've also got a Minolta 7000, that one is even more 1980s with all those push buttons - the user interface is a little fiddly but other than that it works just fine.
Shocking to hear that the camera's advertised as fully working are not fully working like they should. I have over a dozen vinage camera's but unfortunately none of them is a Nikon. I really want one, but they are not cheap compared to other vintage camera's here in the Netherlands.
Hi ohjajohh, my hope is, that the shop had done a fairly rudimentary test on the second camera and just figured that it was working ok, no idea how the first one slipped through though. I've bought other cameras that were sold as tested and working or serviced and working, where I think the sellers were just being dishonest, or at very leas, economical with the truth. You're right about Nikon prices, they're much higher than many other brands, and there are weird spikes where certain models that have become trendy on social media are much more expensive - just like the Canon AE1, those are often selling for silly money (or at least silly compared to other models, in reality it might not be that bad for a really cool retro film camera).
On the one hand a great camera on thee other hand it takes a lot of working out of how it works.
It doesn't worry me so much Ben, I tend to treat it the same as I treat modern digital cameras, I just find out how to do what I want with it and then ignore all the other features forever - in the case of the Nikon F-501 I'd be ignoring the program modes and just using manual or at a push, the aperture priority mode. On a modern digital I ignore about a million modes and settings and just use the stuff I want to use - it does take a bit longer to find what I want when there's a million menus to scroll through though. I remember quite a few years ago, I bought one of my cameras because it could do all these fancy things - I tried a few of them once when I first got the camera and then never touched them again - still using that same camera to shoot my videos.
@@GrumpyTim Fair enough!
I'm now thinking, did I misread/misunderstand your first comment Ben? Were you meaning it's difficult to work out how it works in a technical/repair way? In which case, yes, compared to the simple mechanical cameras of the past, this will be a right pain to work on.
@@GrumpyTim No, I meant working out hat all the options are. It is taken as read that it is a more technically complicated due to its electronics.... Though it should be simpler mechanically.
@BensWorkshop Ah, that's OK then - sometimes I overthink things Ben!!!
My F301, bought new in the 1980's, used as my main camera for about 10 years, then as a back up for another 7, was partially retired when I went digital and used sparingly thereafter. Then I was bored during covid and started shooting film again, using the F301 as a backup to an FM3a (also bought new back in the day)......well, the 301 began having a battery fault, the same as your 501, same battery compartment arrangement too, initially corrected by removing and reinserting the batteries. I cleaned the contacts often, then eventually it stopped working entirely in December 2023. Honestly you buy a Nikon for its reputation, build quality and robustness and it only lasts 38 years! Terrible after sales service too, 38 years later and they can't fix it! So now when shooting film I'm entirely dependant on a 24 year old Nikon FM3a and a 45 year old Nikon EM.....its just unacceptable! 😁 Oh yes, and the AF system never worked on my F301, even from new!!!!!! Seriously thought, first generation 1980's electronics were never the greatest, that Nikon's of that era are still working is testament to Nikon and rather miraculous for the electronics of the age.
Hi Phil, I guess that breaks one of my theories, that one of these cameras that's been stored well and used occasionally won't fail in the same way that my unloved examples have done. I'll stick with my other theory that it could well be a failing component - hopefully something like a discrete dried up capacitor that could easily be replaced. It would be bad news if it was the CPU itself. If I come up against the issue again I'll probably strip the whole thing down and get the oscilloscope out - it'll be a bit of a pain because I'll need to make extended leads so I could operate the camera with the circuit board removed.
One last thing, which you may well have already tried, but there's another set of spring loaded battery contacts that connect the base of the camera to the electronics inside - I presume they did it this way so the bottom could easily be removed without un-soldering any wires - it was those contacts that were preventing my F'-301 from working. It would be nice if it was something as simple as that preventing your camera from working any more - I might be clutching at straws, but I never like to have stuff fail on me.
Hang the F 301 ain't AF chum or didn't you notice....
@@philhodgkinson1460 WHAT? I wondered why it never worked! 😁 I also could never get the rear display on my F301 to preview the pictures I'd just taken. (Sorry Phil, my sense of humour sometimes gets the better of me!)