arhphotographic

Yes I know I really should have done this review of the Nikon N2020 last year but better late than never.

The Nikon N2020 or F501 hails from the mid 1980’s and, even from the standpoint of today, is a feature rich camera:

• Auto focus with single or continuous options
• Auto film wind-on but only manual film rewind
• Shooting modes include:
  • Aperture priority
  • Three program modes – program, program dual and program hi
  • Manual mode but you only see the shutter speed in the viewfinder.
• Exposure compensation
• Auto exposure lock
• Auto focus lock

At a time when Nikon were playing catch-up in the autofocus stampede of the 1980’s, they still managed to include in this model some nice little touches that make this camera a keeper. The camera is predominately plastic but not the kind that creeks when you use it. The inclusion of a padded material around the front and back of the camera gives it the feeling of quality, something sadly lacking in a lot of the cameras of the day.

Another nice feature is the film rewind window, pictured above. The blue lines move while the film is being manually rewound and stop when the film has come off the spool. This is really useful for someone who doesn’t want the film to return fully into the canister as I reuse them 🙂

In the two photos above I was using a 50mm lens and close up lens which meant I was about 6 inches away from the subject. Having the auto film wind-on proved invaluable on those occasions.

I love the fact that the N2020 allows me to use all my lenses with the exception of some G lenses. However I got to use my 500mm reflex mirror for the above three images. My ‘Cube” and keyboard were on one side of the room and I was on the other side, this lenses closest focusing distance is 14 feet!

I couldn’t help but include our friendly Robin, who should be hearing the patter of tiny feet shortly.

I am really impressed with the N2020 and look forward to using others I have in the same series. Admittedly the auto focus is slow by today’s standards, with zoom lenses hunting until finally coming to rest when focus is achieved. This is not a problem for me when I typically use manual focusing, which is a real joy with the type B clear matte screen fitted to this camera. Having said that, with my 35mm f2.8 AF lens it acquired focus lock as quickly as captain Kirk’s Enterprise.

I would have no hesitation in recommending this camera to anyone who wants a simple point and shoot, or to one who wants something with a little more creative control 🙂