Nikon F2 Photomic S

Manufactured from 1973 to 1977, the F2 S Photomic used the DP-2 head. Although it looked very different, the DP-2 was functional very similar to the DP-1. It substituted an all solid-state light-both-LEDs exposure control system using two arrow shaped light-emitting diode (LED) over/underexposure indicators for better visibility in low light situations and better overall reliability. This was important, because the DP-2's CdS meter had better low light sensitivity than the DP-1 – down to Exposure Value (EV) −2, instead of EV 1, at ASA 100. A chrome Nikon F2 S Photomic with Nikkor 50 mm f/1.4 lens had a US list price of $961 in 1976. Note: SLRs were usually discounted 30 to 40 percent from list.

These three early Photomic heads required Nikon F-mount lenses with a meter coupling shoe ("rabbit ears", see above). Rabbit ear lenses required a special mounting procedure. After mounting, the lens aperture ring must be turned back and forth to the smallest aperture (largest f-stop number) and then to the largest aperture (smallest f-stop number) to ensure that the lens and the head couple properly (Nippon Kogaku called it indexing the maximum aperture of the lens – users called it the Nikon Shuffle!) and meter correctly. This system seems unwieldy to today's photographers, but it was second nature to Nikon and Nikkormat camera using photographers of the 1960s and 1970s.

The F2 S Photomic (DP-2 head) and F2 SB Photomic (DP-3 head) also accepted the unusual Nikon DS-1 or DS-2 EE Aperture Control Units. These were early attempts by Nippon Kogaku to provide shutter priority autoexposure by having an electric servomotor automatically turn the lens aperture ring in response to the set shutter speed and light meter reading. The DS-1 and DS-12 were bulky, slow and unreliable, and were feeble and inelegant attempts to add autoexposure to the manual exposure F2.