Nikon's first motorised-advance SLR — the F-301, electronic, program/aperture/manual, Nikon F, 1985.
The Nikon F-301, introduced in 1985, was Nikon's first SLR with a built-in motorised film advance, a manual-focus body that anticipated the autofocus F-501. It was sold as the N2000 in the United States. It sat in Nikon's mid-range of the mid-1980s and used the Nikon F bayonet mount, part of the long-lived Nikon lens system.
This is an electronically controlled 35mm SLR on the Nikon F mount, with a vertical-travel focal-plane shutter that is electronically timed, offering speeds broadly to 1/2000 second plus B. Metering is centre-weighted TTL; exposure modes include programmed automatic, aperture-priority automatic and manual. It has an integral motorised film advance rather than a manual lever. As an electronic body it depends on batteries to fire and to drive the film.
The F-301 suits beginners and enthusiasts who want automatic exposure and built-in motorised advance without stepping up to autofocus. It handles like a modern body of its time, with program and aperture-priority modes for convenience and manual control when wanted. The built-in winder makes it quicker for casual sequences than lever-wind bodies.
On the used market, being fully electronic with a motor drive, it needs good batteries, so test the winder, meter and exposure modes. Check the shutter, inspect the prism for haze, and look for perished light-seal and mirror-damper foam, common on this era. Try the film loading and rewind. It uses standard AAA-type cells rather than mercury batteries. AI, AI-S and later AF F-mount lenses fit and meter; program mode works best with AI-S optics.