Nikon
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NIKON
F The Nikon F set the standard for professional slingle lens reflex cameras from its introduction in 1959. The Nikon F was the first Japanese SLR to have a lens lineup from 21mm to 1000mm. It was the first SLR with a 100 percent finder so the photographer sees exactly the area that will be recorded on the film. The F was the first Japanese SLR with interchangable focusing screens and was one of the first SLRs with mirror lockup. It also offered a full line of professional accessories, including a 250 exposure back. When introduced the Nikon F did not have an internal metering system. Later a finder was introduced that metered externally. The camera really hit stride when the TTL FTn finder was introduced that could provide accurate exposure readings while keeping the aperture wide open for focusing. The biggest negative for the Nikon F was the lack of a hinged back. To load the camera the back has to be removed completly a put aside because inserting the film is a two-handed job. It also has a proprietary shoe that mounted the flash over the rewind crank (hardly anyone used it), The shutter release is not threaded for a standard cable. The biggest selling point for the Nikon F, besides the quality of the Nikkor lenses, is its construction. It is nearly indestructible -- a major consideration for professionals -- especially photojournalists who often worked under terrible conditions, thousands of miles from the nearest repair shop. By the time production ended in 1974, 862,600 Nikon Fs had been produced. |
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NIKON
FTn FINDER The Nikon F changed photography. The F was introduced in 1959 and was the first camera with and instant return mirror and auto diaphram. The F borrowed a lot of engineering from the Nikon SP rangefinder camera. The first model had a detachable pentaprism finder with no meter. During the next decade several differnt versions of a metering finder were developed -- the last being the FTn finder introduced in 1968, The Nikon FTn was my primary camera for a decade. The FTn had an auto indexing finder. Thefinder has a 60-40 meter balance. Sixty percent of the meter reading was taken from a 12 percent circle in the center of the picture, the remaining 40 percent from the remainder. One of the most amazing things about the F is the bayonet lens mount. It has not changed in almost 60 years -- lenses built for the original F will mount on modern Nikon cameras including digital models. The old lenses can't take advantage of developments like auto focus and some metering modes but they will operate on all but a few newer Nikon cameras. The Nikon F didn't offer any earthshaking features but it did provide legendary reliability, outstanding optics and a full "photographic system," including lenses in a variety of focal lengths, several different finders and motor drives. |
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Nikon F2 Several finders were used on the F2. The last model was the F2AS which had a diode readout and could meter with either non AI or AI lenses.
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NIKKORMAT
FT3 The FT3 was designed for pros and advanced amateurs who usually shot with the F2 but wanted a solid but less expensive backup body. It has the classic NikonIf you find an FT3 today it probably still works. The camera is built like a tank. It is one of the last Nikon models built by hand rather than by machine. It has the classic center-weighted 60-40 metering system, a split image focusing screen and the tried and true copal shutter that syncs with electronic flash at 1/125 sec. It was also the last Nikkormat with the shutter speed dial and lever on the lens mount. It also has a hot shoe flash mount on top of the pentaprism. Note: The eyepiece for the FT3 almost always seems to be missing on cameras offered for sale and they can be hard to find and fairly expensive to replace. One gets the feeling sellers are removing them and selling them seperately. The FT3 is a large camera when compared to the Nikon FM which was introduced at about the same time to compete against the Olympus OM1. That's why the FT3 was only around two years. Comsumers decided smaller was better. The FM flew off the shelves and the FT3 didn't. I have owned most of the Nikon film camera line over the years -- from the F to the F4 and the F100. But I have to say I have a special place in my heart for the Nikkormat FT3. Maybe it is because it was one of the last totally mechanical Nikons. Maybe it's because it is hand built. Maybe it's because some of my favorite images were shot with it. Or maybe it's becaise it just feels "right." in my hand. In any case, it's a real classic. |
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NIKON
FM The Nikon FM was Nikon's first small, lightweight SLR. Introduced in the late 1970s. It was the company's answer to the Olympus OM1. The FM is equipped with LED metering and a auto winder (MD-12) is available. The shutter is totally mechanical so it has all functions except the meter even without batteries. The compact 50mm f1.8 lens nearly equals the 50mm f2 Nikkor in sharpness. Both the F3 and FM can use the older Nikon lenses with the indexing fork but readings must be taken in stopped down mode.
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NIKON
F3 NIKON
F3 HP The F3 is a heavy camera -- well built. But it is battery dependent -- if the batteries fail you have two speeds, 1/80 sec. and bulb. Many shooters almost always use the MD-4 motor drive on the F3. The drive makes the unit much taller and heavier but gives the operator an excellent grip. Alson, when the MD-4 is installed the camera uses power from the motor drive's 8 AA batteries instead of the camera's small silver cells. This is especially helpful in cold weather. If there is a drawback to the F3 it is that the flash syncs at 1/80 sec. -- very slow by today's standards. It has TTL flash metering but the hotshoe flash must be mounted on the Nikon "foot" -- over the rewind knob. Not very handy. It does have a PC connection for a standard flash but no TTL in that mode |
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NIKON
F4 NIKON
F4s |
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This is the F4 with the MB-20 grip. Four AA batteries are in the grip, eliminating the battery pack underneath the camera as on the F4s with the MB-21 battery pack (six batteries). This makes the camera smaller and 7 ounces lighter--a nice configuration for casual shooting and vacations. Batteries have to be changed more often and the motor drive operates slower so there is a tradeoff. You also lose the vertical shutter release button of the MB-21. Still, for many tasks this is a very practical and convenient configuration--more along the size of the later F100 model. | |
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NIKON FA The FA offers manual, aperture priority, shutter priority and program meter modes. The program mode will only work with AIS lenses, the other modes can use AI lenses. The FA has TTL metering with the appropriate flash and the shutter syncs with electronic flash up to 1/250 second. The titanium Copal shutter has a top speed of 1/4000 second. It will function without batteries at 1/250 second. The FA also had its own motor drive, the MD-15. In many respects the FA was ahead of its time. It was advertised as a "professional" camera but many pros were skeptical of a totally electronic camera. With a retail price of more than $600 (1983 dollars) there weren't too many amateurs interested. Today, FAs in really good condition are relatively rare and fetch high proces than many contempory cameras. The FA is a delight to shoot. The shutter is quite quiet and the cameras handles more like a manual focus DSLR than a 1983 film cameras --very smooth. |
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NIKON
D300 The D300 has a 3-inch LCD display on the back--with three times the resolution of any other Digital SLR on the market and a 12.3 megapixel sensor that is less suseptible to noise at higher ISO than the previous Nikon cameras. The D300 also allows me to use my old manual focus lenses. My D300 is shown with a 20mm F2.8 Nikkor that has about the same coverage as a 28mm lens on a 35mm film camera. It can shoot at speed up to 6 frames per second--although it's unlikely I'll use that feature much I have to admit the Digital SLRs have advanced to the point where I use one for most my shooting. I would have to invest in a more expensive film scanner in order the equal the quality of the D300 with my Nikon film cameras.
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