View cart for details. However, for combined use with any telephoto lens with a focal length of 135 mm or more, the optional reflex box had to be added rather than using a rangefinder integrated in the body. Stay up on all things … Since then, the original NIKONOS has been known as NIKONOS (version I). The Nikon F was Nikon's first SLR, and the world first universally adopted 35mm SLR. For newspaper photos, the subjects are varied but it is sufficient to take one decisive shot. In addition, a manual stop-down (preview) button to identify the depth of field at the shooting aperture used, and a mirror-up mechanisms to lock the reflex mirror up were also provided. The NIKKOREX F provided the full coupling to the dedicated exposure meter (the improved version of Nikon Meter II-type) similarly as Nikon F for both aperture and shutter speed. Then, in July 1965, we introduced the SLR cameras, Nikomat FT and Nikomat FS, to substitute as the sister versions of Nikon F for NIKKOREX F (1962). The introduction of the Nikon F was a very good shot by Nikon… Nikon F Camera and Nikon Lens - Vintage Working Professional 1960s F Photomic with Nippon Kogaku Nikkor-S 50MM 1:1.4 Lens and Free Shipping EastCoastOptics. In view of the fact that the Japanese climbing party had been using the Nikon cameras over the past 10 years, it was reportedly decided to carry the Nikon F as the only SLR camera to withstand hard use in the severe environment. The US Everest expedition party succeeded in reaching the summit in May, and Nikon F delivered a fully satisfactory performance in the recording of valuable measurements and investigations. The amount of care taken in its design and build made it clear – the Nikon F was the only camera to own for professional 35mm work. We counted on NIKKOREX F, NIKKOREX 35 series, Nikon AUTO35 and other mid-end and popular models of SLRs which we had introduced in the second half of 1960 to generate new demand but they did not sell as well as expected, although there was still a demand for high-end models. Nikomat FT specifications are presented below. The exterior of Nikon F was designed by Yusaku Kamekura, a graphic designer. We considered the camera as an "all-weather camera" for its highly water-resistant, pressure-tight, corrosion-resistant properties and other durable mechanisms not attained by any other cameras, and decided to sell it under the brand name of NIKONOS. Around 1965, discount products from supermarkets and other sources appeared on the end market, and underselling of Japanese cameras occurred also on the international market around 1963 and it was urged to take proper countermeasure. For generations, Nikon cameras have been trusted by photographers and picture takers of every caliber for their enduring performance and outstanding image quality, empowering … with Speedlight at a high speed (1/60 sec. The exposure meter was the fixed point-alignment type based on external exposure measurement, and the meter indicator was visually identifiable either through the visual field of the viewfinder or externally. To get the best results from your camera, a thorough familiarity with its operation is essential. Thereafter, the second and third expansion of facilities and equipment followed, and the company became a lens volume-production plant involving processing thru assembly and adjustment. On the other hand, however, sales competition became more intense. Something went wrong. Especially when combined with standard or wide-angle lenses, they offered the most advantageous features. We aimed at quick-response, easy-to-use cameras comparable to rangefinder cameras with the emphasis placed on automated operation while the SLR cameras were mostly bulky and heavy due to the integrated pentaprism, mirror box and other component parts. Nikon F Posted 6-15-'05. Nikon F6 is a 35mm film single-lens reflex camera which was out in 2004. In addition, the aperture-stop graduations were evenly spaced, and the Nikkor Auto series of lenses were provided with our original mechanism to allow coupling to the exposure meter Nikon Meter through the claw on top of the aperture ring. The recession in 1965 touched bottom in the autumn of 1965 and the economy started taking off again, leading to the five-year "Izanagi" boom. The building was also used as the accommodations for the board of the Olympic Organizing Committee; therefore, utilization by the news cameramen from both home and abroad was sufficiently high and we achieved a brilliant success. Concurrently with Nikon F, we released the full-automatic aperture control mechanism-integrated NIKKOR-S Auto 3.5cm f/2.8, NIKKOR-S Auto 5cm f/2, NIKKOR-P Auto 10.5cm f/2.5, NIKKOR-Q Auto 13.5cm f/3.5 and other lenses dedicated for the F and three models of lenses used for both S and F. Then in December 1959, Auto NIKKOR Telephoto-Zoom 8.5 - 25cm f/4 - 4.5, the world's first telephoto zoom lens for still cameras, was commercialized and the first one was delivered to a newspaper company. During the Tokyo Olympics, we set up a special service depot in the Nihon Seinenkan building at Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku adjacent to the National Athletic Stadium to help the news cameramen to work actively, and provided camera inspection and repair and other services by the end of October. Afterwards in 1962, Nikon Video Remote Control (TV remote-controlled recording unit) was manufactured by combining the Nikon F, the 250-exposures motor drive, and Auto NIKKOR Telephoto-Zoom 8.5 - 25cm f/4 - 4.5 with the intent to simultaneously provide the supervisory and measurement by TV and the recording and photography by camera, which gave an impression of multifunction Nikon F system. Fast speed standard lens NIKKOR-S AUTO 5.8cm f/1.4, Retrofocus (inverted telephoto) type wide-angle lens NIKKOR-H 2.8cm f/3.5, Lightweight type telephoto lens NIKKOR-T 10.5cm f/4, Micro-NIKKOR Auto 5.5cm f/3.5 for precision copying, Fast speed standard lens NIKKOR-S Auto 5cm f/1.4, PC-NIKKOR 35mm f/3.5 allowing swing & tilt photography, Ring light-integrated, medical-use Medical-NIKKOR Auto 200mm f/5.6, Standard zoom lens Zoom-NIKKOR Auto 43 - 86mm f/3.5. (Asahi Camera, 1959 September issue). This model was available with the wide-angle and telephoto (front) conversion lenses and a full lineup of multi-use adaptors for a wide variety of photographic purposes, and the design was novel enough in that the triangle of pentaprism on the SLR camera was not projected above the body battleship. There seems to be a problem serving the request at this time, One stop shop for all things from your favorite brand, {"modules":["unloadOptimization","bandwidthDetection"],"unloadOptimization":{"browsers":{"Firefox":true,"Chrome":true}},"bandwidthDetection":{"url":"https://ir.ebaystatic.com/cr/v/c1/thirtysevens.jpg","maxViews":4,"imgSize":37,"expiry":300000,"timeout":250}}. Nikon had been based on the corporate strategy of "ensuring superiority in the high-end camera market" and thus, we had no lower-price popular model at that time around 1955 to answer the demand and then failed to increase the sales of camera. Shop for nikon f camera online at Target. In fact the Nikon F is a rangefinder camera where the rangefinder, the lens mount and film chamber has been replaced by a detachable viewfinder, F-lens mount and a mirror house. Concurrently with introduction of Nikon F, the shutter foil for Nikon SP was also changed from a fabric foil of habutae silk to titanium material.To prevent blurring due to the activation of the mirror, one of the drawbacks of SLR cameras, we repeated the studies using the specifically developed shake recording device and succeeded in suppressing blurring to the lowest possible level, close to that achieved by the rangefinder cameras. Then, in the development of SLR cameras, we planned to adopt the same body mechanism as in the SP/S3 as a rule (without any change made to the layout and geometry of the shutter button, film wind-up lever and other components), except for the viewfinder and other parts essential for SLR cameras, with the intent to implement parallel production with SP and the basic model S3. We intended to offer system cameras which could accommodate various photographic purposes by producing a camera body with the highest possible performance to fully provide the features of SLR cameras, and by making available a wide variety of interchangeable lenses and accessories. The lens mount should be designed with a large inner diameter to ensure compatibility with all available interchangeable lenses and allow a vignetting-free combination with long-focus lenses and fast speed lenses in the future, in association with the increases in shooting range (vignetting refers to a reduction in image brightness in the image periphery compared to the image center, or the cutting off of image edges). The F100 a 35mm SLR body geared to the professional and is situated beyond the N90 and behind the F5 as the #2 top camera in the Nikon line With its strong but lightweight Magnesium Alloy body, the F100 … At that time, the name of SLR cameras often included the letter R referring to Reflex (reflection), though the letter R sounds different phonetically in areas other than the English-speaking sphere; then, F was selected from Re-Flex for naming the Nikon F since the letter F is pronounced almost the same. In practice, however, since the reflex mirror must be located between the lens and film in the SLR cameras and then, we projected to develop a new lens system of retrofocus (inverted telephoto design) type providing a longer back focus (a distance between the rearmost portion of the lens element and the focal point) for the lenses of shorter focal length and succeeded in materializing the lens configuration excellent in every factor of lens aberration, resolving power, flare, brightness of the edge of the image field, and spectral transmittance. In fact, twenty to thirty percent of the news photos carried in the Asahi Shimbun Collection of (Best) News Photos and Yomiuri Collection of News Photos published in around 1955 were taken by the 35 mm cameras. In the United States, we announced the release of Nikon F in late March of 1959 in the exhibition "Philadelphia Show", an annual convention and trade show of the Photo Marketing Association held in Philadelphia, where we showed the product, and started to export to the United States in May. In addition, the viewfinder was detachable to ensure interchangeability with different types. In addition, despite the metal focal-plane shutter, the shutter sound was low enough, and the Speedlight was synchronized at 1/125 sec. The report on Nikon Rumors also states that between now and the end of 2021, there will be eight new Z mount lenses. This may be due to the fact that the motor drives were available, a full lineup of high-performance interchangeable lenses was available, and the cameras were robust enough to withstand any hard use. Like many camera manufacturers, Nikon was busy producing 35mm rangefinder film cameras in the decades leading up to the launch of the Nikon F. According to Nikon, the first 35mm SLR camera was the Kine-Exakta, built by Ihagee Kamerawerk, Steenbergen & Co., in Germany, in 1936. The popularity of the Nikon F and Nikomat series helped promote sales of interchangeable lenses. In areas other than the United States, we started sample shipping to the overseas business contacts in July. In the building, were set up a press center, a data summarization center and other central facilities for the press regarding the Olympics. The Nikon F offers the quality performance, handling convenience and versatility you need for truly professional shooting. It takes light coming in at one end … Realizing that this product involved original ideas, had sufficiently high performance, and its export potential was promising with higher marketability, we formed a technical tie-up with LA SPIROTECHNIQUE in January 1962, and acquired the exclusive production rights and also the exclusive sales rights except in France and EEC (the European Economic Community of that time). During that period, the ratio of sales of interchangeable lens (standard lens not included) to camera body increased from 0.75 in FY 1966 - 1967 to 1.2 in FY 1971 - 1972, and even the additional increases in production were unable to catch up with the demand. The decisive factors for the selection, however, were Nikon's corporate philosophy to pursuit higher performance and enhance reliability and Nikon's service system to support the news cameramen. Then, in the Rome Olympics in 1960 (Italy), the leading news-photography role was transferred to the 35 mm camera, and the news cameramen from all parts of the world hung the Nikon SP (1957) or S3 (1958) around their neck, and the F (1959) and Nikkor telephoto lenses were used in the stands, leading to an expanded arena for Nikon cameras. The successful development of the TTL metering system was inspired by the fact that coupling to shutter and lens aperture would be achieved easily, based on the limitations in structure of the newly designed Copal Square S unit adopted as the shutter involving the forced installation of the shutter dial on the lens mount. In 1962, Japan surpassed West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany), the leading camera supplier, in both production and sales, and became the number one camera producer in the world. Therefore, every company in every country focused all its efforts and used new and powerful equipment. For example, the lens barrels were constructed with highly corrosion-resistant free-cutting light alloy to offer the reduced weight feature, and the focal point adjustments were all linear helicoid design to ensure ease of use. The key feature of the Nikomat FT was the built-in conversion-type TTL metering mechanism, our first system for measuring the average light over the entire region, to allow exposure measurement by either system, that is, TTL metering at full aperture or stop-down metering. Schematic View of Concept of Condenser-type TTL Metering Optical System, Special Issue of World of Wide Carrying the Photos Taken with NIKONOS, News photographers taking commemorative pictures of cabinet formation with Speed Graphic. It was also configured with the quick-return mirror to provide Nikon's first lens shutter SLR. The Olympic Games are watched by all the world with keen interest, thus offering a theater of activity for the news cameramen to compete with each other. Following the widespread adoption of 35 mm cameras by the newspaper companies and publishing houses, Nikon cameras were often selected as official equipment. However, the boom started to decline in the autumn of 1969, and the depression started to hang over the country near the end of the Japan International Exposition EXPO '70 held at Senri, Osaka from March thru September 1970. The accessories considered typically required for the system were made available at the initial stage. We at Nikon also recognized the future potential of SLR cameras in view of the fact that the telephoto lenses with a focal length of 135 mm or more would need a reflex box, and decided in fact around 1955 to launch a program for the development of SLR cameras in conjunction with the development of SP and S3, as the successors to Nikon S2 (1954), and their improved versions. The shutter and the back&bottom combination remained almost unchanged. Free shipping on orders of $35+ and save 5% every day with your Target RedCard. From shop EastCoastOptics. The Nikon F is arguably the most significant SLR in 35mm history. Classically designed and built like a tank. This camera is the first professional-grade unit in … Nikon F equipped with Nikon Meter ("I-type"). Light enters the camera lens and then reflects on the SLR camera’s reflection, or reflex, mirror and to a viewfinder—often through a prism at the to… During that period, the camera division consistently took the initiative in bolstering profitability, and the domestic sales and exports both kept increasing owing to the robust sales of Nikon F series and also Nikomat series and Nikkor lens. Under the circumstances, we introduced NIKKOREX F in June 1962 as the sister version of Nikon F at a consumer price (net price in cash) of 49,300 yen for the models with 50mm f/1.4 and 39,800 yen for the models with 50mm f/2 with the intent to drive up the demand for SLR cameras. In February of 1957, the order was issued for prototyping 3 sets, signaling the start of the development of Nikon F. Especially in cases when the photographic location could not be changed, Auto NIKKOR Telephoto-Zoom 8.5 - 25cm f/4 - 4.5 demonstrated its outstanding performance. Despite the depression, the camera division showed successful growth in sales involving the high-end SLR cameras, and the glass division also made a good showing in the cutthroat competition in the industry, and the camera and glass divisions dealing with durable consumer goods made up for the dullness in the equipment and machinery divisions. The table below presents the products put on sale 1960 through 1963. The front waterproof glass of the 35mm f/2.5 lens was flat, while the underwater-specific 28mm f/3.5 lens had a biconvex lens and this front waterproof lens and water combination formed a single lens to help correct any distortion and/or chromatic aberration in the water. For these reasons, the Speed Graphic became the "passport of newspaper photographers.". Slide {current_page} of {total_pages} - You May Also Like. This video manual will show you how to use it. More cost-effective compared to the conventional housing-based design. The light … The viewfinder was designed to work with the automatic instant-return mechanism of the mirror and lens aperture (full-automatic aperture control mechanism), and set normally open except for the moment when the shutter operates, for easier viewing. Integrating a newly designed mirror box, pentaprism, and bayonet lens mount with existing components from Nikon’s popular SP rangefinder camera, Nikon’s engineers were able to design a pro-quality 35mm camera … The shutter endurance test in particular consisted of 100,000 cycles of repetitive action in a short period of time with the aid of a motor drive including the coupling to the quick-return mechanism of mirror. In the first half of the next year 1964, the statistics on sales volume of 35 mm cameras by model showed that this model achieved the mean monthly sales volume of 1,300, next to Nikon F. In August 1966, a special issue of World of Wide was published, carrying the photographs taken by photographers active at the forefront using the NIKONOS regularly, and distributed to Nikkor Club members, camera shops and other parties and individuals involved in publicizing the camera's characteristics. Moreover, Nikon F, which contained many moving parts and complicated mechanisms, was repeatedly subjected to various tests including endurance, heat run, low temperature durability and vibration similarly to the tests for the S series, to ensure that it could withstand hard use under any conditions and provide a highly reliable camera. In fact, in the first Japan Camera Show held in March 1960 at Takashimaya Department Store in Nihonbashi with a total attendance of 130,000 people in a 6-day period, the Nikon booth displaying the Nikon F system became popular among the visitors. Add a Nikon F4 Camera to Your Photography Equipment. . It is one of the most important cameras … This was the world's first adoption of TTL metering into the viewfinder-interchangeable SLR camera, and the metering could be attained either by setting the lens aperture open or actually stopping down the aperture. Around 1960, most of the newspaper companies and news agencies in foreign countries also adopted the 35 mm cameras represented by Nikon SP (with wide-angle lens) and Nikon F (with telephoto lens). The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1958, and features a three-lug bayonet mount with a 44 mm throat and a flange to focal plane distance of 46.5 mm. In actuality, however, in the lower-priced model market, the coupled range finder lens shutter cameras were prevailing, there were many similar products from competitors and we were exposed to hard fight. Due to the successive development of new lenses, the varieties of interchangeable lenses for F increased from year to year, and sales were also steadily increasing since the release of Nikomat with a surprising rise in sales volume to 340,000 units in FY 1970 from 60,000 in FY 1965. The (front) conversion lens 35mm F4, 90mm F4 was made available optionally to accommodate the wide-angle and telephoto photography. Thereafter, every year, we held a Nikon Fair in the main cities of Japan to both show all camera models and to exhibit photographs. On the other hand, the 35 mm SLR cameras were used only as a test in most cases before the Nikon F went on sale in 1959. Then in April 1962, we released the NIKKOREX 35II (35/2) (with Nikkor 50mm f/2.5 (fixed)) by considerably modifying the internal design of NIKKOREX 35 to increase the durability and also by reducing the price to 19,800 yen. In the domestic market, in response to the reduction of the commodity tax in 1962 to 20% from 30%, the price of cameras also dropped, thereby attracting consumers, which contributed to the earnings of camera makers, leading to consistent increases in revenues and profits for individual makers. The Nikon FA is the most advanced manual-focus camera ever designed by Nikon. Introduced in March 1959, the F immediately became Nikon's best seller and established Nikon as the Professional's 1st choice. The F6 film SLR is also the last camera of the Nikon F series line of cameras. It is the same as the 1956 Nikon SP rangefinder camera with a prism grafted on top. format SLR Speed Graphic manufactured by Graflex Inc. in the United States. On the international scene, we presented the Award for Photograph Promoting International Understanding to the winners of the Award for International Understanding through Photography (founded in 1957) which is given by the Photographic Society of America to brilliant photographic artists who worked hard to further international understanding through photographs. Accordingly, the use of 35 mm cameras became widespread among photographers who were active in the field of graphic journalism by offering photos for publications and news reports. View from the stands in the National Athletic Stadium. In addition, in the 8th Photokina in March 1963, the U.S. economic journal Business Week carried an article in the special issue stating "Finally Nikon has taken the initiative in the domain of high-end 35 mm SLR cameras.". NIKONOS then evolved into NIKONOS-II (version) through the improvement of the film wind-up mechanism (to a crank from a knob) and film pressure plate (to a pressure plate with hinged design) for easier film changes, which went on sale in 1968. Nikon F Photomic 35mm SLR Film Camera w/ 50mm F/1.4 Nikkor-S - Lens Hood, Case The camera industry formed a counter-recession cartel in June 1965 to improve the gap between supply capacity and actual demand, and to take measures to combat the recession such as increasing the exports, promoting the shift to high-end models, developing new models and improving the distribution network for promotion of demand. Long ago in a galaxy far away... A lens is a pretty simple thing. At the time of release, the domestic consumer price (list price) of Nikon F was 67,000 yen (with 5-cm f/2). In the trial model, based on the body of the Nikon SP, the mirror box was inserted in the central part. It was also novel that the model was released under the Nikon brand. The finder screen was designed also to ensure interchangeability with other types for different photographic purposes. We also actively conducted a sales campaign by holding a display with the exhibits on sale at the main branch of the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Nihonbashi to coincide with the first introduction on the domestic market in June. Nikon F instruction manual. In February 1963, the lens shutter SLR NIKKOREX Zoom35 (39,500 yen) went on sale based on the combination of NIKKOREX 35II and a newly designed zoom lens 43 - 86mm f/3.5. Nikon's SLR cameras were designed based on the philosophy and specifications described below. However, once the Nikon F became highly regarded for its performance and system, the SLR cameras with telephoto lens became commonly used and around 1965, eighty to ninety percent of news photos were shot with the 35 mm cameras including the coupled range finder model and SLR model. The FA is the only camera on earth that can give Program auto exposure along with Matrix metering with all AI and AI-s … In addition, big names from various fields both at home and abroad visited us or appeared in newspapers and/or magazines as regular user of Nikon products, which had a strong advertising impact. nikon f cameras Target / Electronics / nikon f cameras (270) ‎ Electronics Toys Target Adorama Camera Wasserstein $15 – $25 $25 – $50 $50 – $100 $100 – $150 $150 – $200 $200 – $300 $300 – $500 … From the Melbourne Olympics (Australia) in 1956, Nikon S2 (1954) came to take an active part in photographing the competitions as a substitute camera for Speed Graphic. Also in Japan, since before the Second World War, some photographers had been using the Leica or Contax (released in 1932), though the large press cameras were chiefly used for newspaper and news photographs. It used one-third of 100-feet (approx. Nikon F, introduced on the market in response to the expectations of users, was much talked about and received good reviews from camera magazines, such as: "Nikon F has resolved the mechanical … Nikon also favored that view because S2, Nikon SP and other popular models were so great. In addition in September 1964, we released the new model Nikon AUTO35 (with NIKKOR 48 mm f/2 (fixed) at 29,000 yen), featuring our first camera equipped with automatic exposure control (EE = Electric Eye), as a substitution for NIKKOREX 35II. This camera was popular especially among young camera users, and sales volume exceeded 100,000 by March 1967 as the demand for Nippon Kogaku SLR cameras expanded and gained new strength. The values in parentheses refer to 1964 data. Product and company names in this article are trademarks, registered trademarks, or products of their respective owners. The 35 mm (135) format rangefinder focal-plane shutter cameras, typified by our Nikon SP (1957) and S3 (1958), featured sophisticated design and greater portability, and nearly reached perfection in terms of mechanism. Subsequently, we heard from all parts of the world about the excellent reception enjoyed by Nikon F. In April 1963, the Everest expedition party composed of 20 American geographers purchased 20 Nikon F systems, photomicrography apparatus and other equipment. at ASA (the present ISO) 100, Vertical running metal focal plane (B, 1 to 1/1,000 sec). This meant this model?fs image followed in the footsteps of Nikon F. The consumer price was 54,500 yen for the models with 50mm f/1.4. Among the optical systems configured with the Nikkor lenses which had been established in the commercialization of the coupled range finder camera Nikon S series, some telephoto lenses could be applied directly to Nikon F without any modification. Around 1955, the leisure-oriented times started. The lenses listed above offered the superior optical performances and also provided a variety of mechanical features. The next page contains information on this camera. The Nikon SP and S3 with wide-angle lenses also worked fully as sub-cameras. For the entirety of its production run, the Nikon F would … The accelerated adoption of 35 mm cameras could be explained by the features offered: a full lineup of interchangeable lenses, and Speedlight (electronic flash) and other such accessories were available to refine the images taken with 35 mm cameras; peripheral conditions were improved including the enhanced performance of 35 mm film and the automated and accelerated developing process around 1955; and there rose a growing demand for an increased volume of photographs due to the increased number of newspaper pages and the expansion of general news pages, in addition to the growing emphasis on the graphic pages in newspaper and publications around 1965. Particularly since the introduction of Nikon S2 in 1954, as a substitute camera for Speed Graphic, the 35 mm cameras were more widely used. As a result, the economy recovered rapidly and then the counter-recession cartel was canceled in March 1966. During its lifespan, new items were continuously added, comprising bulk film magazine, electrical motor drive, viewfinders, focusing screens, close-up and scientific attachments, flash units, remote controls, and even a Polaroid back, the Speed Magny, as well as a wide variety of exposure meters, both separately available or as par… This mount was Nikon's original breakthrough since it has been in use for over 40 years to date in the 21st century, without need for any change.