Nikon F
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The Nikon F
camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...
, introduced in April 1959, was
Nikon (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, camera ...
's first SLR camera. It was one of the most advanced
cameras A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...
of its day. Although many of the concepts had already been introduced elsewhere, it was revolutionary in that it was the first to combine them all in one camera. It was produced until October 1973 and was replaced by the
Nikon F2 The Nikon F2 is a professional-level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K. (Nikon Corporation since 1988) in Japan from September 1971 to 1980. ...
. Aspects of its design remain in all of Nikon's subsequent SLR cameras, through the current
Nikon F6 The Nikon F6 is a 35 mm film single-lens reflex camera body manufactured by Nikon between 2004 and 2020. It is the sixth top-of-the-line professional film camera in Nikon's line. The Nikon F6 is designed by Nikon and was manufactured at their S ...
film and
Nikon D6 The Nikon D6 is a full frame professional DSLR camera announced by Nikon Corporation on February 11, 2020, to succeed the D5 as its flagship DSLR. It has a resolution of 20.8MP, like the D5. The D6 has a newer Expeed 6 processor that supports ...
digital models (which still share its
Nikon F-mount The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35mm format single-lens reflex cameras. The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1959, and features a three-lug bayonet mount with a 44mm thro ...
for lenses). The "F" in Nikon F was selected from the term "re-f-lex", since the pronunciation of the first letter "R" is not available in many Asian languages. That tradition was carried all the way through their top line of Nikon cameras until the introduction of the Nikon D1 (digital) cameras decades later. Specially modified Nikon F cameras were used in space in the early 1970s aboard the
Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations in ...
space station.


History

The Nikon F was the first 35 mm SLR system to be widely adopted by professional photographers, especially photojournalists covering the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, as well as for use by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
astronauts. It was originally priced at US$186 with 50mm f/2 lens; in November 1963 the US price was $233 for the body with a standard prism plus $90 for a 50mm f/2 lens or $155 for a 50mm f/1.4. A combination of design elements made the Nikon F successful. It had interchangeable prisms and focusing screens; the camera had a
depth-of-field The depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus in an image captured with a camera. Factors affecting depth of field For cameras that can only focus on one object dist ...
preview button; the mirror had lock-up capability; it had a large bayonet mount and a large lens release button; a single-stroke ratcheted film advance lever; a
titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
-foil focal plane shutter; various types of flash synchronization; a rapid rewind lever; a fully removable back. It was well-made, durable, and adhered closely to the successful design scheme of the Nikon rangefinder cameras. The camera was the first to use the F-mount bayonet
lens mount A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder camera, singl ...
system, which is still used as of 2022. Lead designer of the Nikon F was Yusaku Kamekura, the man behind the 1964 Summer Olympics logo. The Nikon F evolved from a rangefinder camera, the
Nikon SP The Nikon SP is a professional level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, rangefinder camera introduced in 1957. It is the culmination of Nikon's rangefinder development which started in 1948 with the Nikon I, and was "arguably the most advanced ...
. The prototype model, in particular, was an SP with a mirror box, pentaprism and larger lens mount grafted on. The F was a modular
system camera A system camera or camera body is a camera with interchangeable components that constitutes the core of a system. Early representatives include Leica I Schraubgewinde (1930), Exakta (1936) and the Nikon F (1959). System cameras are often sin ...
, with various assemblies such as viewfinders, focusing screens, and motor drives for 36-exposure and 250-exposure film cassettes. Third parties manufactured other film backs, such as two Speed Magny film backs—one using Polaroid 100 (later 600) type pack films, and another designed for 4x5 film accessories including Polaroid's own 4x5 instant film back. Each of these assemblies could be fitted and removed, allowing the camera to adapt to almost any task. The F36 motor drive, one of the first popular motor drives for SLR cameras, was capable of firing up to 4 frames per second with the mirror locked up or 3 frames per second with full reflex viewing maintained. The Nikon F had a wide range of lenses, covering 21 mm to 1000 mm focal length by 1962. Nikon was among the first companies to manufacture Catadioptric system lens designs, combining mirrors and lenses to make more-compact lenses with longer focal lengths. The Nikon F revolutionized the photographic market, stealing the thunder of German manufacturers Leica and Zeiss. The F had a reputation for being extremely resilient to damage or mechanical failure, becoming known as "the hockey puck." In some markets, the camera was marketed as a "Nikkor F" due to trademark conflicts. In Germany, "Nikon" was seen as too similar to the Zeiss Ikon camera line. Nikkor F cameras have become collector's items. The first Nikon F Photomic viewfinder, delivered since 1962, had an independent photocell. Then Nikon introduced the Photomic T (superseded by the Photomic Tn), which featured through-the-lens (TTL) metering. The final metering prism for the Nikon F, the Photomic FTn,The Nikon FTN finder
introduced in 1968, provided 60% center-weighted TTL, which became the standard metering pattern for Nikon cameras for decades afterwards. Additional viewfinders included a waist-level viewer, a 6 power magnifying finder, and an "action finder" with a larger viewable area through which one could see the entire frame while wearing goggles and/or a helmet. The Nikon F was succeeded in 1972 by the
Nikon F2 The Nikon F2 is a professional-level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K. (Nikon Corporation since 1988) in Japan from September 1971 to 1980. ...
series after a production total of 862,600 bodies. Subsequent "single-digit" F cameras continued as the top of Nikon's professional line of film SLRs, through the
Nikon F6 The Nikon F6 is a 35 mm film single-lens reflex camera body manufactured by Nikon between 2004 and 2020. It is the sixth top-of-the-line professional film camera in Nikon's line. The Nikon F6 is designed by Nikon and was manufactured at their S ...
introduced in 2004. Since the introduction of the digital
Nikon D1 The Nikon D1 is a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) made by Nikon Corporation introduced on June 15, 1999. It featured a 2.7-megapixel image sensor, 4.5-frames-per-second continuous shooting, and accepted the full range of Nikon F-mount l ...
in 1999, Nikon has continued to reserve single-digit model numbers for top-of-the-line cameras.


Gallery

Image:Nikon F IMG 1947.jpg, High capacity back for 30 feet (10 metres) of bulk film with the F250 motor drive Image:Nikon F IMG 1948.jpg, F250 motor drive, as mounted (rear view) Image:Nikon-ftn-400.jpg, Nikon FTN with interchangeable photomic TTL metering prism File:Nikon F viewfinder DSC 6506.jpg, A Nikon F body with detached pentaprism viewfinder, showing the focusing screen File:35mmPC500.jpg, The first 35mm
perspective control lens Perspective may refer to: Vision and mathematics * Perspectivity, the formation of an image in a picture plane of a scene viewed from a fixed point, and its modeling in geometry ** Perspective (graphical), representing the effects of visual persp ...
was introduced in 1961 for the Nikon F File:F2-titan-10.jpg, the Nikon F bayonet mount


See also

*
135 film 135 film, more popularly referred to as 35 mm film or 35 mm, is a format of photographic film used for still photography. It is a film with a film gauge of loaded into a standardized type of magazine – also referred to as a casse ...
*
Nikon SP The Nikon SP is a professional level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, rangefinder camera introduced in 1957. It is the culmination of Nikon's rangefinder development which started in 1948 with the Nikon I, and was "arguably the most advanced ...
*
History of the single-lens reflex camera The history of the single-lens reflex camera (SLR) begins with the use of a reflex mirror in a camera obscura described in 1676, but it took a long time for the design to succeed for photographic cameras. The first patent was granted in 1861, and ...
*
Pentaprism A pentaprism is a five-sided reflecting prism used to deviate a beam of light by a constant 90°, even if the entry beam is not at 90° to the prism. The beam reflects inside the prism ''twice'', allowing the transmission of an image through a r ...
*
System camera A system camera or camera body is a camera with interchangeable components that constitutes the core of a system. Early representatives include Leica I Schraubgewinde (1930), Exakta (1936) and the Nikon F (1959). System cameras are often sin ...


References


Further reading

* Comon, P. (1996): ''Magic Lantern Guides Classic Series: Nikon Classic Cameras Vol. 1 for F, Nikkormat Series, Fe, Fe2nd Fa (Nikon Classic Cameras)'', Magic Lantern Guides () * Koch, U.: ''Nikon F'', Coeln, Peter (England) () * Koch, U. (2003): ''Nikon F. The Camera'', Lindemanns () * Koch, U. (2003): ''Nikon F. The Lenses'', Lindemanns () * Koch, U. (2004): ''Nikon F. The Accessories'', Lindemanns ()


External links


The Legend: Nikon F
by luis triguez








Comprehensive Nikon F website
by Michael Liu

by Karen Nakamura
A Nikon F Photomic TN Picture Gallery
by Mårten Larsson
Nikon F Photomic TN Flick pictures by Paul Bailey
{{Nikon 35mm Film SLR Cameras F F Personal cameras and photography in space