A Brace of Vintage Nikon F's

[P. Lynn Miller]

This pair of Nikon F's have become my daily user's...



The first is my original Nikon F bought quite a few years ago, #6424323 with an early Nikkor-S 5.8cm f1.4 #158742, making them both 1960 vintage. This Nikon F has restored my belief in the Nikon F, it has fully recovered from its second burial at the beach with no ill effects. I thought that the Nikkormat FTn was the only camera that could survive such an ordeal.

The second Nikon F is a recent acquisition found in a box lot of stuff bought off the local eBay, #6409109, making it the oldest Nikon F I own, apparently made in late 1959. It is mated with a very early Nikkor-S 3.5cm f2.8 #920429 'Tick-Mark' with a nine-blade aperture.

After several years of experimenting with a number of different formats and types of cameras, I have come full circle and found the Nikon F to be the best camera for me. As a tool, it simply disappears. Oddly, the Nikon F with an eye-level finder is the only camera that I can use thoughtlessly, I do not even second-guess my exposure choice, it just happens.

The Nikon F only requires me to make 3 decisions when making a photograph, shutter speed, aperture, and focus, which happen instinctively allowing me to concentrate on the world through that huge 100% viewfinder.

[Brian Sweeney]

Very nice Pair of F's.

It's nice to see these early ones get used. I have one that fits in-between yours, with the 5cm f2 Nikkor-S on it.

[E.M]

I had 2 of those , a black one with small finder which I bought new in 1974 and a 1969 chrome one with Ftn finder , bought in 1987 . The first one was stolen just a year after purchase and I sold the other one , still regret it .

Luckily , I still have my 1971 F2 . Love these cameras !

http://www.etiennemichiels.com

[P. Lynn Miller]

Thanks, Brian.

Have you ever used the 5.8cm? It is vintage Nikkor at its very best. I must get some of my prints scanned. The 5.8 has been a real discovery!

[Brian Sweeney]

I keep the 5.8cm/1.4 on a Bullseye Photomic, and have used it. It is as close to a Summarit as you can find in F-Mount. Lower contrast, swirly Bokeh. I like the magnification of it compared to a 50. A 50mm lens has a Slight Retro folded into the formula. I end up using a 55/1.2 more than a 50, and the 5.8/1.4.

[jonmanjiro]

A very nice pair of early F's indeed. An SP would be the perfect RF comparison, and would operate seemlessly when used with these cameras

[P. Lynn Miller]

Brian,

The out-of-focus areas just seem to melt with my 5.8 instead of the expected swirl of most Nikkor 50's. The Nikkor 55/1.2 is still on my list, but after a nine-blade 10.5cm and Nikkor-H 85/1.8 for portraits and a 2.1cm f4 for landscapes.

Maybe I will start a separate thread about the 5.8cm f1.4...

[P. Lynn Miller]

Originally Posted by jonmanjiro

A very nice pair of early F's indeed. An SP would be the perfect RF comparison, and would operate seamlessly when used with these cameras

A really nice S2, SP or maybe an S3 will be the only thing that could tempt me back into the rangefinder fold at this point. I have to just clear my shelves of all my unused M-mount stuff to fund such an acquisition.

One day... soon.

[Brian Sweeney]

I'll post some with the 58/1.4. we should start a thread on it. Roger would like that as well, one of his faves.

[Keith]

Very nice Lynn ... as much as I admire my FM3A I'm not convinced it offers me any more than what one of these beauties would, maybe I made the wrong choice.

But then, that may start another whole 'gas' cycle ... and we can't have that!

[jonmanjiro]

Originally Posted by P. Lynn Miller

A really nice S2, SP or maybe an S3 will be the only thing that could tempt me back into the rangefinder fold at this point. I have to just clear my shelves of all my unused M-mount stuff to fund such an acquisition.

One day... soon.

Definitely an S3 or SP over an S2, for the same type of shutter speed dial. I should have kept this F...

[maddoc]

You should have kept it definitively !

Originally Posted by jonmanjiro

Definitely an S3 or SP over an S2, for the same type of shutter speed dial. I should have kept this F...

[oftheherd]

I once lusted after the Nikon line, but couldn't afford it for what I perceived of my photo needs at the time. I ended up with Yashica and Fujica. No real regrets.

Those two look nice indeed! The Nikon F is mentioned in Jason Schneider's most recent column on vintage cameras in Shutterbug.

[P. Lynn Miller]

Originally Posted by Brian Sweeney

I'll post some with the 58/1.4. we should start a thread on it. Roger would like that as well, one of his faves.

Brian,

Sounds good to me. We will start a new discussion dedicated to the Nikkor-S 5.8cm f1.4. If you have images handy, take the lead, I still have to scan my prints. Which forum should it go under?

Jon,

I am really bummed out that I missed that S3 that you sold in the classified last week. Since I only really use a rangefinder with 50mm, I am thinking an S2 will be fine for my needs. I am trying to resist the S-series until I have completed my vintage F kit.

In case, anyone is listening... that list includes the following items...

Type 1 self-timer lever and screw for the 4-digit F
Beat-up black eye-level finder
A couple of AR-1 soft-releases
A couple of AR-2 cable releases
Nikkor-P 10.5cm f2.5 'Tick-Mark'
Nikkor-H 85mm f1.8
Nikkor-O 2.1cm f4.0

I am trying to convince myself that I am not a collector, but an appreciative user. In fact, I have no shelf-queens. Everything I own is used and abused. Nikon F #6424323 was buried in the beach while taking this photo a few years ago...



After being thoroughly flushed with acetone and mineral spirits, it shows no ill effects of the salt-scrub.

So I am slowly putting together a kit that would have been found in the early years of the Nikon F being released which will also be the photographic kit that I use everyday.

[Ljós]

Lynn,

these are very nice cameras indeed. And the picture on the beach is outstanding!

I am wondering whether you would possibly like to briefly sketch what made you leave the rangefinder fold? I am asking because your thread on the then new 28mm f2 VC Ultron was very inspiring... Sounded like the rangefinder way and you were a good match. Myself, I come from SLR (and Nikon F2 and F was the nicest I used, too), and sometimes suffer from "metaphysical doubt" as to whether I could save myself some pain (and money) by switching back to SLR. I would get a plain prism F2 and the VC 40mm f2 Ultron in that case as main outfit.
Then I use my M2, and cannot part with it, shortcomings (close focus, frameline issues etc...) and all.

Whatever you use though, you have great pictures to show for, which, of course, is all what counts :-)

All the best,
Ljós

[helenhill]

well Mr. Miller
Quite PLEASED that YOU 'FEEL' back on Track with the F....
Beautiful Cameras Indeed !!!!

How is the S2 'Experience' compared to the F ?

on Flickr I ADORE Table 33 & Alfresco....Drooool

Cheers- H

[VinceC]

Great F's. I have a non-descript eyelevel F that I used so much that the strap lug wore through. Everything you said about the camera disappearing in your hands was also true for me. I was in love with m F's before I found the Nikon RFs, and immediately fell in love with them because the controls were identical.

[P. Lynn Miller]

Originally Posted by helenhill

well Mr. Miller
Quite PLEASED that YOU 'FEEL' back on Track with the F....
Beautiful Cameras Indeed !!!!

How is the S2 'Experience' compared to the F ?

on Flickr I ADORE Table 33 & Alfresco....Drooool

Cheers- H

Helen,

Thanks! I cannot tell how an S2 will be similar or different to a F as I do not own or use an S2... yet!

Interesting the photos you mention... one was taken with the iPhone and the other with the M5.

I have used the Nikkor 50mm f1.2 plenty, but never the 55/1.2. You need to ask Brian for more details on that lens.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Ljós

I am wondering whether you would possibly like to briefly sketch what made you leave the rangefinder fold?
Ljós

Ljós,

It has been a long and twisty road back to the Nikon F's.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with rangefinders and will readily admit their advantages for some people and places. And I only concede that the Nikon F is the perfect camera for me.

But why?

Little annoyances with a rangefinder... only being able to focus in the middle of the view-finder... minimum focus distance of .7 meters and often a full meter... not being able to see distortion when using super-wide angle lenses... general feeling of the cameras feeling fragile and vulnerable, this includes Leica.

Specifically M-mount cameras and lenses... the aperture rings and focus rings turn the wrong way... I am not so old and dogmatic that I cannot learn a new trick. After almost 2 years I learned to be aware of the direction that I should be turning the aperture and focus, but when chips were down and I had to use the camera without thinking, that is instinctively, everything went wrong. Always, the camera never disappeared, I had to be aware of what I was doing with the camera, so in effect the camera ended up in the way.

I can do almost anything with a Nikon F that I could do with a Leica... and some things I could not do with a Leica. Such as pop the prism off and look straight into the top of the camera... very handy and useful. With the mirror raised on the F, it is nearly as quiet as the Leica. I can shoot the Nikon just like many people use a rangefinder, f8 and be there, not even bother to look through the finder. Size is not an issue as the M5 is nearly as big as the Nikon F, although normal 'M' is smaller, I found the M3 I had uncomfortably small.

My time with the rangefinder has taught me some great things... like shooting with both eyes open and not living and dying by what I see in the viewfinder.

Then there is the simple course of circumstance... I had committed myself to the M-mount only a few months ago, putting all my Nikon equipment up for sale with a local dealer. I bought what I considered the perfect, compact rangefinder kit, Bessa R, 28/3.5, 50/2, 90/3.5 and kept the M5 for the 35/1.2 and 50/1.1. I used this kit for a few weeks or about 20 rolls of film, and found myself reaching for my Nikon F's. I was determined to continue with the M-mount, when I received a call from the dealer telling me that my favorite Nikon F #6424323 was unsaleable because the shutter was sticking on all speed below 1/8 sec. That simply doomed the Leicas and Bessa's.

I crossed town the same day to pick-up my Nikon F, I was never so glad to get a camera back in my hands. It was almost like that Nikon F was determined not be sold because by that evening it was firing perfectly on every shutter speed and has not missed a beat since. Go figure.

Since that day a few weeks ago, I have shot more film with more beautiful photographs than I have in years. I am fearless, there is an unspoken trust and confidence that I have with my Nikon F's that I never had with any rangefinder, I know I can carry them with me everywhere and anywhere, bang them, drop them, soak them, fill them with sand, anything, without fear or favor and when I need a camera I can expect them to deliver. And that helps me take better photographs.

I had this conversation with the lovely Helen Hill not so long ago regarding tools and that while we all know that the tool does nothing on its own and an accomplished craftsman can use most any tool to produce his craft, a good tool allows him to focus on the craft and not the tool, thus often allowing the craftsman to produce superior work with that superior tool. That is how I feel about the Nikon F.

I expect to soon have a rangefinder back in my bag, but it will be a Nikon rangefinder. I have briefly used an S2 not long ago, and it felt as familiar as an F.

But more importantly, I am now thinking more about the photographs than the equipment. That is a good thing, I am even having fun putting together photo albums again. Can you imagine that?

[Keith]

Wow ... the last time I encountered this much SLR passion was in the Olympus OM threads.

This is a worrying trend!

[P. Lynn Miller]

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread. I am enjoying the discussion very much.

Keith,

That is the irony of this discussion. There is much fuss and fretting about a possible 'Leica Killer' in this forum. The Nikon F, introduced in the 1959, was by all intents and purposes, the 'Leica Killer'. It definitely ushered in the era of the SLR and ended the reign of the rangefinder.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by P. Lynn Miller

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread. I am enjoying the discussion very much.

Keith,

That is the irony of this discussion. There is much fuss and fretting about a possible 'Leica Killer' in this forum. The Nikon F, introduced in the 1959, was by all intents and purposes, the 'Leica Killer'. It definitely ushered in the era of the SLR and ended the reign of the rangefinder.

I was just reading the bartender's excellent write up on the F ... it was the camera that took the industry domination away from the Germans effectively!

Pretty impressive credentials!

[FrankS]

Originally Posted by Keith

Wow ... the last time I encountered this much SLR passion was in the Olympus OM threads.

This is a worrying trend!

I have a cupboard with 5 shelves. One each for Nikon SLR, Olympus SLR, Leica M and screwmount RF, various medium format cameras, and various fixed lens and P+S cameras.

[ray*j*gun]

Here are my "classic" Nikon SLR's........guess which one came back with me from Vietnam?

[kdemas]

Congratulations on finding the tool that works best for you, something that many people cannot always comprehend as they look for a universal "best camera". My Dad was quite the lover of the F (and shot a Leica IIIG as well) so I'm well aware of the gravitational pull of that camera once you use it a bit.

You might try a F2 with the unmetered prism if you see one around sometime. For me they "fixed" a few things, like shutter release placement, while keeping the brick-like character of the F. Just a thought.

Enjoy your Fs, wonderful cameras. Also enjoy the S2 if you get one, terrific 50mm shooting platform.

Kent

[rbsinto]

I have two Fs, both motorized.
One is the guts of a chrome camera purchased on ebay inside the black body of a parts camera also purchased on ebay, attached to a KEH "As is" F-36 drive, with an old DE-1 prism. It has become my favorite SLR, and gets more use than any of my other motorized SLRs: F2, FA, or FM.
The other is a pristine black body (of no significant serial number) which spent its life attached to a microscope in the Botany department at the University of Toronto. It has a microscope focusing screen and is attached to an early (no body support pin on back of handle) f-36. I got it with a chrome-faced FTn prism. it is squirreled away and likely will be sold as I really don't need it and could use the money to fund rangefinder lens purchases.
The F is simply basic transportation, and is in my opinion, really all the camera God meant for any man to have.