Any Nikon F users, question.

T

Todd.Hanz

Guest
I know this is not an RF question and shame on me for it.
I was rambling through a local camera store when I came upon this Nikon F with waist level finder (WLF). I have been on the prowl for a manual Nikon body to put my 24/2.8 on, when I saw this one I thought "potential street machine", the salesman was fishing and I bit the hook, got it.
My question is what do the "A" and the "R" mean on the shutter release? (second picture). when I turn it to R it locks something up an releases it when it goes back to A, I figured with the amount of folks here someone has used one of these so let me know.

Thanks,
Todd
 
The A position on the Nikon F is to advance film through the camera and the R position is for film rewind.
 
That is a nice F! It made me think of my F3 that I hardly use any more. Never bought a waist level finder for it, I think it was the DW-3. Great camera...

I did get a waist level finder for my M6 though! It's pretty small and it looks weird sitting on top of the camera but it works! Pic below:
 
Peter_n, what focal length is that WLF?

I would say it's just a bit longer than 50mm, Todd. It gives me a field of view marginally bigger than the standard lens frameline.

All you can do with it is aim the camera, no real composition possible. It's way too small - the top viewer is just 1.2cmx1.2cm in size.
 
Nikon F

Nikon F

The A & R denote film advance and rewind. For instance, @ the end of the roll, turn the lever to"R".
 
The F is a great camera. I have one that the baseplate looks like it was used to drive nails into 2x4's; but it still works. It was a $60 Pawn Shop rescue. You will want to get an eyelevel viewfinder for it. The 24mm F2.8 is one of the all-time greats, first with close-up compensation, ie a floating element that changed position with distance.

I should add that the F is the SLR version of the SP/S3 chassis; and many of the parts are interchangeable including the shutter curtains, AR collar, and many more.

BTW: I see that you have the late model 4-sided WF finder, that is considered desirable and more valuable.
 
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The F is a wonderful machine. How much did it cost you? I have one from '65 with the original 50/2 (great glass). Careful with that mirror slap, though!
 
Mirror slap, oh yeah I remember mirror slap. Haven't had to deal with that since going to a rangefinder, I could always use mirror lock up (MLU).

Todd
 
Todd:

That's a nice F. If you see a meterless pentaprism finder, grab it! They are getting harder and harder to find. The meter prism'\s require murcury batteries, and a lot of owners seem to be switching to the meterless finders.

-Paul
 
Todd.Hanz said:
Mirror slap, oh yeah I remember mirror slap. Haven't had to deal with that since going to a rangefinder, I could always use mirror lock up (MLU).

Todd
Click to expand...

With the F, you lose a frame of film in order to use the MLU. I can't remember if it is in order to activate it, or deactivate it, but you do lose a frame each time.
 
I like to think that the mirror lockup was originally intended for use on the Motor Drive. The highest speed of the F36 and F250 was attained using mirror lockup. The F lets you view up to the last instant that the motor burst is engaged, mirror stays up for the whole burst. At the end of the burst, you let the mirror down. If you want to lock the mirror-up, and use it in the up position, you waste one picture getting it into the up position. It essentially disables the instant return feature.

As we say in the computer biz, "IT's a FEATURE not a FLAW!"
 
Neat trick on the old Nikons: use the self timer lever (set it to just a few seconds) to make the mirror flip up some time before actual exposure. This makes you steady your hands before the shutter goes off.
Don't recall if this works on the F (haven't shot it in a while), but it does on the Nikkormat. This technique saved some of my longer (1/8-1/4) handheld shots.
 
pshinkaw said:
Todd:

If you see a meterless pentaprism finder, grab it! ...a lot of owners seem to be switching to the meterless finders.
Click to expand...

Not to mention the fact that the metered finders turn the lovely Nikon F into a grotesque and ungainly monster. :D
 
The Self timer on the F and F2 to not activate the mirror until the end of the cycle. A lot of people prefer the meterless finders as the Photomic's become unreliable. I found that TV Tuner cleaner does wonders on the variable resistor element in the Photomic Finders. Ironically, the meterless prisms go for quite a bit these days; not the $20 that they used to.

Grotesque and Ungainly Monster: Surely you mean my F2s with the DS1 auto-exposure servo-motor and MD1 mounted on it; not my black Nikon Ftn Photomic! Better than lifting 10 lb weights. I even have the CH11 fitted case for the camera with servo-motor.
 
The "A" and "R" are holdovers from the rangefinder days. The Nikon rangefinders borrowed features from the Leica and the Contax, while Canon early on pretty much just copied a Leica.

You'll find a similar control on a Leica thread-mount, the Nikon S series and early Canon rangefinder cameras, though it's a lever.
 
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Brian Sweeney said:
Grotesque and Ungainly Monster: Surely you mean my F2s with the DS1 auto-exposure servo-motor and MD1 mounted on it; not my black Nikon Ftn Photomic! ...
Click to expand...

Actually I do mean the various Photomic finders ... I have always thought that they were awkwardly designed, ugly, and that they destroyed the beautiful, clean lines of the Nikon F camera body. A Nikon F with an unmetered prism is beautiful. Just my opinion.
 
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