First Nikonos - IV-A, a question or two

[eli griggs]

This afternoon I found what seems to be a near perfect Nikonos with great glass, the 35mm F2.5, at a Value Village for about $27 and I could not be happier.

The camera came with an old bag, spare batteries and an "O"-ring set and as far as I can tell, the only reason it was priced so low was "The Hulk" tightened down the battery and flash connection covers. The folks at the store couldn't see if there was corrosion or no and the installed batteries were shot so there was no meter or auto function to let them know it was 'alive', beyond the manual shutter functions.

I had to use a penny in a pair of vice-grips to remove the covers, no stripped threads thankfully, but the zinc penny twisted badly.:bang:

The compartments themselves are perfect and the meter and automatic function work great when tested with various aperture and ISO settings in different light levels.

Before I read the blurb about the battery compartment in a manual posted online, I was really reluctant to force things, fearing there was something more to unlocking the cover. Three cheers for Nikon for making it simple😀

There isn't any sign of damage, beyond a small chip that came from the hard plastic on the bottom of the door lock cover latch.

No scratched or chipped glass and it's devoid of cleaning marks. The lens removes and resets as it should and there is no fungus or mold present. Lens controls are smooth, without skips or difficult movements.

I'll run some film through it tomorrow and I hope to make it a daily carry for awhile, despite the weight.

The questions I have are general in nature, starting with how should I clean up small wayward smears of O-Ring grease, from the inside of the back cover in particular?

I'd also like to know if there is only a Nikon flash coupler for non-Nikon flash units or if someone can recommend an after-market connector?

I'd like to find an 80mm lens to go with this camera, is there a particular model or period to look for and what should I expect to pay for a good one?

Can I use regular O-rings if and when I need to replace the ones I have and, if so, where can I find the proper dimensions on-line?

Which lens hoods are needed for the 35 and 80 mm lenses, if any?

What, if any, tips can you share on using the Nikonos as a walk about camera, in both heavy weather and dirty environments?

I haven't dived in about 30 years but if I can use it in pouring rains, snows and pool depths without leaks, I'll call that good enough.

Eli

 

[Livesteamer]

Congratulations. I have a Nikonos III so I cant answer all your questions. I have the 35mm and it performs well. I use mine as a beach and bad weather camera. I got a collapsable rubber hood from Ritz camera that works well, 58mm if I remember. Any 80mm should work. Understand that only the 80mm and 35mm work above water as well as in water. Good Luck and Enjoy. Joe

 

[dfoo]

An additional thought... As I understand it the metering on the nikonos cameras is for underwater, so it probably won't work that well for above ground shooting unless you suitably compensate.

 

[craygc]

I use a Nikonos V on land in wet environment; examples of the Thai new year celebrations over the last 3 years below. Range focusing is reasonably easy. When I used it in 2007 I had no hood and spent half my time wiping water off the front element; subsequently I bought a generic metal screw in hood on ebay and its worked perfectly since.

Song Kran 2009
Song Kran 2008
Song Kran 2007

An additional thought... As I understand it the metering on the nikonos cameras is for underwater, so it probably won't work that well for above ground shooting unless you suitably compensate.

I've never seen any issue in this respect. Wouldn't midtone be midtone on either side of the water surface?

 

[peterm1]

I have a couple of insights but not all the answers.

There is a Nikonos 80mm lens (and optical finder) I think I recall reading that its not a bad lens all in all. But although I was tempted to buy one a few years back I never did so as I felt that focussing would be an issue given the need to scale focus with these cameras- I think most 80s were used with an extension tube for close up work under water more than for normal shooting. This is one of the very few Nik lenses that can be used above water.

There was a post here (or maybe on the Nikon forum over at Photonet) not too long back about the use of standard O rings to replace the Nikon ones (that are no longer available I believe.) As I understand it, certain composition O rings are acceptable, others are not. Check the prior posts for details on the specific names of the synthetics that can / can not be used - I recall that the thread contained very specific composition names.

I owned a Nik 5 for many years but never found a flash adapter. I have not looked since selling my kit but my impression is that none were available.

If you wish to clean up excess grease (although there really should not be any however as grease should be used VERY sparingly) try one of the little micro fibre throw away cleaning tissues that you can buy in the Asian $2 stores in most cities. These are soft, absorbent and have no lint - they look like paper tissues. If needed a bit of surgical alcohol will usually get rid of grease marks and smears. Incidentally when you put the grease on the o rings be sparing - you only use a small amount and also make sure there is no lint in the grooves as this can carry water into the camera. You should search the internet and read up on the techniqe for greasing up as this is quite possibly the biggest risk to these cameras if there is any chance of using them in conditions where they may get immersed.

The 35mm 2.5 is not a bad lens but it flares like anything if pointed towards bright areas. Its not so hard to use as you might think as the depth of field indicator on the Nikonos lens works like a charm at this focal length as long as you can roughly estimate distances - in any event if you are able to stop down to f8 this lens will give sharp images from around 3 meters or so to infinity.

I used to like my Nik 5 and kept it for years after giving up diving simply because I liked to be able to take it out in adverse conditions.

One small caveat. With the Nik 5 (and possibly the 4) the plastic button on top of the shutter advance lever spindle had a nasty habit of trapping water under it allowing corrosion of the spindle. You may wish to remove the cover button thingy and then fill the area under it with waterproof silicone to exclude water. This is what I did and it worked.

 

[eli griggs]

Thanks for the replies.

Joe, the Nikonos III is the camera from that line I had always envisioned getting but as this camera looks and functions well, I think I've filled that niche in my kit nicely.

I think the meter will work equally well above or below water as it's only measuring the intensity of the light. Some films may suffer from the shifting spectrums under water however.

Craig, that is an impressive body of work at what looks to be one heck of a good party.

I'm thinking that most pics were shot with the auto mode and perhaps you had a change of films from the first year to the latter two? Can you share any additional info on your use of this camera for street work, for example, did you use a filter? I'll likely as not set mine to about 2 meters and shoot 200-250 iso b&w on auto.

Do you remember if your hood came from HeavyStar?

Peterm1, your insights are good ones. If I buy/use an eighty millimeter, it will be for using in wet, dirty working environments. Otherwise I might as well use an 85mm on my Leica IIIc, or a slr for that focal length.

Thanks for the info on the O-rings. I may just remove, inspect, clean and reinstall the ones currently in the camera, removing the old grease from the body as I go. There was a tube of the stuff with the spare O-rings so I have the right stuff on hand.

Let me ask, did you simply 'pop' the shutter button off and if so, from what angle?

Thanks again everyone, perhaps some more folks can add to what is here now.

Eli

 

[sweathog]

Wow, that's excellent value. I've hankered for a Nikonos in the past, I think they'd be great fun to use when off on adventures...