Love my Nikon F

[L Collins]

Been carrying around my F with a plain prism and a non-AI 50 1.4 Nikkor. What a wonderful kit. Nothing superfluous. Nothing electronic. Just goodl ole mechanical perfection.

Makes me remember why I fell in love with photography.😉

 

[FrankS]

Agreed !

 

[Roger Hicks]

Next best thing to a Leica... (I have 5 of each).

Cheers,

R.

 

[dabick42]

Ah, the Nikon F...

It's difficult to find words that do full justice to this camera.

The bee's knees... ?
The dog's danglers... ?
The cat's whiskers... ?

Suffice it to say, it's the world's first professional quality film SLR made in large quantity, and still one of the very best cameras ever made.

I love 'em dearly, and still using mine that I bought new in 1962....

 

[randolph45]

just added

just added

It's been yrs since I owned an F after mine were stolen in 87,however I just last year bought a black FTN ,50/1.4,35/2.8,(200/2.8 Christmas thread freeby),135/2.8,105/2.5 all non Ai and sports finder.This was my first pro camera back in the early 70's.

 

[hans voralberg]

Mine is paired with a 58/1.4, one of the best combo I've used.


DSC_6250.jpg by Bach Tran, on Flickr

 

[djcphoto]

I also agree! Picked up a '59 F (plain prism) which came with the 5.8cm F/1.4 a few weeks ago. It's a bit rough looking, but works great. I love the camera, and the lens. The viewfinder is incredible too!

From the test roll:

 

[L Collins]

Wow. A 58. Maybe roger can enlighten me about them. Never used one...,

 

[PatrickT]

The Nikon F + 58/1.4 really is a winning combo. I love mine.

 

[djcphoto]

Another thing I love about the 5.8cm lens is that it's perfect for shooting with both eyes open (for my eyesight, at least).

 

[hans voralberg]

Wow. A 58. Maybe roger can enlighten me about them. Never used one...,

Some history about it here http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/f5814.html

 

[Roger Hicks]

Wow. A 58. Maybe roger can enlighten me about them. Never used one...,

'Fraid not (unless you're thinking of another Roger). It's one of the very few lenses I wish I'd never sold, but it was 'magic'. Yes, it suffered from field curvature and coma, but who cares? It was still gorgeous. A lot of it, I'm sure, is down to the focal length: I really like the 58 Biotar on my Exakta VX1000 too.

Then again, I don't miss it that much, because nowadays, I use Leicas much more than Nikons. For a certain kind of low-light reportage, I've never had anything better. For portraiture, the only real competitor in full frame is the Thambar. But I found it to be no better than other lenses for the majority of the pictures I shoot, and not as versatile as the 35/1,4 Summilux I bought in 1982 or so.

Cheers,

R.

 

[kshapero]

They will have to pry mine from my cold dead hands when my time comes.

 

[Harry Lime]

The original F with a good 50. Maybe my all time favorite camera.

 

[rbsinto]

Mine is an old black beater with a DE-1 meterless finder, and F36 drive attached most of the time.
It is usually paired with a Nikkor 180 2.8 which I schlepp when I'm shooting with my rangefinders, to give me some extra reach.
While it is a bit quirky, and requires more hands than I was born with to unload and load easily on the run, it is nonetheless basic transportation and has essentially everything I need in a camera.

 

[Vics]

I inherited my older brother's '59 F with the 50/2 Nikkor-S, and subsequently bought eight more lenses and two more bodies. Recently bought an FM, so five of my lenses are 0ff to John White for Ai conversion. I just hate the stopped-down metering on the FM.
You're right, though. The Nikon F is the bomb!

 

[_goodtimez]

I got 10 of them including 3 F36. Love'em all !

 

[bgb]

I got one recently with a 58mm f 1.4, I haven't used it yet but I have done lots of fondling and it feels wonderful. It has a clip on light meter too which is cool but gets in the way a little ... it seems to work !
Both camera and lens will need a cla... so if you know a good technician in NZ I would love to know ;]
I will post a photo today sometime.

 

[Ronny]

Now: Nine Nikon F from year 1959 and up, and zero Nikon F2.
Then: Six Nikon F and one Nikon F2
I don´t miss the F2 at all - Nikon F without plastic details are much more the right stuff.


Nikon by Ronny Persson, on Flickr

 

[PatrickT]

Now: Nine Nikon F from year 1959 and up, and zero Nikon F2.
Then: Six Nikon F and one Nikon F2
I don´t miss the F2 at all - Nikon F without plastic details are much more the right stuff.


Nikon by Ronny Persson, on Flickr

The 45P on the F in the bottom left just looks so right. I'd get one just for how pretty it looks 🙂