Nikon F --- All it's cracked up to be?

[Godfrey]

My latest Nikon F (note that I did not say my last). This was picked up at a swap meet this year. A 1960/61 version with the 58f1.4. In just about mint shape - with the duty free price list from Tokyo and warranty cards for both camera and lens. The mirror had a crack in it from hitting the dried out mirror stop foam so it is in for service.

Nice!

One of my Pentax friends is handing me a chrome 65xxx F body, plain prism, and 35mm f2.8 lens (the latter if he can find it ....). If it's in working order, I might hand it on to another friend who's wanted one since we were in high school together.

G

 

[furcafe]

True, although the F's "non-hinged back and odd placement of controls" is a legacy of Nikon RF's borrowing features from both the Zeiss Ikon Contax (focus direction opposite to Leica & removable back) & Leica screw mounts (shutter design explains the location of the shutter release, like a Barnack body).

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this before: the F is essentially an SP with a mirror grafted into it! Hence the non-hinged back and odd placement of controls.

 

[Steve Bellayr]

IMHO the Nikon F series were extraordinarily rugged cameras & lenses. During the 1960s & '70s there were wars all over the world and photojournalism was at its pinnacle. There was little competition with the exception of the Leica M which did not have a meter and was more costly in terms of body & lenses, especially if the photographer needed a minimum of two bodies. Today, if one wanted a small Nikon the F3 out performs the F. The controls are easier to use, it takes modern batteries, and the lenses are superior. Of course, the F6 would out perform both if you wanted to carry the extra weight and autofocus lenses.

 

[Rangefinderfreak]

One of my F from year 1959, No 640xxxx, is still working as new.
Never had a CLA.
1 sec to 1/1000 sec - No problems.
(My other old F, that I own - No CLA - 100% Perfect!

same here...no CLA ever..I have the F, FM2 and F5... I have to admit if I want to travel wit my leicas,I take the F and 105mm if I am shooting concerts, I take the F5 and 200mm.2 and possibly the 1,4X AF telexender. that turns the 200mm to a 360mm:2,8 very nice...

 

[Dwig]

Hey, thanks for the Photomic breakdown, Dwig! That's more detailed info than I was familiar with. Any idea of a serial number range where the FRE element was used? My black F seems a late '72 vintage and I have the original Photomic FTn head for it as well as the plain prism. With good batteries, it seems accurate.

G

No, I don't have a serial number breakdown. I don't know if Nikon documented the change well. I believe that all of the finders that shipped new with the FRE shipped in 1974 on 74xxxxxx bodies. Very few dealers still stocked and sold Fs at that point. These were generally sold as special orders to customers that needed to match other bodies in their existing stable of cameras. The F2 had proven itself as the F's successor long before then.

The change was an evolutionary change in the component. I'd don't know if they even changed the part number. When the change occurred on the F2's Photomics there was an outward indication. The meter need aperture on the top of the finder changed to being smaller and having a "tail" off to the side where the needle floats when the meter is off. The early FRE version finders had either a green or red dot under the shutter speed dial coupler. The color indicated which subcontractor made the FRE and the official repair shops were to report service patterns.

 

[philcycles]

Nikon Fs are just terrific. One of the toughest, most reliable cameras ever made. I've got a couple.
But I'm mostly a Leica user and they do EVERYTHING backwards from focusing on.
RF content: The Nikon F is really a Nikon SP with a mirror box.

 

[grapejohnson]

i love my k1000 for its simplicity and great optics, but i would trade it in in a heartbeat for an f, i think. where most people on this forum wish for an m3 or m5 or iiig or something as their classic old camera, for me it's the original f.

so many of the greats used one!

very cool info all around on here -- i didn't know there were so many different prisms!

 

[tunalegs]

There's also a waist level finder which is mostly unappreciated (even though it is one of the best points of having interchangeable viewfinders).

 

[leicapixie]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135813

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135813

Regarding the introduction of the F2, it wasn't plain sailing.
The first year many F2 had a few problems..
That is one reason I did not trade up.
I kept my "F"'s and carried on regardless.
My Photomic meters finally were "dancing" into oblivion.
I bought a very used F3. Thankfully digital set the price at a
level that was most attractive.
Today any F, F2 or F3 whatever problems they may have has, is history.
Beware of unused "new"F2 cameras of year of introduction..

A fault that can develop with the F.
The mirror may move slightly once cocked and shutter release depressed partially. The resulting new focus will be wrong!
It's an easy check.

 

[Rangefinderfreak]

Nikon Fs are just terrific. One of the toughest, most reliable cameras ever made. I've got a couple.
But I'm mostly a Leica user and they do EVERYTHING backwards from focusing on.
RF content: The Nikon F is really a Nikon SP with a mirror box.

backwards ...? canon and leica, sigma & the rest do it logically: When you open a screw, you turn it counterclockwise. Nikon is the only camera that turns clockwise ...

 

[GarageBoy]

A Nikon F is iconic to hold and to party like its 1959, but the F2 to me is a much better user

 

[grapejohnson]

backwards ...? canon and leica, sigma & the rest do it logically: When you open a screw, you turn it counterclockwise. Nikon is the only camera that turns clockwise ...

pentax cameras go backwards, too

 

[nikon_sam]

Not enough pictures of the F in this thread...sooooooo....

 

[Tom A]

Pyramid's. A triple set of F's (shot with a 4th one - 55f3.5 Micro Nikkor). 25 year old Adox 21, developer in Rodinal 1:100 stand development for 60 min. I have added at least two more "plain prism" F's since that shot!

 

[VinceC]

The removable back facilitated the motordrive, which was an excellent feature when shooting sports.

When not using a motordrive, I tended to hold the removable back with my pinky finger. Not hard once you practice. Still do it all the time with my RF cameras.

I used F's and an F2 for photojournalism in the 1980s thru mid-90s, alongside Nikon RFs because the controls are so similar.

 

[grapejohnson]

Very few of us do selfies with our Nikon F cameras. 😀

hard to blame this guy given the company he's in. i'd probably do the same.
also--
i generally hate pictures of pretty girls with nice cameras... but...

http://www.shootingfilm.net/2012/10/marilyn-monroe-with-nikon-f-by-bert.html

 

[VinceC]

I did most of my Nikon F and RF selfies using a 21mm lens (Contax in the case of the RF lens).

 

[tunalegs]

backwards ...? canon and leica, sigma & the rest do it logically: When you open a screw, you turn it counterclockwise. Nikon is the only camera that turns clockwise ...

I have quite a few lenses that operate in different directions. Schacht, Enna, Sigma which turn clockwise for close focus, and the majority of the rest which turn counter clockwise for close focus. Old meyer lenses which turn clockwise - later ones counter clockwise! It's confusing!

Not sure what the actual design rationale is behind which direction is used.

 

[Nokton48]

Check out Dennis Hopper's kit in "Apocalypse Now". He knew good stuff.
I used to own several of the F36 Motordrives. They ROCK.

http://thepinksmoke.com/images/americanfriendapocalypse.jpg

 

[Fraser]

I love the F because its so different from modern cameras a no frills piece of history, like them so much I've got five of them three motorised which are really fun and totally unreliable!