Nikon F with "Nikkor" Tn prism - rarity?

[Nitroplait]

I have come across this Nikon F with a "Nikkor" Photomic TN.
I am trying to find out more but find it difficult to formulate a search that returns something relevant.

I do notice that the MIR site claims the "Nikkor" F to be rare, but their exampels have both body and Photomic labeled Nikkor.

This camera is only labeled Nikkor on the Photomic, not the body. (Body is SN: 68759xx)

I would like to find more details, possibly how many were made etc.

Anyone with insights?

 

[mike rosenlof]

Sometime in the 50s or 60s Zeiss Ikon objected to the name Nikon as being too close to their name. Nippon Kogaku's solution (I don't know history if it was negotiated, actual lawsuit, or something else) was to name their cameras "Nikkor" at least in Germany, and possibly other parts of Europe. It looks like you've got a German market finder mated to a rest-of-the-world body at some time in its life.

Sorry about the rather vague details, but I think I've got the gist of the story mostly accurate.

 

[Erik van Straten]

I've never seen this variant!

 

[Alpsman]

At Photokina (photo fair) 1960 (?), Zeiss was worried that Nikon cameras might be confused with Zeiss Ikon cameras. How amusing. To avoid a lawsuit and being excluded from the photo fair, Nikon changed the branding of all parts exported to West Germany from Nikon to Nikkor, matching the existing name of their lenses. This continued until 1971 or 1972.

The rebranding affected all cameras, accessories, motor drives, viewfinders, brochures, etc. Everything. The lenses had always been labeled Nikkor. It only applied to exports to West Germany.

But in the end, it didn't help Zeiss; Nikon/Nikkor cameras prevailed.

 

[Godfrey]

Very interesting. Never saw this variant ... My uncle and my grandfather both had Nikon F Photomic FT but they both said "Nikon" not "Nikkor" ... USA distribution. My first Nikon was a Nikon F Photomic FTn in '69 or '70. I gave my last black-body F Photomic FTn to a good friend a decade or so ago, still have a chrome F plain-prism body (with the now long dead selenium cell integrated clip-on meter...).

Which raises the question: Does anyone know of a source where that meter cell could be replaced nowadays? It would be nice to have it working again. 😀

G

 

[jaredangle]

Sometime in the 50s or 60s Zeiss Ikon objected to the name Nikon as being too close to their name. Nippon Kogaku's solution (I don't know history if it was negotiated, actual lawsuit, or something else) was to name their cameras "Nikkor" at least in Germany, and possibly other parts of Europe. It looks like you've got a German market finder mated to a rest-of-the-world body at some time in its life.

Sorry about the rather vague details, but I think I've got the gist of the story mostly accurate.

And then Zeiss started making lenses for the Nikon F mount another 40 years after that. It’s funny how things change!

 

[Nitroplait]

Richard de Stoutz has many Nikkor F's in his collection.

Nikkor F, Nikkormat and Calypso/Nikkor Camera Bodies (for German Market)

This web site documents my Nikon F collection and is trying to show the evolution of the Nikon F System. The site is not finished (will never be) and I am continously adding subjects.

www.destoutz.ch

They appear all to be produced between 1963 and 1970.

This is the first time I have seen one "the flesh". I am thinking that if all F's sold during that period on the German market were labeled Nikkor, I would expect to see many around, at least here in Europe, hardly "rare".

Leitz auctions (Vienna) sold a chrome sample with a 50/1.4 for €1080 (incl. buyers premium, excluding VAT) and a black version with eyelevel prism and 50/1.4 for €2000, both A/B condition - that is 15 years ago. I don't know what an average A/B condition F would sell for back then for comparison.

 

[Timmyjoe]

I saw one of these years ago and did a double, maybe triple take. Thought it was a knock off or something. Didn't know about the West German/Zeiss Ikon connection.

Best,
-Tim

 

[mike rosenlof]

Some Nikkormats were branded 'Nikomat'. I've seen one or two. Wikipedia says it was for the Japanese market.

 

[38Deardorff]

Some Nikkormats were branded 'Nikomat'. I've seen one or two. Wikipedia says it was for the Japanese market.

Nikomats were common...by comparison to the Nikkor F