Nikon F3 Press - did press photographers actually buy and use this?

[Calzone]

it varied from paper to paper but most of the medium to large size dailies had pool lenses in addition to kits. A kit would be a 24 or 28, a 50, an 85 or a 105. Pool lenses would be the ultra wides and the teles. The sports guys had totally different kits, of course. Not many papers issued kits that had high speed lenses. Papers could also borrow lenses from NPS for certain special purposes or events.

According to Moose Peterson the 180/2.8 was not only a very good lens (ED glass): it was favored by PJ's at press conferences due to its size, speed and reach.

I owned this lens and wide open it was sharp and it really isolated the subject very well. It worked very well hand held. It balanced particularly well on a F3 with MD-4.

Cal

ADDITION: On the Head Bartender's site there is an interview with a war photographer who used a pair of F3's. For his normal lens he favored the 55/2.8 AIS Macro. I currently own this lens and it is mighty sharp (flat field) and has pretty and smooth bokeh. Also close focus is great.

Cal

SECOND ADDITION: The 55/2.8 AIS Macro in use has a very-very long focus throw, but when used as a normal lens the infinity to 5-7 feet of focus is an extremely short focus throw. Also take not that for some reason the focus really pops. I can see why a war photographer would want a lens that focuses fast. While slow in lens speed the focus was fast.

Cal

 

[rybolt]

The vast majority of old time PJ's would care very little about sharpness in a lens. The important factors were focal length and durability. I never put together a PJ kit that had the micro lens in it. There were probably a few of them in pool kits for food or feature stuff but a street guy wouldn't have much use for it. War photography is a whole different thing. You never know what you might need to shoot and if you need a normal I can see the 55 being an option. It's also one of the lightest 50's. Only slightly heavier than the old 50mm f2 or the 35mm f2.8.

 

[ronvol]

Ron,

My F3P is brassed a moderate amount, lacks the "Newsday 90" engraving and does not feature that mod by the rewind lever. The right strap lug swivels a bit and is loose.

I bought my F3P from Cameta Camera in Amityville. My friend Lou behind the counter told me that when repairs exceed the purchase price of the camera that "Newsday" sells the camera. Lou told me that the entire camera had just come back from an overhaul performed by Nikon in Melville. Inside my film compartment are some penciled in numbers that I suspect are Nikon's work order numbers.

This was right after Operation Desert Storm, and I suspect the camera might of gotten contaminated with sand. It came with an "E" screen. As I remember I paid close to $800.00 which was a lot back then. Also it came with a Nicad so I had to secure a AA battery pack separately for additional cash.

Lou told me the Newsday Pros would throw their cameras into an unpadded Domke which horrified Lou. LOL. Lou was told by the photographer, "The camera still takes good pictures." LOL.

BTW I ended up reversing the trade with my friend and got my Noct-Nikkor back.

Cal

Thanks for the info Cal.

The mod by the rewind lever is one by Marty Forscher. Part of what he called the "Pro-Bracket" system. When flipped over, it keeps the exposure-bias button locked down.
Here's a video showing Marty explaining how the full setup works - https://youtu.be/KwecKv_5NYc?t=2m24s

Another mod of his is the cut-out from around the shutter winder. This was to allow photographer-ID masks to be used.

I don't know if you noticed; the Press body in those images is the 135th off the production line and the MD-4 winder the 473rd.

Cheers,
Ron.

 

[Peter Jennings]

Here's a video showing Marty explaining how the full setup works - https://youtu.be/KwecKv_5NYc?t=2m24s

Great video! That motor drive Barnack was cool.

 

[Calzone]

Thanks for the info Cal.

The mod by the rewind lever is one by Marty Forscher. Part of what he called the "Pro-Bracket" system. When flipped over, it keeps the exposure-bias button locked down.
Here's a video showing Marty explaining how the full setup works - https://youtu.be/KwecKv_5NYc?t=2m24s

Another mod of his is the cut-out from around the shutter winder. This was to allow photographer-ID masks to be used.

I don't know if you noticed; the Press body in those images is the 135th off the production line and the MD-4 winder the 473rd.

Cheers,
Ron.

Ron,

I did take note of the very early serial number on the camera body. Your F3P is in pretty remarkable condition and looks a lot fresher than mine. Perhaps my brassing is not so moderate. LOL.

Anyways I love my F3P and it is the camera that I have owned the longest.

Thanks for the clip.

Cal