The
Nikon F
If one had to pick a single camera which, more than any other, was associated with the nineteen-sixties, Nippon Kogaku's professional SLR would have to be the choice. Introduced at the very end of the 'fifties, this was the camera which, on its own, redefined the Japanese photo industry in the eyes of the world.
Since the days of the Korean War, there had been a small coterie of photographers who had met and realised the quality of the lenses produced by certain Japanese manufacturers but it was a secret held by the few. During the 'fifties, the word gradually leaked out that Japanese cameras and lenses 'had something'. Sales built up gradually in the U.S. although Europe pursued a staunchly protectionist stance which made Japanese cameras almost impossible to aquire. Then, in 1959, two things happened: Britain relaxed import restrictions and Nikon launched the 'F' - a camera so far in advance of any European competitor as to make comparison pointless.
It was largely the Americans who first benefited from the Nikon, prices were just too high for the cash starved Europeans, but as prosperity returned, European photographers also discoverd the Nikon. Suddenly, thanks to the 'F', quality was a word associated with Japan and people began to re-evaluate the received wisdom that production of the best cameras was a German preserve.
If one had to pick a single camera which, more than any other, was associated with the nineteen-sixties, Nippon Kogaku's professional SLR would have to be the choice. Introduced at the very end of the 'fifties, this was the camera which, on its own, redefined the Japanese photo industry in the eyes of the world.
Since the days of the Korean War, there had been a small coterie of photographers who had met and realised the quality of the lenses produced by certain Japanese manufacturers but it was a secret held by the few. During the 'fifties, the word gradually leaked out that Japanese cameras and lenses 'had something'. Sales built up gradually in the U.S. although Europe pursued a staunchly protectionist stance which made Japanese cameras almost impossible to aquire. Then, in 1959, two things happened: Britain relaxed import restrictions and Nikon launched the 'F' - a camera so far in advance of any European competitor as to make comparison pointless.
It was largely the Americans who first benefited from the Nikon, prices were just too high for the cash starved Europeans, but as prosperity returned, European photographers also discoverd the Nikon. Suddenly, thanks to the 'F', quality was a word associated with Japan and people began to re-evaluate the received wisdom that production of the best cameras was a German preserve.
Building blocks.
The Nikon's greatest strength was that it was conceived as a collection of units which were fitted together to perform a particular task. When a different job needed to be done, the user fitted the parts needed for the new undertaking. The Nikon was not, of course, the first 35mm camera conceived as a system machine. Exakta had been selling their 'building block'cameras since the 'thirties with a great d
eal
of
success while both Leitz and Zeiss Ikon had built up substantial
systems around their cameras. Where Nippon Kogaku scored was that
they designed a
camera that had the precision to handle exacting scientific
assignments, the ruggedness to stand up to the photo-journalist's abuse
and the looks to please the amateur. What was more, they achieved this
at a price that was affordable.At the heart of the Nikon F is the mirror box/film transport. Nippon Kogaku had, for many years, been manufacturing high quality rangefinder cameras of which the SP was the last and most advanced. The company took the titanium shutter, the film transport and the ergonomically designed top plate of the SP and married them to a SLR mirror box designed to stand up to at least half a million cycles of use.
This miror box had an instant return mirror system to reduce the 'mirror black-out' which had previously been a source of considerable predjudice by photo-journalists and others who needed to work quickly. Nippon Koguku were not the first company to employ an instant-return mirror in a mass market camera, Asahi Optical had been producing their Pentax range with the feature for some time, but the mechanism in the Nikon F was exceptionally tough and reliable.
In fact, the Nikon's defining feature was its reliabilty. Nikons survived long drops, immersion in water and even bullet impact. Very early on, the Nikon F was adopted as the de-facto standard camera of photo-journalism and from then on its reputation for reliability just kept on growing.
Big System.
None of this would have mattered if the lenses for the camera were of poor quality. They weren't. Photo-journalists covering the Korean War had discovered Nippon Kogaku's lens range in the 'fifties and they were an instant hit. Much cheaper than German glass yet every bit as good, the Nikkors had already become the lens of choice for anyone with a Leica or a Contax.
As a result, photo-journalists were already pre-disposed towards the co
mpany's
products. When they saw the
range of lenses on offer (from 21mm to 1000mm on day one) they were
hooked. Rather than rest on their laurels, though, Nippon Kogaku
introduced more lenses and accessories on what sometimes seemed to be a
daily basis. Soon the lens range extended to a mind-boggling (and wallet strangling) 8mm fisheye while there were four standard viewfinders and a whole range of backs and motor drives.
Moreover, the Nippon Kogaku designers anticipated many of the advances still to come in SLR design and provided the facilities to add them without changing the camera. Thus the earliest Nikon F and its lenses were able to support full aperture, through the lens metering when that became available.
The Nikon's lens mount is still in use, forty-five years later, while other manufacturers have had to redesign both cameras and lenses to provide the facilities offered by the advances in technology. That alone must have been worth millions of dollars in free advertising to the company!
Usability.
Even all this would have been too little if it wasn't for the Nikon F's marvellous feel. Every control is in just the right position for both speed and comfort. The lens change is fast and foolproof, the lever wind can be inched as well as having a relatively short throw, the shutter release falls naturally under the f
orefinger.
Another feature of the Nikon F which made it stand out was the viewfinder. Unique at the time and still highly unusual, the Nikon showed exactly what would fall on the film. Most SLRs leave a 'safety margin' around the viewing area. That's right, only the Nikon F finders showed 100% of the image.
Other cameras were just as nice to use and some, such as the legendary Leica M3, were every bit as tough but only the Nikon had it all.
The Nikon is one of the highest production quality cameras in history, with well over a quarter of a million units produced over thirteen years. When production finally ceased, its successor the F2 had already been available for some time but Nippon Kogaku recognised the continued demand for the earlier design. Going on the evidence of the boyant market in Nikon Fs more than thirty years after production ceased, it's quite possible Nippon Kogaku could have gone on selling the 'F' even after 1972.
There are still many thousands of Nikon Fs in daily use around the world. It's quite likely that they'll remain in use just as long as film can be found to load them.
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