Such a nice coversation with a wealth of information. I saw my first Nikon on the 60s when my sisters high school boyfriend come home to California from the Vietnam war in late 60s. He brought back many items purchased at great discount in the army post exchanges, which were stores where they could buy and ship home easily and weight was not a problem. He sent home what every soldier seems to have bought, a Nikon F and Sansui hi-fi and Pioneer stereo receiver. I was an electronics nerd of so I was interested in taking apart the reciever to see how it was made. My father was a photographer who brought back cameras from Germany during the post war occupation. He went to Europe on the first troop ships days after D-Day. On leave at the end of the war he married my mother, being childhood sweethearts from the 1930s and she went to be with him after the end of the war . He took photos of everything, and had an extensive collection of both cameras and still photos. So I grew up surrounded by cameras and the first camera I had was at 5yo a little fixed len camera that exposed 1/2 a frame with the shutter lever pushed down and another 1/2 frame pushing the shutter lever up. He would develop them in the family darkroom, a mysterious smelly room build into an extention to the garage. I learned to develop by 8 but mostly I shot things connected to nature, we lived in the mountains, and my electronics experiments and ham radio construction projects. I got my ham radio license at a 10 year old in 1959 and became facinated by the world after talking to people by morse code on short wave. I took over my bedroom then added a bathroom became my chemistry lab, and private darkroom, and gradually took over the 2 car garage where I filled with surplus electronics for communications and test instruments, and secondarily as photo studio for plays and other neighborhood pre-teen productions. I ended up with a Speed Graphic billows camera, from the surplus sales at the nearby airforce base where I spend any money I earned on test instruments for my electronics passion. I started a repair shop, my first licensed business at 13 repairing hi-fi and CB radios. The office I rented behind the library was secured by telling the owner that my father away on business and had asked me to rent the office for him. That worked so every day I rode my bike from school to open it before 4pm. My parents thought I was at the after school ham radio club and only found out I had a profitable repair shop with 1 employee, another nerd kid who was 3 years older. All the time I was taking photos mostly of nature and developing at home. At 16 I say that first Nikon F and really liked it, I had a Canon as a more compact camera but still loved the big heavy Speed Graphic because girls like me to take their photos. I sold the business the day I graduated mid term from High School at 17 and moved alone to San Francisco thinking it was easier to get a job in an actual high tech company but soon found that musicians in 1966 were eager for a nerd kid to repair their amps. I did not care about music but soon was deeply involved in repairing and designing new gear for them in the exploding music scene there. Eventually I took over a large recording studio after designing al the sound system ...everything, speakers, mixing console, amplifiers etc for a British group word tour named Jethro Tull. It was the first hi-fi pa system and toured the US and Canada using the system designed specifically for the Aqualung album support tour. When returning to San Francisco with some money and witha little backing from other groups that had appreciatd my contribution, put the down payment on a studio that was designed and built for the engineer for Jimi Hendrix but he died before it opened. It struggled to make profit so I was able to buy it with $50k down payment and it soon became very popular and all this time taking photos, often causal photos that groups used on their album covers or liner notes. I never sold them, but licenced them for royalties so they owed nothing if the album did not sell and if it did I got a small royalty on each. That is when I got my first Nikon and it was always loaded with film and laying out so it was ready to snap a photo of as quiet moment in the studio or when an player was having a quiet take with the producer, all b&w for better low light performance. We produced 197 gold and platinum albums so royalties were substantial. That Nikon F2 earned most of my income. although the studio did very well also. I moved out of the US in retirement at 51 in 2000 to St Petersburg Russia after giving everything away in the US. I arrived with just 2 suitcases and $6000, still here but started business and have loved every minute of this highly cultured beautiful friendly city. I am 73 and use a D850, D800 and Z6 for a side business of portraits and portfolio photography for the very active theater culture here and have two incoming tour operator companies and a repair shop repairing pro audio equipment. I put on 2-3 day actor master classes for stage actors who want to transition to cinema and take photos and videos of each attendee, the classes are twice a month, and features a different casting director or film director each class from 20-60 attendees. Most of the photos are using the Z6, which I always have with my in a sling bag with 24-70, 85 1.8 and sometimes 70-200. If I can get it with the little Z6, it probably can be gotten. I love that little camera. My photo friends are alway getting the latest camera and kid me for having old less tech equipment. Why should I update, by the time I learned to get the best from a camera, it is "obsolite". I have friends who do weddings that replace cameras every time a new model comes out to any brand, most went to Sony for awhile then switched to Canon R series and laugh at my little old D850 and "single card slot" Z6. But then say I am lucky to get some shots they envy. I still have my first digital camera, a D90 and it has over 500,000 clicks and one of its photos was licensed by a major cruise line for several photos used in their glossy cruise catalog. I have photos taken with that camera handing in the most prestegious photo gallery in the country. I still love my D800, it is a beast in the studio. Even the street photography is very rewarding, and is how I met most of my closest friends. Most of them are very attractive women : ). I am loyal to Nikon because it is loyal to me and I have used them in every one of trips to the 92 countries I have spent time in. Nothing else in my life has been as dependable or as loyal. The next time I am in the UK I will definitely come to Gray's. I have a few Nikon bodies I do not use because I bought them late in their life for cheap just to have, such as the D3s and D1. By the way, the Nikon warranty shop here is Excellent, very competent, reasonable in price and a pleasure to deal with. I have had a few lenses worked on and the D800 after years of abuse had the connector for the detatchable grip needed be repaced. A capacitor in my first SB900 failed after years of hard daily use but I repaired that myself.
The back and forth coupling when mounting a lens on a F TTL Photomic came from the lens compatibility before TTL meetering. With the external coupled lightmeter, the meeter had to know the preset aperture on the lens not taking account of the max aperure of it. So Nikon decided to position the coupling prong on a medium aperture of 5.6, at date there was no back and forth coupling movement. When the Photomic TTL system arrived, the lightmeter had to compensate the variable amount of light going on the meter depending of the max aperture of the lens. The easiest way to do the compensation is to place the coupling prong on different places depending on the max aperture of the lens. That's how Mamiya made it later on the M645 that had the same type of rabbit ears, with no back and forth coupling. Another possibility is how Miranda made it. It had a big knob in front of the camera where you had to set manually the max aperture of the lens and make an electronic correction. As Nikon did not want to change the F mount when the TTL Photomic arrived, they made an automatic full aperture detection when turning the aperture ring back and forth. Later with the AI coupling they went the way all other manufacturers went, having a variable coupling notch position depending on the lens max aperture. As AI lenses kept both systems fixed prong and variable notch they remained also backward compatible.
Thanks for another great livestream. You have really made my day since it now turns out that my "mongrel" black Nikon F with its chrome plain prism is actually a Clint Eastwood Special Edition! Not bad for £125 used (in Mint +/-/÷/× etc condition), purchased a couple of years ago at the local camera shop. It still works like new and is dent-free. I also bought a mint Mk.2 selenium clip-on meter on Ebay soon afterwards and it is accurate to half a stop after 60 years. Who needs batteries?
absolute legend ... recently had another entertaining visit with him chatting about my Leica M with a 1950's 50mm Nikkor-S lens...he came back a couple of minutes later with the exact date & details re my Nikkor lens on my Leica :)) maestro
Really enjoyed this. I have been a Nikon user since early 70s. Purchased a Nikkormat. That camera has done a lot of traveling. My Grandson is now using it. I purchased an F2. I also have a very nice S2 and I purchased an F at my local camera store just to have the original. Like the analogy of using the F and playing Vinal records. Still using my 70s stereo system and have all my albums.
Just like to say what a nice knowledgeable man Gray is. I've visited the excellent shop, they give service at the highest level, rarely seen in the UK nowadays. Keep up the good work..
Hello Gray - very pleasant interview; you have an amazing memory of your incredible adventures with Nikon and all the people associated with Nikon; yes I remember that time of the release of "Bridges of Madison County" - two weeks ago I had a fantastic lunch at the Mission Ranch Restaurant owned and restored by Clint Eastwood - beautiful serene place - if your viewers ever go to California then visit Carmel and you might bump into Clint......😎
Thanks so much for the live stream! Gray's knowledge of Nikon is encyclopaedic. He pulled out the facts on the F3P faster than I could type in a few letters into Google!
I did not have an original F but I did have an F2AS that I kept in mint condition yet still used it quite a bit. It was my baby and I loved that Camera. My F3 however I used it and abused it. I just didn't have the same feeling for it I had for my F2AS. Had an original FM as well and loved that one. Wish I still had the F2AS and the FM.
Very nice conversation, indeed. Let me add: 1. You don't have to set aperture on 5.6 when coupling the lens with a Photomic but only turn aperture ring form stop to stop. Setting on 5.6 is only required with Nikkormat models (up to FT2 and EL), then in connection with coupling prong on the right (as seen from the front) and then turn aperture ring to the opposite stop. 2. Clint Eastwood's own Nikon F was auctioned some years ago at Westlicht Photographica Auction in Vienna/Austria for 6000 euros. I have been a totally convinced Nikonian since 1971 because of Nikons' unrivalled reliability and durability, and regret not owning a Nikon F at the moment; but after all an F2S and some Nikkormat EL, EL2, F801s, and D300 - the latter, by the way, only with all the same Nikkor manual focus lenses as for the others. @philosimot.
Yes, I agee. I have a mint one of each, plus a Nikkormat EL. They all work perfectly after decades! Nikkormats are the Thinking Man's Leicas but please don't tell anyone 'cos then the prices will shoot up.
Great livestream. I always enjoy hearing from Gray and of course the Nikon F is a great subject. I picked up a Nikon F Photomic FTN about four years ago that looks practically new (it was manufactured in 1971). I use it about once or twice a year but it is a piece of art and looks great on the shelf.
The plain prism F is a work of art. I owned an immaculate early number F, and foolishly sold it. Subsequently had an F2AS I never felt similar affection for. The Nikkormats are brilliant cameras, being democratically priced and very well made machines. The fact so many are still around is testament to their build quality. Nikon persevered too long with the F mount and screw autofocus lenses, they should have followed Canon into electronic lens operation and a wider throat.
I really would love to get a plain prism Nikon F. My oldest Nikon is an F2S…which is fantastic, but there is something about the original, I think. I have a dozen Nikon SLRs. I agree with Gray, if I only had one film camera, it would be my FM3a….but its close call with the F3HP.
Thank you for a good episode... .lots of history and great stories. I do own a few F models, including an early 640xxx with a tick mark lens. But my favorite F is the F2 (F2A/AS). Currently working in making a video in the F2 video mode (well, using the F2 with an MF-2 750 frame film back, MD2 motor drive). My plan is to make a 3-5 minute video using nothing but an F2 , an MF-2 back and 100 feet of film.
Also I think one of the biggest successes of any camera brand has been celebrities. I think we're seeing it move back there at an accelerated rate as new celebrities begin shooting film again. I said to someone recently, film shooter's have a higher level of intentionality. The aesthetic lends itself to memories similar to how in cinema dream or flashback like effects are used. Film has a feeling to it current cameras corrected for automatically and optically. Past Nikon famous celebrities. Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger, Sidney Poitier, Sean Connery, Bruce Springsteen, David Hemmings, Frank Sinatra, George Harrison, Gina Lollobrigida, Goldie Hawn, Jackie Stewart, Jane Birkin, Janis Joplin, Katharine Ross, Linda McCartney.
in 1958, the Zunow made the first SLR similar before the Nikon F, as it had instant mirror return, and automatic lens opening, in which in low production after the Nikon F appear in 1959 which lead the company to go into bankruptcy in 1961
Is it possible for your channel to go over publications (Life, Time, National Geographics, etc.) that link past photographers to Nikon? Other brands too if possible. I seriously think I became a photographer, because of National Geographics, Life magazine and Jet. I pretty much indulged in those pages before I could read. I'd play with my mom's film cameras she had. Didn't know anything about them, just clicking buttons and dials and playing pretend.
I been to this famous shop Grays Of Westminister camera shop in Victoria and I been down stairs and seen all the Nikon Lenses and all the cameras and they got over £10.000000 worth of Nikon equipment and on the top floor their must be about another £1.000000 of Nikon equipment. I also got a Nikon F2 black body and the 2 parts motor drives MD-1 and MB-1 and it came with the Nikon Ds-1 that can buy and I need to get a meter head for it and get the camera repaired and i only Paid £10.00 for all of them from a camera shop in London in 2023
Nothing beats the Nikon f,f2, and f3 No Leica can compare Better focus accuracy Better framing accuracy 100% viewfinder (your framing won’t be off when you print) Better lenses and selection Closer focus abilities There’s a reason why Leica almost died when the slr came out from Nikon , it was more advanced of a machine, with more abilities and better accuracy Ever print a photograph from a Leica or other rangefinder and it seems off? Thats because the framing is off on a rangefinder! No matter how well it’s maintained
![Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024 | Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (INA) [5] vs. Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) [2] | F](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EIjZybhsWqA/mqdefault.jpg)
Such a nice coversation with a wealth of information. I saw my first Nikon on the 60s when my sisters high school boyfriend come home to California from the Vietnam war in late 60s. He brought back many items purchased at great discount in the army post exchanges, which were stores where they could buy and ship home easily and weight was not a problem. He sent home what every soldier seems to have bought, a Nikon F and Sansui hi-fi and Pioneer stereo receiver. I was an electronics nerd of so I was interested in taking apart the reciever to see how it was made. My father was a photographer who brought back cameras from Germany during the post war occupation. He went to Europe on the first troop ships days after D-Day. On leave at the end of the war he married my mother, being childhood sweethearts from the 1930s and she went to be with him after the end of the war . He took photos of everything, and had an extensive collection of both cameras and still photos. So I grew up surrounded by cameras and the first camera I had was at 5yo a little fixed len camera that exposed 1/2 a frame with the shutter lever pushed down and another 1/2 frame pushing the shutter lever up. He would develop them in the family darkroom, a mysterious smelly room build into an extention to the garage.
I learned to develop by 8 but mostly I shot things connected to nature, we lived in the mountains, and my electronics experiments and ham radio construction projects. I got my ham radio license at a 10 year old in 1959 and became facinated by the world after talking to people by morse code on short wave. I took over my bedroom then added a bathroom became my chemistry lab, and private darkroom, and gradually took over the 2 car garage where I filled with surplus electronics for communications and test instruments, and secondarily as photo studio for plays and other neighborhood pre-teen productions. I ended up with a Speed Graphic billows camera, from the surplus sales at the nearby airforce base where I spend any money I earned on test instruments for my electronics passion. I started a repair shop, my first licensed business at 13 repairing hi-fi and CB radios. The office I rented behind the library was secured by telling the owner that my father away on business and had asked me to rent the office for him. That worked so every day I rode my bike from school to open it before 4pm. My parents thought I was at the after school ham radio club and only found out I had a profitable repair shop with 1 employee, another nerd kid who was 3 years older. All the time I was taking photos mostly of nature and developing at home. At 16 I say that first Nikon F and really liked it, I had a Canon as a more compact camera but still loved the big heavy Speed Graphic because girls like me to take their photos.
I sold the business the day I graduated mid term from High School at 17 and moved alone to San Francisco thinking it was easier to get a job in an actual high tech company but soon found that musicians in 1966 were eager for a nerd kid to repair their amps. I did not care about music but soon was deeply involved in repairing and designing new gear for them in the exploding music scene there. Eventually I took over a large recording studio after designing al the sound system ...everything, speakers, mixing console, amplifiers etc for a British group word tour named Jethro Tull. It was the first hi-fi pa system and toured the US and Canada using the system designed specifically for the Aqualung album support tour.
When returning to San Francisco with some money and witha little backing from other groups that had appreciatd my contribution, put the down payment on a studio that was designed and built for the engineer for Jimi Hendrix but he died before it opened.
It struggled to make profit so I was able to buy it with $50k down payment and it soon became very popular and all this time taking photos, often causal photos that groups used on their album covers or liner notes. I never sold them, but licenced them for royalties so they owed nothing if the album did not sell and if it did I got a small royalty on each. That is when I got my first Nikon and it was always loaded with film and laying out so it was ready to snap a photo of as quiet moment in the studio or when an player was having a quiet take with the producer, all b&w for better low light performance. We produced 197 gold and platinum albums so royalties were substantial. That Nikon F2 earned most of my income. although the studio did very well also. I moved out of the US in retirement at 51 in 2000 to St Petersburg Russia after giving everything away in the US. I arrived with just 2 suitcases and $6000, still here but started business and have loved every minute of this highly cultured beautiful friendly city.
I am 73 and use a D850, D800 and Z6 for a side business of portraits and portfolio photography for the very active theater culture here and have two incoming tour operator companies and a repair shop repairing pro audio equipment. I put on 2-3 day actor master classes for stage actors who want to transition to cinema and take photos and videos of each attendee, the classes are twice a month, and features a different casting director or film director each class from 20-60 attendees. Most of the photos are using the Z6, which I always have with my in a sling bag with 24-70, 85 1.8 and sometimes 70-200. If I can get it with the little Z6, it probably can be gotten. I love that little camera.
My photo friends are alway getting the latest camera and kid me for having old less tech equipment. Why should I update, by the time I learned to get the best from a camera, it is "obsolite". I have friends who do weddings that replace cameras every time a new model comes out to any brand, most went to Sony for awhile then switched to Canon R series and laugh at my little old D850 and "single card slot" Z6. But then say I am lucky to get some shots they envy. I still have my first digital camera, a D90 and it has over 500,000 clicks and one of its photos was licensed by a major cruise line for several photos used in their glossy cruise catalog. I have photos taken with that camera handing in the most prestegious photo gallery in the country. I still love my D800, it is a beast in the studio. Even the street photography is very rewarding, and is how I met most of my closest friends. Most of them are very attractive women : ). I am loyal to Nikon because it is loyal to me and I have used them in every one of trips to the 92 countries I have spent time in. Nothing else in my life has been as dependable or as loyal. The next time I am in the UK I will definitely come to Gray's. I have a few Nikon bodies I do not use because I bought them late in their life for cheap just to have, such as the D3s and D1. By the way, the Nikon warranty shop here is Excellent, very competent, reasonable in price and a pleasure to deal with. I have had a few lenses worked on and the D800 after years of abuse had the connector for the detatchable grip needed be repaced. A capacitor in my first SB900 failed after years of hard daily use but I repaired that myself.
This show was truly a treat. Encore! Encore!!
I had a pair of Nikon F3. Served for many years in pro wedding and personal work. Nikon ever since.
The back and forth coupling when mounting a lens on a F TTL Photomic came from the lens compatibility before TTL meetering. With the external coupled lightmeter, the meeter had to know the preset aperture on the lens not taking account of the max aperure of it. So Nikon decided to position the coupling prong on a medium aperture of 5.6, at date there was no back and forth coupling movement.
When the Photomic TTL system arrived, the lightmeter had to compensate the variable amount of light going on the meter depending of the max aperture of the lens.
The easiest way to do the compensation is to place the coupling prong on different places depending on the max aperture of the lens. That's how Mamiya made it later on the M645 that had the same type of rabbit ears, with no back and forth coupling.
Another possibility is how Miranda made it. It had a big knob in front of the camera where you had to set manually the max aperture of the lens and make an electronic correction.
As Nikon did not want to change the F mount when the TTL Photomic arrived, they made an automatic full aperture detection when turning the aperture ring back and forth.
Later with the AI coupling they went the way all other manufacturers went, having a variable coupling notch position depending on the lens max aperture. As AI lenses kept both systems fixed prong and variable notch they remained also backward compatible.
Thanks for another great livestream. You have really made my day since it now turns out that my "mongrel" black Nikon F with its chrome plain prism is actually a Clint Eastwood Special Edition! Not bad for £125 used (in Mint +/-/÷/× etc condition), purchased a couple of years ago at the local camera shop. It still works like new and is dent-free. I also bought a mint Mk.2 selenium clip-on meter on Ebay soon afterwards and it is accurate to half a stop after 60 years. Who needs batteries?
absolute legend ... recently had another entertaining visit with him chatting about my Leica M with a 1950's 50mm Nikkor-S lens...he came back a couple of minutes later with the exact date & details re my Nikkor lens on my Leica :)) maestro
Charles you are very kind!
Always good to see my old & dearest friend Gray Levett, a true Gentleman.
🤗📷👨🎓
More of the same. The older gentleman is a treasure chest of knowledge with a relaxed presence. 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷
Really enjoyed this. Apologies for not knowing Gray - I've only been following for a couple months.
Really enjoyed this. I have been a Nikon user since early 70s. Purchased a Nikkormat. That camera has done a lot of traveling. My Grandson is now using it. I purchased an F2. I also have a very nice S2 and I purchased an F at my local camera store just to have the original. Like the analogy of using the F and playing Vinal records. Still using my 70s stereo system and have all my albums.
My favourite F would be the black body with non-metering head and the clockwork motor. Thing of beauty.
Just like to say what a nice knowledgeable man Gray is.
I've visited the excellent shop, they give service at the highest level, rarely seen in the UK nowadays. Keep up the good work..
Such a great source is mr Gray u should have him on camera more often!
Hello Gray - very pleasant interview; you have an amazing memory of your incredible adventures with Nikon and all the people associated with Nikon; yes I remember that time of the release of "Bridges of Madison County" - two weeks ago I had a fantastic lunch at the Mission Ranch Restaurant owned and restored by Clint Eastwood - beautiful serene place - if your viewers ever go to California then visit Carmel and you might bump into Clint......😎
Really enjoyed watching, I've been using Nikon since 1971 & still have my Nikon F1 & F2, I will never sell.
Thanks so much for the live stream! Gray's knowledge of Nikon is encyclopaedic. He pulled out the facts on the F3P faster than I could type in a few letters into Google!
Thank you so much Arron
@@greyghost938 You're welcome, Grey!
Excellent as ever Gray!
My two favourite cameras are Nikon F Plain prism & FM3a.
Go well old friend.
🕊❤️🤗🙏📷👨🎓
Thank you very much Terry! Great taste!
@@greyghost938 🕊❤️🤗🙏👨🎓📷
I did not have an original F but I did have an F2AS that I kept in mint condition yet still used it quite a bit. It was my baby and I loved that Camera. My F3 however I used it and abused it. I just didn't have the same feeling for it I had for my F2AS. Had an original FM as well and loved that one. Wish I still had the F2AS and the FM.
I really should get myself an F. I love my Nikkormat FTN, FM2n and my Nikon DSLRs. Great video, by the way.
Truly amazing information 🙌
What a remarkable man mr. Gray is! Thanks for the nice video
Very nice conversation, indeed. Let me add: 1. You don't have to set aperture on 5.6 when coupling the lens with a Photomic but only turn aperture ring form stop to stop. Setting on 5.6 is only required with Nikkormat models (up to FT2 and EL), then in connection with coupling prong on the right (as seen from the front) and then turn aperture ring to the opposite stop. 2. Clint Eastwood's own Nikon F was auctioned some years ago at Westlicht Photographica Auction in Vienna/Austria for 6000 euros. I have been a totally convinced Nikonian since 1971 because of Nikons' unrivalled reliability and durability, and regret not owning a Nikon F at the moment; but after all an F2S and some Nikkormat EL, EL2, F801s, and D300 - the latter, by the way, only with all the same Nikkor manual focus lenses as for the others. @philosimot.
The Nikkormat FT2 and FT3 is so underrated. The shutter action is smooth as butter and so lovely.
Yes, I agee. I have a mint one of each, plus a Nikkormat EL. They all work perfectly after decades! Nikkormats are the Thinking Man's Leicas but please don't tell anyone 'cos then the prices will shoot up.
I'd love to see an episode on the Nikkormat/Nikkorex cameras
Excellent. Thank you Gray, for all the interesting history! (My first Nikon "pro" camera was the F2, in 1975, and I've shot Nikon ever since.)
Thank you very much Mike.
Great livestream. I always enjoy hearing from Gray and of course the Nikon F is a great subject. I picked up a Nikon F Photomic FTN about four years ago that looks practically new (it was manufactured in 1971). I use it about once or twice a year but it is a piece of art and looks great on the shelf.
Thank you Richard!
The plain prism F is a work of art. I owned an immaculate early number F, and foolishly sold it. Subsequently had an F2AS I never felt similar affection for. The Nikkormats are brilliant cameras, being democratically priced and very well made machines. The fact so many are still around is testament to their build quality. Nikon persevered too long with the F mount and screw autofocus lenses, they should have followed Canon into electronic lens operation and a wider throat.
I really would love to get a plain prism Nikon F. My oldest Nikon is an F2S…which is fantastic, but there is something about the original, I think.
I have a dozen Nikon SLRs. I agree with Gray, if I only had one film camera, it would be my FM3a….but its close call with the F3HP.
Ooh a vinyl stream sign me up... But don't mention Crossleys...
Thank you for a good episode... .lots of history and great stories. I do own a few F models, including an early 640xxx with a tick mark lens. But my favorite F is the F2 (F2A/AS). Currently working in making a video in the F2 video mode (well, using the F2 with an MF-2 750 frame film back, MD2 motor drive). My plan is to make a 3-5 minute video using nothing but an F2 , an MF-2 back and 100 feet of film.
Also I think one of the biggest successes of any camera brand has been celebrities. I think we're seeing it move back there at an accelerated rate as new celebrities begin shooting film again. I said to someone recently, film shooter's have a higher level of intentionality. The aesthetic lends itself to memories similar to how in cinema dream or flashback like effects are used. Film has a feeling to it current cameras corrected for automatically and optically.
Past Nikon famous celebrities.
Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger, Sidney Poitier, Sean Connery, Bruce Springsteen, David Hemmings, Frank Sinatra, George Harrison, Gina Lollobrigida, Goldie Hawn, Jackie Stewart, Jane Birkin, Janis Joplin, Katharine Ross, Linda McCartney.
In London end of Aug, will definitely pay a visit.. My dad sold Nikon all his life too..
in 1958, the Zunow made the first SLR similar before the Nikon F, as it had instant mirror return, and automatic lens opening, in which in low production after the Nikon F appear in 1959 which lead the company to go into bankruptcy in 1961
Nikon F to Leica LTM adapter sadly missing these days. It came out 16 years ago and never came back.
Blow up was a classic.
I remember seeing a Nikon ftn photomic for sale in Yokosuka Japan at the Navy exchange for about $400 this was in 1964
What is the poster/graphic at 8.36? Where can I buy?
Seriously.... this gray dude is like the British Nikon Wikipedia!!! Im a disciple....
Is it possible for your channel to go over publications (Life, Time, National Geographics, etc.) that link past photographers to Nikon? Other brands too if possible. I seriously think I became a photographer, because of National Geographics, Life magazine and Jet. I pretty much indulged in those pages before I could read. I'd play with my mom's film cameras she had. Didn't know anything about them, just clicking buttons and dials and playing pretend.
I been to this famous shop Grays Of Westminister camera shop in Victoria and I been down stairs and seen all the Nikon Lenses and all the cameras and they got over £10.000000 worth of Nikon equipment and on the top floor their must be about another £1.000000 of Nikon equipment. I also got a Nikon F2 black body and the 2 parts motor drives MD-1 and MB-1 and it came with the Nikon Ds-1 that can buy and I need to get a meter head for it and get the camera repaired and i only Paid £10.00 for all of them from a camera shop in London in 2023
Looks like Grey does not like the big meter on top as I do not like them..
Nothing beats the Nikon f,f2, and f3
No Leica can compare
Better focus accuracy
Better framing accuracy
100% viewfinder (your framing won’t be off when you print)
Better lenses and selection
Closer focus abilities
There’s a reason why Leica almost died when the slr came out from Nikon , it was more advanced of a machine, with more abilities and better accuracy
Ever print a photograph from a Leica or other rangefinder and it seems off? Thats because the framing is off on a rangefinder! No matter how well it’s maintained