An image of a 1971 Nikon F Photomic FTN
The Nikon F camera was introduced in April 1959 and was Nikon's first SLR camera. It was one of the most advanced cameras of its day. Although many of the concepts had already been introduced elsewhere, it was revolutionary in that it was the first to combine them all in one camera. It was produced until October 1973 and was replaced by the quite similar Nikon F2. The Nikon F was enormously successful and showed the superiority of the SLR and of the Japanese camera manufacturers. It was the first SLR system to be adopted and used seriously by the general population of professional photographers, especially by those photographers covering the Vietnam War as well as coverage of NASA launches. A true pedigree amongst cameras the the Nikon F revolutionized the photographic market, stealing the thunder of German manufacturers Leica and Zeiss. The F also had a reputation for being extremely resilient to damage or mechanical failure. It became known as "the hockey puck". Many professional photographers, especially photojournalists, began using the F camera system. The first Nikon F Photomic viewfinder, delivered since 1962, had an independent photocell, then Nikon introduced the Photomic T (superseded by the Photomic Tn), which featured through-the-lens metering. The final metering prism for the Nikon F, the Photomic FTn, introduced in 1968, provided 60% centre-weighted TTL which became the standard metering pattern for Nikon cameras for decades afterwards. Additional viewfinders included a waist-level viewer, a 6 power magnifying finder, and an "action finder" with a larger viewable area, and an ability to see the entire frame while wearing goggles and/or a helmet. (Abridged text from Wikipeadia). The Nikon F was succeeded in 1972 by the Nikon F2 series after a production total of 862,600 bodies.
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK
Photo credit: © Simon Webster / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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