Classic Nikon SLR Cameras

Photos by Ross Alford

Click towards the left edge of the thumbnails to see a normal B&W photo, or click towards the right edge to see a stereo B&W photo. To view the stereo images, look through a red filter with your left eye and a green or blue filter with your right eye.

F 64 3d F 64 B&W Nikon F 64 thumb A 64 series Nikon F with most of the '64 features, including hollow wind lever, etc., and a Flag Photomic finder. The Flag Photomic was the first Photomic finder. It has an external meter window, and has no on-off switch; instead, the "flag," visible above the meter window in this picture, blocks the light to the CdS cell when it is lowered, reducing the current drain to near 0 and effectively turning the meter off.

F 72 govt front thumbA black 1972 Nikon F with black Photomic FTn finder. This camera has seen lots of use, although it still works. the interesting feature of this one is seen in the next picture--it has "US GOVT PROPERTY" engraved on the back of the top plate. It was purchased surplus at an auction. May have belonged to the US Navy? The lens is not original.

F 72 govt rear thumb

A rear view of the black '72 FTn shown above, showing the US GOVT PROPERTY engraving.

Nikon Ftn 74 thumb A black 1974 FTn in near-mint condition. this camera is within the last 10,000 Nikon Fs made.

 

Nikon FT

Nikon 64 series body with Photomic T finder. This is an averaging-reading TTL meter that requires the user to manually set the maximum aperture of the lens each time a lens is changed--very easy to forget. This camera also has a later-version flash shoe mounted above the rewind knob. The 43-86 zoom is also later than the body, since it has a rubberized focusing ring.

 

Nikon F2SNikon '72 F2S. I tend to agree with the idea that the F2 is the nicest all-mechanical 35mm SLR ever made. The mechanics are so smooth that the camera is a real pleasure to operate. It does weigh a lot, and the F2S finder eats batteries if you forget to turn it off.

 

Nikkorex F

Nikkorex F. The story is that Nikon wanted to bring out a low-priced model, following the runaway success of the F in the early 1960s. They contracted the body out, perhaps to Mamiya. The Nikkorex F was the first camera to use the Copal Square metal focal plane shutter that became very common later in the 1960s and was the predecessor of many shutter designs still in use. This camera does not have the original lens, which should be a Nikkor-S seven element f/2, instead of the Nikkor-H. The same body was also sold as the Ricoh Singlex.

 

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All images and text on this site are copyrighted by Ross A. Alford and may not be reproduced without permission

 

F 72 govt front 3d F 72 govt front BW

F 72 govt rear F 72 govt rear BW

Nikon Ftn 74 black 3d Nikon Ftn 74 black BW Nikon F2S 3d Nikon F2S BW Nikon FT 3d Nikon FT BW Nikkorex F 3d Nikkorex F BW