The Nikon F camera, introduced in April 1959, 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 Nikon F2. Aspects of its design remain in all of Nikon's subsequent SLR cameras, through the current Nikon F6 film and Nikon D6 digital models. The "F" in Nikon F was selected from the term "re-f-lex", since the pronunciation of the first letter "R" is not available in many Asian languages. That tradition was carried all the way through their top line of Nikon cameras until the introduction of the Nikon D1 (digital) cameras decades later.
In camera design, a focal-plane shutter (FPS) is a type of photographic shutter that is positioned immediately in front of the focal plane of the camera, that is, right in front of the photographic film or image sensor.
The Nikon FM is a mechanically operated, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured in Japan between 1977 and 1982 by Nippon Kogaku K. K..
The Nikon F-801 is a 35mm SLR released worldwide in June 1988 and manufactured until 1991, when it was replaced by the improved Nikon F-801s, which in turn was discontinued in early 1995. Although its autofocus mechanism is slow in comparison to modern standards, it was an improvement on Nikon's first attempt at an autofocus SLR - the F-501, and proved to be reliable and durable, typical of Nikon's cameras.
The Nikon FM2 is an advanced semi-professional, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Nippon Kogaku K. K. in Japan from 1982 to 2001. The original camera was released with some incremental improvements in 1984, and this later version is commonly referred to as the FM2n, although both versions are labelled as the FM2 on the front of the camera body.
The Nikon FA is an advanced amateur-level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K. in Japan from 1983 to 1987. The FA used a titanium-bladed, vertical-travel Nikon-designed, Copal-made focal plane shutter with a speed range of 1 to 1/4000th second plus Bulb and flash X-sync of 1/250th second. It was available in two colors: black with chrome trim and all black. The introductory US list price for the chrome body only was $646. Note that SLRs usually sold for 30 to 40 percent below list price.
The Nikon FE2 is a 35 mm single lens reflex (SLR) camera manufactured by Nippon Kogaku K. K. in Japan from 1983 to 1987. The FE2 uses a Nikon-designed vertical-travel focal-plane shutter with a speed range of 8 to 1/4000th second, plus Bulb and flash X-sync of 1/250th second. It was available in two colors: black with chrome trim and all-black. The introductory US list price for the chrome body only was $446. Note that SLRs are usually sold for 30 to 40 percent below list price.
The Nikon FE is an advanced semi-professional level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Nikon in Japan from 1978 to 1983, and was available new from dealer stock until c. 1984. The FE uses a metal-bladed, vertical-travel focal plane shutter with a speed range of 8 to 1/1000 second, plus Bulb, and flash X-sync of 1/125th second. It had dimensions of 89.5 millimetres (3.52 in) height, 142 mm (5.6 in) width, 57.5 mm (2.26 in) depth and 590 grams (21 oz) weight. It was available in two colors: black with chrome trim and all black. As on the FM, its model designation did not appear on the front of the camera, but was engraved as a small "FE" preceding the serial number on the rear of the housing.
The Pentax K1000 is an interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, manufactured by Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. from 1976 to 1997, originally in Japan. The K1000's extraordinary longevity makes it a historically significant camera. The K1000's inexpensive simplicity was a great virtue and earned it an unrivalled popularity as a basic but sturdy workhorse. The Pentax K1000 eventually sold over three million units.
The Canon A-1 is an advanced-level single-lens reflex (SLR) 35 mm film camera for use with interchangeable lenses. It was manufactured by Canon Camera K. K. in Japan from March 1978 to 1985. It employs a horizontal cloth-curtain focal-plane shutter with a speed range of 30 to 1/1000 second plus bulb and flash synchronization speed of 1/60 second. It has dimensions of 92 millimetres (3.6 in) height, 141 millimetres (5.6 in) width, 48 millimetres (1.9 in) depth and 620 grams (22 oz) weight. Unlike most SLRs of the time, it was available in only one color; all black. The introductory US list price for the body plus Canon FD 50 mm f/1.4 SSC lens was $625; the camera body was generally sold with a 30–40% discount.
The NikonD50 is a 6.1-megapixel entry-level digital single-lens reflex camera, sold from June 2005 until November 2006 by Nikon. It was Nikon's first DSLR aimed at the consumer market, and sold for US$899. It uses the Nikon F mount. The D50 is similar to the slightly older D70 using the same CCD sensor, with a slower maximum shutter speed and slightly smaller size. However, it continued to offer the internal focus motor of prior autofocus film and digital SLRs; making it suitable for the use of autofocus with late film-era Nikkor AF and AF-D lenses. Future entry-level Nikon DSLRs would eliminate the internal focus motor and require these motors to be in the lenses.
The Nikon EM is a beginner's level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Nippon Kogaku K. K. in Japan from 1979 to 1982. The camera was designed for and marketed to the growing market of new photographers then entering the SLR buyer's market. The EM uses a Seiko MFC-E focal plane shutter with a speed range of 1 to 1/1000 second plus Bulb and flash X-sync of 1/90 second. It is 86 mm (3.4 in) high, 135 mm (5.3 in) wide, 54 mm (2.1 in) deep and weighed 460 grams (16 oz). Unlike most Nikons of the time, it was available only in black. The EM has no full manual exposure mode capability, but instead was intended to be used by inexperienced photographers who could not easily master the intricacies of shutter speeds and f-stops. There were also significant changes to the EM's mechanical and electrical components to reduce its production cost relative to previous Nikon cameras: dimensional tolerances weren't as tight, there were no ball bearings in the film advance mechanism, and no high-quality titanium shutter. The introductory US list price for the body plus normal lens was only $231.
The Nikon FG is an interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Nippon Kogaku K. K. in Japan from 1982 to 1986.
The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35mm format single-lens reflex cameras. The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1959, and features a three-lug bayonet mount with a 44 mm throat and a flange to focal plane distance of 46.5 mm. The company continues, with the 2020 D6 model, to use variations of the same lens mount specification for its film and digital SLR cameras.
The Nikon F2 is a professional-level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K. in Japan from September 1971 to 1980. It used a horizontal-travel focal plane shutter with titanium shutter curtains and a speed range of 1 to 1/2000 second plus Bulb and Time, and flash X-sync of 1/80 second. It had dimensions of 98 mm height, 152.5 mm width, 65 mm depth and 730 g weight. It was available in two colors: black with chrome trim and all black. The F2 was adopted by both casual photographers and professional photographers, the latter of those especially photojournalists covering the later half of the Vietnam War.
The history of the single-lens reflex camera (SLR) begins with the use of a reflex mirror in a camera obscura described in 1676, but it took a long time for the design to succeed for photographic cameras. The first patent was granted in 1861, and the first cameras were produced in 1884, but while elegantly simple in concept, they were very complex in practice. One by one these complexities were overcome as optical and mechanical technology advanced, and in the 1960s the SLR camera became the preferred design for many high-end camera formats.
Nikkormat was a brand of cameras produced by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K., as a consumer version of the professional Nikon brand. Nikkormat cameras, produced from 1965 until 1978, were simpler and more affordable than Nikon-branded cameras, but accepted the same lenses as the Nikon F series cameras.
The Nikon FM10 is a manual focus 35 mm film camera formerly sold by Nikon Corporation. It is of SLR design and was first available in 1995. It is normally sold in a kit that includes a Zoom Nikkor 35–70 mm f/3.5-4.8 zoom lens, although a Zoom Nikkor 70–210 mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom lens is also available. An electronic companion model known as the FE10 was also sold at one stage.
The Pentax ME F was an amateur level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. of Japan from November 1981 to 1984. The ME F was a heavily modified version of the Pentax ME-Super, and a member of the Pentax M-series family of SLRs. It was the first mass-produced SLR camera to come with an autofocus system.
The Nikon 35Ti (1993) and Nikon 28Ti (1994) are luxury titanium-clad point and shoot cameras that were produced by Nikon, equipped with a high-quality lens and body, competing with similar luxury compact cameras produced during the Japanese bubble-economy era, including the Contax T line, Konica Hexar, Leica minilux, Minolta TC-1, Ricoh GR series, and Rollei QZ 35W/35T. Both the 35Ti and 28Ti are 35 mm cameras with nearly identical operation; as the name implies, the 35Ti is equipped with a 35 mm focal length lens, while the 28Ti is equipped with a 28 mm lens. Externally, they may be distinguished by their color: the 35Ti is finished in chrome/silver, and the 28Ti is finished in black.
