Nikon's Roots - Nikon F - Vol. 01

Nikon’s Roots Vol. 01

Nikon’s Roots is our deep dive into the history of Nikon. With their retro-styled Nikon Z f camera making waves last year, along with their best-selling Z8, we will take a good look at the history and genealogy of Nikon. These articles are written originally in Japanese by former Nikon employee and columnist Kenji Toyota. This episode of Nikon’s Roots is Volume 1 – the Nikon F.

The Revolutionary Single-lens Reflex Camera – Nikon F

The 1950s was a time of technological innovation for single-lens reflex cameras. Originally, single-lens reflex cameras had many inconveniences for general photography, so they were considered to be cameras for academic photography, used for magnifying photography and attached to astronomical telescopes, microscopes, etc. However, in the 1950s, several cameras were developed to solve these inconveniences. Technological innovations were made and the camera was improved to the point where it could be used as a general-purpose camera. The Nikon F, which was introduced in 1959, was the culmination of this technological innovation.

Among the many technological innovations, automatic aperture was the most delayed. It starts with a manual preset aperture, then goes through many twists and turns, including semi-automatic apertures that charge manually like the Pentax K and Topcon R, and semi-automatic apertures that charge in conjunction with the film advance like the Minolta SR2. The Zuno, which was released the year before the Nikon F, was the first to achieve a fully automatic aperture system in which the aperture is narrowed down to the set aperture, and the viewfinder remains bright at all other times. The Nikon F can be said to have further advanced its fully automatic aperture mechanism.

Elaborate mechanism

The SLR mechanisms perfected with the Nikon F, especially the quick return mirror mechanism and automatic aperture mechanism, are very interesting. When you press the shutter button,

Remove the key from the mirror up mechanism and the mirror will go up.
When the mirror is fully raised, this information is transmitted to the shutter and exposure starts.
Once the exposure is complete, this information is transmitted to the mirror-down mechanism, which lowers the mirror.
During this time, the movement of the mirror drive lever is transmitted via the lens mount to the automatic aperture lever, which closes down when the mirror is raised and returns to wide open when the mirror is down.

This series of operations is carried out instantly, without the use of batteries or motors, powered only by the force of a spring that is charged in conjunction with film winding! We think of this as ubiquitous with todays DSLRs, but think of it in the 50s…this is pretty revolutionary.

In the case of the Nikon F, the power source for this mirror drive is a single thick spring that resembles the main ball of a safety pin installed next to the mirror box. The fully automatic aperture method was also more rational and smart than that of other companies.

Double-linked external light meter

One feature that made the Nikon F particularly superior to compared to other SLR cameras was its external light meter, which was linked to both shutter speed and aperture. In the 1950s, efforts were made to link cameras and exposure meters. In the case of a lens-shutter camera, the shutter and aperture can be placed close together, so it is easy to link them together, but with a focal-plane shutter camera, the shutter is built into the body and the aperture mechanism is located on the interchangeable lens side. Since they are located far apart, this is not possible.

Nikon genealogy Nikon F edition explanatory photo — All interchangeable lenses under the name Nikkor Auto had an interlocking claw (commonly called a “crab claw”) that transmitted the set aperture value to the exposure meter.

The 1954, the Leica M3 was supplied with an external exposure meter that could be attached to the accessory shoe, but this only worked with the shutter dial; the aperture value was determined by reading the value displayed on the exposure meter and adjusting the aperture on the lens side. It was in the form of a ring. Later, Japanese manufacturers followed suit, but all of them were “single-linked” models that only worked with the shutter dial. This situation continued even when rangefinder cameras were replaced by single-lens reflex cameras, and even when cameras switched from external light meters to built-in cameras.

What makes Nikon Meter revolutionary?

In contrast, Nikon F’s system was built from the beginning with an exposure meter linked to the shutter dial and aperture. For all lenses named Nikkor Auto, the aperture ring is placed closest to the body, and a part commonly called a “crab claw” installed to convey the set aperture value to the exposure meter.

The photo below is an external exposure meter called the Nikon Meter. In use, it is attached by the shutter dial position to the front of the body. This was groundbreaking at the time, and something that other companies could not easily imitate. In fact, most of the focal plane SLR cameras from other companies continued to be single-linked, ushering in the era of TTL metering.

Nikon's Roots Nikon F meter accessory — With the Nikon meter attached, the dial you see in the back works as the shutter dial, and the slide lever you see in the front works with the aperture ring on the lens.

Nikon's Roots Nikon F Interlocking Pin — Interlocking pin installed on the slide lever of the Nikon meter. This pin falls into the interlocking claw (crab claw) and moves together with the aperture ring.

Motor drive

Another accessory that characterizes the Nikon F system is the motor drive. Nikon had already experienced the development of motor drives with the rangefinder cameras S2E and SP released in 1957. This was applied to the Nikon F single-lens reflex camera. Since the camera used a detachable back cover for loading film, this accessory was used as a replacement camera back. Therefore, it cannot be attached or detached with the film still inside.

In order to use the motor drive (there were two types, the F-36, which took 36 shots and used regular film, and the F-250, which took 250 shots), it was necessary to make adjustments to suit the body. Users would have to bring the camera to a service center to get this done. Therefore, it is exclusive to each body and cannot be used with other bodies. Motor drives were still inconvenient to use.

Nikon's Roots Nikon F Battery Case — When the AA battery case is attached to the Motor Drive F-36, the button on the top of the battery case can also be used to start the shutter release and film advance, and acts as a remote control.

Not just for remote control

Initially, it seems that the main use of the motor drive was remote control. In addition to the buttons on the back of the motor drive unit, shutter release and winding could also be done using buttons on the battery case connected via cable. By using a longer cable to connect the main unit to the battery case, you can operate it from a greater distance. If the cable is too long, the voltage will drop due to the resistance of the cable, so a relay box was also prepared as a separate accessory for relaying the cable.

Nikon's Roots - Nikon F — There is also a button on the back of the motor drive. You can also press this button to start it.

Battery Case

Later, with the advent of a “direct-connection battery case” that could be attached directly to the main body using the tripod hole, the hassle of pulling cables around was released. The continuous shooting function and quick-shooting ability were popular, making it widely used in sports photography and news photography.

Nikon F Establishing Nikon’s Roots

As I mentioned at the beginning of this volume of Nikon’s Roots, the Nikon F is a perfected single-lens reflex camera, but I realized that it lacked groundbreaking technology. The only thing that I can proudly say is a “world’s first” is the double-linked exposure meter. Rather, I think the appeal of the Nikon F lies in the smart use of previously existing technology, and the fact that it was incorporated after careful consideration. The result is a lens mount that has been in production for 15 years and continues to this day. Considering that other manufacturers of the same era suffered from a lack of technological mastery, such as changing the standard of automatic aperture or changing the lens mount midway through, Nikon F’s foresight was outstanding.

In the next installment of Nikon’s Roots, we look at the step up from the Nikon F – the Nikon F Photomic.

Article originally written in Japanese by Kenji Toyota｜Profile

Mr. Toyota was born in Tokyo in 1947. He worked for Nikon Corporation for more than 30 years, designing single-lens reflex cameras and working in electronic imaging. He will then teach as a part-time lecturer at the Department of Photography, College of Art, Nihon University until 2021. Current positions include Fellow and Auditor of the Photographic Society of Japan, Cooperating Committee member of the Japan Opto-Mechatronics Association, and judge of Japan Camera Museum’s “Japanese Historical Cameras.” He has written many books, including “Toyoken Sensei’s Camera Mechanism Course (Nippon Camera Company)” and “Cousins of the Nikon Family (Asahi Sonorama).”