Any Nikonos users out there?

[Marco Gilardetti]

Matt, thank you, your reply was extremely informative. Unfortunately, since 9/11, dealing with the States has become a postage nightmare and I will most probably have to go on eBay and cross my fingers.

What do you think about long term's maintenance of these cameras? Are the replacement parts and seals still manufactured/supported?

 

[MattCarey]

Matt, thank you, your reply was extremely informative. Unfortunately, since 9/11, dealing with the States has become a postage nightmare and I will most probably have to go on eBay and cross my fingers.

What do you think about long term's maintenance of these cameras? Are the replacement parts and seals still manufactured/supported?

Sorry for the late response--I didn't see this post.

Most of the seals should be made for a long time--they are just O-Rings. Other parts..well, the NikV is a lot like the FE (I have both)--a basic electronic camera. This doesn't mean that the boards are interchangeable. The electronics boards are going to get scarce. Given the environment of an UW camera, I would expect the NikV stuff to get scarce sometime in the future. When? I don't know.

Matt

 

[Vanishing Point Ent.]

Why NO D-Nikonos & the importance of lube.

Why Nikon never made a d-Nikonos is a mystery to me. Pros abandoned the series when they realized they could get 600 shots without having to surface. Putting a 1D into a proper housing is a lot of mass&bulk to be moving around underwater though

Because all housings leak, not if, but when. In the film days, people knew this & used mechanical cameras which could be rescued after flooding.

Now, when a digital camera floods, Nikon gets to sell a new $3,000.00 Digital.

Like we've learned from the banks, they don't have to care, only we do.

I used to S.C.U.B.A. dive & own 3-III's. When I rented a V for a special shoot, I found that the rental company didn't lube the o-rings, before sending the camera out. I did, I used the camera with no problems.

When I returned the camera I inquired about the lack of lube & how many Nikoni, they had gone through. They said, they didn't rent them much, but it was funny, that each time they rented them out, they came back flooded & destroyed, so they didn't want to rent them anymore.

I explained to them why & had them look at the Nikonos V instruction manual, about lubing the lens & film cover o-ring seals.

 

[Muihlinn]

As I said before, I do use a II. Still the same O-rings than when it leaved the factory back in 1971 and no leaks since then.
Regular lube and that's fine.