'New' Nikon F? - Grays of Westminster (UK)

Steve Smith · Jun 3, 2009

In this week's edition of the UK magazine Amateur Photographer, Nikon dealer Grays of Westminster have a double page advertisement. The whole of one of these pages is devoted to an advert for a 'new' black Nikon F with plain prism.

I can't find anything on their website. I am assuming it is an old one they have found in mint condition rather than a re-issue (which I'm sure we would have heard about).

Does anyone know anything about this? It did seem strange to devote a whole page to it.

Steve.

tony lockerbie · Jun 3, 2009

Haven't seen the ads, but I assume that it is a new/ old Nikon F that they have found somewhere. A "new" F in black with a plain prism would be worth a princely sum, probably well worth a whole page.

Tony

pentaxuser · Jun 3, 2009

Nothing at Grays is cheap but it may be better than say other Nikon stockists such as Mifsud's and Ffordes who aren't solely Nikon specialists. Are we paying for better( in the serviced sense) and more reliable equipment or simply the costs involved in keeping large stock and being in London which is expensive? I don't know.

They can certainly unearth Nikon things that others never seem to have.

pentaxuser

GeoffCrow · Jun 5, 2009

The new Nikon F is listed on the second hand page of the web site price..... £5000

nicefor88 · Jun 7, 2009

Instead of usind the word 'new' they should have said 'mint, or pristine, or still-in-the-box-that-was-never-opened-since-the-sixties'.
Sorry, but what's the point of taking pictures with a 50-year old veteran, heavy, bulky and left-behind camera that should be found only in a museum?
:rolleyes:
(sincere apologies to all Nikon F fan clubs from around the world, I fully respect your devotion to this venerable ancestor)

pentaxuser · Jun 7, 2009

nicefor88 said:
Sorry, but what's the point of taking pictures with a 50-year old veteran, heavy, bulky and left-behind camera that should be found only in a museum?
:rolleyes:

A bit like buying and running a 1920s Bentley Speed Six,a Bugatti or Manx Norton, maybe?

pentaxuser

geoferrell · Jun 7, 2009

Their web page lists a Nikon F in the box with warranty card and all other materials, basically as new.

Bob-D659 · Jun 7, 2009

nicefor88 said:
Sorry, but what's the point of taking pictures with a 50-year old veteran, heavy, bulky and left-behind camera that should be found only in a museum?
:rolleyes:

They are like the energizer bunny, they just keep going and going and going.

3 F's, 2 Nikkormats and a 6x9 Technica III, all lean, trim and fit.

Bob

Rol_Lei Nut · Jun 7, 2009

nicefor88 said:
Sorry, but what's the point of taking pictures with a 50-year old veteran, heavy, bulky and left-behind camera that should be found only in a museum?
:rolleyes:

Yes, we all know today that it is *impossible* to take a photograph without thousands eye-controlled AF-sensors, advanced microprocessor-controlled auto-exposure and automatic white-balancing (Ooops!)...
;-)

Just to avoid misunderstandings, my two favourite cameras are my Leicaflex SL (1968) and SL2 (1975).

dougjgreen · Jun 7, 2009

Bob-D659 said:
They are like the energizer bunny, they just keep going and going and going.

3 F's, 2 Nikkormats and a 6x9 Technica III, all lean, trim and fit.

Bob

Right, but nobody is going to USE that camera, at 5K pounds - anyone who buys it will clearly be a collector. If they want to USE a Nikon body, they're going buy nice condition lightly used bodies for tiny fractions of those prices.

As examples, I recently picked up an Ex+ Nikkormat FT3 for $63 and an Ex Nikon F2S for $94 including shipping. Perfectly capable user Nikon bodies are easily found for prices in that kind of range. Even a really pristine FM3a or F2AS is easily found for $500 or less.

removed-user-1 · Jun 7, 2009

pentaxuser said:
nicefor88 said:

Sorry, but what's the point of taking pictures with a 50-year old veteran, heavy, bulky and left-behind camera that should be found only in a museum?
:rolleyes:

Click to expand...

Have you ever used a Nikon F? It is a very nice experience, all the controls are exactly where they should be and it just feels really precise. Also, it will work with almost any Nikon-mount lens, even most of the autofocus ones (manually-focused, of course). Give one a try sometime.

mudman · Jun 7, 2009

Same question could be asked about shooting film in the wrong crowd.

dougjgreen · Jun 7, 2009

rthomas said:
Have you ever used a Nikon F? It is a very nice experience, all the controls are exactly where they should be and it just feels really precise.

Well, except for the shutter release, which is clearly NOT in the right place. Something that they didn't get right until the F2.

Bob-D659 · Jun 7, 2009

The F has it in the right place, and it also had the neat feature of rotating along with the film sprockets. Very handy when having to backup the film for a double exposure.

dougjgreen · Jun 7, 2009

Bob-D659 said:
The F has it in the right place, and it also had the neat feature of rotating along with the film sprockets. Very handy when having to backup the film for a double exposure.

No it's not in the right place. Why do you think EVERY camera since has had it in the front, not the back? Because it's an unnatural position, and the ergonomic studies showed that it's FAR better in the front.

removed-user-1 · Jun 7, 2009

Bob-D659 said:
The F has it in the right place, and it also had the neat feature of rotating along with the film sprockets. Very handy when having to backup the film for a double exposure.

I do think multiple exposure is somewhat difficult with the F. We are all biased a little by what we first experience; my first serious 35mm camera was an eye-level Nikon F. Having one in my hands feels like "home."

Not that I'm buying a "new" one for $5000!

Bob-D659 · Jun 8, 2009

I know I'm biased, but having bought my first very well used one 42 years ago, and I've been using it ever since, I'm entitled.

Oh a new one would be soooooooo tempting, but the accounting dept would go ballistic I'm sure.

Steve Smith · Jun 8, 2009

nicefor88 said:
Sorry, but what's the point of taking pictures with a 50-year old veteran, heavy, bulky and left-behind camera that should be found only in a museum?

That describes nearly all of my cameras.

The answer is - because I want to.

Steve.

Rol_Lei Nut · Jun 8, 2009

rthomas said:
pentaxuser said:

Have you ever used a Nikon F? It is a very nice experience, all the controls are exactly where they should be

Click to expand...

Controls exactly where they should be?!!!?

I think Nikon designers went to great pains to make sure that the advance lever would get tangled up in the strap rings and that the right index finger would start to cramp after a while....

That said, despite the ergonomic quirks, I do agree that it is a wonderful camera to use and it is perhaps my 4th or 5th favourite camera.

TheFlyingCamera · Jun 8, 2009

Most of my cameras, if they aren't in fact nearly a century old, certainly look it. So, by comparison, the F is a marvel of advanced technology.

John Koehrer · Jun 8, 2009

The release was exactly where they found it. On the LTM Leicas.
The "new" F will go into some collectors cabinet or safe deposit box only to be massaged once & again on important occasions. Probably in smoking jacket and with a snifter of brandy(the owner not the camera).
Rather than new, it's probably a camera bought & stored for years and technically is used since a new camera would have been bought from the distributor shortly after manufacture.

ajuk · Jun 8, 2009

£2850 for a double page spread according to their AP's card, how much do they expect to get for this camera?!
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djcphoto · Jun 8, 2009

"£2850 for a double page spread according to their AP's card, how much do they expect to get for this camera?!"

Almost irrelevant. If they have photography forums buzzing about it, it's money well spent!

ajuk · Jun 9, 2009

OK hows that work they have 1 camera to sell for £5k and they spend £3k advertising it!

Steve Smith · Jun 9, 2009

They have a double page spread most weeks regardless.

Steve.

'New' Nikon F? - Grays of Westminster (UK)

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