Nikon F History Question

F4U · May 8, 2025

I have a late 1961 or early 1962 Nikon F with the standard prism finder. As I recall on the earliest F models, a factory retrofit modification had to be made to the screen box before one of the later Photomic finders could be mounted on the camera. What year model or serial number designation was the cutoff where no modification needed to be made to fit the Photomic finder? And once new model manufacture no longer required a modification, were all subsequent Photomic finders compatible? Thank you.

laservampire · May 8, 2025

The difference is in the rear lip around the top of the mirror box.

This change first appeared on Nikon F bodies around the 657xxxx serial number (early 1965) and until it was standardized there would be a red dot next to the serial number to indicate that the body could use the new Photomic T finder

There are four main types of Photomic finder:

1962 Photomic (flag and switch types), with the "eye" on the front, these are not thru-the-lens meters and can be used on ANY Nikon F body.

1965 Photomic T and the later 1967 Photomic Tn, these are the first thru-the-lens meters and require the back of the mirror box lip to have the cutout

1968 Photomic FTn, this type requires both the mirror box cut out AND a later front nameplate with angled bottom edges for the claws to lock onto.

All of this info and more can be found at Richard DeStouz's wonderful Nikon F website: https://www.destoutz.ch/nikon-f.html

F4U · May 9, 2025

Thank you. Mine is 6457494 and is the un-modified early type. And the name plate bottom corners are as square as they can be.So I guess that is the end of that idea. Oh well. That means to always keep my Luna Pro in my pocket. The camera and finder are in mint condition and I just finished a nice CLA on it. Nice machine.

laservampire · May 9, 2025

The plain prism is my favourite anyway, I have a bunch of Photomics and I don't think I've used any of them! Nice score on the early F, I have a 641xxxx serial F that I've been meaning to get CLA'd.

Another option is to use one of those small shoe mounted finders (like the Voightlander VCII) on the optional shoe mount accessory, I've had one on my Nikon S2 recently and the metering has been giving the exact same results as my friend's Canon F-1

F4U · May 9, 2025

Frankly I'm given to wonder the value of meters. Once upon a time the leaflet that came with a roll of Kodak film did a fine job, if your shutter accuracy was right, your film speed rating and development procedure was dependable. Meters and automatic cameras created a dependency, with resultant laziness and outright ignorance. The foremost item in the blend is to get your shutter timing back to spec. You won't believe how badly these old camera shutters have drifted off-time. What good is the finest exposure meter with that variable?

ic-racer · May 9, 2025

I found the adjustability of mechanical Nikon shutters allow for very accurate timing. Same for the various metered finders. All my working meters were either spot on, or easily adjusted.

dynachrome · May 9, 2025

I am on both ends of the Nikon F production. I don't have an original F with a cloth shutter but my older F is from 1962. It came with a 50/2, a plain prism finder, the selenium meter and an original case. It was given to me by an older friend. I was around in 1962 but I was a little young to be using a Nikon F. I bought new silk pads for the older F but have not installed them yet. My newer F is from one of the last production runs in 1973. It is black and has an FTN finder. How accurate is that finder? That's a good question. If someone would make an updated version of the FTN finder, I might get more F bodies. When I use the later F I carry a Yashica FX-3 with a 50/2 ML lens for metering. The Yashica and lens weigh very little and metering thst way works well.

Chan Tran · May 9, 2025

The plain prism is better because it's hard to get a photomic finder that still works and is accurate today. However, it's the photomic finder gives the camera the Nikon look.

mshchem · May 9, 2025

laservampire said:
The difference is in the rear lip around the top of the mirror box.

This change first appeared on Nikon F bodies around the 657xxxx serial number (early 1965) and until it was standardized there would be a red dot next to the serial number to indicate that the body could use the new Photomic T finder

There are four main types of Photomic finder:

1962 Photomic (flag and switch types), with the "eye" on the front, these are not thru-the-lens meters and can be used on ANY Nikon F body.

1965 Photomic T and the later 1967 Photomic Tn, these are the first thru-the-lens meters and require the back of the mirror box lip to have the cutout

1968 Photomic FTn, this type requires both the mirror box cut out AND a later front nameplate with angled bottom edges for the claws to lock onto.

All of this info and more can be found at Richard DeStouz's wonderful Nikon F website: https://www.destoutz.ch/nikon-f.html

Great information, thanks and Welcome!

GregY · May 9, 2025

Chan Tran said:
tThe plain prism is better because it's hard to get a photomic finder that still works and is accurate today. However, it's the photomic finder gives the camera the Nikon look.

It depends on your point of view. Way back I used photomic F and F 2 w the drives ( and subsequent models). I mostly shot Kodachromes. To me the plain prism F handles best & nothing says Nikon to me like the plain prism with its bold F.

ic-racer · May 9, 2025

I recently got some Nikon metered finders with these results. Maybe I just got lucky with these but some looked pretty beat up. I was amazed at how accurate the meters are. High quality devices, then and now.

FTn silver repaired and calibrated
FTn black repaired and calibrated

dp-1 #1 on the bench
dp-1 #2 repaired and calibrated
dp-1 #3 cleaned and calibrated
dp-11 cleaned and calibrated
dp-12 cleaned and calibrated

dynachrome · May 9, 2025

At this point I know or have known more retired repairman than active ones. Can I ask who did these repairs for you? I have some F2 cameras which could also use some attention

Nikon F History Question

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