What was the Nikon equivalent to the Canon AE-1 in the day...?

[AgX]

as the Praktina FX had a [electrical] motor years before it (1954?)

The Praktina got it as early as 1953 !

 

[flavio81]

I didn't know about the Praktina camera. Then, why was the Nikon F, which came much later, thought as the "first system camera"? The Praktina accesories look impressive for 1954!

 

[Xmas]

Don't think Canon and Nikon were doing equivalents in bygone days.
The early Canons were more Leitz ones the Nikon Ikon equivalents.
The Canon LTM lenses fully compatible with Leitz the Nikons not compatible with Ikons...
The Canon P sold faster than Nikon and Leitz rangefinders together.
Some pros used a Canon P with 35mm F with 5cm...
Canon went for volume with canonets Nikon with Fs...
Both turned from cottage companies to ... The rest is history.

 

[AgX]

I didn't know about the Praktina camera. Then, why was the Nikon F, which came much later, thought as the "first system camera"? The Praktina accesories look impressive for 1954!

Have a look at the Exacta Varex.

Maybe the first system SLR.

But some accessories may have been introduced late, so the honour maybe better given to the Praktina.

 

[Les Sarile]

I didn't know about the Praktina camera. Then, why was the Nikon F, which came much later, thought as the "first system camera"? The Praktina accesories look impressive for 1954!

More info -> http://www.praktina.com/

 

[Les Sarile]

Don't think Canon and Nikon were doing equivalents in bygone days.
The early Canons were more Leitz ones the Nikon Ikon equivalents.
The Canon LTM lenses fully compatible with Leitz the Nikons not compatible with Ikons...
The Canon P sold faster than Nikon and Leitz rangefinders together.
Some pros used a Canon P with 35mm F with 5cm...
Canon went for volume with canonets Nikon with Fs...
Both turned from cottage companies to ... The rest is history.

This is according to Nikon ->Nikon Rangefinder Cameras

In April, 1946, the "Camera and Projector Committee" concluded the following :
Cameras to be manufactured by the company were:
A twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera (lens 80 mm f/3.5, using 120 format film, 6 x 6 cm format 12 frames), and
An universal type small-size camera (using 35mm(135 format) film, 24 x 32 mm format 40 frames),
Both of them were to be of the highest quality.
It was decided that the first order of priority was to be given to the TLR camera.

The first Nikon RF specs:

The design specifications of the small-size camera needed to introduce the advantages of the "Leica" and "Contax" models.
As the method of lens exchange, the bayonet fixing method ("Contax" type) was adopted for its rapid and easy attaching and detaching.

Nikon almost made a TLR but the Pronter type shutter on the market didn't meet standards, it was too expensive to build one of their own and by that time the 35mm camera was so successful they abandoned the TLR development.

 

[flavio81]

Have a look at the Exacta Varex.

Maybe the first system SLR.

But some accessories may have been introduced late, so the honour maybe better given to the Praktina.

Of course, I own an Exakta Varex that belonged to my grandfather. I think I did mention the Exakta in previous pages. There is an advertisement that flickr user "Nesster" had found in some magazine, that said:

"Announcing Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50/2
PERORMANCE, RELIABILITY
Make Exakta THE GREATEST CAMERA OF OUR AGE"

Now, that's some truth in advertising! (If you are in the 50s of course.)

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Right. The EM and FG were amateur cameras all the way (and a heck of a lot smaller than the AE-1 cameras). My memory says they were specifically designed for woman amateur photogs, hence their diminutive size. I have both. My favorite is the EM. Even though it's very limited in controls, being basically just a P & S SLR w/ one button for back lit subjects, it's so much fun to shoot. Just focus and fire away. If you shoot Tri-X and develop in D76 you'll be "close enough" 99% of the time. Before I had to sell it, my favorite lens on the EM was a Leica R 90 Elmarit w/ an R to Nikon adapter. A $20 camera w/ a $400 lens. Worked a treat!

I suspect that Nikon figured the FGs were cutting into their "real" camera sales, so they quickly stopped making them.

I also liked the EM. it was my entry into the Nikon system with the FM being my favorite.Nikon cameras have served me well over the years;not too crazy about heir zooms but their primes are excellent

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Yeah, everyone wanted to stop action! I always preferred aperture priority over shutter priority but the masses wanted that shutter priority, that is until the AE-1 Program camera came out and everyone wanted Program mode.

real photographers use aperture priority for obvious reason.

 

[Alan Gales]

real photographers use aperture priority for obvious reason.

A lot of people say that you can change the shutter speed while keeping your eye on the view finder. Yes, you can but it's a bit awkward.

I would cradle my Contax in my left hand and spin the aperture ring and focus ring with my fingers. I kept my index finger of my right hand on the shutter release with my thumb under the camera and my other fingers in front of the camera. To change my shutter speed dial I would have to remove my right hand to do so which would take my right hand out of place. With aperture priority if I wanted to change shutter speed I would just spin my aperture ring until I got the shutter speed I wanted.

For me it's ergonomics.

 

[Alan Gales]

Canon did a great marketing job on the AE1. I had a lot of customers who bought the camera tell me that shutter priority was better than aperture priority and they didn't understand why the other companies didn't follow Canon's lead. I preferred aperture priority myself but kept my mouth shut, smiled, and sold them their first 35mm SLR.

When the AE1 Program came out shutter priority versus aperture priority was forgotten and it was all about the program mode.

 

[Prof_Pixel]

I didn't know about the Praktina camera. Then, why was the Nikon F, which came much later, thought as the "first system camera"? The Praktina accesories look impressive for 1954!

I worked in a camera department in Ann Arbor, Michigan from 57 - 62 and the Praktina line of cameras was very poorly marketed in the US. We had Exakta, Alpa, Pentax, Nikon and Canon camera reps calling on us (and we stocked all those cameras) but I can not ever remember any representative come by trying to sell us the Praktina line. I suspect the situation was different in Europe.

 

[Mick Fagan]

I worked in a camera department in Ann Arbor, Michigan from 57 - 62 and the Praktina line of cameras was very poorly marketed in the US. We had Exakta, Alpa, Pentax, Nikon and Canon camera reps calling on us (and we stocked all those cameras) but I can not ever remember any representative come by trying to sell us the Praktina line. I suspect the situation was different in Europe.

There is also the possibility that advertising of this camera brand could have been suppressed by various groups in the USA, this camera company was confiscated by the Soviet authorities from the pre-war owner Charles Noble. From memory, Charles Noble spent considerable time in Soviet concentration camps and getting him released was no doubt paramount to his family. I understand that intervention at a high level by Eisenhower led to his release.

Often it's the story behind the story that one never hears about, and if you do, the story can be so old it sometimes becomes a curiosity rather than interesting.

Mick.

 

[cuthbert]

There is also the possibility that advertising of this camera brand could have been suppressed by various groups in the USA, this camera company was confiscated by the Soviet authorities from the pre-war owner Charles Noble. From memory, Charles Noble spent considerable time in Soviet concentration camps and getting him released was no doubt paramount to his family. I understand that intervention at a high level by Eisenhower led to his release.

Often it's the story behind the story that one never hears about, and if you do, the story can be so old it sometimes becomes a curiosity rather than interesting.

Mick.

I think it's likely the distributors didn't want to heavily advertise a camera made in a Communist country in the US in the 50s just after McCarthyism with somebody like Nixon as VP.

1957 was the years the Soviet sent the Sputnik in space, if it came out the West was also losing the camera race a lot of people would have felt even more unsecure.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Politics ruins everything.

 

[AgX]

I think it's likely the distributors didn't want to heavily advertise a camera made in a Communist country in the US in the 50s just after McCarthyism with somebody like Nixon as VP.

1957 was the years the Soviet sent the Sputnik in space, if it came out the West was also losing the camera race a lot of people would have felt even more unsecure.

Some cameras made in the GDR were sold in the US rebranded.

And here an 1954 ad by the US importer of Pentacon made cameras:
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/...s/Vintage Ads/Vintage Camera Ads/000_1582.jpg

There is no hint at the GDR, though no veiling either. And the lens is west-german made. No specific hint at that either.



(A lot of GDR products were sold in Western Germany, often even with signs of origin veiled on order of western importers.)

 

[cuthbert]

I would be curious to know the reaction of the american customers if in 1954 somebody would have told him they were buying a camera from a Communist country.

For West Germany, already the fact that the western branch of Zeiss obtained that Zeiss Jena didn't have the right to use "Carl Zeiss Jena" on their products says it all, that was a real insult to their ex colleagues.

...but anyway this thread is on the AE-1, not Zeiss Jena, sorry for the OT.

 

[AgX]

There were all kinds of advertizing from veiling the origin, over not explicitely saying up to telling the truth.

Here a example of the latter for the Zenit from 1972 and the british market:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ovntown/16610499629/in/pool-682685@N22

 

[cuthbert]

UK was another case because they never hid the true origin of the products: Praktica were clearly branded "made in the GDR" and all Zenits had of course "made in the USSR" written on the top plate.

Carl Zeiss Jena was of course CZJ and in 1986 for the 120th anniversary of the brand they released a special version of the Praktica BC-1 called "jenaflex" specifically branded Carl Zeiss everywhere...still we are OT!!!

 

[Alan Gales]

There were all kinds of advertizing from veiling the origin, over not explicitely saying up to telling the truth.

Here a example of the latter for the Zenit from 1972 and the british market:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ovntown/16610499629/in/pool-682685@N22

That's funny.

Zenith was also the name of an American company that made radio's and televisions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenith_Electronics

 

[AgX]

I know about that radio company though their radios did not make up here..


The funny thing about english Zenit ads as well as the manual is that they write "Zenith" though the camera still bears the "Zenit" designation.

I know this issue with the pronunciation of the name of foreign products but not with different spellings between product and ad/manual.