I recently bought a Nikonos II and several lenses, strobe, etc. The little camera is very inexpensive and I find the 35mm f2.5 Nikkor an excellent lens. Only the 35mm and the 80mm f4.5 can be used out of the water, but the 28mm is inexpensive and worth it if occasionally using the camera underwater. The 80mm is great with the close-up lens as a macro setup.
Other than the very inexpensive body and lenses, I love this little film camera for the following reasons:
1) Built like a tank! Cast aluminum body, no leather to peel, built to take pressure at 160' depth. The I and II have cast aluminum tops and are more durable than the II, which (I have read) has a plastic top. A perfect take-along / leave in the car / camping / beach camera. Can take the knocks, including the lens mount (it was all designed to take much more pressure than you can create by banging it).
2) No rangefinder with moving parts and couplers: scale focuser with moving DOF brackets in the lens itself - you cannot go wrong with hyperfocal focusing! You can set up the shot without putting the camera to your face and alerting your candid subjects.
3) O-rings can be found very cheap, once you determine the right sizes. Buna rings for the body and lens can be had for $9.00 (50 o-rings) at several merchants online.
4) No batteries (for the I,II, and II), no electronics.
5) No need for a lens cap: the lenses are sealed behind uncoated glass.
6) Small, with heavy knurled texture - easy to grip if used without a strap.
7) The stainless steel shutter is tough and hardy and will last a lifetime, even if left pointing at the sun!
8) Great for IR (takes a 58mm filter).
9) Obviously waterproof, snowproof, mudproof, sandproof... can take it all without worry!
10) Unusual-looking enough to be cool.
Weaknesses/things to watch out for:
1) The II has a rather weak rewind crank. Many are cracked (the core is metal, but very thin). I have milled a replacement crank out of 1/8" aluminum bar easily, with a household file, as a replacement.
2) The viewfinder is commonly a little fogged. I have tried cleaning one by removing the rear gasket and cleaning the interior without success. I have another (rare) body with a clear viewfinder. The accessory shoe is positioned for underwater supplementary finders, so any Leica or other 35mm and 80mm external finders will work well.
3) Squeeze film advance/shutter is unusual, but since the camera has no speeds below 1/30th second (except for 'B') this is not a problem. The simple 'safety' works very well.
4) Loading, rewinding, and unloading is 'different', but easy to get used to. It is not fast.
5) Some cameras may be missing the flash port cap because they may have been in use with a strobe. The cap is is essential for waterproofness. On the I and II this cap has the tripod threads. Nikon never changed the design of the threads/o-ring for this cap, so the caps for the I,II,III, IV, and V are interchangeable, and somewhat easy to find.
So... I am curious: does anyone else use an old Nikonos for general photography?
Other than the very inexpensive body and lenses, I love this little film camera for the following reasons:
1) Built like a tank! Cast aluminum body, no leather to peel, built to take pressure at 160' depth. The I and II have cast aluminum tops and are more durable than the II, which (I have read) has a plastic top. A perfect take-along / leave in the car / camping / beach camera. Can take the knocks, including the lens mount (it was all designed to take much more pressure than you can create by banging it).
2) No rangefinder with moving parts and couplers: scale focuser with moving DOF brackets in the lens itself - you cannot go wrong with hyperfocal focusing! You can set up the shot without putting the camera to your face and alerting your candid subjects.
3) O-rings can be found very cheap, once you determine the right sizes. Buna rings for the body and lens can be had for $9.00 (50 o-rings) at several merchants online.
4) No batteries (for the I,II, and II), no electronics.
5) No need for a lens cap: the lenses are sealed behind uncoated glass.
6) Small, with heavy knurled texture - easy to grip if used without a strap.
7) The stainless steel shutter is tough and hardy and will last a lifetime, even if left pointing at the sun!
8) Great for IR (takes a 58mm filter).
9) Obviously waterproof, snowproof, mudproof, sandproof... can take it all without worry!
10) Unusual-looking enough to be cool.
Weaknesses/things to watch out for:
1) The II has a rather weak rewind crank. Many are cracked (the core is metal, but very thin). I have milled a replacement crank out of 1/8" aluminum bar easily, with a household file, as a replacement.
2) The viewfinder is commonly a little fogged. I have tried cleaning one by removing the rear gasket and cleaning the interior without success. I have another (rare) body with a clear viewfinder. The accessory shoe is positioned for underwater supplementary finders, so any Leica or other 35mm and 80mm external finders will work well.
3) Squeeze film advance/shutter is unusual, but since the camera has no speeds below 1/30th second (except for 'B') this is not a problem. The simple 'safety' works very well.
4) Loading, rewinding, and unloading is 'different', but easy to get used to. It is not fast.
5) Some cameras may be missing the flash port cap because they may have been in use with a strobe. The cap is is essential for waterproofness. On the I and II this cap has the tripod threads. Nikon never changed the design of the threads/o-ring for this cap, so the caps for the I,II,III, IV, and V are interchangeable, and somewhat easy to find.
So... I am curious: does anyone else use an old Nikonos for general photography?