Got a dive into photo history for you today.  A customer walked into the shop yesterday with their newly-acquired Astro-Berlin 1000mm f6.3 Fernbildlinse.  Naturally we had to get a photo of it for sharing and then we were curious to know more about the history of this lens.⁠

⁠Despite what its Astro-Berlin name might suggest, this lens was designed mostly with cine photography in mind.  Astro-Berlin was a specialty lens company founded in Germany as Astro-Gesellschaft Bielicke & Co in the early 1920s.  Its founders were initially very interested in astrophotography and initially designed lenses to suit that purpose but they soon expanded to focus on cine, still, aerial and other specialty scientific purposes as well.  They became known for making lenses that typically had very fast maximum apertures, very long focal lengths, or both.  A couple of examples include this 1000mm f6.3, a 75mm f0.95 (that covered 18x24mm half-frame), and a 150mm f1.8.  Astro-Berlin adapted many of these lenses to various camera mounts, mostly between 35mm and 6x6 medium format.  This Astro-Berlin has a native M39 lens mount but currently is fitted with a Nikon F lens adapter.  We threw the Nikon F2 on there for scale.⁠

⁠Optically-speaking, they are very simple lenses. This 1000mm f6.3 apparently has a design of just two optics. It should be of little surprise then that they are not known for high levels of performance.  They are prone to aberrations, lower contrast and softer image edges.  Despite that, they are still something else to behold.

Here we have a Nikon F2 and 28mm f3.5 Nikkor lens mounted in the base of a rare underwater housing. Designed in a San Francisco dive shop in the 1950s, this "Giddings Underwater Enterprises" case allowed for full underwater control of all of the Nikon's functions. Oversize controls on the outside of the housing connect to the camera using a series of plastic gears.

A term you don't hear used much anymore is "system camera".  A system camera is really any camera with some array of interchangeable components lending it the versatility to be used for a range of applications.  One of the most common components of a system camera would be the interchangeable lens, for example.  But other components could include finders, focusing screens, film backs, motor drives, remote triggers, bellows units, flashes, teleconverters, extension tubes, copy stands, eyepieces for prism finders, or brackets and camera grips.  The Nikon F, and by extension this F2, are a great example of an early system camera.  In addition to the vast library of lenses Nikon produced for the F2, they made a whole host of other accessories.  There are several different metered prisms for the F2 that allow it compatibility with either Non-AI or AI lenses, or you can get the DW-2 Magnifying Finder (pictured here) for a 6x enlarged (and 100%) view of the focusing screen. Speaking of which, there are at least 15 different focusing screens the F2 could be fitted with that had markings optimized for various uses. 

The F2 could be fitted with the MD-1, 2 or 3 Motor Drive for high speed photography and there was even a 250 exposure bulk film back that would have been quite popular with sports photographers back in the day.

The PB-4 is a bellows unit that allowed extreme macro photography and even had a tilting front standard. Meanwhile the PF-4 is an accessory copy stand for reproduction work. It's possible you would want the SM-1 Ring Flash to go with these set ups.

There are too many accessories to list here, but we wanted to give you a bit of an overview.  System cameras are still very much a thing, we just don't typically think of them in quite that same fashion anymore.  The point still remains the same though: whether you are photographing weddings or architecture, be you a landscape photographer or a dentist photographing teeth, system cameras are able to adapt to meet those needs.  We may not have all the same cool toys that Nikon used to make for the F system, but we do still have some cool new ones to work with.

This pairing was too good a short story to not share.⁠

⁠For many years now, photojournalist Ken Hawkins has been a regular customer and good friend of the shop.  We have long enjoyed his visits as they include great conversation and fun stories.⁠

⁠Several years ago, Ken assembled the many photos he had made of President Jimmy Carter and produced this lovely book.  Ken has had a special friendship with Jimmy Carter, both during and after his presidency, and the collection of images in this book are as much a labor of love as they are of work.  We have had this book in stock ever since Ken first published it and several of our staff own autographed copies, because hey, we know the photographer. 

Imagine our surprise when a consigner brought in a lot of Nikon gear to sell and in the batch was a 300mm f/4.5 Nikkor-H lens engraved with Ken's name! Small world, right?  We gave Ken a call to let him know we had a lens of his and imagine his surprise.  He used this lens in the early 70s as a journalist, making some of the images in his Jimmy Carter book, before selling it in the 1980s while stationed in Atlanta, Georgia (he had upgraded to the 300mm f/2.8 version).  We have no idea what travels this lens has made in the forty years since, but somehow, like Ken, it migrated here to Portland.⁠

⁠Ken promptly drove over to the shop to see the lens in person and he brought along the Nikon F he had used back in the day with that very lens.  In the end, Ken bought his own lens back and so, naturally, we had to document this reunion. 

⁠⁠You can check out Ken's photography on his website:⁠  kenhawkinspictures.com

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We don’t even know where to begin with this feature.

Do we begin with the camera that is the answer to the question, “How do you top the legend that is the Nikon F?” The F2 certainly did it. Some even consider it the finest mechanical SLR ever made, to this day.  And, naturally, these folks get in giant street brawls with those who would make the same claim about their beloved Nikon F.  Meanwhile, the Canon F-1 admirers watch from the side, waiting to take on the weakened victor. The F2 may appear like the same camera as the F, but it is really so much more. Nikon took over five years to research its design, and then another year to fully test it, before releasing it to the market. One of our favorite features of the F2 is the array of prisms you can get for it, allowing it to range between the older Non-AI lenses (the original DP-1, 2 or 3 prism) or the later AI lenses (the DP-11 and 12).⠀⠀

Maybe we should focus (heh, pun intended) on that Nikkor 15mm f/5.6 lens? Despite its age, this lens is a better wide angle than you might think. Sure, it's slow at f/5.6 - this has been known to cause issues with split-prism finders, blacking out half the prism - but, this lens has been given new life with modern SLRs and their brighter finders, or electronic rangefinders (think the Nikon F6). Despite that bulbous front optic, it is not a fisheye and it has surprisingly little distortion. It also has four, built-in (three really) filters because how the heck are you going to screw a filter onto the front of that thing? The lens has your yellow, orange, and red right there inside of it, along with a clear filter. ⠀⠀

We could even highlight the fabulous camera skinning that our repair tech, Mike, enjoys doing. He took this black Nikon F2 and gave it a lovely, new, red leatherette. A part of us shies away from revising such a venerable camera in this way but, at the same time, it is hard not to look at that and say, “Wow, I kind of want to buy it even more.” Apparently, we were not the only - the camera sold almost as soon as it hit the shelves.⠀⠀

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In a previous Museum exhibit, we showed you the Nikon F - this post is for the camera that followed it.  This is the Nikon F2.⁠

⁠The Nikon F2 hit the camera market in 1971.  This was THE press camera of the 1970s - it is behind some of the world's most iconic photographs.⁠

⁠This camera was built off the bones of the Nikon F, but it incorporated some significant improvements.  These changes included a more sophisticated metering system, and the ability to open the back door to the side rather than fully removing it to load film (as was the case with the Nikon F).⁠

⁠Nikon manufactured a variety of prisms for the F2 - each one offered different lens compatibility and meter displays.  ⁠This unbeatable pair is the Nikon F2AS with the Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 AI lens.  The Nikon F2AS has an LED displayed meter and was designed for use with Nikon AI and AI-S lenses, though it is also compatible with many later autofocus lenses.⁠

⁠We know this might set off debate, but we just have to say it: the Nikon F2AS is the best camera of all time. Ever. Period.

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Butter, flour, and eggs are a great base for cookies.⠀

The Nikon F2, Nikkor 15mm f5.6 lens, and a DW-2 6x focusing finder are a great base to photograph said cookies... or used indoors and in weird hallways. All are integral components to make for some unique work.

The DW-2 6x magnifying viewfinder is a great element for scientific work - depending on the lens being used. When paired with this Nikkor 15mm f5.6 and a tripod- it makes for a neat tudio setup.

While the Nikkor lens may look similar to many fisheye lenses, in actuality it's more of a lovely wide angle rectilinear lens since the view isn't curved quite like a fisheye lens. While this dew drop dome of glass might not be as fishy, it is still a beautiful lens, and one worth checking out.

The Nikon F2, meanwhile, hardly needs any more introduction. So much has been said about this historical giant of a camera that additional praise feels a bit like piling on. Nonetheless, the F2 is one of our all-time favorite SLRs. It is a mechanical beauty and is a comforting presence whenever it is in one's hands.⠀

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Why the smirk, you might ask? You'd be smiling too if you had a Nikon F2AS with a Nikkor 18mm f3.5 in your hands. As crazy as it may sound, in this case, that 18mm lens is almost an afterthought.

We try not to play the "what's your favorite camera" game just because the answer is impossible. But we can imagine scenarios where we might list the Nikon F2 at or near the top of that list. And among the F2 cameras, the F2AS - which was the last of the F2 line - would pretty easily be our favorite. ⠀

There is a lot to like about the Nikon F2: it's rugged, so sure of itself, reliable, precise, elegant... The DP-12 prism which makes it an AS model only improves on greatness by allowing your F2 to use all the AI version Nikon lenses.

You don't see the all-black version of the F2 too often.  If you are the all-mechanical camera sort of photographer, we'd recommend stopping in and putting this camera in your hands. ⠀ ⠀

As far as that afterthought Nikon 18mm: to be fair it is a pretty cool lens itself, it just had the misfortune of competing with this black F2AS today. If you are interested in getting everything in your compositions, routinely have to work in tight quarters, love doing close-up skateboarding photography or just like sweeping landscape scenes, this lens will be right up your alley. ⠀

Of course you could also just buy both and make a lot of people envious.⠀ 

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The Cyclop 85mm f/1.5 Nikon F mount lens is a beautiful piece of Russian glass, adapted from a night vision scope.  It is fixed at a permanent f/1.5 aperture and has some wonderful bokeh.  It also looks great on the Nikon F2. 

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An example of the new Galaxy Hyper Speed Positive Paper.  We doubled down with this image by photographing this wonderful Nikon F2 as a means to showcase the beauty of this paper.  Our initial tests produced better results by over exposing from the stated speed of ISO 120 - this image was metered at about 100 and overexposed one stop from there.  At one time, we briefly carried the paper in three sizes: 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 along with Galaxy's chemical kits for developing.

As far as this F2 goes, this is an F2SB, not your most common F2.  It has a DP-3 prism which is, essentially, the same as the AS prism but meant for the non-AI Nikon F lens mount.  One nifty factoid about this prism is that it can meter out to 10 second exposures.  Pretty impressive!

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