The Nikon F was the first 35 mm SLR system to be widely adopted by professional photographers, especially photojournalists covering the Vietnam War, as well as for use by NASA astronauts [6].
It was originally priced at US$186 with 5 cm f/2 lens; in November 1963 the US price was $233 for the body with a standard prism plus $90 for a 5 cm f/2 lens or $155 for a 5 cm f/1.4.
A combination of design elements made the Nikon F successful. It had interchangeable prisms and focusing screens; the camera had a depth-of-field preview button; the mirror had lock-up capability; it had a large bayonet mount and a large lens release button; a single-stroke ratcheted film advance lever; a titanium-foil focal plane shutter; various types of flash synchronization; a rapid rewind lever; a fully removable back. It was well-made, durable, and adhered closely to the successful design scheme of the Nikon rangefinder cameras. The camera was the first to use the F-mount bayonet lens mount system, which is still used as of 2020. Lead designer of the Nikon F was Yusaku Kamekura, the man behind the 1967 Summer Olympics logo.
The Nikon F revolutionized the photographic market, stealing the thunder of German manufacturers Leica and Zeiss. The F had a reputation for being extremely resilient to damage or mechanical failure, becoming known as "the hockey puck."
In some markets, the camera was marketed as a "Nikkor F" due to trademark conflicts. In Germany, "Nikon" was seen as too similar to the Zeiss Ikon camera line. Nikkor F cameras have become collector's items.
The first Nikon F Photomic viewfinder, delivered since 1962,[9] had an independent photocell. Then Nikon introduced the Photomic T (superseded by the Photomic Tn), which featured through-the-lens (TTL) metering. The final metering prism for the Nikon F, the Photomic FTn,[10] introduced in 1968, provided 60% center-weighted TTL, which became the standard metering pattern for Nikon cameras for decades afterwards.
Source: Wikipedia.
