Re: [Leica] Talking Nikon F

[creadick@mindspring.com (Nowell Creadick)]

>The Nikon F is probably the best no-nonsense reflex ever made. What you see
>in the viewfinder is what you get. All the interior optics are heavy duty.
>The mechanics follow the same standard. The shutter runs horizontally and
>keeps its accuracy. The mechanical self-timer runs like a fine watch. The F I
>bought in '69 has a novel flash adaptor that slides over the rewind knob and
>becomes a hot shoe without use of a cable. Those adaptors are still available
>aftermarket. They placed the flash unit where it should be for most work.
>
>I looked at a Leica SL at the time and found it didn't measure up to the F.
>There weren't all that many lenses available for it then, and I had bad
>experience with new Leitz equipment in those years.
>
>Frankly, I don't think Nikon can afford to build cameras like the F in the
>1990's. Incidentally, the back and bottom plate comes off the F in one piece.
>One ancillary item I'm sorry I didn't get was the F motor. I also didn't buy
>the meter-prism because I thought it unbalanced the camera. I still use the F
>with a Zeiss Ikophot hand meter. The only successor to the F in today's
>Nikons is the FM series. And they're even more convenient, if much lighter
>and more compact -- which is a plus. So the manual F tradition continues at
>Nikon -- and for good reason.
>
>Yet my Leitz M lenses have a precision and solidity about them that not even
>Nikon can match. I have no opinion about present Solm's Leica reflexes and
>lenses because I never used them.
>
>Bob

I'll give you ten Nikon F's for one nice Leica SL2.