Nikon's meter reads + to - ?

I sent my D600 for the service advisory so just setting my camera to my own style.

My older D70 doesn't let you reverse them. The exposure ruler in the viewfinder reads + to -. So does my Nikon F100. The D600 allows you to reverse them.

Traditionally, what version did Nikon had them in their film cameras? Was it + to -?

Modern dSLRs what is the default version that it is shipped with?

When I roll the dials to the left side it makes sense to me because the F# goes lower which is what the ruler says left side is +.

Cheers.

To me, it's obvious.

Thumbing to the right should increase the exposure and move the indicator to the right - end of story!

Traditionally Nikon meter has the + on the left side. Newer one like my Df has it on the right and does allow to swap. I actually swap it to the + to - to make it like my other cameras. I believe the reason Nikon put it on the left because the direction of the aperture ring. When you turn the aperture ring to the left it increase exposure and make the meter goes to the plus side so they put the plus sign on the left.

The Nikon F2SB and F2AS has the plus sign on the left. So does the Nikon F3, F4 and F5.

As said, even going back to the days of the original metered prisms on the Nikon F(with a swinging needle), + has been on the left and - on the right.

As BeBu said, this was to indicate which direction to turn the aperture ring-at least one meter(the F2s/DP-3) even gives you illuminated arrows to show you this. SLRs with the "bar graph" read out, going back to the F4 and N8008, have kept this the same.

It's only in the past few generations of DSLRs that we've had the ability to reverse the direction of the metering indicators.

To me, it's obvious.

Thumbing to the right should increase the exposure and move the indicator to the right - end of story!

Yep. That would be using the newer standard default - on the left side and + on the right side. Also need to reverse the command dial direction. By default scrolling right - reduces exposure.

Haven't been an issue but I think the Fuji XT1 i got recently can't change the - + directions. On the Fuji, you scroll left and the indicator exposure in the viewfinder goes right.

One can say that Nikon did it all wrong from the way you mount the lens to the direction of the focusing ring and the aperture ring so the meter should the same way.

In Japan they drive on the left side of the road, like in Great Britain and the other "CommonWealth"countries ,old CHinees and Japanese writhing, i think, is from right to left , so possibly for them it is us that want it the wrong way arround ?

In Japan they drive on the left side of the road, like in Great Britain and the other "CommonWealth"countries ,old CHinees and Japanese writhing, i think, is from right to left , so possibly for them it is us that want it the wrong way arround ?

I don't know but using Nikon cameras for more than 40 years the direction became second nature to me so it's actually awkward for me to change.

Once can argue that Nikon lenses mount in the "wrong" direction if one considers 35mm interchangeable lenses to go back to Leica thread mount cameras. Even though bayonet mounts only take a partial turn to mount, most mounts kept the "traditional" direction. Most mounts also are designed to focus the opposite direction of typical Nikon lenses, and you can see this in the fact that most 3rd part lenses focus the "correct" direction for Canon, etc, but "wrong" on Nikons. Of course, there's also one Nikkor MF lens that focuses the opposite direction of all the others-bonus points if you can name it(the backward focusing serves a purpose).

I use my Nikons more than any other camera, so the mount/unmount and focus directions seem "correct" to me. My second most used camera is my Hasselblad 500c, and funny enough the focus direction doesn't throw me off(which is a good thing since most of the lenses have probably 330º of focus throw and are also quite stiff). I don't change lenses on it SUPER often, though, and I do often find myself turning the lens CW while holding the release button and wondering why it won't come off. My other interchangeable lens system that gets uses a decent amount is my Mamiya RB67-it doesn't throw me off at all since the lenses use a breech lock mount that causes me to revert back to old muscle memory from my days of using the Canon FD mount, and focusing is by a knob on the side of the camera.

The different Nikon directions remind me of one of my other hobbies-collecting both Smith and Wesson and Colt revolvers. The two companies were fierce competitors, and it's a bit amusing at how great of length the two went to so as to make basic functions different on their double action designs-on S&Ws you push the catch toward the cylinder to release it, while you pull it away on Colts. The cylinder turns CCW on S&Ws, and CW on Colts. I forget the specific direction, but the barrel rifling twists in opposite directions.

here's also one Nikkor MF lens that focuses the opposite direction of all the others-bonus points if you can name it

45mm Nikkor GN - focus rotation is inverted because of coupling to the aperture ring - focusing closer stops the lens down, focus farther away opens the aperture.

What throws me off more than the rotation of mounting a lens is the location of the release button. Canon, Nikon, and Olympus got that right, Sony, Fuji, and Leica totally wrong.

The +0- direction of the traditional Nikon exposure indicator never bothered me much (the connection to the direction of aperture ring rotation is not that obvious in a Nikon FM/FM2) but it became a bit of an issue when it developed into a bar indicator. The scientist in me just didn't like an axis that goes from + to -. Luckily, in later models, the direction can be changed - which comes in handy if one uses other makers camera together with Nikons. Unfortunately, fixed exposure compensation dials can't have their direction reversed - one reason of confusion when switching between Nikon DSLRs and the Sony A7 Series (where the exposure bar direction can't be changed either).