Nikon F at the Autojumble

[John Seaman]

Some people seem to go over the top about having their kit in mint condition, but I get even more pleasure out of using cameras which have had a hard life, like this old battered Nikon F. It's just about the most heavily worn camera I've had. Heaven knows what its shutter count is, or what stories it could tell, but it works perfectly and is a real pleasure to use. I put an almost as well used 35mm F/2 lens on - this exhibits a kind of rainbow effect in the glass when viewed from the front, perhaps they all have it?

[John Seaman]

Anyway I put a 200ISO print film in and took it to the Autojumble on a dull Bank Holiday Monday..

[John Seaman]

I'll have to try again later, it's not letting me upload any more pictures for some reason.

[John Seaman]

[John Seaman]

The Nash Ambassador - perhaps also known as the Bathtub.

[John Seaman]

Sit-up-and beg Ford Popular

[bertliang]

It's a great camera; I've had a few and still use one frequently, with a similar set up that you have. I used to have the F36 motor drive in the past, but donated that set of gear (FTN) to a local group to teach kids photography. Fantastic images!

[John Seaman]

Thanks Bert, there are more but the uploads kept failing.

[Dan Deary]

Great pictures John. Your lens looks real sharp. I have a similar beat up Nikkormat FTn with same 35mm lens that I acquired in a rummage sale for the ridiculous price of $2. The camera body needed light seals and a new mirror bumper but shutter and all other functions work flawlessly. The Nikkor 35mm F2 lens however was a real mess. The front element was very hazy and blotchy which was probably fungus but it was difficult to tell. With cerium oxide and a Dremmel buffing tool, I must have spent 2 hours, in 30 min intervals, polishing the haze out( no amount of liquid cleaning would touch it). The multicoating appears to be gone on the front element but it it is now clear--I am testing it now and will know soon if all my work was worth it.

[Sandy Vongries]

John, glad you got a good worker, the old Nikons are pretty durable. Though I was never a newspaper or combat photographer, I have the same cameras that I have used heavily for half a century. Taking care of tools is the mark of a craftsman. Unless there is a heckuva story, beat up = careless user!

 

Sorry for the double image, don't know how but I manage to do it from time to time!

 

Dan, an interesting and worthwhile experiment -- if it doesn't work out, minty old Nikon lenses are cheap online, and still excellent.

 

[John Seaman]

Luckily my 35mm F/2 optics were unmarked apart from the aforementioned rainbow effect, and no drastic action was required.

 

I'm still trying to add pictures to the thread, but getting the message that an error has occurred. This is the side of the camera showing the full extent of the wear, it has practically worn of the screw heads.

 

I still can't upload any more pictures after the first one, just getting the same error message.

[robert_bowring]

My 50 year old Nikons and Nikkormats are still banging away. I consider them to be tools and they have picked up a few dings and dents along the way but they have never let me down. I think it adds a little character. Collectors really bother me. To buy something and not use it as it was intended to me used seems such a waste to me. I collect motorcycles but I also ride them. They were meant to be ridden not displayed.

[Sandy Vongries]

John, a number of my minty Nikkors have the same effect -- can't tell from the camera photos, but I think it is just the lens coating they were using in the '70's.

[bertliang]

John, a number of my minty Nikkors have the same effect -- can't tell from the camera photos, but I think it is just the lens coating they were using in the '70's.

I have the same thing. My Nikkors, spanning from the 50's to the present, have different reflective patterns. The older ones definitely have a resemblance to those seen in these beautiful pics....

[bertliang]

Wonderful images!

[Matthew Currie]

The remains a wonderful machine and the wear just gives it character.

 

That old Nash reminds me of one I ran across as a kid. This was back in the late 1950's. A neighbor was an avid camper, and made a bit of extra money making some kind of tent camp trailers, I think from standardized parts and lots of plywood. At one point a camping friend came by, and we were invited to visit to see the car he lived in. It was a big old bathtub Nash like that. Nashes were among the first cars to have a fully reclining seat, which in this case turned into a big double bed. He had various amenities installed, including a silverware drawer in the dash, little boxes and compartments here and there, and an ingenious manifold water heater which dispensed hot tap water under the dash. It was quite inspiring for a kid of ten or so. A couple of years later another machine caught my eye.....

 

 

The pinnacle....

[Mike Gammill]

Great job, John. Next to classic cameras, I like classic cars. Thanks for posting.

[John Seaman]

Thanks to all for the comments. Here's one last picture. I had a browse around the trade stalls before taking the pictures, and acquired a Nikkormat FTn, a Konica Off Road, and two Agfa Isola's.

[JDMvW]

For the newbies, used to flawless and unworn "plastic" cameras ("they'll never last"), it might be interesting to note that "professional" and especially wanna-be photographers would actually artificially "distress" (sometimes called "brassing") their Nikons and such cameras so people wouldn't think they were just starting.

[ben_hutcherson]

I don't have an F with a plain prism but have a Photomic and just tacked a $45 F FTN onto a KEH order today(couldn't pass it up). They have their quirks, but ultimately they are quite likeable cameras

 

Along those same lines, my main New F-1 came to me with pretty significant brass showing on the corner. I sent it to Ken Oikawa, the top F-1 repairman in the country for service, and it came back to me perfect but with the corners touched up. The paint wasn't totally dry and rubbed off on my hands, so I just took some rubbing alcohol and wiped it right off. The camera looks just like it should now-perfect inside, but like it's been around the world on the outside.

 

As a side note, I'm disappointed at the lack of MGs in your photos :) . I'd have expected better from a car show in Britain :) . In addition, the photo of the Jag reminds me of something that always amuses me about British sports cars. In a country known for being cold and rainy, the weather protection is difficult to install and not especially tight. My MGB has the "luxury" of roll up windows(as opposed to side curtains) and a hood(top in America) that's reasonably water tight, but putting the top down is a 10 minute affair and putting it back up takes probably 15 minutes.

[John Seaman]

Ben, I don't recall seeing any MG's at this particular event. There weren't so many classic cars as usual, because of the poor weather. Perhaps next time.

[ben_hutcherson]

Ben, I don't recall seeing any MG's at this particular event. There weren't so many classic cars as usual, because of the poor weather. Perhaps next time.

 

That's alright-you can't have everything :) . I guess having one is good enough for me, although it will be two once I get an engine built and my body artist(I refuse to call him a "body man" or "panel beater" as you might say in the UK) gets my MGA rust-bucket perfect.

 

Here was an attempt with a Speed in the evening with a storm rolling in. It was taken on expired Velvia 50.

 

[Bill Bowes]

Hello everyone. Seeing the latest VW commercial with the non snoring adults & kids "sleeping" in the car, and now John's shots of the "Bathtub Nash", like Matt, I am reminded of many mountain camping adventures within the toasty confines of the 1950 "Bathtub" at night. This then 8 year old, thought it was just like home down in the flat lands of S. California. Great job John! Aloha, Bill

[Sandy Vongries]

Ben, don't know where you are, but there is a decent looking MG TD (I think) on 87 just outside of Billings, MT. It was there last week, next time I pass, I'll stop and take a couple of snaps and get details!

[ben_hutcherson]

Sandy, the MG nut in me would appreciate seeing it(I have far too many interests, but MGs are among them). I'm in Kentucky, and there aren't a LOT of them around here but we were fortunate enough to get the 4-year All-Register National Meeting in Louisville last summer.

 

Just as a quick field spotting guide-

 

All TCs are RHD

TDs look similar but US ones tend to be LHD

TFs have the headlights directly on the front fenders rather than on a "bridge" between the fender and grille as on the TD and earlier.

 

These are some quick iPhone snaps, but I figure since they're old cars they're still okay on the Classic Camera forum :)

 

 

TF next to an MGB GT V8. This V8 MIGHT have been one of the half dozen models LHD V8s exported to the US, or might just be a well done conversion. Either would be possible at this show. '73 and later MGBs(both roadsters and GTs) don't require a huge amount of work to put in a Rover V8, although the steering column on LHD models presents some clearance problems not present on RHD cars. Personally, I'd like to have a V8 one of these days, but will probably import a "real" one from England and just live with it being RHD.

 

I think the car in the background is a PA.

 

 

Nice looking Magnette ZA

 

 

An Australian(knock-down kit) Mk 1 MGB GT that was shipped to South America and then driven up the Pan American highway to make it to the show. This car has been all around the world.

 

 

Me in line behind a beauty of a TD. There's also a nice mineral blue MGC-GT up there under the porch.

 

 

MG Guru John Twist working on my car.

Edited June 12, 2017 by ben_hutcherson