Equipment predicament

[ajkocu]

I still own my Nikonos II. I had not used it for snorkeling since a 2006 trip to Hawaii. I used it until perhaps a year later for kayaking before switching yo a series of digital point-and-shoot 'waterproof' (several of which drowned) cameras. I found that there were still a couple of shots remaining on a roll of Kodak Gold 200 print film. So, I Just exposed those remaining frames and disassembled the camera to remove the film. It will be interesting to get the film developed and see what is on that roll. It took more effort to disassemble the camera than I remember in the past, due to sticky O-rings. Here are the three sections of the camera; the lens (35mm f:2.8 Nikor, with rubber lens cap), the outer case (with levers for prying out the body once the lens is removed), and the body with the exposed roll of film in place (after rewinding, of course). The camera is designed for one handed operation. Pushing the lever on top of the body with your right thumb first exposes the film and then snaps out so that the next stroke of the lever winds the film, a clever and functional design that leaves your left hand free.. All controls are manual, and focus is by scale - there is no rangefinder. But, it takes great photos if you get exposure and focus correct, above water as well as below. [ATTACH=full]1421693[/ATTACH]

Thanks for the explanation, Glenn. My Nikonos is in storage and the last time I looked at it I was not able to get the rear cap off the 15mm fisheye. Likewise, focus was by scale but it had auto exposure unless you were using a strobe. I've forgotten details about using it but I didn't have too many poorly exposed photos unless I forgot if I had Kodachrome 25 or Ektachrome 100 in the camera. I have the 35mm lens also.

The viewfinder on the camera is for the 15mm lens.

[AlanKlein]

Nice setup Glenn. Do you have a place where we can see some of your U/W photos?

[thequintessentialman]

Nikonos was the holy grail of UW photography in its day. Even though I never owned one I was a little saddened to see Nikon discontinue the line.

[Gary Naka]

Nikonos was the holy grail of UW photography in its day. Even though I never owned one I was a little saddened to see Nikon discontinue the line.

 

I was hoping to one day be able to get one, for shooting in RAIN.

Today I have an Olympus TG digital for that.

[AlanKlein]

I was hoping to one day be able to get one, for shooting in RAIN.

Today I have an Olympus TG digital for that.

While I bought my Nikon IVa (still have it) for Scuba diving, it was a great camera to take to the beach, while raining, snowing, parasailing, boating, canoeing, rafting the rapids, and just messing around. Its lens (35mm) is really sharp and due to the waterproofing, you just don't have to worry about environmental conditions, The lens also is treated to harden it from scratches.

 

These pictures were taken with the 35mm lens above and below water. The original Ektachrome slides are a lot sharper than the scans.

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