The Nikon F
1959
A rugged 35mm single-lens reflex with interchangeable finders, motor drive and a bayonet lens mount. It made the Japanese SLR the professional standard.
How it began
In the 1950s Japanese camera makers moved from copying German rangefinders to designing their own single-lens reflexes. Nippon Kōgaku, already respected for its Nikkor lenses, launched the Nikon F in 1959.
How it works
A mirror behind the lens reflects the image up to a focusing screen and a pentaprism, so the photographer sees exactly what the lens sees, and the mirror flips up for the exposure. The F’s bayonet mount let lenses be changed in seconds, and its viewfinder, screens and motor drive could all be swapped. It was built to survive hard use.
Why it mattered
The F was a system camera: one body that could be fitted out for sports, science, fashion or war reporting. Photojournalists adopted it, and Japan overtook Germany as the centre of the camera industry. Its F mount carried Nikon’s lenses through the film and digital SLR eras.
Limits and what replaced it
Metering came only with an add-on prism, and everything else was manual. Later SLRs added built-in metering, automatic exposure (the Canon AE-1), autofocus and finally digital sensors; in the 2010s mirrorless cameras began to replace the reflex mirror itself.
Today
Its F lens mount stayed in use on Nikon SLRs for more than sixty years.