This is our small collection of Nikon F cameras and 35mm rangefinder cameras. The latest F model – the Nikon F6, as well as the litte brother and backup film camera F100, are in regular use – together with their digital brother – the Nikon D850. All cameras on this page are fully functional and used regularly.

Nikon F (1966)

Nikon F (1966)

Nikon F (1966) #6737090 – Production dates 1959-1974. Total production 862,600. The Nikon F camera, introduced in April 1959, was Nikon’s first SLR camera. It was one of the most advanced cameras of its day. Although many of the concepts had already been introduced elsewhere, it was revolutionary in that it was the first to combine them all in one camera. It was replaced by the quite similar Nikon F2.
Nikon F2AS Photomic (1977) #F2 7877534 – Production dates 1971-1980. Total production 816,000. The F2 is the second member of the long line of Nikon F-series professional level 35 mm SLRs that began with the Nikon F. The other members were the F3 (1980–2001), F4 (1988–1996), F5 (1996–2005) and F6 (2004–present). The F-series do not share any major components except for the all important bayonet lens mount (F mount).
Nikon F3HP (2001) #1996557 – Production dates 1980-2001. Total production 751,000. Introduced in 1980, it had manual and semi-automatic exposure control whereby the camera would select the correct shutter speed (aperture priority automation). The Nikon F3 series cameras had the most model variations of any Nikon F camera. It was also the first of numerous Nikon F-series cameras to be styled by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, and to include a red stripe on the handgrip – a feature that would later become a signature feature of many Nikon cameras.
Nikon F4 (1995) #2495035 – Production dates 1988-1996. Total production approximately 550,000. With industrial design by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the F4 was the first professional Nikon to feature a practical autofocus system. The F4 is able to accept any of Nikon’s manual focus (MF) or AF lenses from 1959 to the present day. The F4 replaced the F3, which was a manual focus camera produced from 1980 until 2000. Nikon introduced its next flagship model, the F5, in 1996. All F4 models were discontinued soon after, in May 1997.
Nikon S2 (1955) #6136284 – A 35mm rangefinder professional film camera made in 1955 according to serial number. Here pictured with a 3.5cm f/3.5 interchangeable lens (Nikon S bayonet mount) and a separate Varifocal (Type I) viewfinder in the accessory (cold) shoe.
Zeiss Ikon Contax IIa 35mm (1952) #X1309. The Zeiss Contax was arguably the best 35mm rangefinder made before WWII, with a larger range of faster and sharper lenses than Leica. Many considered the pre-war Contax the “professional” 35mm camera, while the Leica was for amateurs.
Leica M3 (1956) #832054. The Leica M3 is a 35 mm rangefinder camera by Ernst Leitz GmbH (now Leica Camera AG), introduced in 1954. It was a new starting point for Leitz, which until then had only produced screw-mount Leica cameras that were incremental improvements to its original Leica (Ur-Leica). The M3 introduced several features to the Leica, among them the combination of viewfinder and rangefinder in one bright window, like on the Contax II, and a bayonet lens mount. It was the most successful model of the M series, with over 220,000 units sold by the time production of the M3 model ended in 1966.