Turns out they got it right in 1959 (Nikon F)

[John Austin]

When crunch time comes and I need reliable 35mm I resort to my fleet of Nikon Fs, they are the superbest, and for wide angle work the very old 2.1cm Nikkor is delightful

However, my fondest memory of a 35mm camera is my old 6c, from when I used a fleet of Alpas

Attachment 47985

But apart from the intelligent lever wind, which meant if you kept you eye to the viewfinder while winding film you didn't end up with your right eye hanging off your thumbnail, the Nikon is far better - But fond memories are fond memories

John

[cmo]

Just a small arrangement:

[Pumalite]

They don't need to last fifty years, they will be redundant in < ten

You overlook the "attachment" factor. The Nikon F will NEVER be redundant.

[rich815]

Ugh, I could never use a camera that litters the viewfinder display with such ugly, useless eye candy. Data overlays can be cool, but not this kind of data overlay... It's amazing how much we lost, when we lost physical, single-purpose controls (in consumer cameras). This has caused manufacturers to feel the need to litter viewfinders with all these icons.

That is ridiculous but in all fairness you typically can push a button and have it set for all or most of the extraneous crap not show up on the viewfinder or back screen.

[Ralph Javins]

Just a small arrangement:

Good morning, CMO;

An interesting "arrangement." The Nikon F and the Photomic FTN are still here and working, and Plus-X is still available, but FX-135 Panatomic-X has been long gone, and Microdol-X is no longer available also. Some nice memories.

I had started to use X-TOL as a replacement for Microdol-X, and now it is gone also. At least there are some workable substitutes from one of the APUG commercial sponsors, FreeStyle, and I am looking into other black and white films from European makers. I was an exclusively EKCo film and chemical user for 50 years, and now that is changing. At least my older Minolta and Nikon cameras are still here.

[Les Sarile]

I had started to use X-TOL as a replacement for Microdol-X, and now it is gone also.

Kodak XTOL is current and available. Just used some and ordering some more.

[Rol_Lei Nut]

Fomadon Excel should be the same as X-Tol.

I haven't made careful comparisons between the results, but the same developing times with various films yielded the correct density.

[cmo]

The Nikon F and the Photomic FTN are still here and working, and Plus-X is still available, but FX-135 Panatomic-X has been long gone, and Microdol-X is no longer available also. Some nice memories.

I had started to use X-TOL as a replacement for Microdol-X, and now it is gone also. At least there are some workable substitutes from one of the APUG commercial sponsors, FreeStyle, and I am looking into other black and white films from European makers. I was an exclusively EKCo film and chemical user for 50 years, and now that is changing. At least my older Minolta and Nikon cameras are still here.

If you look at the "develop before" dates on the two film boxes in the photo you will see that one of the films had expired before the camera was built :-)

The good thing about a Nikon F (or Nikkor F) is that you can do one thing that you can't do with a digital camera: change the sensor. If I compare the results from a 1960s 50 ASA film developed in Microdol-X with the results from a Tmax 400 in XTol the Tmax wins hands down. In "IT speak": same hardware, better software.

[cmo]

Fomadon Excel should be the same as X-Tol.

I haven't made careful comparisons between the results, but the same developing times with various films yielded the correct density.

Other alternatives if you want to brew your own:

http://www.jackspcs.com/mytol.htm

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum223/...ant-mytol.html

And here is the perfect mouse to be used with these recipes:



That is probably from the "weedhead series"

[philosomatographer]

Wel, going all-out 1950s technology, I tried some Adox CHS Art 100 (Efke 100, really) in the Nikon F. It's the first time I tried this film. Quality control is definitely a bit spotty, but it's otherwise quite a luscious film, very rich and contrasty, and interesting with the crystal-clear film base - which I have never seen before. This was really more of a test roll to experiment with the development etc, but I am very pleased with the abilities of this combination.

(Nikon F, Nikkor-P 10.5cm f/2.5, Adox CHS Art 100 [Efke 100])


(Nikon F, Nikkor-H.C 50mm f/2.0, Adox CHS Art 100 [Efke 100])


(Nikon F, Nikkor-H.C 50mm f/2.0, Adox CHS Art 100 [Efke 100])

The pre-AI nikkors continue to impress with their peerless build quality and smooth focusing. The 50/2 is very interesting - it can produce some of the smoothest background blur I have seen in the mid-tones and dark areas, but out of focus highlights are just awful. Interesting combination.