Updated 11182019 in 1976, nikon found itself at a crossroads with its fseries of professional bodies. I guess nikon wanted a test outing for the new design direction before unleashing giorgetto on their flagship. The f3 began to gain some organic curves which only intensified with the f4. Information below on the various rare and highly collectible models of nikon would not be possible if not for the effort, generosity and corporation from the nikomat club in japan. Nikon f, f2, and f3 35mm mf slr film cameras imagingpixel. Its production cycle is generally accepted to be from 1980 to 2000 or 2002, close to a record for a highvolume professional camera.
Did you know that giorgetto giugiaro the designer of the nikon f3 also designed the fiat panda and. The novel design aiming at a simple form with a concave section on the front of the body for gripping and the impressive red vertical line exerted. The designer, giorgetto giugiaro believed products needed to function honestly for the user, not just function correctly. Nikon continued to make the f3 even after it introduced the f4 and the f5 the f3 is manual focus. Back to film with the nikon f3 a flash of darkness.
The exterior of the integrated camera body and motor drive md4 was designed by giorgetto giugiaro. Interestingly, the f4 was the first camera body from nikon that had to accomodate batteries as an integral part of the. If the image below looks like your camera, click below to see the full manual. The tc16 can convert some manual focus nikkors into an autofocus lens. The nikon f3 was nikon s third professional singlelens reflex camera body, preceded by the f and f2. It is manual exposure with an aperture priority mode, manual focus, and manual film advance and rewind. He was the one who added the patented red stripe accent to the nikon f3, an accent that has been included in every major nikon release ever since. Italian car designer giorgetto giugiaro, who was introduced to nikon. See more ideas about concept cars, car and super cars. All nikon fans was its great compatibility as all manual focus nikkor lenses. The nikon f3 was nikons third professional singlelens reflex camera body, preceded by the f and f2.
Giorgetto giugiaro was and is very famous in japan as a car designer. Nikon f3 is a 35mm film slr system camera, designed by giorgetto giugiaro and was manufactured by nippon kogaku k. Modern classic 35mm slr camera the professional nikon f3. The nikon f3 35mm slr often is labelled by many as the best manual focus 35mm slr ever made. The nikon f3 retains the design aesthetic from the previous two models. I am not sure how much giorgetto giugiaro s design impacted the technical design specifications of the proposed f3, but the italian industrial designer has helped to remould nikon s image and given a few lessons to japanese designers in the process as well as some reasons to think about how to handle and package a world class product.
He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. This visionary designer drafted a form that as in many instances of italian renaissance sculpture was a perfection of proportion entirely intune with the cameras functionality. The f3 was the first professional nikon to feature electronic shutter controls. Nikon asked him to apply his skills, approach, and vision also to the design of a camera. But you can now see the beginning of the iconic red stripe. The body color was black only, and the suggested retail price was 175,000 yen with 50 mm f1.
Nikon with an exterior designed by the famous italian industrial designer giorgetto giugiaro. Just the second camera designed by giorgetto giugiaro, the first being the nikon em. Giugiaro was named car designer of the century in 1999 and inducted into the automotive hall of fame in 2002. The nikon f3, which was under commercialization in conjunction with the development of the nasa specificationsbased cameras, was released in march 1980 as the flagship electronically controlled aperturepriority ae slr camera. Unlike all previous fseries models, it does not feature an interchangeable. Nikon s ergonomics had improved slowly since the original f, but larger leaps forward began with the f3, when guigiaro giorgetto was hired to do its exterior design. The f3 s visual design was handled by giorgetto giugiaro, a heavyweight in 20th century automotive design. The nikon f3 t, a special version of the nikon f3 higheyepoint camera, uses titanium for its right and left top covers, base plate, camera back, and the pentaprism cover of the viewfinder. Giugiaro is also known for designing the delorean and the bmw m1. The principle design difference on the f3 seems to be the red flash which still lives on nikon bodies. This page is dedicated to the superb nikon f3 camera produced between 1980 and 2001. The camera body was styled by giorgetto giugiaro, who designed all nikon f bodies since the nikon f3. Nikon continued to make the f3 even after it introduced the f4 and the f5 the f3 is manual.
The f4 is able to accept any of nikon s manual focus mf or af lenses from 1959 to the present day. The f2 was at the peak of its domination of the market, with 125,000 sold in that year, the greatest annual total achieved by a single f model ever. The problem was in coming up with its successor, the f3. The f3 was styled by italian design genius giorgetto giugiaro who styled the ferrari 250 gt swb bertone 1960, the aston martin db4 gt bertone jet 1961 as well as motorcycles and firearms. Did nikon approach italdesign, or did italdesign approach nikon. The one thing that is universally agreed is that the nikon f3 is a beautiful camera. The f3 was produced for 21 years until it was discontinued in 2001. This keeps the package shorter for stowing in a backpack. The savvy consumers guide to preowned, collectible, and. It was the first nikon to use a red accent in this case a vertical red line near the hand grip which has subsequently become an integral. He was born in garessio, cuneo, piedmont giugiaro was named car designer of the century in 1999 and inducted into the automotive hall of fame in 2002. Schneider a mostlyworthy successor to the f2, the nikon f3 brought italian design sensibilities to advanced professional slrs whose effects are still felt today. It is their contribution to the pictorial history site for nikon cameras which is hosting at mir. It was also the first of numerous nikon fseries cameras to be styled by italian designer giorgetto giugiaro and to include a red stripe on the handgrip a feature that is to become a signature feature of many nikon cameras.
The nikon f4 is a 35 mm autofocus af single lens reflex slr film camera, introduced in 1988 as the next generation in nikon s line of f series professional cameras. Production of singlelens reflex slr cameras in japan reached the 7. I reported this rumor over a year ago similar to previous nikon professional cameras, the latest full frame dslr models were also designed by giorgetto giugiaro. A brief outline of the nikon f3 manual focus slr film camera. In august, we contracted giorgetto giugiaro, who had been so successful in the designing of nikon f3, nikon em, and pikaichi, to design the new model on the basis of conventional dial or lever operation with limited keyboard pushbutton operation in order to realize a unit that would meet the specifications involving the various features in a. The nikon f3 has always been one of nikon s best pro cameras. The nikon f3 was the last in the nikon series of manual focus, professional level 35mm slr cameras. Introduced in 1980, it had manual and semiautomatic exposure control whereby the camera would select the correct shutter speed aperture priority automation.
The nikon f3 was nikon s professional slr camera released in 1980, alongside the consumer fm2 and fe2. Does anyone know which nikon body was designed by giorgetto giugiaro. Nikon d4 and d800 cameras were designed by giorgetto giugiaro. Introduced in 1980, it had manual and semiautomatic exposure control. The vertical red lining near the hand grip is now a distinctive hallmark of any modern nikon camera, and over the years the red line has evolved into many forms and designs on the plethora of nikon models that has followed. With the creative mind of a famous italian industrial designer, giorgetto giugiaro, the replacement model for the nikon f2 has been given a fresh modern look and feel. The nikon f3 was proof that it was possible to achieve a good harmony between function and form. The nikon f3 was designed by italian designer giorgetto giugiaro, a famous designer whos responsible for designing some of the most striking italian sports cars ever. It just screams cutting edge early 1980s design style. The transition from the mechanical nikon f2 era to the electronic f3 presents an interesting way for us to make a direct comparison between a few original proposed designs of the planned f3 crafted by japanese designers and the eventual realized nikon f3 by a western industrial design artist renown italian industrial design firm giugiaro. We commissioned giorgetto giugiaro 1938, a famous italian car and industrial designer, to take charge of the final design of the exterior of em similarly as in the case of the exterior design of the flagship model nikon f3. Nikon body designed by giorgetto giugiaro nikon coolpix.
The nikon f3 series cameras had the most model variations of any nikon f camera. There is also the mb23, which is a full battery grip f4e. If i didnt already have a nikon f5 with full integrated vertical grip, i would have got the mb21 half grip which makes the body an f4s. The f3 was decidedly different from nikon s earlier professional cameras. The nikon f6 replaced the nikon f5 as the professional grade film slr in 2004. Its industrial design and styling can be attributed to giorgetto giugiaro who was brought into the project. Press in the unlocking button atop the dial and turn it to one of the 16 manual shutter settings and you.
A brief outline of the nikon f3hp manual focus slr film camera. With industrial design by giorgetto giugiaro, the f4 was the first professional nikon to feature a practical autofocus system. Indeed, the nikon f3 is a simple electronic slr but was designed to perform reliably rather than shining in features. Nikon f3 t instruction manual, user manual, pdf manual, free. Due to the overwhelming use of digital technology by professional photographers, it is probably the last 35 mm film fseries camera.
798 3 1314 783 49 203 209 709 1281 857 524 675 1232 1507 316 762 928 1215 1535 1317 1015 486 91 1130 246 911 20 1235 7 832 14 1122 783 533 370 16 842 234 228 253 205 755 1374 601