This very nice Yashica C TLR was given to me by a family friend in 2006. I never could get the hang of shooting through a waist level viewfinder with a reversed image, so I eventually let the camera go.

Yashica-C is a medium format film TLR camera made by Yashica and introduced around 1956. It uses 120 roll film and takes 6x6cm images. The lens is a Yashikor 80mm f/3.5 with a Copal-MX shutter with speeds 1-1/300s. The Yashica C has no built in metering, common to cameras of that era. It does take very good imagees.

This was Nikon's first professional 35mm SLR. Nikon rangefinder cameras and lenses were already well known, having been discovered by American journalists during the Korean War. The Nikon F body was very similar to the rangefinder bodies. However, a new lens mount, the F mount, was designed for this camera, and is still in use today. Almost all Nikon lenses made since 1959 can be mounted on most Nikon professional SLR and DSLR bodies with the F mount. I've had this F since about 1982, and although I don't use it anymore as the finder is too dim for my eyes now, I love the feel of the camera and its shutter. This example has the eye-level finder attached, and I also have the Photomic FTn and waist level finders for it.

My second camera, after the Agfa Silette, and my first Nikon camera, which I purchased used in 1971. A heavy, solid camera, it was strictly mechanical, not even a battery to replace. An accessory light meter was available, which mounted over the front finder in the foot attached to the front of the camera. I used the Nikkorex F until 1982, when I traded it in on a used Nikon F. Shown with a Nikkor non-AI f/3.5 43-86mm zoom, sometimes called the worst Nikon lens ever made. Even so, the lens was a good seller and popularized the mid-range zooms so common as kit lenses today. The AI versions were much improved.

The Nikkormat was a lower cost camera targeted to consumers and amateur photographers who couldn't afford or didn't need Nikon's professional bodies. Nikkormats were produced from 1965 to 1978. I did not have a Nikkormat then, but did use a Nikkorex through the decade of the 1970's. I have purchased a couple used Nikkormats since then, one for my daughter, about twenty-five years ago, and this one I found a couple years ago at a flea market.

The FE was introduced in 1978 as the second compact Nikon, following the FM of 1977. The FE was an electronic camera that operated on batteries, offered Aperture Priority operation, and interchangeable finder screens. This FE belonged to my mother. The shutter/film advance doesn't work reliably, but it works fine with my MD-12 winder attached.

First introduced in 1980, the F3 is considered by many to be Nikon's best professional camera. The F3 was so in demand that in remained in production until 2002, long after the introduction of the F4 and F5. Very similar to the FE, it featured an Aperture Priority mode, and a stepless electronic shutter. The F3 is an electronic camera, requiring two L44 cells. In the event the batteries run down, the camera can be operated mechanically, but only at 1/60s. The camera lacks an accessory shoe, but a dedicated flash can be mounted over the rewind lab as in previous versions of the F series. Several interchangeable finders were offered. I bought this one used to replace my FM that I gave to my grandson when he was taking a photography class in college.

I often wished Nikon would make a professional digital version of the classic Nikon SLR. Nikon finally did that, more or less, with the Nikon Df. I think its retro styling is quite evocative of the F3. Otherwise, the Df is essentially a D4, minus some features. The Df is also smaller and lighter than the other pro Nikons, making it a much more pleasant camera to carry around all day compared to the D4.

At right, is the Nikon Df. Hardly a classic yet, but it fits in well with the vintage cameras on this page, with its retro styling, smaller size, and reduced weight. This one is equipped with a Nikkor 28-70mm zoom and a 100th Anniversary Nikon leather strap.

It seems strange to list the F4 as a vintage camera, but it has become a classic, and is now pushing forty, having been introduced in 1988. I purchased mine as a refurbished body in 1998.

Like most of the Nikon pro cameras, the F4 featured a 100% viewfinder, which was essential for serious work in the pre-digital era. With a 100% viewfinder, what you see is what you get. Images intended for publication had to be submitted as transparencies in most cases, and there was no ability to crop out any unwanted elements in the image. The professional Nikons with their 100% viewfinders assured that no unwanted elelments intruded into the final image. It was retired in 2006 when I purchased a used Nikon D1 digital body.