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Reasons to use a Nikon camera! I looked back on the history of the camera

Updated: Aug 12, 2022

What do you think about recent lenses and why you are using Nikon?

This time, I would like to talk about such a thing while talking about old times.

As always, it's not bad because it's the caretaker's selfish dogma and prejudice.



table of contents

  1. Lens durability

  2. Here is a little explanation about image stabilization

  3. Old lenses before autofocus was used

  4. So, let's go back to the history of cameras and lenses.

  5. Minolta, Alpha 7700i that I used for a while

  6. Reasons for choosing Nikon

  7. Why I thought I couldn't use Minolta single eye


Nikon F3T + Ai Nikkor 50mm f1.2s


F3 with a novel design that does not seem to be released 40 years ago.

Only the caretaker looks more novel than modern cameras?


 


1, Lens durability


It's been a long time ago or two years ago, but when it comes to camera lenses, there is an image that they are extremely sturdy, and if you buy them, they will last a lifetime.

I had the image that it could be used forever if it was not dropped or hit.


That doesn't seem to be the case with modern lenses.

Even if you don't drop it or hit it, the focus will become loose as you use it.


I don't even know what time it happened.

With the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 I was using, one day suddenly I couldn't focus on anything other than the center of the screen.

I still don't know what was the cause.


It is used abundantly in O-rings and packings, and its dust-proof and drip-proof function is much better than the old ones.

Therefore, there are many merits such as being able to use it with confidence even in the rain.



Tamron 2nd generation, 150-600mm



Thanks to Mr. Tamron, I was allowed to use the latest 150-600mm for a long time.

At the beginning of use, it was extremely sharp and sharp.

However, as I used it, I felt that the pins became sweeter and sweeter.

I feel that the effect of image stabilization also weakened as I used it.


Image stabilization, which tends to cause unstable image quality, often does not improve image quality even if it is turned off and then turned on again.


I guess the cause is that the image stabilization lens does not return to the center on the optical axis.

At that time, the lens was always in a bag or hung from the neck and walking around.



2, here is a little explanation about image stabilization

If you take a handheld shot or the shutter speed becomes slow, it will be difficult to take sharp and clear pictures due to camera shake.

At any decisive moment, a photo will be ruined if it is blurred. You can use a tripod, but it is inferior in terms of mobility, and there are quite a few situations where you cannot use a tripod.

This image stabilization mechanism comes in handy at such times.


There are three types of image stabilization:

  1. Image stabilization built into the lens

  2. What moves the sensor on the camera side to correct

  3. Some electronically correct the image captured by the sensor.

There is also a model that combines them to perform more advanced image stabilization.


The image stabilization mentioned here is a lens-driven type.


Recent lenses have a very complicated mechanism such as an ultra-precision gyro sensor and a drive system for an image stabilization lens for image stabilization.


I think that the reason why the original performance is lost after using it for a while is that the lens drive mechanism of these complicated and mysterious in-lens image stabilization seems to be the root of the badness.


To be honest, I'm not sure.

Since the lens is mechanically moved without being fixed to the optical axis, even if the sensor goes a little wrong, it will lead to the pin not being tied.



3, old lenses before autofocus was used


At that time, all lenses were firmly fixed to the lens barrel, even if the lens configuration was complicated.

Other than the zoom, the drive part is about focus and aperture.

Everything was mechanically incorporated.

All the drive is by mechanical input, and no motor is built in.


There are also causes of dust and water, but it can be said that there were almost no elements to break unless a basic shock was given.


Regardless of whether it is good or bad, the lenses are always aligned on the optical axis, so I was able to use it with confidence at any time.


However, most of the lenses at that time were not considered to be dust-proof or drip-proof.

If it was left unattended when it got water, it would cause mold, but it was about that level.


Compared to lenses at that time, today's lenses are packed with high-tech equipment and are mechanically and electronically complex and mysterious. There are many elements that can be broken.



4, So I will go back to the history of cameras and lenses


As the first step toward high-tech lenses, autofocus is the first step.

Before that, there were various evolutions such as auto exposure of the camera and TTL of the flash, but the manager was still a small elementary school student at that time.

I don't know much about them, so I will omit them.


Shortly before the janitor messed with the camera,

The first Minolta, the Alpha 7000, which caused a big boom, was released in 1985.


The camera's autofocus motor was built into the camera body, and the lens's focus mechanism was geared to the camera's built-in focus motor.

Since the lens does not have a motor, the lens is as compact as a manual lens.

Anyone can easily take in-focus photos.

There is only one focus point in the middle, but I focused firmly on the stationary object.

Even elderly people with poor eyesight could take pictures that were in focus with a single-lens reflex camera, which I think was amazing at that time.

That may be the reason why it sold explosively.


There are various methods, such as attaching a motor to the lens or attaching a motor to the body for each manufacturer. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but at that time, the motor built into the body was favored.


At the same time, Canon released an autofocus camera called the T80.

An autofocus system that uses an in-lens motor.

At that time, the lens was so big that it didn't look good, and it seemed to disappear completely in the shadow of the Alpha 7000.


It seems good to fail early, and it is no exaggeration to say that Canon's successes and leaps that have continued until recently are springing from the regrets of that time.


A few years later, Canon completely abandoned the FD system and switched to the EF lens mount system completely in 1987 and started again.


Canon's subsequent leap is tremendous

Immediately, the in-lens motor was made compact to a practical level.

With the practical application of electromagnetic diaphragms, USM ultrasonic motors, and in-lens image stabilization, we have been at the forefront of high-tech in the camera industry.

I'm also making an auto-focus line-of-sight input device, which I don't have now, because it malfunctions when I use glasses.

Other manufacturers have always been chasing behind Canon, which is at the forefront.


Since 20 years ago, Canon has suddenly adopted most of the fully electronic interlocking methods that Nikon has gradually arrived at.

USM ultrasonic motor, ultra-high speed autofocus, full-time manual, electromagnetic aperture, etc.

It can be said that there was a foresight name.


Benefits of Nikon

Even if it is inferior in high-tech, it has the advantage that old lenses can be used for a long time if it is Nikon to use it as a tool.


That's a big reason why managers use Nikon all the time.

Machine interlocking has various analog applications.


Minolta, which was the first to succeed, later released a super shutter, autofocus clutch mechanism, etc. such as power zoom and shutter speed 1/12,000 seconds, but it was not well accepted by the market.

After a lot of strays, Sony took over the pedigree, but ended up leaving the camera industry.


It may not be good to get it right the first time.



5, Minolta, Alpha 7700i that I used for a while

The caretaker used a Minolta camera until he graduated from high school.


The Alpha 7700i, a camera released in May 1988, is the first camera in the world to have a built-in predictive drive autophocus.

Rangefinder sensors arranged vertically and horizontally at three points and their predictive drive focus.

Compared to other cameras at that time, I think the autofocus performance was outstanding.

After that, even if I switched to Nikon, I think that the autofocus performance was far superior to the F4. Thanks to Minolta at that time, the big hit Alpha 7000, it must have had abundant strength.


Somehow, I went to the store to buy a Nikon F801 with a shutter speed of 1/8000 seconds, which I used to do in TV commercials. I didn't know anything about cameras, so I bought it at a certain camera mass retailer in Shinjuku as the clerk proceeded.

It wasn't a particularly bad purchase, but after that, it's not the salesperson's obedience! It was also a great reflection.

After that, I read the catalogs and magazines of each camera manufacturer and accumulated more knowledge than general camera sales staff before going to the camera store.



6. Reasons for choosing Nikon


When I graduated from high school, I decided to switch my camera to Nikon.


The reason was that I liked the rich system lineup, especially the telephoto lens lineup.

A lens that can be used forever even if the camera is new.

That's also why I wanted to chase wild animals in the future and valued the durability of the camera and lens the most.


Looking at magazines and listening to people, I heard that Nikon is sturdy and unbreakable.

At the shooting site, I saw a cameraman who lamented that the lens couldn't be used due to an error, but I had never seen such a thing at Nikon.


You can use an old manual lens without changing the mount, and it also has an aperture ring.


It can be applied in various ways, such as macro photography with the lens reversed, or with an old lens attached.

Those reasons are also one of the reasons for choosing Nikon at that time.



7, the reason why I thought that Minolta single eye could not be used

Although I was a high school student at the time, I thought that Minolta's camera was not suitable for photography.

The reason is as follows


  1. Difficulty in focusing and manual operation. It was designed on the assumption that the manual would not be used.

  2. A lens without an aperture ring.

  3. AA batteries cannot be used, and a lithium battery called 2CR5, which costs 1,400 yen or more, must be used as a disposable item.

  4. A shoe with a special shape that cannot be firmly fixed to the flash due to rattling. (Why did you make it that way?)

  5. Difficulty in grasping the mountain of focus in the viewfinder.

  6. Cameras and lenses that use a lot of plastic and are likely to have low durability.

  7. The image quality of the AF100-300mm I was using was poor.


and so on.


And work hard at the part-time job,

I bought a Nikon D4S and a 105mm macro lens before graduating from high school.

Immediately after that, I bought Sigma's 28mm f1.8.


Next, Nikon AF300mmf4s, Ai50mmf1.2S, and so on.


F4s purchased before graduating from high school, alive



Since then, I've been using Nikon.

Of course, I also use Canon, but I haven't bought and used it myself yet.


In the F4 era, as many others did, the janitor himself wanted to switch to the Canon, but he stopped.


The reason is, of course, that it costs extra money, but I was still worried about its durability.

Systematically, it was electronic rather than mechanical, and at that time, I saw many people who failed in the field and couldn't use it.


I'm sure it was a malfunction, or most of them were poor contact between the lens and the electrical interlocking contacts of the body.


The biggest reason is that changing the camera doesn't change the photo! That is.

The most important thing is the photographer's heart.




It's been a long time before I got into the main subject of this time, so I'll divide it here.



to be continued



Until the end Thank you for reading.

 

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