The first 35mm SLR with electronic information processing, its six-mode exposure control system offers Program, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Speed Priority, plus stopped-down AE, Manual, and Autoflash. In short, if there's a manual-focus Nikon SLR that you've always hankered for, the time to snag a pristine example is now.Įxactly which manual-focus Nikon SLRs am I talking about? Well, all of them, actually, but this month we'll concentrate on some of the best of the enthusiast-aimed models, namely Nikkormats and the highly esteemed Nikon FM series, which includes some of the nicest Nikons ever.Ī truly incredible machine for its era (it's hard to believe it debuted back in '78!) the robust, ruggedly handsome Canon A-1 can still go toe-to-toe with current SLRs in terms of sheer picture-taking performance and features. There are even a few models that will probably go up in value due to increased demand among users and collectors, their relative scarcity, and the fact that they're out of production.

However, I believe prices will not erode significantly in the near term, and I do feel that manual-focus Nikon SLRs in particular will continue to hold their present value remarkably well. No, I am not anticipating a sudden stampede by Nikon film SLR fanatics causing prices to skyrocket. It's no secret that the prices of even some of the most esteemed and desirable 35mm models have taken big hits in the wake of the digital dreadnaught, and, overall, 35mm SLR prices have never been lower than they are right now. Where does this all leave collectors, lovers, and users of Nikon 35mm SLRs? Pretty much in the same boat they were before.

While I commend Nikon for soldiering on with two 35mm SLRs-long may they wind and click-it surely marks the end of a noble era characterized by remarkable achievements, both in technology and camera design. I therefore had a lump in my throat and maybe a wee bit of mist in my eye when I read Nikon's mid-January press release that it was ceasing production and sale of all film cameras save for the flagship F6 and the pleasantly unassuming, entry-level, manual-focus FM10. When I acquired my first Nikon F in the early 1960s, I thought I had died and gone to heaven, and there are at least half a dozen Nikon cameras on my 'world's greatest' list. While I am hardly a charter member of the anti-digitist (I shoot about 70 percent digital these days, mostly with a Canon EOS 20D, and I'm currently nursing a bad case of 5D lust) I will confess to being a long-time Nikon nut.

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