It is common knowledge that
the modern 35mm system camera was developed in Germany by Leitz (Leica), soon
followed by Zeiss with the Contax. The
influence of these two camera systems was far reaching and influenced many
other camera manufacturers to develop similar cameras.
One such company was Nikon in
Japan. During the 1930s, the basis was
laid for an independent photographic industry to meet civil and, more
importantly, military needs that would become of primary importance following
Pearl Harbor and Japan’s entrance into the second world war.
After the war, many of the
Japanese camera manufacturers were eager to reenter the domestic and foreign
markets. Among all of the Japanese
brands, the one that would soon become a household name in the US and Europe
was Nikon.
But like so many other
manufacturers, they began by closely copying successful German manufacturers,
primarily Leitz and Zeiss. Initially,
Nikon manufactured only lenses, many of which were copies of lenses made by Leitz
as well as Zeiss.
Nikkor QC 50mm f/3.5
Leitz 50mm Elmar f/3.5
W-Nikkor C 35mm f/3.5 Leitz Summaron 35mm f/3.5
W-Nikkor C 35mm f.3.5 Leitz
Elmar 35mm f/3.5
The first Nikon camera with
interchangeable lenses appeared on the domestic market in March of 1948. Unlike many other manufacturers who simply
copied Leica cameras, Nikon, on the other hand, chose to copy the Zeiss
Contax. But there was more to the camera
than what met the eye. The camera body
was clearly a copy of the Zeiss Contax, including the rangefinder and the lens
mount. But the shutter was definitely
not a Zeiss design. Upon closer
inspection it was obvious that it was taken entirely from the Leica. That decision apparently had been made
because it was of a much less complicated design (thanks Oskar Barnack) and
thus much more reliable than the vertically traveling, roller desk top type
shutter of the Contax. The Leica shutter
was copied in virtually all details resulting in the Nikon being one of the
very few cameras that utilized a collar type cable release.
Leica III
Nikon 1
Please note the position of
the shutter speed dial, the shutter release, the film winding knob
and the film rewind lever.
Several years later, when it
became apparent that rangefinder cameras would be replaced by single lens
reflex (SLR) cameras, Nikon simply converted the Nikon rangefinder camera to an
SLR by eliminating the rangefinder from the camera and adding a mirror
housing. Thus the original Nikon F was
born. It too featured the Leica shutter,
virtually unchanged. The Nikon F soon
became one of the most successful, professional SLRs on the market and Leica
technology was a definite part of that.
Leica III
Nikon F SLR
Using the Leica shutter
offered another, little known feature, mostly unknown to even Leica users. The Leica shutter used by Nikon was that of
the Leica screw mount cameras and it made those Leicas, the Nikon rangefinder
and Nikon F SLRs the only cameras to ever incorporate that feature.
It was the ability to allow
double exposure with perfect registration, but not just simple double exposures
on the last frame but with any frame that had been exposed on the roll of film.
Users of these cameras might
have noticed that the shutter release button turns when rewinding the
film. To make a double exposure on the
last exposed frame all that is necessary is to activate the rewind release and
winding the film back for one full revolution of the shutter release button and
then go beyond that for not quite another half revolution. After that the camera has to be switched back
to the film advance mode and the film transport knob or advance lever moved to
cock the shutter. This will also advance
the film which will automatically stop with perfect registration on the last
exposed frame. At this point the second
exposure can be taken on that frame.
Repeating the above steps will allow unlimited exposures on the same
frame.
To take additional exposures
on any previous frame one needs to do the same procedure as above. Except rather than winding the film back just
one revolution of the shutter release knob, one needs to make it do as many
revolutions as the number of frames the one is back that is to receive the
additional exposure. Don’t forget to go
about one half revolution beyond, activate the advance until it stops and take
the exposure.
To go back to taking a new
picture, block any light from entering the lens and take as many ‘blind’
exposures as the number of frames you wound back.
This might require some
practice. To do that with any accuracy,
take an old, unexposed or undeveloped roll of film and load it into the
camera. With the camera set on ‘B’ and with
the lens removed, take several frames and mark the outline with a pen and
number the frames consecutively. This
will allow you to practice the above procedure with any number of frames.
A fact only known to few is
the fact that Nikon also considered to use the Leica screw mount on their early
cameras instead of the Contax mount.
However, this did not proceed beyond the prototype stages and all of the
Nikon rangefinder camera that reached the market did feature the Contax mount.
Leica Screw Mount Prototype
#1
Very closely based on the
Contax, but definitely shows the use
of the Leica shutter
Leica Screw Mount Prototype
#2
VEry closely based on the
Contax, including the self timer lever,
featuring the Leica shutter
Leica Screw Mount Prototype
#3
Close to the later Nikon
rangefinder lay-out, Leica shutter
Leica Screw Mount Prototype
#4
Very close to the marketed
Nikon rangefinder with Leica shutter
Besides copying lenses and
cameras, Nikon’s line of accessories also consisted of quite a variety of
copies of Leica accessories.
Rangefinder cameras by their
very nature are limited in their ability to do close up photography as well as
photography with lenses longer than 135mm.
To overcome that problem, Leica developed a single lens reflex viewing
attachment. When added to the camera, it
allowed viewing through the lens, allowing to focus accurately when doing close
ups as well as when using long lenses.
The first in the line of the reflex viewing attachments was the
PLOOT. Later versions became known as the
Visoflex. Nikon too offered such an
attachment and the similarity to the Leica version is undeniable.
Nikon reflex focusing unit
Leitz PLOOT
After the first Leica
appeared on the market in 1925, models with interchangeable lenses were soon to
follow. Since the viewfinder of those
cameras only showed the field of view of the 50 mm lens, accessory viewfinders
for the other focal length lenses became a necessity. This resulted in the Vidom, a universal
viewfinder that could be adjusted to show the field of view of focal lengths
from 35 mm to 135 mm. Nikon, faced with
the same problem, simply copied the design of the Vidom rather than developing a
viewfinder of their own design.
Nikkor Multi
Focal Finder Leitz
Vidom
Stereo photography was quite
popular for a while and Leitz made a variety of accessories that allowed to
take stereo photographs and again, Nikon simply copied these designs for their
own use.
The Nikon Stereo-Nikkor 35mm
f/3.5 outfit consisted of a stereo lens and stereo prism for the Nikon
rangefinder cameras. Introduced in 1956,
it bears more than a close resemblance to the Leitz Stereoly, first introduced
in 1931 and later replaced by an improved model in 1954.
Nikon Stereo Nikkor 35mm
f/3.5
Patent drawing of Leitz
Stereoly attachment
Leitz Stereoly on early Leica
II
Leitz Stemar 35mm f/3.5
In either case, this stereo
equipment produced two half frame stereo images in place of the standard 35mm
frame. Stereo viewers and projector
accessories allowed for stereo viewing of the images taken.
Thus we have another example
of the influence Leica has had on Nikon over the years. This isn't to say that
NIkon could not have been successful without Leica, but copying Leica cameras,
lenses and accessories definitely eliminated a lot of development time for
them. Considering how many other manufacturers copied Leica, Leica cameras,
lenses and accessories remain the most copied photographic equipment in
history.
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