Nikon F6

Nikon F6

Type	35mm SLR
Lens mount	Nikon F-mount
Focus	TTL Phase Detection Autofocus (11 zone)
Exposure	Program, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual
Flash	External flash
Frame rate	5.5 frame/s, 8 frame/s with external battery & grip
Dimensions	158 × 119 × 77.5 mm, 975g
Weight	975g
Made in	Japan

The Nikon F6 is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera body that became commercially available during 2004, and is the sixth top-of-the-line professional film camera in Nikon's line since the introduction of the Nikon F in 1959.^[1] The Nikon F6 is designed by Nikon and manufactured at their Sendai Plant.^[2]

As of early 2010^[update], the F6 is the current model of Nikon's F series, replacing the Nikon F5, manufactured from 1996 to present. The Nikon F6 accepts nearly any Nikon F-mount lens with full metering functionality, except for non-AI (non-aperture indexing) lenses made before 1977, unless the camera was modified by Nikon Service.^{[citation needed]}

Notable features

• Focusing screen: B-type BriteView Clear Matte Screen II, interchangeable with six other optional focusing screens
• Viewfinder frame coverage: Approx. 100%
• Finder magnification: Approx. 0.74x with 50mm lens set to infinity at -1.0m-1
• Viewfinder information: See page 3
• Autofocus: TTL phase detection, Nikon Multi-CAM2000 autofocus module
• Autofocus detection range: Approx. EV –1 to EV 19 (ISO 100, at normal temperature)
• Focus modes: Single Servo AF and Continuous Servo AF, and Manual
• Focus Tracking: Automatically activated in Single Servo AF or Continuous Servo AF
• Focus area: One — or a group — of 11 focus areas can be selected
• AF Area Modes: Single Area AF, Dynamic AF, Group Dynamic AF or Dynamic AF with Closest-Subject Priority selectable
• Focus lock: Focus is locked by pressing AE/AF-L button or lightly pressing shutter release button in Single Servo AF
• Exposure metering: Three built-in exposure meters — 3D Color Matrix, Center-Weighted and Spot
• Metering range (ISO 100, f/1.4 lens): EV 0 to EV 20 in 3D Color Matrix and Center-Weighted, EV 2 to EV 20 in Spot
• Exposure compensation: With exposure compensation button; ±5 EV range, in 1/3, 1/2 or 1 steps
• Auto Exposure Bracketing: Number of shots: 2-7; compensation steps: 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, or 1 EV steps
• Auto Exposure Lock: By pressing AE/AF-L button
• Film speed setting: DX or Manual selectable (manual setting has priority over DX detected film speed); DX: ISO 25-5000,
• Manual: ISO 6-6400 in 1/3 steps
• Shutter: Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter with built-in Shutter Monitor
• Shutter speeds: 30 to 1/8,000 s (1/3 steps in S and M modes); Bulb setting available in M mode (Shutter speed can be prolonged to 30 minutes in M mode)
• Accessory shoe: ISO518 hot-shoe contact digital data communication (sync contact, ready-light contact, TTL auto flash contact, monitor contact, GND), safety lock provided
• Sync contact: X-contact only; flash synchronization up to 1/250 s (up to 1/8,000 s possible in AUTO FP High-Speed Sync)
• Flash control: TTL flash control by combined five-segment TTL Multi Sensor with single-component IC and 1,005-pixel RGB sensor; i-TTL Balanced Fill-Flash with SB-800/600; Film speed range in TTL auto flash: ISO 25-1000

Specifications, features and design

• Electronically timed focal plane shutter unit with aluminum alloy and Kevlar shutterblades (150,000 cycles).
• Die-cast camera chassis, rear and film cover made of aluminium alloy
• The front, top and bottom covers are made of magnesium alloy.
• Parts made out of magnesium-alloy use the thixomold process.
• The F6 has been engineered for reduced noise and vibration when operating. It includes a feature called "Silent (S)" that allows for quieter single frame advance.
• User feedback resulted in improved ergonomics for the Nikon D2 family from which the F6's ergonomics is derived. These include redesigned tilted control wheels, shutter button and larger buttons.
• The F6 deviates from the F5 integrated system with a detachable vertical grip housing and external battery pack.
• Compatibility with Nikon i-TTL flashes.
• 11-zone autofocus, with 9 cross-type sensors.
• The viewfinder has a 37-segment vertical metering scale.
• Integrated date/time/exposure information film imprint and intervalometer.
• With the Nikon MV-1 data reader accessory, the ability to write exposure and lens data to a flash memory card, so photographers need not write that information down. While this accessory was introduced at the same time as the F6, it is also compatible with the F5 and F100.

The F6 is designed for reliability and durability like previous Nikon F-series cameras. The camera also has a manual film rewind, 100% coverage viewfinder and low 37ms shutter lag. The industrial designer for Nikon professional cameras since the Nikon F3 has been Giorgetto Giugiaro and he is responsible for the design of the Nikon F6 as well, the styling of which resembles the Nikon D2X, its digital contemporary. The F6 is also Nikon's first F-series camera without an interchangeable viewfinder pentaprism.

Autofocus

The F6 uses the same Multi-CAM 2000 autofocus module as the D2X professional-level digital SLR which was designed for the APS-C frame size of 23.7 x 15.7 mm.^[1] The F6 is a 135 film camera with a 24 × 36 mm frame size^[3] which results in the autofocus sensor covering a smaller area of the F6's frame relative to the coverage on the D2X.^[4]

Final Nikon 35mm film camera?

The Nikon F6 was announced to much surprise among photographers and industry observers. Professional use of the 35mm format has waned since stock photography firms started accepting digital photography and news photography became predominantly digital. Some elements of the F6 design, such as the non-interchangeable viewfinder and detachable battery pack/grip, may indicate that the F6 was designed for film-using photographic enthusiasts as well as professional photographers.

The price of the camera has been reduced compared to that of the F5, and some elements of its design show marks of this economy. Not only is the viewfinder fixed, but it also lacks the Aperture Direct Readout (ADR) feature, so after attaching an AI coupled lens to the body, the lens' maximum aperture has to be set on the display of the camera back. Before, the ADR system used a complex mirroring system and a larger prism that reflected the aperture data in the viewfinder. Also in the viewfinder, the marks and signs are now displayed in monochrome, which makes it more difficult to find necessary information. The prism itself is now covered with magnesium, not with titanium, as was the case with the F5. The detachable grip is made of plastic with some metal inserts. These changes do not greatly affect the ergonomics and the durability of the camera, but they illustrate how Nikon mixed its two professional camera lines into one body. Originally, the professional category (F, F2, F3, F4 and F5) showed a constant evolution in all terms of durability and performance. The second line (Nikkormat, FM/FM2, F801, F90, F100) used less costly, but also cutting-edge technologies. Those bodies were lighter and less expensive, but still very durable. Now, with the F6, the two product lines have been merged.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2006, Nikon announced that the F6 is one of only two 35mm film cameras that Nikon will continue to sell, the other being the Cosina-produced FM10.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Nikon F6". Nikon Imaging Global Site. Nikon. http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/filmcamera/slr/f6/. Retrieved 2011-03-17. 
2. ^ "Sendai Nikon History". Nikon Imaging Japan Site. Nikon. http://www.sendai-nikon.com/profile/history/index.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-02. 
3. ^ "Nikon D2XS". Nikon Imaging Global Site. Nikon. http://www.nikonimaging.com/global/products/digitalcamera/slr/d2xs/index.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-13. 
4. ^ Hogan, Thom. "Review of the Nikon F6". http://www.bythom.com/F6.htm#autofocus. 
5. ^ "Nikon prepares to strengthen digital line-up for 2006". Press release. Nikon. January 11, 2006. http://www.nikon.co.uk/press_room/releases/show.aspx?rid=201. Retrieved 2008-03-02. 

External links

Media related to Nikon F6 at Wikimedia Commons

• Nikon F6 from the Nikon Digital Archives