Nikonos IV-A underwater camera

Ymmot · Joined: 24 Sep 2011 Posts: 168

Due to a discussion on Nikon rangefinder lenses I was reminded of the fact that there was a Nikonos IV-A underwater camera lying around the house somewhere. (Don’t ask me how, my mind works in mysterious ways Laughing

).

So I dug it up… and the internet search for some info on this camera began…

I made a summary of what I found for any people looking for some introduction like me (some people may want to skip ahead now Smile

boring story coming up):

My camera was supposedly the ‘fluke’ of the entire range of Nikonos cameras (next to the ridiculously expensive and prone to flooding RS reflex). It is a full automatic aperture priority camera with no manually selectable shutter speed (except for the mechanical 1/90). Also shutter speed is not indicated in the viewfinder, outside of a ‘too slow’ or ‘too fast’ warning. The final ‘nail in the coffin’ was the rear gasket (which is apparently not an O-ring) which was difficult to maintain and could only be put in one way round. This meant that they were probably more prone to flooding, which was basically the end as the camera is automatic.

The predecessor, the Nikonos III was much more popular, since it was fully mechanical and could be rinsed out and used again after a flood. The model after it, the Nikonos V had much better functioning O-ring instead of a rear gasket and manually selectable shutter speed next to the automatic mode and indication of shutter speed in the viewfinder. Both models are far more popular.

Spares are probably hard to find (possibly only for the Nikonos V model you may find some), for the IV-A the parts production was probably halted quite soon after the V came out. Servicing or repair is likely expensive, as even basic O-rings (and of course the gasket) from Nikon are not readily available anymore, unless you are able to find alternatives. Under water use is probably not a good idea as the O-rings and gaskets will have likely degraded quite a bit if the camera has not been used for some time.

In terms of lenses there is a nice lineup. There is a range of water corrected optics, which is not as interesting as they cannot be used with good performance above water (at least for me, assuming that most cameras of at least the IV-A type cannot be used under water anymore due to degraded seals and this likely holds the same for the lens O-rings). These are the lenses:
UW-Nikkor 2.8/15mm
UW-Nikkor 2.8/20mm
UW-Nikkor 3.5/28mm (supposedly also gives reasonable results in air)
There are also some Sea & Sea lenses, which are also underwater corrected.

There was also a small range of optics that works both above and under water:
W-Nikkor 2.5/35mm (the standard lens supplied with the camera)
W-Nikkor 4/80mm
And finally a weather sealed lens:
LW-Nikkor 2.8/28mm (supposedly rare, cannot be used underwater, is only weather proofed)

The camera itself has an uncoupled viewfinder with gridlines for the 35mm lens (supposedly only the Nikonos III model had gridlines for the 80mm lens.) There is also the DF-10 viewfinder for use with the 80mm lens, however this viewfinder is not waterproof.
Note the (supposed) lack of a normal lens (50mm), this is because due to the water the 35mm lens has an equivalent angle of view to a 50mm lens when used under water. Angle of view of the other lenses decreases as well underwater. All lenses are scale focus.

Some good sources of information below:
Nice overview of the models:
http://imaging.nikon.com/history/chronicle/history-nikonos/index.htm
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/htmls/models/htmls/nikonos.htm
http://www.nicovandijk.net/nikonos.htm
Very nice overview of Nikonos V with lenses and accessories:
http://www.camerasunderwater.info/equipment/nikonos/index.html
Repair and care stuff:
http://www.southern-nikonos.com/nikonosworkshopseries.html
Operation:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/nikonos/nikonos-iv-a.htm
Lenses:
http://www.photo.net/learn/underwater/uw2/Nikonos.html
http://www.nicovandijk.net/uwnikkors.htm
And supposedly a company made a custom digital Nikonos for the military:
http://gizmodo.com/5532611/the-secret-behind-the-mysterious-digital-nikonos-camera

Well after this boring summary of what I found, some impressions of the camera itself: It is bombproof I guess (it sure does not feel like fluke Wink

). After lying still for about 20 years, new batteries (lithium 3v or 2x SR44, although LR44 seems to work for me as well) and it seems to work just fine. This one here has been used for diving so some cleaning was needed though, especially the viewfinder.
The outside is as rugged as can be, as I understand it Nikonos cameras were used in warzones like Vietnam and as far as I can see it can be used as a weapon as well, just throw it at the enemy and he will die if hit (in the head Smile

, 900grams of metal camera including lens) and the camera will likely still work.

I will post a picture of the camera if I have the time to properly take one Wink

.

So after this I would like to ask if anyone here also uses either this camera or other Nikonos (I know some do) and their experiences with it (and the lenses). Also if anyone has some tips about the metering system of the IV-A (any idiosyncrasies?) I would gladly hear them, as I haven’t shot film in ages (since I was a kid basically) and most information seems to be regarding the Nikonos V. Please also any correction or additional info is welcome.

F16SUNSHINE · Expire: 2011-11-18

Sounds like you have a fun project coming up.

I have a II and a have had a III.
I like the shutter reales/advance combo of the II and will stay with it for how seldom I use it.
The 35mm is the only lens I have tried. The shutter in these two early models is absolutely bulletproof.
An external shoe mount optical bright line finder sits on mine. Looks good and is much more clear than the built in one.
Have fun!

Ymmot · Joined: 24 Sep 2011 Posts: 168

Thanks,

The I to III models have a much more 'rangefinder' like appearance, so an external finder probably looks quite well with this.
With the IV-A and V there is a larger viewfinder bulge, more like a SLR, so I am not sure how an external viewfinder will look Confused

.
The finder looks good to me, so I am not complaining, probably since I am not used to anything besides my E-600 Very Happy

.
Hope to take it out this weekend, there is currently an economy pack noname 36 exposure film in it which was laying around after 3-4 years (about 2 years expired Smile

, but that should not be too bad I guess), so we'll see if it works.

Ymmot · Joined: 24 Sep 2011 Posts: 168

Sorry to kick my own tread a bit, I have finally filled the test roll and had it scanned.
The results are a bit mixed, there were some nice shots but also a lot of underexposed ones.
I need to learn to apply compensation when the skies are bright and such, am a bit too used to be able to correct my results with digital I guess Rolling Eyes

.
I don't know wether it was my technique, the expired roll of poorly stored film or the lens (or all of the above) but the results were a bit 'lomo' like I guess.

Some impressions after using the camera: It is a very nice camera to use at the beach with salt and water and such. You really dont have to worry about a thing and it is easily cleaned afterwards.
It is a downside to not being able to see the shutterspeed, as you have often no indication that stuff is going wrong when the sky is bright.
Finally there seems to be an issue with the (at least my) 35mm Nikkor. It has pretty poor flare characteristics: there is a large glass plane in front of the actual optics which is predictably flare prone.
The worst part however is that my copy introduces a blue colored hotspot in the shape of the aperture when there are bright conditions (not unlike the dreaded purple spot of the old version tamron 90mm macro on digital).
I even had it happen when the sun was behind me at one point Crying or Very sad

.
The bokeh wide open is a bit odd, it almost swirls, stopping down this disappears.

Well, enough talk, some shots:

1: Wide open:

2: At the beach:

3: More beach:

4: Had to wait 10 minutes before the sun came back on this one:

5: Bit of flare

I am now spoiled forever as plastic cameras will never feel the same after this one Rolling Eyes

.

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

I chanced to find a cheap Nikonos V with the standard 35. Used it in driving rain, and later in the snowy weather last week instead of the vulnerable digital machines. Sharp and correctly exposed snaps (Ilford XP-2) with aperture set to 5,6and hyperfocal distance.

I was warned that this version will eat batteries if the speed dial is not set to manual after use.

Not having used it before, I only found out later -by experimenti- that the rewind knob has to be lifted up a bit in order to work. Not enough to set the proper knob to R.

Before that , I had to turn to a makeshift "darkroom" to get the film back in the canister.

p.

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

I think these underwater camera's are 'corrected' for the distortions etc that water will introduce, so they behave very differently out of the water.
I've got a working Sea & Sea, another solid lump of industrial yellow plastic that will survive a nuclear explosiuon, but I haven't tried it yet. I don't know why not, it's rained enough.
I have thought of attaching it to the roll cage of my 4x4 with some king of remote shutter release so I can record just how deep in the mud I get stuck. It should be ideal for that.

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

Yes, most underwater optics give unsharp pictures in air. Even when it is raining.

The 35 , however can be used above water.

Ymmot · Joined: 24 Sep 2011 Posts: 168

Yup, the 35 works above water, the 80mm does as well (and apparently there is a 28mm as well, see the lens list in my original post.)
Apparently there are also a series of optics by Sea & Sea, though those are likely water corrected as well with less performance in the dry.

The rewind is indeed a bit odd, also the IV-A if I recall has a similar pull up of the knob for rewind.
It should be in the manuals if I'm correct:
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/nikon/nikonos/nikonos.htm
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/nikon/nikonos_iv-a/nikonos_iv-a.htm

paulhofseth · Expire: 2018-06-28

given the limits of the film and the snowy weather, these snaps are sastisfactory.50% of the negative plus crop.

p.