Excerpted from the Editorial page:
At the beginning of 2009 I promised we would devote all 4 issues this year to celebrate the 50th birthday of the venerable Nikon F. While this is the last issue for 2009, and it is full of material on the F, I will not stop covering this greatest of all Nikons. I have enough material at hand to continue coverage, although our "official" celebration will end with #106, and the Nikon SP will return to our cover. So if you have ideas for the F send them in. Although its birthday is over, we will always have room for the Nikon F.
 |
| Both types of High Speed Nikon F cameras and the quite rare original 300mm f2.8 Nikkor. Click to enlarge and read |
On page 10 I've put together a couple of lists that have come my way over the years, They can be used as a "guide" to the approximate date of production for your F body. However, it is only a guide, as a more detailed list is not known to me at this time. I've supplemented it with some factory production photos from "THE F SPOT."
On pages 13 & 14 are two short articles by members Philip Ramsden and Bob Thompson about some of the earliest Nikkors, one of which has proven its worth in our new digital age.
This issue's "Rich & Famous" is dedicated to only one Nikon user, but a very famous one. I have 2 pages of photos and coverage of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who was often photographed using a Nikon S2 with the 50/f1.1 Nikkor. The article is by Paul Bonner, who knows his subject well. He produced a documentary on Che for the BBC in 197l!
More info on NHS‑Con12 can be found on page 15. Please check this page as it has the address for our convention website with all the latest info you will need. It is getting close so check out our site.
And now a special note... I first met Burt Rubin about 1973‑74. I already knew Yuki Kawai & Bill Kraus, and it was Bill who put Burt and I together. I received a phone call one day from a fellow with a definite Brooklyn accent who introduced himself and then we talked Nikons for 2 hours. Back then Yuki, Bill, Burt and I were the only serious Nikon collectors any of us knew of. We called ourselves the "Four Musketeers" and had a great time looking for and buying Nikons at prices that would make you cry today. But now we are only "three." Burt Rubin died on October 7th at the age of 68.
Back in the 70's I went to New York to visit his collection and he came to Chicago to see mine. All four of us were in constant communication about what we had seen or bought, and many of the serial numbers in my database are there because of Burt. Although he was never really involved with the NHS (an unfortunate fact), he did help me with my first book and we often saw each other at shows. I last met with him at the Miami show about 5‑6 years ago. We had a good talk and he was on top of the world as he was a new grandfather. A real "force" in world of Nikon collecting is gone but one who will not soon be forgotten.
RJR
