To read/see about the collection of Nikkor 1.2/55mm. see the relevant chapter
Since the first camera Nico has hold in his hands, a Kodak Brownie owned by his grandmother, he started to collect cameras and lenses.
That old Brownie (see above) is still an important member of his collection.
The first camera Nico owned was an Ilford Sportsman L, followed by a Yashica Rookie. In 1968 Zeiss-Ikon announced the so called ´Golden Program´ including the Icarex camera system. In the early 1970´s Zeiss-Ikon lost the race in the computer business from IBM and went broke. The Icarex collection was sold and a Canon AE-1 entered the camera bag of Nico van Dijk. After Canon changed its lens mount ( for the second time!) Nikon was chosen as THE camera system. The first camera was a Nikon FM, followed by the FM2, F3, F4, F70, D1, D1X, etc., etc. Nowadays there are over 20 cameras and more than 40 lenses in use. For each occasion a camera-lens combination is chosen and often it´s a film SLR. Lenses of focal lengths from 18 - 300 mm. are used frequently.
Favorite FM2/T with a Nikkor 1.2/55mm.
A little youth trauma has made one particular Nikkor lens his favorite. When working with an Icarex fitted with a Tessar 2.8-50mm. Nico met a fellow news photographer, working with a Nikon F fitted with a Nikkor-S 1.2-55mm. That impressive piece of glass was hard to forget. So Nico said to himself: "as soon as I have the money I´ll buy that lens". Nowadays he has over 30 examples of that particular lens in his collection. All varieties and versions, caps, boxes and hoods. Look here what he has to tell about that lens.
For certain (photographic) assignments other brands have to be used. A long time friend is a Hasselblad 500 C/M with several lenses and rings. Hasselblad slides are very difficult to beat. To do some unobserved work a Contax G1 fitted with a Biogon 28mm. is used, or a whispering Leica M4, since Nico was kicked out of church when imaging a wedding with a motorized Nikon F2.
Contax G1 with - probably - one of the best 28mm.-lenses in the world
Favorite 35mm.film cameras: Nikon F3/T, Nikon FM2/T, Leica M4 & Contax G1
Very rare binocular of C.F. Foth & Co. Danzig (branch of Foth & Co. Berlin)