Since a German technician developed a ´miniature´ camera for the 35mm cine-film in the first half of the last century, many camera manufacturers followed with an similar design. The first Nikon rangefinder camera was more or less a copy of that German invention. The first Nikon single lens reflex camera, the Nikon F, is in fact a rangefinder camera fitted with a mirror house and eye level view finder. And the first digital reflex camera is almost a copy of one of the last film SLR´s Nikon made. If you would open the Nikon D1 you´ll find the film compartment intact. Many manufacturers have shown that the shape of a modern digi-reflex camera doesn´t need to follow the classic film SLR design. Nikon Corporation - however - is one of the (conservative camera makers´) herd. It is not necessary to use a mirror house, or to place the sensor in line with the lens axis, or to build a camera as heavy as a brick and as big as a shoe box. Digital technology makes it possible to create an image taker (´camera´ isn´t a proper name anymore) with a better grip, giving space to our nose and eyes so we can press the IT at our cheek for better stability, or - like mounted on modern movie cameras - fitted with a moveable viewing tube. As you will see in this chapter Nikon digital SLR´s do have the same shape as their film cousins. All made for right-handed people only, but luckily with the F-mount enabling to use nearly all Nikkor lenses.
Before Nikon introduced a professional digital single lens reflex (SLR) camera other manufacturers produced digital cameras on basis of a Nikon film SLR. Cameras have been made by Kodak, Fuji and others on basis of the Nikon F3, F4, F5, F-801, F-90, Pronea, etc. Some in cooperation with Nikon, some not.
Two Nikon F-90X/N-90s with a digital back produced by Kodak
The very first digital SLR prototype was shown at the 1986 Photokina Exhibition in Germany, followed by a serious ´Still-video´-camera, the Nikon QV 1000C in 1990. This very expensive - and nowadays rare - camera has a maximum resolution of a mere 380,000 pixels and a separate lens mount. Via an adapter (QM-100) other Nikkor lenses can be fitted. Only two lenses were made available, the QV-Nikkor 1.4/10-40 mm. and QV-Nikkor 2/11-120 mm. Additionally a photo-transmitter (QV-1010T) was supplied.
Together with Fuji Nikon produced the digital reflex camera Nikon E2 (aka Fuji DS-505), technically based on the Nikon F4, that was introduced at the 1994 Photokina. A little bit faster version was the Nikon E2s (aka Fuji DS-515). Late 1996 the Nikon E2N and E2Ns and in the summer of 1998 the Nikon E3 and Nikon E3s were introduced. The very high prices and rather bulky body didn't made these camera a great success.
For more details about these very early cameras pay a visit to the site of the Norwegian collector Jarle Aarland.
The removed Kodak digital back shows a 'normal' Nikon SLR, which could be converted back to a film SLR: just place a regular film back and battery holder plus a battery compartment door and replace the little pin on top of the upper film rail. That pin 'tells' the internal camera computer that a film is loaded.
Close-up of the Kodak digital sensor (1012 x 1524 = 1.57 Mp)
All Nikon digital SLR´s use either CF or SD memory cards. Not all brands will work, so look into the manual of the camera. Format the card - before use - in your camera. The D1-series internal software runs in FAT16-modus; they therefore can´t be used with CF-cards with a maximum memory capacity of more than 2 Gb. All other cameras run in FAT32-modus and will take the ´larger´ cards. IBM-mini drives wont fit all cameras as the card port may be too narrow.
Nikon Corporation has made very nice digital reflex cameras - as you will see below - and developed its own Nikon Electronic File (NEF), which is an image capture software for the storage of images in RAW mode. Whether you´ll pay 400 or 4,000 Euro or more for a camera Nikon Corporation compels the buyer to pay for extra software (Nikon Capture) in order to be able to manage those RAW-NEF images! Without that software you can´t edit NEF-images. A strange policy, although since early 2008 in many countries a new camera will come with additional software!
(* Nikon issued firmware upgrades for these Nikon cameras; ask your dealer or Nikon representation for more details - as per January 2010)
For older Nikon or Nikon-based digital cameras please see this site