Product Description
Range-Viewfinder
The most exciting single innovation of the new Nikon SP is the unique, built-in Universal Viewfinder System. It incorporates the rangefinder—plus the viewfinder for 6 different focal length Nikkor Lenses: 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm and 135mm, without the need for accessory finders.
The range-viewfinder eyepiece is divided into 2 sections (figures 3a and b). The right hand section (figure 3b) is used for focusing (for all Nikkor Lenses) and viewing for 50mm, 85mm, 105mm, and 135mm lenses. The left hand section (figure 3a) is the viewfinder for 28mm and 35mm wide angle lenses.
Focusing
Look through the combined range-viewfinder window (figure 3b). You will see a light-tinted rectangle in the center of the window. This is the rangefinder portion of the viewfinder. When out of focus, the subjects are seen as a double image (figure 4a). A subject in sharp focus appears as a single image in the rectangle (figure 4b).
To bring your subject into sharp focus:
- Press the infinity lock on the focusing wheel (figure 5) and rotate the wheel slightly.
- Continue to rotate the focusing wheel until the double image in the rangefinder window merges into a single image (figure 4b).
Your subject is now in focus. If you should want to know the exact distance from camera to subject, merely look at the figure on the distance scale, opposite the index mark on the focusing mount.
For faster, surer focusing: when holding the camera horizontally, focus on vertical lines on the subject; when holding the camera vertically, focus on horizontal lines.
Shutter Settings
All 13 click-stop shutter speed settings are on a single selector dial (figure 9), which can be set before or after the shutter is wound. Speeds are: 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, B and T.
The dial turns a full 360° in either direction and can be set from fastest to slowest speed without obstruction.
Numbers on the Speed Selector Dial represent the actual shutter speed. For example, 125 on the dial represents 1/125 second.
Bulb Exposure: When the dial is set at “B”, it will remain open for as long as the shutter release button is held depressed.
Time Exposure: When the shutter button is once pressed at “T” exposure, the shutter will remain open even if pressure is removed. To close the shutter, turn the dial right or left until the B or 1000 mark passes the index.
For greater convenience when using flash, the dial is color coded to coincide with the color coding of the Synch Control (see “Flash Synchronization” p. 20 for details).
Self-Timer
The calibrated, built-in Self-Timer allows you to trip the shutter in approximately 3, 6 or 10 seconds, or any intermediate time delay. It can be set before or after winding the shutter.
To wind the Self-Timer, push the lever down (see figure 10). To start the timer, depress the release button beneath the lever. When the predetermined time delay has elapsed, the shutter is automatically released.
Setting the lever near the nearest dot will give approximately a 3 second delay; the next dot, approximately a 6 second delay; and setting the lever to the third dot gives approximately a 10 second delay.
The Nikon Self-Timer is also an ingenious aid for hand-held exposure at slow shutter speed. Wind the shutter. Set the Self-Timer for 3 seconds. Press the release button, and then use the delay to steady the camera with both hands.
Note that the Self-Timer should not be used for B or T setting. If released at T, the shutter will remain open unless closed by moving the Speed Selector Dial off the “T” setting. If you decide not to use the Self-Timer after it has been wound, take the picture at the speed you want, using the shutter button. Now depress the release button of the Self- Timer and let it “run off”.
Lens Aperture Settings
To set the lens opening (expressed as an f-number), turn the diaphragm ring so that the desired f-number is opposite the dot on the milled ring of the lens barrel (figure 11). F-number markings on standard Nikkor lenses are arranged so that each consecutive marking, starting at the widest opening, halves the speed of the lens. Shutter speeds on the Nikon camera are similarly arranged. As a result, once a correct exposure has been determined, any combination of correct lens stops and shutter speeds can be easily selected. For example, if the correct exposure for a given setting is a f: 1.4 lens opening at 1/1000th of a second shutter speed, f: 2 opening at 1/500th of a second speed will give the same exposure on the film; and so on for the rest of the table. The following table may be of some assistance in visualizing the relation between f-numbers and shutter speeds, as explained above.
Depth of Field
Depth of Field is the range of distances between the nearest and the farthest limits of a subject within which acceptable image sharpness is attained. The sharpest image is at the point at which the lens is focused.
Depth of Field varies with the lens opening (f-number) and with the distance. The larger the f-number used, the greater the Depth of Field; in reverse, the smaller the f-number, the smaller the Depth of Field.
Depth of Field also increases with the distance from camera to subject. In the Nikon camera, there is a depth of field scale engraved directly on the camera itself, eliminating the need to use separate tables.
For Example:
Set the 20 foot marking on the distance scale to the index dot (figure 12). You will note that each f-number is indicated on the scale, once to the right and once to the left of the index dot. When you are taking a picture with an f: 8 opening, the distance indicated by the number “8” on either side of the index dot will be 12 feet and about 50 feet. This means that a picture taken at f: 8, with a lens focused at 20 feet, will show a range of acceptable sharpness between 12 and 50 feet. The sharpest point will be at the 20 foot distance.
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