No Limitations
It was sometime late last summer when the Nikonos line of underwater cameras came onto my radar. I had posted a series of photographs I made on a cruise ship and at the beach (which I wrote about extensively here and here) and someone asked why I was risking my Leica with sand and seawater when the Nikonos existed. I had never heard of Nikonos, but did some quick research and discovered that in the 60's Nikon developed this underwater camera in conjunction with Jaques Cousteau. It evolved over two decades, but ceased production in the 80's.
I put one in my wish list on KEH, my favorite retailer for used camera gear, but quickly forgot about it.
Fast forward almost a year, and the Nikonos was still buried somewhere deep in the recesses of my brain. So, when a friend brought it up in conversation (thanks, Stacey), I immediately remembered I had one sitting in my KEH wish list since around this time last year! I quickly purchased the Nikonos IV-A and the W-Nikkor 35mm f/2.5 lens. We have a cruise booked for mid-July and this would come in handy for those times when things would get a little too wet and wild.
Not 24 hours after I purchased the Nikonos, however, Steph suggests that we take off for Walt Disney World for Father's Day. "Wouldn't it be great to go back to Blizzard Beach and lounge around in cool water with even cooler drinks?" she said, or something like it. "Why yes, it would!" I said, and thought, well, I hope this underwater camera arrives before we leave because this is serendipity.
And arrive before we left it did! In mint condition too! The o-rings all seemed to be in excellent condition, the light meter seemed to function properly, the film advance lever and shutter release button both seemed to work as they should, and the lens didn't have a scratch on it. As far as I could tell, this camera and lens had never been used. What luck! I've got this practically new Nikonos IV and we've got this trip to a water park over the weekend.
I had a few rolls of FujiColor 200 that were itching to be exposed. But I wouldn't have control over exposure. The Nikonos IV shoots mainly in aperture priority, with 1/90 as the only manual shutter speed. And as I generally like to overexpose my color negative film anywhere from a half to a full stop, I decided I would rate this film at ISO 100 and let the camera meter for that amount of light. This would give me a one stop overexposure.
We got to Blizzard Beach right around the time the park opened, and by the time we were returning to our hotel room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I'd gone through three rolls of FujiColor 200.
Underwater
The natural place to begin this is exactly why I feel most people are interested in the Nikonos in the first place: its underwater capabilities.
I didn't bring any goggles with me or anything like that. I have to imagine this is necessary for serious underwater photography, because my vision was totally blurry. Add the viewfinder to the mix and I was all but useless under the surface of the water. Regardless, the underwater aspect of this camera is a lot of fun. I did not attempt many underwater shots because of my vision, but the ones I did attempt were a success.
Something to keep in mind is that the angle of view changes underwater. The W-Nikkor 35mm f.2.5 gives an effective field of view of 50mm underwater. I won't go into the physics of it all, but light transmission in water works differently and this affects the lens' angle of view as well.
This also affects distance. Underwater, objects appear closer than they really are. However, Nikon engineered the lens' focusing process with this in mind. Evidently, you just focus based off how close the subject appears underwater and all is well.
With some practice, and gear like goggles and snorkels, I can see underwater photography with the Nikonos becoming something of an addiction. It is amazing to see how light plays with the water and the subjects within it as well. When we take our cruise in a few weeks, I will definitely be attempting more underwater shots and may even take some goggles with me so I can really make the most of the Nikonos underwater.
And as far as its waterproof o-rings? Not a drop of water made it into the camera back. Each roll came out dry and ready for processing.
Action and Adventure!
While the underwater-ness is likely the big draw for most people, as it certainly was for me, there is something else for which I think this camera will become my go-to vacation camera: action!
Because this thing is built like a tank and is likely to survive a zombie apocalypse, there is no activity in which the Nikonos can't accompany us. This was, by far, the most fun I've ever had with a camera. I say this as a devoted cultist of the Leica M3. So I will repeat: this is the most fun I've ever had with a camera.
We rode the family raft ride, bouncing all over, water splashing us from head to toe, and there was my Nikonos strapped around my neck. I fired off a few frames, trying to get Steph, Link, and Wes in the same frame and this one may be my favorite from the whole day. The look of absolute joy on Link and Steph's faces, with a nervous and apprehensive Wes between them, well that's a memory that would exist only in my mind were it not for the Nikonos.
Steph and I have long been devotees of the lazy river. In fact, there are few activities I can say that I love more than floating along in a lazy river. But we never take any phones in. Disconnecting is the key, after all. My point is that we never take any sort of devices in with us and so never capture the fun had in a lazy river...until now, that is.
Link was splashing around, and the look of total joy on his face was the kind that makes parents equally as happy. He was mid-splash when I released the shutter, lens covered in water droplets.
With my memory issues, (which I've written about in this blog before, most notably here) scenes like these would fade over time. And, unfortunately, it doesn't take much time at all. But the Nikonos makes it possible to preserve them.
Moments like these, like Wes splashing into a pool after finishing a tube slide, are where the memories on our vacations are made. We like to have a healthy mix of excitement and adventure with our lounging and relaxing. But if I don't have a camera suitable to photograph the excitement and adventure, then I'm only capturing half of the fun!
The Nikonos IV makes it easy to capture these moments. The camera has two settings: aperture priority and mechanical. It fires at exactly one shutter speed in mechanical mode, 1/90. It's comforting to know that this camera will work if the battery dies, but that's hardly versatile. However, shooting in aperture priority for these kinds of scenes in which even composing a shot with so much action can be challenging, well that's a blessing.
Landscape Beast
Something that is likely not at the top of the priority list when considering a Nikonos, but really should be, is that this camera, and particularly the W-Nikkor 35mm f/2.5 in particular, is a landscape and still life beast. It is very sharp and contrasty, and it features zero distortion. These are the qualities you want in a landscape lens.
While landscape may not be the primary purpose of this camera and lens, it makes sense that they would work so well for landscapes. The sorts of action shots that these cameras would usually be taking would incorporate the landscape well. And for storytelling, why wouldn't you include some scene-setting shots, which landscapes do wonderfully.
I made this one riding the chair lift to the top of Blizzard Beach for that reason. I had very few "establishing shots" to think in narrative terms, and wanted to mix a few of these in as well.
Even in scenes with significant contrast, like this one of people crossing a bridge in the kids play area, the Nikonos meters well. Despite its age, the aperture priority mode can be trusted to behave exceptionally. In fact, of all the exposures I made, there was only one that was underexposed, and none that were overexposed.
For landscapes, I stopped down from f/11 where I had been for action shots, and closed the aperture up to f/16. This changed the depth of field from 4ft-30ft to roughly 3ft to infinity. To give you some comparison, the widest lens in my collection, my SMC Pentax-M 20mm f/4, has that same depth of field at f/16 and it is significantly wider. To get this sort of depth of field out of a 35mm lens is astounding. And not just that, but the resolving power is quite high too. Every leaf is in sharp focus.
Still life is another area in which this lens excels. The picture of the stairs was made from the lazy river. We had floated by this flight of stairs once already and I noticed it was coming up again. So, I made the exposure from the comfort of my inner tube. Zone focusing was no problem. In fact, I rarely had to change settings on my lens. The detail captured is kind of wild considering that I paid under $50 for this lens. The triple palm tree shot might be an even better example of this as every nook and cranny in the trunks of the trees is visible. And the color transmission is authentic! Nothing seems overly warm or cool. FujiColor 200 is a fairly warm film and yet these don't have an overpowering warmth to them.
Zone Focusing Portraits? No Problem!
Even less than landscape and still life, portraiture is likely last on the list of reasons someone would be interested in the Nikonos. But let me tell you, if you aren't considering the Nikonos for portraits, you should be!
Because so much of my travel photography is centered around my family, I make more portraits than just about any other kind of photograph. Whether in action or posed, the Nikonos IV and W-Nikkor 35mm f/2.5 are great for portraits.
Take this one of Link riding the family raft ride. I preset the distance I'd need to make portraits of everyone in the raft when I first sat down. Then it was just a matter of timing. As we rounded this one corner of the ride (the fast shutter speed froze the moment, but we were moving quite quickly then), I saw an opportunity to get raft, slide, trees, and sky in the same frame. Link looked over at that exact moment with a huge smile on his face. I could not have asked for a better opportunity to make a portrait.
This is a different kind of portraiture, to be sure. This isn't blown out in bokeh, isolating the subject. But it is a kind of portrait that is both pleasing for me as a viewer and fun to make as a photographer.
This shot of Wesley peeking over my shoulder is one of my favorites. He was playing in this bushy area (something I'd asked him not to do) and he spied a new slide he hadn't seen over my shoulder. The sun also poked out from behind some clouds in that moment and lit him beautifully. SNAP! and the moment lives in cellophane in perpetuity.
These are the sorts of situations in which we wouldn't normally make portraits. This wasn't a studio or a street or an office. But why not seize the opportunity and make a portrait in a fun and exciting place?
There is a certain magic to photographing someone in "their" environment. And for my family? Well, we love being in and by the water. A pool, a hot tub, a beach...that's where you'll find us. There is a certain relaxation and return to our primitive selves that occurs in the water for us.
My parents are Cuban, and I've always felt like a bit of an islander despite having lived in Miami my entire life. What I wouldn't give to have had a Nikonos with me in the first 38 years of aquatic adventures. I can't imagine ever going on another adventure and not having this camera and lens with me.
Am I honeymooning? Yes, absolutely I am. But, you know, I honeymooned with my wife nearly 16 years ago (on a Caribbean cruise, no less) and I'm still in love with her. So, why not with the Nikonos?
More Nikonos Photos
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