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Page last updated: Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Nikkorex F (1962 to 1965)
The Nikkorex F was introduced as the first companion to the Nikon F more than three years before the first Nikkormats. While it shares many of the features of both the Nikon and Nikkormat bodies, ironically, the Nikkorex was not built by Nippon Kogaku at all. No, the Nikkorex F came from the factories of Mamiya.
Just the same, the Nikkorex F was the harbinger of good things to come. Some of the "firsts" displayed in the F include:
- The first production camera with the vertically traveling metal Copal shutter;
- The first Nikon mount SLR with a vertically traveling shutter;
- The first Nikon mount SLR with a hinged back;
- The first Nikon mount SLR with a 125th flash sync.
The first model of the F was taller and heavier than the Nikon F, and included a film data indicator on the back. Sometime after the first production year (1962), the film indicator was removed, and the camera became a few ounces lighter.
"The Nikkorex F was a moderately priced camera (no longer made) whose operating features are similar to those of the Nikon F except for the finder, which is the built-in, eye-level prism type. It accepts all Nikon lenses beginning with the 20mm wide-angle (excluding the 21mm) up through the 1200mm telephoto. It also accepts many Nikon F accessories"
And Comon and Evans (Who were Comon and Evans?)
"It has provisions for interchangeable lenses via the Nikon 'F' mount and a Copal Square focal plane shutter (which was the first metal vertical plane shutter made). The bodies were made under contract for Nikon by Mamiya; the lenses were made by Nikon. Identify by: 1) 'Nikkorex' inscribed on the front of the prism housing. 2) The only Nikkorex with provision for interchangeable lenses; all the other Nikkorex cameras have non-removable lenses."
The price guide indicates the Nikkorex F had a list price of $110 in chrome. No price is listed for black, although examples are known to exist.
As stated above, the Nikkorex F was actually designed and produced by Mamiya. Eventually, Mamiya sold the design to Ricoh, who produced their own cameras with a Nikon F mount. These were the Ricoh Singlex, and the Sears SL 11, show below. Each of these cameras generally sells for more than a good Nikkorex F, and, as of now, will not be included in my collection. Still, it is an interesting story, worthy of inclusion.
I picked up an early Nikkorex F (357468), complete with an original Nikkor 5cm f/2.0 lens and Vivitar 2x converter on eBay on 3/28/08 for just $49.99. Here's a photo taken minutes after it arrived here!
