The bodies of virtually all Nikon F and F2 cameras suffered dents after they had been used in the demanding professional photography environment.Īs an experiment, Nippon Kogaku made an F2 body covered by light, durable titanium.Īlthough they experienced many difficulties such as in press-treating the finder unit, Nippon Kogaku gained the expertise necessary to produce a titanium cover that both looked good and was durable. Through mass production, Nippon Kogaku refined titanium technology and made it a specialty of theirs.įor many years, it was generally recognized that camera covers were made of brass (copper/zinc alloy).Īs I have mentioned repeatedly in past articles, Nikon cameras have been used in some extremely trying conditions. This was the beginning of the relationship between Nikon and Titanium. Later, the Nikon SP, which employed the same shutter unit as the Nikon F, also applied titanium shutter curtains. The Nikon F, which was often used in the titanium curtain experiments, was the first camera to actually incorporate titanium shutter curtains. With the mirror up, the shutter curtain might be burnt by the sun. However, the Nikon F had a mirror up mechanism. The Nikon F was an SLR camera, and the mirror prevented the sun from burning a hole in a shutter curtain. They gradually cleared these obstacles and were able to begin using titanium for shutter curtains in 1959, immediately after the announcement of the Nikon F. However, Nippon Kogaku had many problems along the way, such as accuracy, scratches, damage, and performance when exposed to low temperatures. With its improved treatment technology, Nippon Kogaku somehow succeeded in contorting the sticky material into the shape of a shutter curtain. It was, however, also well known as a material that was difficult to treat. Titanium, which is ultra light and has high flexibility, was regarded as suitable for shutter curtains. The laboratory determined that they should aim for pure titanium sheets used in industry. started working on developing a thin, burn-resistant material for shutter curtains. It is said that normal cloth shutter curtains may be damaged if a camera is pointed toward the sun without the lens cap and with a lens aperture set at brighter than f/8. Retina damage and blindness may result.).Īs a result, the sun may burn a hole in a shutter curtain.

When a focal-plane shutter camera with direct optical viewfinder is pointed toward the sun, the lens acts as a magnifying glass and the shutter curtain serves as black paper which was found during experiments performed with children (Caution ! Never look at the sun through a camera.

Nikon f2 titan