Nikonos lenses on Nikonos Rs

Hey Crew

Will a Nikonos lens (i.e. Nikonos V etc) work on a Nikonos RS?

Cheers

Cal

NO! The 'Flange Focal Distance' is too great on the RS - the Nikonos lenses seem to have originated from Leica rangefinder designs and have a short lens to film distance - far too short to be usable on a reflex camera such as the RS. The only way that it could be done would be to use a relay lens system but this would be difficult to design, more difficult to build and waterproof, and because it would use optics, the image off the old Nikonos design lenses would be degraded. So I'd say that unless you are determined/crazy, the answer is simply no.

Thanks for the great answer!

The Nikonos is often referred to as a rangefinder camera, but in truth it is a scale focus camera as there is no rangefinder. The viewfinder is used purely to compose the shot, and to display exposure information. Focus is set with an outsized dial mounted on the left side of the lens barrel, and the aperture is set with a dial mounted on the right. Thankfully the Nikonos wide-angle lenses have ampledepth of field, so these discrepancies are often not a noticeable problem.

and in other side The RS represented the pinnacle of Nikon's commitment to underwater imaging, and generated significant interest at the time. Although groundbreaking in many ways, it was also very expensive, putting it out of reach of all but the most dedicated (or best funded) underwater photographers. Unfortunately, early versions also had a tendency to flood if not maintained perfectly.

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Rod Support system

Might have succeeded if they had put in a leak detector.

I'm still waiting for my digital Nikonos.