Nikon F and the vietnam war

[Newt_on_Swings]

There's a cool episode of quantum leap where a female photo journalist goes in with a nikon to document. Its a good watch. Not sure if its accurate at all though.

 

[Klainmeister]

I dated a girl whose father was a photographer during the Vietnam War. In fact, I met her because she was shooting the F with a 50mm and I got curious. I ended up with a couple boxes of slides and scanned some before it became clear that not only was he in very difficult, violent, and dangerous situations, but also that he definitely did not want to see these images again.

Aside from the subject, I was impressed by the camera. She was still using it and it had a nasty ding in it from being dropped (according to him), while jumping into a copter taking off--it hitting the floor and nearly sliding out the other side.

 

[AgX]

... most hitched rides on the nearest helicopter.

Not to imagine over here. There just were not helicopters "near by".

 

[AstroZon]

The Navy and Air Force used Topcon cameras from '68 - '77. They were simple and rugged and had excellent optics. The Topcon Super D / Super DM were the last of line used by the Navy. They had a machined brass body and both a locking shutter and locking aperture. The military photographers were trained to keep them locked while not in use to prevent them from shaking apart during high vibration (which is inherent in just about any form of military transportation.) These cameras are so heavy and solid that they could probably be used as a weapon in a pinch.



But the military didn't just buy one brand. They used Speed Graflex 4x5 cameras well into the 80s - mostly for studio work. By the time Topcon ceased production of cameras, they had already transitioned to Nikons for general work. Both the Navy and Air Force used the Pentax 6x7s for reconnaissance photography (when not using pod mounted specialty cameras.) I've seen Vietnam era photos of military photographers using a Minolta HiMatic 7S, Yashica Mat-124, and various Polaroid Land cameras.

 

[mgb74]

We're actually talking about 2 types of photographers. Those in the military and those from news organizations covering the war. Perhaps a third, those in the military who were not assigned to photograph, but did so out of their own interest.

 

[gsgary]

Thanks for the link Vilk.

I'm surprised to see a Leicaflex: http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/2549/numriser0002fl2.jpg (guy on the left) and a Contarex camera: http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6453/0604warphotographer1.jpg in combats.

The guy on the left look like Don McCullin and the one on the right looks like Larry Burrows

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[andrew.roos]

Clay

According to the Wikipedia article on Sean Flynn, JPAC stated that the bones recovered in 2010 were not a match for Flynn.

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[Clay2]

Thanks Andrew, I never thought of Wiki having the story.

/Clay

 

[Nikon Collector]

The Navy and Air Force used Topcon cameras from '68 - '77. They were simple and rugged and had excellent optics. The Topcon Super D / Super DM were the last of line used by the Navy. They had a machined brass body and both a locking shutter and locking aperture. The military photographers were trained to keep them locked while not in use to prevent them from shaking apart during high vibration (which is inherent in just about any form of military transportation.) These cameras are so heavy and solid that they could probably be used as a weapon in a pinch.

View attachment 80099

But the military didn't just buy one brand. They used Speed Graflex 4x5 cameras well into the 80s - mostly for studio work. By the time Topcon ceased production of cameras, they had already transitioned to Nikons for general work. Both the Navy and Air Force used the Pentax 6x7s for reconnaissance photography (when not using pod mounted specialty cameras.) I've seen Vietnam era photos of military photographers using a Minolta HiMatic 7S, Yashica Mat-124, and various Polaroid Land cameras.

I "inhereted" the darkroom on a navy ship in 83, at that time they were using Canon, AE1 if i remember right, at least there were 2 of them in the darkroom marked property of USN.

 

[Paul Howell]

I "inhereted" the darkroom on a navy ship in 83, at that time they were using Canon, AE1 if i remember right, at least there were 2 of them in the darkroom marked property of USN.

The Navy and Air Force used Topcon cameras from '68 - '77. They were simple and rugged and had excellent optics. The Topcon Super D / Super DM were the last of line used by the Navy. They had a machined brass body and both a locking shutter and locking aperture. The military photographers were trained to keep them locked while not in use to prevent them from shaking apart during high vibration (which is inherent in just about any form of military transportation.) These cameras are so heavy and solid that they could probably be used as a weapon in a pinch.



But the military didn't just buy one brand. They used Speed Graflex 4x5 cameras well into the 80s - mostly for studio work. By the time Topcon ceased production of cameras, they had already transitioned to Nikons for general work. Both the Navy and Air Force used the Pentax 6x7s for reconnaissance photography (when not using pod mounted specialty cameras.) I've seen Vietnam era photos of military photographers using a Minolta HiMatic 7S, Yashica Mat-124, and various Polaroid Land cameras.


I was an Air Force photographer from 1970 to 74, as far as I know only the Navay used Topcons, the AF, Army and Marines used Nikon and Leica for 35mm , I did not do recon so I dont know if the AF used Pentax 6X7 or not, saying that I dont of any, I recall Nikon Fs for the AF and the Navy moved to Canon in the late 70s when Topcon stopped production of 35mm. I have seen a few F 1 with Navy markings.

In my time the AF used Rolli cords and flexs, I talked with other fomrer AF photographers who used Yashicas, we also used Graflex/Singer MF and Konica Rapid 200, we had SuperSpeeds for field work and used a varity of view camera for studio work. At Mather AFB we still had a BJ 5X7 Rembrandt with a 4X5 back. Each Air Force Base worked from a table of allowance which depending on the mission and size of the base determined what and how much equipment was authorized. At the state side bases I worked at there was also some older equipment that had not been turned in when new equipment was issued.

 

[bdial]

Small World…
I was also an Air Force photographer during that time period. Never saw any Topcons, only Nikon F's for 35 (which wasn't used much). Most work was done with MF, I had Rollei's most of that time, but Graflex XL's were more common and later the Koni Omegas.
I knew several guys who had flown backseat in RF-4's over Vietnam which had built-in 8x10 cameras for the recon folks. But so far as I know all the handheld work from those planes was done with the regular XL's or else the Nikons.

 

[Paul Howell]

In 71 or 72 I attended a training with some Navy guys, all they did was complain about their Topcons, I on the other hand liked the standard Navy kit which was a Super DM, drive, 35mm, 50 1.4 and I think a 135mm, in a nice metal case.

In the field we used Fs and M3s. Base side mostley MF, the superintended at Mather was a civilian, he always thought of 35mm as miniature cameras. I kept in contact with him for years after I moved on, by the late 70s 35mm had become the norm, he was ordered by ATC to deduce cost by doing most work in 35mm.

 

[Mr.3D]

Dennis Hopper, Apocalypse Now

Black Nikon F

 

[lajolla]

Thanks for the memories. There were hundreds of state of the art xerox telecopiers in saigon by '68. Great for sending facsimiles of 8x10 b&w prints over the phone in just five or six minutes of scanning But there were no blow dryers available to speed the drying process. Lots and lots of metallic bladed electric fans. And remember the 'darkrooms' in Saigon had to face the dilemmas of bad water, terrible humidity, and intermittent air-conditioning. The lucky photographers were able to send their processed negatives back to the US via air courier for later printing and publication. And the luckiest photogs of all just sent their exposed rolls of film (color and b&w) back via courier for processing on the west coast, and then on to their editors

 

[lxdude]

Thanks for the memories. There were hundreds of state of the art xerox telecopiers in saigon by '68. Great for sending facsimiles of 8x10 b&w prints over the phone in just five or six minutes of scanning

I remember the credit under photos in newspapers would call the picture a "Telephoto". It would say, e.g., AP Telephoto or UPI Telephoto.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

I remember the credit under photos in newspapers would call the picture a "Telephoto". It would say, e.g., AP Telephoto or UPI Telephoto.

I remember "AP Wirephoto".

 

[lxdude]

Yep, I remember that too, now that you mention it. Cranking up the memory banks... I think it was just "UPI Telephoto", and was their trademarked term for it.

 

[cliveh]

The guy on the left look like Don McCullin and the one on the right looks like Larry Burrows

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And are you aware that Larry Burrows was the lab technician that fried Robert Capa's negatives from the D-Day landings.

 

[miha]

And are you aware that Larry Burrows was the lab technician that fried Robert Capa's negatives from the D-Day landings.

I uderstand it was not Burrows: http://www.army-photographer.com/index.php/robert-capa

 

[cliveh]

I uderstand it was not Burrows: http://www.army-photographer.com/index.php/robert-capa

Thanks miha, that is interesting, as I had not seen that before.

 

[Trask]

If you're interested in Larry Burrows and photojournalism during the Vietnam War, "Lost Over Laos" is an interesting book -- the title comes from where the helicopter carrying Burrows and others went down.

 

[chip j]

I was a US Army photographer stationed in Germany from 1966 thru1968. We used Speed Graphics, but als had a M3 kit and a 70mm Combat camera . A Nikon FT cost $95 and a Leica M4 body was $164 at the Canadian PXs.

 

[MagicTheAxe]

I’ve recently been looking back at what fired my interest in photography and it comes down to the Vietnam war which even over here in the UK was a daily feature both in the news papers and on the evening news. I went through my childhood and early teens with it acting as the back drop, I saw photographs that blew my mind and others that horrified me, yet still I felt compelled to look and it changed me from the glory war player of childhood to understanding the true horrors of war.
I decided I wanted to get some film camera’s and lenses from the period and already had a 1964 Leica M2 and it was when looking at old footage I realised that the camera was a Nikon F, so I started hunting for an early one and looking for suitable lenses settling for a 1961 F with eye level prism and also found a 1963 50 f1.4, a 60’s 35mm 2.8 and most recently a 1971 105 f2.5 with hood, I found an old vintage leather strap for the F and an old Gossen Pilot for metering then I got stumped.. I was looking for a bag for the lot and try as I might the only mentions I could find was a used first aid bag being used by one photographer who would just put his camera’s and rolls of film in and go and of course Sean’s hard leather Leica case. I can’t beleive they just put their cameras around their necks and chucked a few rolls of film in their pockets for a few days at a fire base or similar does anyone have any experience? Ideas? For now I’ve just picked up a secondhand Billingham 225 as it will do the job but it’s nearly a decade late for the war.

 

[Paul Howell]

We had a few canvas bags, sort of green or gray, I think they were military issue, never saw them in a camera shop, , could be used with many different systems, but in combat, no bag, nothing to get tangled in the bush or weight you down. Some cameras like the Super Graphic the Air Force bought came in a wooden case that fit the camera, roll fill back, a wide angle lens, maybe a short tele, memory is hazy. On the civilian side, Horst Frass. Larry Burrows and David McClellan were photographed with one two or thee cameras, don't ever recall ever seeing photo with any of them carrying a bag, Well maybe I vage memory of photo of Horst Frass with a small camera bag slung over his shoulder.

 

[250swb]

I can’t beleive they just put their cameras around their necks and chucked a few rolls of film in their pockets for a few days at a fire base or similar does anyone have any experience? Ideas? For now I’ve just picked up a secondhand Billingham 225 as it will do the job but it’s nearly a decade late for the war.

If you want to keep your job and pay your bills the last place to put your camera is inside a bag, but it's the same for any news photographer. Besides which bags increase your silhouette and also your bulk if you are diving into a foxhole. But it's the same for today's press pack, jostling in a crowd you want only the equipment you need and not to be saying 'excuse me please' as you try to negotiate a camera bag through a crowd of equally determined photographers. I think they did use camera bags in Vietnam as holdalls but because it was a war based on mobility they left them in camp before jumping into a helicopter. And dare I say it there were a plentiful supply of cameras, even Leica's could be sent to Japan for a service and returned within in a few days or they'd just buy another Nikon.

Anybody who's used a Nikon F will have felt the innate sense of reliability and excellent design that gives confidence to a photographer were if they put themselves into a tricky spot they aren't going to find a broken camera in their hands. Don McCullin's F even stopped a bullet.