Nikon F

A Nikon F with a 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor, the camera that moved working photographers from rangefinders to the single-lens reflex. Nikon announced it in 1959 as its first SLR. What made it different was the system around it: a large bayonet mount and a wide range of high-performance accessories, a motor drive included. Seeing exactly what the lens saw made long telephotos and close-ups practical in a way rangefinders never managed. Professionals trusted it with their most important pictures, and its bayonet became Nikon's F mount, which carried on through decades of later Nikon cameras. It is heavy, all metal and very hard to break.