Nikonos V – The Ultimate Amphibious Camera

I’m proudly presenting here a review of a super-amazing camera: The Nikonos V. The Nikonos V is an amphibious non-reflex 35 mm camera. It’s ‘V’ (five) because it’s the fifth of its series, in which, by the way, you should check the four previous versions, they’re very cute.

The name Nikonos must be a play on words between Mykonos (the Greek island) and Nikon, but I’m not so sure about that. However, it’s the first camera I ever bought; I was 16 and I was looking for a good underwater camera. Yes, I started photography through underwater photography (check the Lomo Tip: “underwater Holga”).

I always loved being in the water, every summer I go to a Greek Island called Alonissos (check the LomoLocation about it), joining the same group of friends who also love playing in the water… We use to play all together beneath the surface, and sometimes it was so beautiful that I thought: “I should have pictured this”. So, I bought a Nikonos V.

The Nikonos V has just a cell to calculate the good exposure, and the only information you get in the viewfinder is the speed that you should use to obtain a correct exposure. It has big knobs to set the correct aperture and focal distance while you’re wearing diving gloves. You have to evaluate the distance by yourself, but you’re good at this because you’re a Lomographer.

There’s a funny detail: when you change the aperture, you can see on the objective two little orange marks that are moving. If you close your diaphragm, the two little marks are opening (centered on your focal distance), reversely, if you open your diaphragm, the two little marks get closer… Well, these marks are there to show your depth of field! So, without being a reflex, you can play with the depth of field by estimating correctly the distances.

You can add tons of gizmos to your Nikonos V. I have the usual 35mm objective, plus a wide angle (20 mm) converter, also some macro extensions, and a nice strobe (yes, this camera is TTL able, in other words, sets the good flash intensity/shutter speed for you)…
Underwater macro photography is an awesome experience. You just need a lot of light and to be able to hold your breath for a long time… And then, when you process your films (use a sweet slide film such as Velvia 50) you discover details that you couldn’t even see when you were diving…

But it’s an amphibious camera, so you can also use it outside of the water. When I was young, and before I met my dear Horizon Perfekt (that sweet LSI offered me for the 1000th LomoLocation), I used to take many shots while rotating my body, that I could then attach together using Photoshop (whew, I know, that’s not Lomographic) to make some big panoramic shots…

I really recommend this camera to any extreme traveler. It’s indestructible and water-proof. You can be shooting under a tropical rain with a big smile. It was perfectly working from the freezing Arctic (-40°C) to the hot Greek sun (+40°C)… In fact, I remember seeing it around the neck of a marine soldier once! Now. Stop thinking. Get one.

This article was written by Community member stouf. Share your underwater shots taken with the Nikonos V to the Community by uploading them to your LomoHome!

written by stouf on 2008-11-07 #gear #people #macro #underwater #35mm #review #nikon #non-reflex #nikonos