So just how much "inspiration" did Nikon take from the Canon T90? Well, let's leave the control layout concept for last, as there are plenty of other places to start: But its advanced control design and internal layout did not go unnoticed by its competitors and Nikon, in particular, when it came to the F-801. Of the four major technological leaps in SLR design that typified the decade (internal motorized film handling, multi-spot or multi-segment metering, and button + dial + LCD controls being the other three), the lack of AF doomed the T90 in the sales department. Irony would strike yet again as the T90 would be on the bleeding edge of mid-'80s SLR technology in all areas save one: AF. But it was the way that the T90 married push buttons with an electronic multi-purpose input dial and LCD that would change SLRs forever. Now, there were plenty of push-button electronic SLRs that came along between the AE-1 and the trendsetting T90 (1986). Leave it to Canon, Nikon's longtime nemesis, to come up with a completely new control paradigm that would become a necessity rather than just an alternative for the increasingly feature-laden SLRs offered over the last decade-and-a-half of the 20th century. ( Notice that I was able to regain guttural control one stutter sooner this time :-)) But it would take another 10 years before the ultimate expression of modern SLR controls would arrive in its seminal form, courtesy of (again) C.C.Canon. Many film enthusiasts (then and now -)) would decry such changes, but there would be no going back for the manufacturers: electronics were simpler and, therefore, cheaper to produce, and money always wins. But with the advent of microprocessors in the mid-to-late-'70s (a la the Canon AE-1 and its gaggle of imitators), it was only a matter of time before wholesale replacement of many mechanical systems by electronics became common. And even when the first models with electronic components began to appear en masse in the early 1970s, such electronics did not replace mechanical systems, but only served to trigger those analog assemblies. film winding/rewinding, shutters, lens mounts, aperture controls) by a variety of dials, gears and levers. Every operation was mechanically-actuated and so the user interfaces of these cameras were directly coupled by physical means to the various functional bits (e.g. SLR controls had originally developed in an era of complete analog design. The F4 may have been the figurehead, but the F-801 had the control.and that's what it was all about - control - or more specifically, control layout. #Nikon f90x clean lcd viewfinder pro#Ironically, the F-801 (N8008 in the USA), while quickly overshadowed by the glow of the F4's resplendent entrance, would prove to be far more influential in the design of all future Nikon SLRs (including the pro bodies). That task would be left to the prosumer Nikon body that was introduced five months earlier in April 1988. The F4 would meet all expectations and then some, but in reality it would prove to be more of a one-off MF/AF hybrid than the herald of a new Nikon era. #Nikon f90x clean lcd viewfinder professional#It was not just going to be the latest F-body to drop on the competition, but it was also widely rumored that it was going to be the first professional Nikon SLR to sport auto focus (AF). True to their every-other-Olympiad introduction schedule for a new pro SLR, Nikon had the Seoul Summer Games circled in red (what else?) on their calendars, and anticipation for the F4 was palpable. Worst of all for Nikonistas, it originally came from C.C.C.Canon (aaauuuggghhh!!!).ฤก988 was always destined to be a big year for Nikon. The summer of 1988 brought such a change, the DNA of which has managed to leapfrog from the venerable F-mount (in both film and digital forms) to the latest Z-mount mirrorless models. So when Nikon did make major design changes, even in their non-professional models, it was a. Likewise, the enthusiast-targeted FM/FE/FA platform barely changed in layout (a couple of minor control changes from the original FM to FE in 1978, and in the final FM3 A model of 2001 being the biggest modifications) in nearly a quarter-century of production. #Nikon f90x clean lcd viewfinder manual#Case in point: the original F lasted in production for 14 years, the whippersnapper F2 for 9, and the last bastion of manual focus pro Nikons, the F3, stuck around for 21 years. After all, most professionals in any field are inclined to stick with the tried-and-true over any newfangled gee-whizzery that comes along. As the purveyor of choice for professional SLRs for over three decades, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Nikon was among the more conservative of manufacturers.
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