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I am inclined to take things at face value if I can see their faces.
I believe in new equipment when I see it in the hands of our local wholesaler's representatives and when I can find it on the shelves of the shop. Until then the novelties are nice to speculate about but to be honest there have been promises made in the past that are still pending. It is much the same in my other hobbies...I shop locally and things only exist when I can touch them.
Well, I touched a box full of a new Nikon Fc camera with a 28 mm lens in the CE storeroom. And I saw a real one on the shelf of the Murray Street shop - and am finally satisfied that it isn't just plastic display models any more. I am looking forward to encountering it on the product table soon so that I can give it my own review.
The retro styling and ergonomics are what call to me...as they may to other photographers of my age. We grew up on Nikon film cameras with rotating dials and mechanical switches, and return to them is a comfort. It's one of the reasons I cherish my Fujifilm equipment...older ergonomics allied to modern electronics. Note that I am nostalgic for film looks but not film handling...I've opened the darkroom shutters and don't want to close them again.
The Nikon Fc will aim at the traveller's market, too, insofar as that will be possible. The dedicated series of lenses for it are still mostly of the short zoom variety, with the 28 mm being a niche wide-angle with retro styling. But don't decry it on this account; there are any number of families who could use this camera as their only picture box and build up a magnificent body of personal work.
As new lenses do not need many microchips, perhaps we'll see more in the Nikon roadmap dedicated to this retro look in the coming years. A retro 35mm f:1.8 would seem to be a dead-set winner...and remember that - to be stylistically consistent with their heritage - they do not have to make silver colour optics. Just silver trim rings and multicoloured aperture engravings.
