The master of the Nikon universe. The mother of all Nikon SLR. Introduced in April 1959, the Nikon F was ahead of it’s time: interchangeable prisms and focusing screens, different types of backs, motor drives, a wide range of lenses available, and so on. And above that: a sturdy design. A combination professional photographers all over the world could not resist.

The Nikon F body with the standard non metered eyelevel finder was the basic camera for the first three years (until the first Photomic head appeared). The first Nikon F meters were clip on selenium meters, attached on the top of the camera (see picture below).

The eyelevel finder was manufactured until end of life of the Nikon F, it went through several versions.

I purchased the pictured camera (body & prism) from a private owner in Tokyo in June 2014.
According to the serial number it was built between November 1963 and February 1964.
Shown with a matching 50mm/1.4 lens and a type 3 clip on selenium exposure meter.