Dissent Decree

And in the beginning there was, for me at least, the Kodak Brownie Bullet. As simple as could be, it took black and white roll film and allowed no adjustment for aperture, shutter speed or focus. It was truly a point-and-shoot. For a kid in the 1950s, it was perfect. 

Later as a Marine, stationed in Okinawa in 1972, I bought my first “real” camera. The Nikkormat FTN. This baby was built like a rock (heavy as one too), and a close examination of the photograph will show a significant dent on the prism housing just above the letter “t” in the Nikkormat name. That came from the camera being dropped on a cement sidewalk. There was no effect on the camera’s functions. In fact it is still fully functional after 37 years! Morever, its 50mm f1.4 lens is, in my opinion, the sharpest Nikon lens I have ever owned.

I can only hope my current Nikon Digital SLRs will last half as long as this gem.

© Michael Maurer Smith 2009