Welcome to John Crane Photography's Nikon F6 Site

Here is a list of various Nikon F6 resources and pages of interest: [ALWAYS REMEMBER: Photography is a business. Enter these sites at your own risk. Most of these guys are trying to sell you something and it's up to you to decide whether you really need it or not. These links are here because I have benefited from them, so naturally I think you might as well.]

Nikon F6 Specific Information:

NEW: Henley Graphics' MVtoMeta software tool will convert a Nikon film camera shooting data's csv text file obtained with the MV-1 data reader, into multiple scanned image file's Camera Data Meta Tags using Phil Harvey's ExifTool in a background process. Specific to Windows computers.

NEW: Nikon MV-1 Review and Tutorial (June 19, 2011)

*** Nikon F6: An interview with Tomohisa Ikeno; a from Nikon's Development Division-this is a tremendous interview providing not only technical information but design philosophy during the camera project. Tomohisa provides a glimpse into the mission of the camera and puts to words quite well the intangibles that embody refinement in the F6. I've also created a page specifically about Finesse and the "Value of Unique Pictuers," an exerpt from this interview you may find interesting.

Nikon F6 Products and Support page on imaging.nikon.com

Nikon F6 Key Features and Tech Specs on NikonUSA.com

Nikon F6 Product Brochure: The 20 page brochure all about the F6 system. Great stuff. The lead-in text from the brochure: "Nikon’s new flagship professional F-SLR, the F6, signifies the depth and breadth of our vision for truly high-quality professional photography. No existing F-SLR can hope to challenge the level of refinement of the F6: ergonomically, electronically, mechanically, and in system compatibility. Every attribute of the camera has been examined, evaluated and optimized — the mechanics, the grip contours and operational sounds, just to name a few — to attain a degree of precision so extreme as to be beyond the perceptibility of even the most seasoned photographers. Nikon’s F6. Designed to stimulate the five senses, by engineers who possess a sixth. It’s an extraordinarily pure, stimulating photographic experience… one that has to be experienced to truly be believed."

2006 Press Release discussing direction of Nikon Corp (sans film cameras)
Nikon prepares to strengthen digital line-up for 2006
Wednesday January 11, 2006
Following the success of our digital line-up over the last seven years, which has resulted in more than 95% of Nikon’s UK business being within the digital area, Nikon Corporation has made the decision to focus management resources on digital cameras in place of film cameras. This decision will allow Nikon to continue to develop products that match the demands of an increasingly competitive market place (more) back to top

Nikon CLS Information:

CREATIVE LIGHTING SYSTEM: Let's face it-once you get beyond the warm & fuzzies from handling the F6, what really sets it apart from other 35mm film cameras? I mean, couldn't you just get an F100 or pick up an F5 on ebay and take the same picture. To a large extent, I'd say sure, maybe - if it weren't for that cool CREATIVE LIGHTING SYSTEM thingy Nikon has built into the F6. But how on earth do you use it?

Flash and Nion's CLS isn't some black, lost art for the Yoda's of photography. So many folks are confnused by CLS. I was at first. I tried to find books on it at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and came up with one or two that were OK, but nothing I'd consider comprehensive when it comes to the 10,000 foot view. I'm going to try to debunk the perception of complexity of the CLS and it's going to take some time. But in my opinion, warm & fuzzy, "feel-good when you hold it" stuff aside, CLS is what separates the men from the boys; it truly solidifies the F6 as king of the hill in 35mm film cameras. No other 35mm film camera has this level of functionality built into it.

CLS isn't as difficult as you first think, so hang in there and take a look at this new and growing section. For a great read on general use of Nikon flash systems, do yourself a favor and pick up big Joe McNalley's "Hot Shoe Diaries." It's where my "big aha" came from and is a must.

To those who think they don't need to master the use of flash in their shooting, who say they prefer natural light, think about this: there's millions of people out there by now shooting a good enough digital photo using that same excuse for not figuring out flash. Think about what will set your pictures apart from theres. Flash isn't voodoo. It's not some black, lost art for the yoda's of photography. It's pretty straight forward. And if you're lucky enough to have a digital camera AND an F6, by all means, use the digital camera to experiment 'till the cows come home, seeing what works. Once you get it figured out, shoot your film camera. So often you might see a photo and think man, there's just something cool about that shot. Well chances are good that something cool came from discreet, creative use of flash by someone who finally said "enough is enough! I'm gonna figure out this whole flash thing if it kills me!" Don't be afraid. Flash is your friend. And once you get it figured out, you'll be able to stop spending thousands of dollars on DSLR's that can take reduced noise pictures on the dark side of the moon.

NIKONCLS.COM-All things CLS. This is a great resource for in-depth information regarding specific components of the Nikon Creative Lighting System. back to top

Specialties and Niche's:

NEW: The KATA E-702 Element Shield. A "first impressions" and mini-review.

MACRO Photography: Some great information regarding the PB6 bellows and how to use this piece of equipment on contemporary SLR's (including the F6) and DSLR cameras. I ran up this information while researching my PB-6 Bellows kit purchase.

NIKONLINKS.COM - A nice assortment of useful Nikon errata from around the world. back to top

Guru's, Geniuses and other Nikon users:

Joe McNalley's Blog: This guy is a genius and a hoot. Pick up his book, The Hot Shoe Diaries to really take your CLS flash shooting to the next level. Full of interesting antecdotes, useful insights, and "this is how I made this image" kind of talk. His language is a bit rough around the edges; you've been warned.

Strobist: David Hobby is a flash genius and a pretty good writer to boot. His Strobist blog is incredibly informative and worth subscribing to.

Moose Peterson's Nikon F6 User Report Moose uses a lot of exclamation marks when he writes, but he's sure a great shooter and has lots of interesting tips and tricks on all kinds of different things.

Naerfoto: Bjorn Rorslett's somewhat eclectic and always interesting hodge-podge of many things Nikon... If you want to know about a lens, this is the place to start. Flavored? Sure - but informative none-the-less.

Oleg Novikov: Another ardent Nikon shooter, his site is full of fun and informational texts and images.

Thom Hogan's F6 Review and his enormously useful Complete Guide to the Nikon F6. This book is a wealth of nauseating detail about features of the camera you'll probably never consider using, which would be a shame. If you're going to get the best SLR ever made, spend another $30 on this book. I guarantee you'll get your money's worth. I had mine printed and spiral bound at Kinkos and it travels with me in the bag all the time. back to top

Scanners and Scanning:

Nikon Film Scanners (Super CoolsCan 5000ED and 9000ED) Product Brochures

How to clean a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED- a step by step, illustrated tutorial on dismantling and cleaning you scanner when the time comes.

photo.net: not quite as inflamatory as some of the other sites (like dpreview), photo.net is a great community of shooters of the f6 and so many other flavors, you're bound to grow in your photography there.

flickr's Nikon F6 pool: if you're into flickr, here's an assortment of F6-shot images other enthusaists have posted (enter at your own risk)

Facebook's Nikon F6 User Group: if you're an F6 and FB user you might get a kick out of this.

Comparison Chart: Nikonians has an interesting Body comparion and new cost chart comparion chart between the F6, F5, F100, N90 and F80. back to top

Gray's of Westminster: (with thanks to Ivor), I had to include this link for those in the UK. Referred to as "The High Church of Nikon" Gray's of Westminster looks like a place that, if you make it to the UK and you're a Nikon shooter, you simply can't not visit. Their web site is classy and fun, too.

Adorama: great, trustworthy on-line source of new and pre-owned camera gear. I've bought big things and little things from Adorama, and everything has arrived on time and as expected.

BH Photo Video: Another trusted on-line reseller. Full of knowledgeable people, B&H tends to have more hard-to-find items others may not have in stock. back to top