Titanium Nikon Cameras
Nikon F3/T, black and chrome versions
Several Nikons have been manufactured with tough, titanium components, including the F2/T, the F3/T, and the FM2/T. (The F5 has a titanium prism cover.)
The components of a titanium Nikon camera consist of the top plate, bottom plate, prism cover, and the back. This space-age material has a higher strength-to-weight
ratio than aluminum and was used on the skin of the mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird spy plane to keep it from burning up during high-speed flight.
Chrome - Champagne - Nikon F3/T
Titanium Nikons are more expensive than their ordinary bretheren because titanium metal is hard and very difficult to shape. The black version of the F3/T looks just like
the standard F3, which is black, except for the slightly rougher surface of the titanium components. The chrome F3/T really isn't chrome. It is the natural color of
titanium which has a slight beige tint. The color is often called "champaigne." Because professional photographers preferred the black F3/T over the champaigne model,
the chrome version was discontinued earlier than the black version and is now more sought after than the black model.
Back of a Chrome - Champagne - Nikon F3/T
A unique feature of the chrome F3/T is that the slot in the back that holds the top of the film box has a chrome titanium insert. Other than the cosmetic
differences, the F3/T is exactly the same as the F3.
The following information about Titanium Nikons is from an article by Don Lindsay, written September 2002.
I know from prior investigations that the mirror support for the F2 (as well as the F2T) is Titanium (TI). When Nikon was working on the F2 designs around 1966,
they continued to be unable to break the 1/1000th second shutter speed because of the weight of the mirror and it's supporting structure. Since they had some
working knowledge of TI from shutter curtain use (it is VERY thin, I have one canned off an F2) they decided to give it a try for the mirror support. They chose
TI because the strength would be retained, but the weight would be reduced - just a bit, but enough. Remember, they were shooting for 1/2000th of a second
top shutter speed in those days. They ended up shortening the curtain gap and got the mirror assembly to move faster because it was now lighter - thanks to
the TI.
The main body of the F2 and F2/T are the same - a casting of some sort of metal - not brass. Maybe aluminum or an aluminum alloy? That's certainly the case with
the F3/T. I know it to be a special aluminum alloy for lightness and strength. The F2 and F both are made of the same base material. The F2 top plates, etc. are made
of brass that has been then painted black, or brass that has been plated and has the brushed chrome finish we all recognize.
The F2T and F3T plates (the top, bottom, back, and front covers) are thin TI - 0.6mm, precisely, as measured off the front plate on my F2/T.
Here's my speculation on the finish of the black paint on painted TI Nikons. Professional photographers are hard on cameras. Thus, that heavier, crinkle finish paint
job (similarly found today on some of the better Nikkor optics) holds up better than a glossy black finish when the TI bodies are taking a beating. It you have ever
seen a well-used (in professional service) F3/T (black) then you know when I've referring to - plenty of TI showing through, but not as ugly as it would have been had
it had a glossy top coat that had been beaten through.
The F5 chassis is an aluminum alloy - the same as that on the F3. It is a die-cast construct of "copper silumin aluminum alloy" (both for strength and corrosion
resistance) with brass outer plates - but with TI on the F3/T models. The outer cover on the F5 is also that same copper silumin aluminum alloy except for the prism top
of the DP-30 eyelevel prism, which is TI. Unfortunately, the top cover of the F5 action finder, the DA-30, is also the same as the body - that alloy - not TI!
You would think the larger action finder would be found more vulnerable to damage than the smaller DP-30, but that's Nikon's way of saving money. The F4 has more
of the high-impact plastic in its body.
At one time, people speculated that the top plate of the Anniversary F5 is TI, but I have yet to see evidence of that. It is painted an anthracite grey which I think merely
covers up the copper silumin aluminum alloy top plate. The other parts of the F5 are either covered in rubber or painted with the heavy black paint like the old TI bodies
of the F2/T and F3/T. If I ever accidently penetrate the top cover of my F4 Anniversary Edition, I'll find out what it reveals.
So, any weight savings between an F2 and and F2/T and an F3 and and F3/T is found merely in the difference in the specific gravity between the brass outer plates
and the TI plates. That's not a lot. The TI was never done, in my opinion, to save weight. It was done for durability alone.
Frankly, I'm surprised that Nikon made as many bodies with TI as it did because of the increased pollution created during the manufacturing process and the difficulty
of working with it. I'm happy that they have, but I suspect those days are over.
With the move to digital cameras by professional photographers, their emphasis is more on weight and cost savings instead of durability. Why make a camera
extremely durable when the technology within it makes it obsolete before the magnesium alloy shell gets anywhere near the breaking point? In short, the professionals
won't keep a digital camera very long.
Remember that the Nikon F went from 1959 through 1971; the Nikon F2 from 1971 through 1981, the F3 from 1980 through 1999, and the F4 from 1991 to 1999.
Each lives a shorter life than the proceeding camera because it's what's inside that counts. (The Nikon F3 was a big exception to the rule).
In addition, the components in digital cameras today are so vulnerable to shock damage that simply encapsulating them in TI won't offer the necessary shock
protection. You drop one - it's over. You drop an F2T, it lives and lives. You drop an F3/T, and it's 50-50. Drop a D1X and you have a lot to deal with.
(I dropped one of my F5s with the 17-35mm lens on it from a countertop (kitchen) to the hardwood floor below (in it's CF-54 case) and the bayonet mount on the
F5 body got BENT.
They just don't build them like they used to. I'm ready to order a TI car - with the feature of retrofittable interiors and motors. Imagine, no rust, no corrosion, and no
one else would fare as well if they impact you with their inferior, high-strength steel car. Since the TI body would last forever, the interior and mechanicals would
have to be ungradeable over time.
The above report was by Don Lindsay, September, 2002. Thanks to Don for granting permission to reprint this very insightful and informative article on Titanium
Nikons in this web page.