Nikonos IV-A User manual

NOMENCLATURE
O Accessoryshoe
@ Shutterspeedindex
@ Shutterspeeddial

@ Lensseatingslot
@ Shutterreleasebutton
(E Shutterreleasebuttonlock
(D Lensseatingpin

@ Anatomicalgrip
@ Distancescate
(9 Depth-of-fieldindicators

U) Lensapertureknob
@ Aperturescale
@ Lensfocusingknob
(E Neckstrapeyelets              www.butkus.us

FOREWORD
The NikonoslV-A is the world's only 35mm under-  Eventhough this comero  ls very eosy to use, you
wofer comero  copoble   of going down  to  should still fomiliorize yourself with its prepo'
depths of 50 meters (460feet) ond wilhstonding   rotion ond bosic operotion os presented in the
pressureof 6kg/cm2(85 lb/in2)without o speciol    firsl two sections of fhis monuol. For more de.
underwoter housing. Becouse of this rugged-   toiled informotion, pleose refer to "CONTROLSlN
ness, you con use the Nikonos in sifuolions  DETAIL"ond "TIPSON UNDERWATERSHOOTING."
where regulor cqmeros would dore  not go.  A few minutes wisely invesled now will poy otf
Corry  it to the beoch, use it on your boot, even   lofer  in  yeors  of  rewording  photogrophic
toke   it mounfoin climbing  without worrying  experiences,
oboutcomero core.
And now  with  outomotic  exposure  control,
picfure-toking hos been mode eosier thon ever.
Jusf sef o shooting operfure, ond the comerq
odjusts the shutter speed to give you the correct
exposure AUTOMATICALLY.
The Nikonos lV-A hos o  lorge, higheyepoint
viewfinder ollowing you to see the entire field of
view from up to 40mm qwoy while weoring o
diver's mqsk or goggles. In oddiiion,  its swing-
open comero bock ond  lorge shutter releose
butfon ond film odvqnce lever ollow the Nikonos
to be operoted in the some monner os regulor
35mm comeros.



                                                                     5                                                                                               *  .:"..-...          . -,.;,.e*""     '",,"                          -"rc

PREPARATION
Prior to using the NikonoslV-A,check to see that
theO-ringsare not scratchedand thatthereis no sand
or otherforeignmatterattachedto the rings Then,
youmustlubricatethe fourO-ringsshownin red using
the tube of lubricantprovided Lubricationmakes
the cameraback easy io open and the lens or other
partseasyto attach;it also protectsthe O-ringsf rom
excessivewear. Apply the lubricantsparingly,yet
makesure thereare no gaps betweenareasof appli-
cation.lt is recommendedthat lubricantbe applied
whennecessaryto ensurethe longestpossibleservice
for the NikonoslV-A.An extra set of O-rings,plus a
tubeof lubricant,is suppliedwith the camera


                        O-rings
                    ao
                      o-rinslubricantwww.butkus.us       d     1=

BASICOPERATION



                "w
                                            ?  ReploceReploce thethe botferybottery                                                              v'                                         chomber lid.
Usea cointo twistthe lid counter-  oxide batteriessuppliedwith the   Slipthe batteryclip back into the
clockwiseto unscrewit          camera,makingSUrethatthe " + "   camera body and screw the lid
                             srgnsare up.                       tightlyintoplace.

-                   rcontinued BASIC OPERATION





  A  Setthe comero for       f,  Unlock the shufter   A  Depress lhe shutter  T'oufomofic                v'  releqse butlon.          v'  releose butlon  5
   operofion.                 Move the shutter release button   holf woy.
    Rotatethe shuttersPeeddial 3    lock o off the "L" posrtton         Thisactivatesthe exposuremeter
     untilthe "A" is oppositethe white                            The meterstayson for appror 20
    Index2                                                secondsafteryou takeyourf inger
                                                                                off the buttonand turns itselfoff
                                                                   automaticallyto conservebattery
                                                          power


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7  Check bottery         Mounl fhe lens on     Cl  Unlock lhe cqmero '   ' power.                                          ' the comero.                - ' b o c k .
Lookthroughthe viewflnlsr te,.A   With the white lens focusing knob   Turn the O C key ,zt to the "O"
redLEDat the bottomof the f rame  W positionedverticallyin front of   positron
shouldbe displayedto show that   the viewfinder,push the lens f irmly
the batterieshave been properly   into the camera'd bayonet mount
installedand their power is ade-   Twist the lens 90o clockwise until
quate lf not, recheckthe orien-   the seating pins iz, click and lock
tation of the "+"      sym-   into position in the slots r+, Now
bols. and  if necessary,replace   the camera and lens assemblyare
bothbatterieswitha f reshset       completelywatertight

                                     Note: Mounting the lens upside down
                            may makeit easrerto read the aperture
                                 and distance sca/es from above the
                               camera

Lift up lhe pressureplote to.         ll?,  lnsertlnsertthethe filmfilm leodetleoder inin thefhe
12.                                         rvr  lokeuP spool  i, .
                                           Whileholdingthe pressureplatein the "up" position,
                                                      pullthe leaderacrossthe cameraand insertit intoone
                                                     of the slots in the film takeupspool.Then push the
                                            pressureplatebackdown untilit locksinto place.

-                  -continued BASICOPERNION





       i   i  Wind the film odvonce lever     r-lr          lo odvonce film onto the
   tokeup spool.                                        fully seated in the chamber and the O ring fits snugly
   Depressthe shutterreleasebuttonand wind the film   in the groove around the camera back before swinging
   advanceleveruntil the film sprockets€l engagethe  the camera back shut Then, while pressing the
    oerforationson bothedqesof the f ilm               camera back against the camera body, rotate the
                                                camera back latch to the rear Push the back of the
                                                             latch in so that the claw hooks onto the pin on the
                                                camera back Finally,push the latch forward to clamp
                                                          the camera back into place

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therirm    ie   Moke blonk expo-                  17.16.                                Iff;*:t                 rtur ssles until lhe    b:""[:n'comero
Returnthe O-C key to the "C"   Foldout the film rewindcrankits,. frqme counler shows
positionto preventthe camera  Rotate the film rewind knob in          t 3 | . "
back  f rom being accidentally the directionof the arrow as you   Continue to depress the shutter
openedduringpicture-taking        lift it up Thenwiththe knobin the   release button and wind the film
                                raised position,rotate it in the   advance  lever  until the    f rame
                        samedirectionuntilyou feelslight  counter j6)shows "1." While mak-
                              tension                            ing blank exposures,watch the re-
                                                                 wind knob to see that  it rotates.
                                                                   This indicates that the film has
                                                             been loaded correctly and is being
                                                             advanced




                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I J

- BASICOPERNION-continued

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                                                        U-
                     L-J

                                             Fromefhe subject                          /rso   tlla    I t  19.             20.i.i#l;$'f                 in the viewfinder.      l$B'ffff5llf"    Foldthe crankbackin.Thenrotate   Lift uo the fiim soeeddial 2e'and  Thef ramelrnesbuiltintotheview
    the knob slightlyin the opposite  rotate it in either directionuntil     f inder show the f ield of view for the
    directionof the arrowwhilepush   the ASA/lSOfilm speed is oppo-  normal 35mm  lens  For orooer
    ing down The knob will returnto    site the white indexra. This pro-   framing, place your sublect within
     its normalposition.            grams the cameras exposure  the outlined area When shooting
                                meter so that rt may provrdea   subjects at drslancesas close as
     Caution:  Before you actually dive into   properexposurefor the speedof   0 Bm  (275f1). use the parallax
     the water, make sure the rewind knob    filmin use                         correctionmarks for f ramino
       is in the "down"  position  Otherwise,
     water might get inside the camera                                             lnslde lhe vlewflnder
                               www.butkus.us           1  fFrameor thenormallinesshowing35mm thelensf ieldof view
                                                                         2 Theparallaxcorreclionmarks

    1 4

Sef the dislonce         Set the lens           Tokethe picture.                                                                                                                                                                                             '    'on22                           'operture.     24                                                             Look through the view-        the lens.    23
Estimateor measure*the camera-  Turn the black apertureknob (D   finder, and depress the shutter
to-subjectdistanceTurnthe white    until the desiredf/numberis oo-   releasebuttonhalfway.lf the LED
lensfocusingknob untilthe esti-   positethe indexmark on the front   doesn'tblink.deoressthe button
matedcamera-to-subjectdistance   of the lens.                             all the way to takethe picture.The
in metersor feet is lined up with  The pincer-typedepth-of-field indi-  shutter speed automaticallyse-
the indexon the f rontof the lens.    cators@, coupledwith the focus-  lected is between approx. 1/30
                                  ing knob, open or close to show  sec. and 1/1000sec. lf the LED
* Refertopage36 formoredetails      the rangeof distanceswhichwill  does blink, readjustthe aperture
                            be in focusin the f inalphotograph.   untilit stopsblinking.

                                                                " Refer  to  the  example  prctures  on
                                    page 27


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      t c

|- glslc       oPERATION-continued





                                                                       Fold out the film rewind  25.             26.!|LtJfi,l'fTiT,o.,'Rewind the film.                                                                    crank.Rotatethe film rewindknob     lever to transportthe film to the"   After the last exposurehas been
     next frame and get the camera  made,the film advanceleverwill    in the directionof the arrowas You
     readyfor the next shot            stop working.You must then re-     lift it uo. Thenwith the knobin the
                                 windthe exposedfilm back intoits   raised position,rotate it in the
                                     cartridge.To do this,Jirstturn the  samedirectionto rewindthe Jilm.
                                      shutterspeed dial to "R" to dis   Whenyou feel the tensionlessen,
                               engagethe film sProcketdrive     continuewindingone or two more
                                                                    turns so that the film leader ts
                                                          rewoundcompletelYback into the
                                                                      cartridge.
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,A  Removethe tilm    tO   Lock the shutter-rY!                                -  tr '      corlridge.               releose button.
Open the camera back and take   Returnthe shutter speed dial to
out the film cartridge.            the "A"  oosition to make the
                           camera readyfor loadingthe next
                                          roll of film. Finally,set the shutter
                               release button lock to the "L"
                                  position.This preventsthe shutter
                                releasebuttonfrom beingdepress-
                            ed and causinginadvertentbattery
                                 drain.

CONTROTSIN DETAIT



                                           o2
                                        Q,

O-rings
Thepurposeof usingO-ringson the NikonoslV-Ais to   the O-ring.Then grasp the slack portionwith your
sealall jointsmakingthe cameracompletelywater-  other hand and pull the ring off (Fig. 1). The O-ring
tight.As explainedin the "PREPARATION"section, aroundthe cameraback can be removedby inserting
you shouldapply lubricantto the O-ringswhenever a pointedobjectunderthe ringand pullingup to lift it
necessaryto insuresmoothoperationand long life   out (Fig. 2). However,make sure not to scratchthe
Pleasemakesureto cleanall sandand foreignmatter  O-ringin doingso
off these parts lf you find a ring difficultto clean,  To installa new O-ring,insertone sideof the ring into
removeit completelymakingcertainnot to scratchit.  the grooveand holdit in positionwhilerollingthe other
To ensurewatertightness,replaceall O-ringswhen  sideof the ring into place(Fig.3). When insertingthe
theybecomescratchedor worn                     O-ringinto the groovein the cameraback,first place
To removethe O rings,except the one around the    it over the groove;then pressit down in the groove
cameraback,graspthe ringbetweenyourthumband  making certain that the ten points having small
forefinger.Pinchyou fingerstogetheras youwww.butkus.usslide winged-shapedprojections(as circled in red above)
them in the directionof the arrowto createslackin  are fullyseatedintothe ten pairsof slots(Fig.a).
1 B

Shutlerspeed dlol @
The shuttersoeeddial on the NikonoslV-A has four  too brightor too dim for automaticexposurecontrol
settings:A,M, B andR.                                                lf the subjectis too bright,use a neutraldensityfilter
                                                  or changethe filmto one witha lowerASA/lSO;if the
Allhe A (AUTO)setllng                         subjectis too dim,usea speedlightor fasterfilm With
Whenthe dial is set to "A," the shutterspeedis auto-  the NikonosSpeedlightSB-101,the shutterspeedis
maticallyset to matchthe ASA/lSOfilm speedsetting, automaticallyswitchedto 1/90 sec. for properelec-
the lens aperturesetting,and the scene brightness. tronicf lashsynchronization.To speedup f ilm loading,
Turnthe meteron, and an LED insidethe viewfinder the shutterfiresat approx.1/1500sec.for blankshots
glowswhen the shutterspeed is within the "safe"  untilthe f ramecounterreaches" 1 "
 rangeof approx.1/30-1/1000 sec However,if the
 shutterspeedis outsidethis range,the LED blinksas  Note:TheUW-Nikkor15mn f/2.8cannotbe usedfor auto'
                                                                                                                  esti-                                                                               fhe dial to                                                                                "M" and                                                                                                                              it, sef                                                    exposure.                                              When                                                                  using                                 knob                                                to  matic           In this                     turn                        the Iens                             aperture a  warning              case,                             www.butkus.us                                                                                    meter                                                                            exposure                                                                       or                                                                     underwater                                          mate the                                                    exposure                                                            use an                            LED                                                                              f rom                         lf             you are                    unable                                to stop                                  the another        setting
 blinkingafter all possiblesettings,then the subjectis   instead
20

At the M (MECHANICAII settlng                    At lhe R (REWINDIseltlng
This setting providesa backup mechanicalspeed of  To disengagethe film sprocketdrive for rewinding,set
1/90sec.in case the batteriesbecome weak or ex-   the dial to "R." At this setting,the shutter release
haustedor there are none loadedin the camera.This   buttoncannotbe operated.
setting should also be used when speedlightsother
thanthe NikonosSpeedlightSB-101are used.

Atfhe B (BULBIsefilng
At "8," the shutter remainsopen for as long as you
keep the shutterbutton depressed,allowingyou to
make time exposures or  create "stroboscopic't
effects by firing the flash repeatedlywith the shutter
open."8" is alsoa mechanicalsetting.

-CONTROLS            lN DETA|L-continued





  Shutferreleose button @(with lock @I
   Locatedat the top of the anatomicalgrip, the large  shutter.A shutterreleasebutton lock is providedto
   shutterreleasebutton on the NikonoslV-A provides prevent wasting a frame or causing inadvertent
   convenientoperationeitheraboveor belowthe water.  batterydrain in case the shutter releasebutton is
   With the shutterspeed dial set at "A," the shutter  accidentallydepressedwhilethe camerais not in use.
   buttonservesas a meter-ONswitchwhen depressed
   halfway;the meter then stayson for approx.20sec.
    afteryou take your f ingeroff the button,turningitself
    off automaticallyto conservebattery power. When
   used in conjunctionwith the LED in the viewfinder,
   the shutter releasebutton can be used as a battery
  ChOekWhOny6Ur0l0ag0thgShuttgrat "A" ina very
    dark p\ace or w\th the tront lens cap on, thewww.butkus.usshutter
  \$$\s'\s\\\$ssss"ssr*srq   er\s\\l rrrrssr\n t\t\st\    \t  \h\t\ hsnsns.K\ts$,\R,\rrrn \hg

-CONTROLS            lN DETAll-continued





  Shutterreleose bulton @lwith lock @I
   Locatedat the top of the anatomicalgrip, the large  shutter.A shutterreleasebutton lock is providedto
   shutterreleasebutton on the NikonoslV-A provides prevent wasting a   f rame or causing inadvertent
   convenientoperationeitheraboveor belowthe water.  batterydrain in case the shutter releasebutton is
   With the shutterspeed dial set at "A," the shutter  accidentallydepressedwhilethe camerais not in use.
   buttonservesas a meter-ONswitchwhen depressed
   halfway;the meter then stays on for approx.20sec.
   afteryou takeyour f ingeroff the button,turningitself
    off automaticallyto conserve battery power. When
   used in conjunctionwith the LED in the viewfinder,
   the shutterreleasebuttoncan be used as a battery
   check Whenyou releasethe shutterat "A" in a very
   dark placeor with the front lens cap on, the shutter
   curtainmay remainopen. lf this happens,turn the
   shutterspeeddial to either"B" or "M" to closethe
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Viewfinder rB
The high-eyepointviewfinderin the Nikonos lV-A  At the bottom of the viewfinder,there is an LED which
allowsyou to placeyour eye up to 40mm away from  glows when the shutter speed is between approx 1 /30                                                                 .1the eyepiece,so that the entirefield of view can be  and  /1000 sec and blinks when the soeed is outside
seenwhilewearinga diver'smask,goggles,or safety  this range In addition,a flash ready-lightin the form
glassesThe built-inf rame linesindicatethe area of   of a red lightningbolt appears when the Nikon Speed
coveragef or the normal 35mm lens; the parallax lightSB-101is charged up and readyto fire
correctionmarksshouldbe usedto f ramethe subject
when shootingat the closest focusingdistanceof
O 8m (27sft)

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-CONTROIS            lN DETAll-continued





  ASATISOASATISOfilmfilm spe€dspeed dlqldiql zo
   ProvidingASA/lSOsettingsIrom 25 to 1600,the film  one f/stop underexposedThe right amountof ex-
  speeddial is set by liftingup the knurledring and  posure compensationcan be determinedthrough
   rotatinguntilthe desiredspeedis oppositethe white  trialanderror
   index.When the ring is released,it locks into place                                                   ASA/ISO f ilm speed scale  Thedial can be rotatedeven underwaterwithoutfear
   of watergettinginsidethe camera.
  To get the correct exposurewhen shootingbacklit    32 40  64 80  125        500+  1000{
   subjectsor for creatingspecialefJects,you can reset                       r60
   the dial for exposurecompensation.lf you're using
  ASA/lSO100film,turnthe diallrom 1OOto 50 and the   Note.'Make sure to return the ASA/ISO dial to the correct
   finalpicturewill be one f/stopoverexposed;resetthe   setting after you have finished making exposure com-
   dialfrom 100to 200,and the finalphotographwill be   pensation.


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