Nikon F (from the 60's) Sync Cable or Hotshoe Adaptor?

Hey Gang,
I have a Nikon F, the original, not and F2, F4 etc. I would like to
hook it up to some strobes, but I'm having trouble figuring out what
kind of cables I need.

Can anyone tell me what I need to trigger modern strobes? Also if you
know where I can get the cables/adapters please let me know. Ideally
I would like to purchase a set of strobes that I can use for both my
Canon 5D and my F, if anyone has a recommendation, I'm all ears!

Thanks!

 

Doesn't the Nikon F have a PC socket? My F2 certainly does.
Jim

 

Hey Jim,
I've always shot with ambient light, so I've never had a reason to
look at the input. That being said, I would swear that it does have a
PC socket, but it may have a threaded input on it. Will a standard PC
sync cable work?

 

Yes. The thread is just there for a more secure connection with Nikon
cables.

Just make sure the timing type is set to X:
It is coaxial to the shutter speed dial, like setting film speed on many
cameras. You'll have to take off the Photomic (if present) to
check/change it.

 

It is a photomic, so I'll make sure I pull that and get it set right.
Do you have a suggestion on where I can get a cable?

Thanks!!

 

The usual gang: Your local camera store (if you are lucky
enough to have one), B&H, Freestyle, Calumet, Adorama...

If this is flash<->camera you will most likely need
a double male cable. 99% of sync cables are
female/male extension cords, so be careful in selection.

There is a hot-shoe adapter that fits around the F's
rewind knob. There are usually a few on ebay and KEH may
have some. I think the AS-1 F2 version also fits the
F - ????

 

Standard PC cable will work but I have a couple with F/F2
locking collar to Vivitar that were made by Paramount
(available from them or most dealers). I seem to recall the
standard PC fitting was a bit short and fell out from time
to time.

darkroommike

 

Yep, and if it has a hot shoe, (or even if it doesn't) you could use
some $20 eBay radio slaves that would work with the 5D.

 

a simple male/male flash sync cable which you can get
at most photography shops will do. like it
was said before: check out the synch position
on the dial. you want "FX" with a red "X".
set it by lifting the shutter speed dial and rotating.
and don't go over 1/60 in the speed: that's the
flash synch speed of the F shutter.

The way I use mine is to have a small and cheap
flash unit attached to the camera, triggering other more
powerful units via flash light triggers. you get those
in ebay and they attach to the hot shoe of bigger flash
units. Just about any modern flash will work this
way in auto mode.

Better yet: get a cheap flash light meter, something like the
gossen lunasix F, and use that with the units in manual mode
to measure the right amount of flash light. after a while you'll
find you'll know already what apertures to use depending
on film type, how many units at what power and it's simply a
matter of confirming with the meter.

HTH