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[Glenn]

As the modified body is stated to be a lot lighter and smaller, I suggest that Norman has milled the front of the mirror box off. The Heliar 15mm is an interesting optic. However I use mine on a Leica MD, as this application needs no butchery.

[Norman]

I have removed the front casting, self timer and mirror box and made a new front plate out of sheet brass. The new lens mount has to protrude approx .8mm in front of this front plate to get the correct register. I will be doing the final machining this

[M_currie]

It makes sense with a picture.  I had sort of forgotten how much the mirror box protrudes.

[Glenn]

Norman,
 
Nice piece of work. Of all the period slr cameras, the basic Nikon F body does offer fantastic opportunities for special production.

[Norman]

Yes Glenn, you are right about the Nikon F as a basis for home mods. I am looking for another one to play with, it is addictive!

[Gez]

Norman, your Nikon F modification is an impressive piece of work. What tools did you use to measure the lens mount to film rail distance? Also did you encounter any difficulty in keeping the new front panel parallel with the back plate / body chassis?

[Norman]

Thanks Gez,
I used a vernier caliper to make the measurements. The body has a number of machined surfaces where the original mounting screws were located they are at the same level. I have only put one film through it and it seems ok but it is diffic

[Glenn]

Norman,
 
Now that is one nice piece of kit, bet it sits and feels good in the hands - So much better than the lightweight Bessa L that one sees the Heliar 15mm normally hung from.  
 
On the subject of measuring mount/film plane distances,

[Gez]

Thanks Norman, your mod now looks like a very serious picture-taking instrument!
 
Glenn, your digital vernier approach sounds interesting. I suspect you are referring to the ones sold by Maplin?? I have 2 junk Konica T2's that I'd like to ma

[Glenn]

Gez,
 
Maplin's verniers are similar/the same.  Not familiar with the T2, but in some cheaper cameras the reference points on the rear of the casting are the film/pressure point rails. Whilst shims can fine tune parallelism, they are more lik

[Norman]

What I did with my Nikon was to assemble it with the lens flange oversize, check the measurement and then machine the flange to the correct thickness. The actual register is approx. .5mm below the front panel.

[Draganflame]

i make my camera like a Nikon d90 package but in pinhole corcas

[Norman]

Hi Draganflame, I also made a pinhole lens for my Nikon F conversion but have never actually tried it. I started on a rangefinder coupled Nikon F but have been distracted by, firstly a 5 x 7 camera and now a 10 x 8 camera. ( I like making bellows) The

[Norman]

Glenn, I chickened out and bought a Bessa L for my Heliar 15mm. It's a very good camera. Lighter but noisier than my Nikon version.
Norman

[Norman Valentine (Normanv)]

I am resurrecting this old thread as I cannot see how to start a new thread but what I have to ask relates to the above. In this thread I talked about my forays into modifying Nikon F cameras. My latest project is to fit a contax/kiev lens mount to a Niko