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Est. 1985 - the Kind of Service of which Legends are Made
Nikon today announces a new fast aperture medium-telephoto lens – the AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G.
This photograph taken with the 6mm f/2.8 Fisheye-Nikkor lens by Michael Eleftheriades is of one of the showrooms at Grays of Westminster.
Grays of Westminster Through the Eyes of the 6mm f/2.8 Fisheye-Nikkor Lens
The legendary award-winning Grays of Westminster is a charming period shop, specialising exclusively in Nikon. It offers what is probably the widest range of new and second-hand Nikon in the world. It is situated in a quiet location in central London and offers a fast and reliable mail-order service on any Nikon item - available to all world-wide destinations. Tax free shopping to non-European Community residents is also available.
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We were delighted to receive the news that Grays of Westminster have been voted the Winner of Retailer of the Year 2019 by the British Photographic Industry News.
Thank you to everyone that voted for us. Winning these two prestigious awards means a very great deal to everyone that works here.
On Friday, 23rd February, 2018 at the InterContinental London Park Lane, Mayfair, in the presence of the cream of the photographic industry, Grays of Westminster added a top accolade to its ever-growing collection: Amateur Photographer Platinum Good Service Award.
The Good Service Awards were created to recognise and reward outstanding customer service in the UK photo-retail sector. They are presented annually at the Amateur Photographer Awards Ceremony, alongside the product awards, to those retailers who offer the highest quality of service, and are voted for by AP readers and retailers’ customers.
Retailers play a crucial role in maintaining and developing the hobby of photography by offering friendly advice and access to a range of products that customers otherwise wouldn’t be able to see ‘in the flesh’. Increasingly, the bricks and mortar stores of the most successful retailers work in tandem with well-designed websites.
To qualify for a Good Service Award, a retailer must have exceeded the AP’s minimum number of votes, which can be made online or by post. This year Amateur Photographer gave out nine Gold awards, plus a single Platinum award for the retailer who received the best response overall. For the second year in a row, the Platinum award was won by Grays of Westminster.
A special thank-you to everyone that voted for us in such magnitude. This is a great honour and it is all down to our staff who are, in my opinion, the best of the best. They consistently deliver excellent, engaging and responsive service to our customers, often with a dash of humour and always with discretion. Our team are what makes Grays of Westminster, Grays of Westminster!
February is the month of love and with that in mind we chose a quote from Romeo & Juliet to inspire your picture taking.
First place winner is David Lowe (newsletter subscriber):
(Nikon D810 + AF-S 24-70 f/2.8G, 1/125″, f/5.6, ISO 400) Model: Ivory Flame
He will receive a pair of Nikon Monarch 7 8×30 binoculars and a Nikon goodie bag!
Second place winner is Benjamin Van Der Spek (Instagram follower):
(Nikon D810 + AF-S 24-70 f/2.8G, using 29mm at 1/125”, ISO 1600)
He will also receive a Nikon goodie bag!
Congratulations to both of you! Your goodies are on their way.
Ladies and gentlemen, here’s another rare find: The Nikon S3M.
It was released in March 1960 and was the last rangefinder camera made by Nikon.
It is unique in that it is in being the first, and only, half-frame Nikon camera ever made.
In US price lists from 1960, it is described as follows: “An S3M camera, specially adapted for 18×24 single frame photography. Takes 72 pictures on a standard 36-exposure roll. Viewfinder provides correct viewing field for 35mm, 50mm and 105mm lenses. Other features are the same as the Nikon S3.
The S3M is equipped with with an (S72) electric motor drive taking single, 2, 3 or burst exposures up to 72 frames at the rate of 4 per second.” The ‘M’ designation meant that is was designed for motorised use. Only 195 units were produced of which only 50 were made with a chrome finish.
According to Robert Rotoloni in his magnum opus “The Complete Nikon rangefinder System” only about 100 Nikon S3M ‘sets’ ever existed (S3M plus motor drive). Not only is the S3M the most unique of all rangefinder cameras but also the rarest, with a complete set with proper motor even rarer.
The viewfinder of the S3M is unique to this model. Each etched frame line is keyed individually by sliding the chrome lever on the back of the camera next to the viewfinder.
It is click-stopped for each frame line and the focal length is also visible below the frame.
Nippon Kogaku Nikkor-N 5cm f/1.1 5cm External & Internal Mount.
Shot by Konstantin Kochkin
The very impressive 5cm f/1.1 Nikkor-N lens was announced in February 1956 and was exhibited in Tokyo. The 5cm f/1.1 was a very radical lens for its time, consisting of nine pieces of glass, some of which were very thin split elements and others containing rare earth components.
This stunning f/1.1 lens would reign supreme as the fastest lens made by the big four 35mm rangefinder camera makers, until the Canon 50mm f/0.95 lens was introduced in the early 1960s.
The 5cm f/1.1 Nikkor-N weighed 12.25 ounces (355gm) and it could be stopped down to f/22 with click stops. It used a 12-blade diaphragm and had an angle of view of 46 degrees and a focusing range of 3ft (0.9m) to infinity.
The first version of this lens had an internal mount the same as that found on their normal slower range of lenses, and is known as the ‘Internal Mount f/1.1’.
However, this lens was so heavy, that its weight could distort the camera mount and cause rangefinder error. This engineering problem was overcome in June 1959, when a 5cm f/1.1 lens was released with a redesigned barrel with an external mount, such as those found on the wide-angle and telephoto Nikkor lenses.
The optical formula is identical to the internal mount version and both lenses used the same 62mm accessories and only the rear cap differed. Factory records state that 1,046 internal mount lenses were made (835 in Nikon bayonet mount and 211 in Leica screw mount) and 1,547 of the external mount version.
The 5cm f/1.1 stands as one of the most impressive looking lenses made by Nikon and is certainly one of the most sought-after by collectors.
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Shot with Nikon D850 & Nikkor 105mm f/1.4E AF-S lens, ISO 64, 1/125s, f/4.5, tripod, 3x SB-5000 and iPhone torch for the lens flare.⠀
