Nikon was the camera of choice for pros in the USA for one reason, and
one reason only, a man named Joe Ehrenreich. Ehrenreich was the best
marketer who has ever come along in the photo industry. He was the
first to think of giving camera outfits to well-known photographers so
they would be seen using them and would talk about them. At the time
Canon cameras were just as good, perhaps even better, but they had
ineffectual distribution and promotion. By the time SLR cameras came
along Nikon was firmly entrenched as the pro's camera, so pros using
Nikon rangefinder cameras just naturally gravitated to the Nikon F.
Ehrenreich founded Ehrenreich Photo Optical Industries, better known by
the acronym EPOI. EPOI went on to become the distributor for Rollei,
Bronica, Mamiya, JOBO, Capro, and a wide range of other photo brands.
It was a powerhouse that nothing came close to, other than perhaps
Berkey.
Bob
On Wednesday, October 5, 2005, at 05:44 PM, E.R.N. Reed wrote:
Pål Jensen wrote:
Nikon was the camera mans camera and the choice of pros. However,
back then "the pros" didn't want the latest gizmos. If you discussed
with those who wanted pro cameras they would tell you that pros
couldn't use cameras dependent on batteries and that pros didn't need
meters either; any real pro could calculate exposure by looking at
the scene....Nowadays the same people will tell you that you need USM
and multipoint metering in order to cut it.
I thought what happened was the ones who said pros couldn't use
battery-dependent cameras and didn't need meters have now retired, and
the new generation insists upon USM, multipoint metering etc.
