Today’s featured camera is one that I had never seen in the field until someone actually gave me this one earlier this summer.

Nikon’s Nikonos series of underwater cameras are marvels of over-engineering. It is heavy. The knobs, switches and doors are all built like bank vaults. The viewfinder is huge enough that you can see it and use it while wearing scuba goggles.

All this build quality surrounds the purpose of this camera: to make pictures under water. Literature from the time says it is completely waterproof to a depth of 50 meters, or about 160 feet, which is actually deeper than it is safe to dive without special procedures and equipment. It does this without any special modifications, and without an accessory underwater housing.

The Nikonos form factor makes for a great underwater camera, but possibly one of the most awkward cameras on land.

This camera was supposedly made and sold by Nikon until 2001. I expect that in it’s last years, fewer and fewer were being made, since underwater housings let most photographers use cameras they already owned for their scuba diving trips for a lot less money.

For as beautiful and exotic as these cameras are, there doesn’t seem to be much of a collectors market for them. I see them on Ebay in mint condition for less than $300. I expect part of this is because of the emergence of action cameras from brands like GoPro, DJI, and Insta360, many of which are waterproof as well.

It was fun to hold and operate the Nikonos, and it is a fine and fun addition to my collection.