Nikon F-401

The Nikon F-401 (N4004 in North America) was a beginner's level, autofocus, 35mm, single-lens reflex (SLR) film camera built by Nikon and introduced in 1987. The camera represented one of Nikon's first endeavours into consumer-based autofocus, as a follow-up to their first autofocus SLR in 1986, the Nikon F-501 (known as the N2020 in North America). The camera lacked many of the advanced features that more seasoned amateurs and professionals required, but it was a harbinger of the future as it included a pronounced, built-in grip as well as an integrated TTL Flash that is now commonplace on all but the most high-end SLR cameras.

The F-401 introduced the now common-place feature of using a thumbwheel instead of lens aperture ring to adjust the aperture. Furthermore, the cameras lack of support for AI lenses meant that while all previous Nikon lenses could be mounted to the camera, none supported automatic exposure TTL metering.

By the 1990s, the F-401 was part of a lineup of autofocus consumer SLRs that included the more expensive Nikon F-601 and Nikon F-801.

Nikon

Nikon Corporation (株式会社ニコン, Kabushiki-gaisha Nikon) (UK /ˈnɪkɒn/ or US /ˈnaɪkɒn/;  listen [nikoɴ]), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products.

Its products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which it is the world's second largest manufacturer. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Among its products are Nikkor imaging lenses (for F-mount cameras, large format photography, photographic enlargers, and other applications), the Nikon F-series of 35 mm film SLR cameras, the Nikon D-series of digital SLR cameras, the Coolpix series of compact digital cameras, and the Nikonos series of underwater film cameras. Nikon's main competitors in camera and lens manufacturing include Canon, Sony, Fujifilm, Lumix, Pentax, and Olympus.

Founded on July 25, 1917 as Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha (日本光学工業株式会社 "Japan Optical Industries Co., Ltd."), the company was renamed Nikon Corporation, after its cameras, in 1988. Nikon is one of the subsidiaries of Mitsubishi.

Single-lens reflex camera

A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex", from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured, contrary to rangefinder cameras where the image could be significantly different from what will be captured. When the shutter button is pressed the mirror will adjust allowing the light to pass through on to the film, resulting in the image being presented.

History

Medium format SLR by Hasselblad

Medium format SLR by Hasselblad

The 1952 (Pentax) Asahiflex, Japan's first single-lens reflex camera

The 1952 (Pentax) Asahiflex, Japan's first single-lens reflex camera

The Contaflex III a single-lens reflex camera from West Germany from 1957, with additional 115 mm lens

The Contaflex III a single-lens reflex camera from West Germany from 1957, with additional 115 mm lens

The 35 mm film-based Nikon F, 1959, the world's first single-lens reflex system camera

Itamar Franco

Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco (Portuguese pronunciation: [itɐˈmaɾ ˈfɾɐ̃ku]; 28 June 1930 – 2 July 2011) was a Brazilian politician who served as acting President of Brazil from 2 October 1992 and as President from 29 December 1992 to 1 January 1995. He was Vice President of Brazil from 1990 until the start of impeachment proceedings against President Fernando Collor de Mello. During his long political career Franco also served as Senator, Mayor, Ambassador and Governor. At the time of his death he was a Senator for Minas Gerais, having won the seat in the 2010 election.

Early life and family background

Franco was born prematurely at sea, aboard a ship traveling between Salvador and Rio de Janeiro. On his father's side he was of partial German descent (the Stiebler family from Minas Gerais), while on the mother's side he was of Italian descent, with both of his maternal grandparents having emigrated to Brazil from Italy. His mother's name was "Itália", which means "Italy" in Portuguese. Franco's father died prior to his birth.

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville (generally pronounced ⁱ/ˈluːəvəl/ or ⁱ/ˈlʌvəl/ by natives, and ⁱ/ˈluːiːvɪl/ by others) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 30th-most populous city in the United States. It is one of two cities in Kentucky designated as first-class, with the other being the state's second-largest city of Lexington. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County.

Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark and is named after King Louis XVI of France, making Louisville one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachian Mountains. Sited beside the Falls of the Ohio, the only major obstruction to river traffic between the upper Ohio River and the Gulf of Mexico, the settlement first grew as a portage site. It was the founding city of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which grew into a 6,000-mile (9,700 km) system across 13 states. Today, the city is known as the home of the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Fried Chicken, the University of Louisville and its Louisville Cardinals athletic teams, Louisville Slugger baseball bats, and three of Kentucky's six Fortune 500 companies. Its main airport is also the site of UPS's worldwide air hub.