Nikon F-601M (1990)
The F-601M was sold as the N6000 in North America. It's an odd entry in Nikon's late-film lineup: a manual-focus SLR released in September 1990, right in the middle of the autofocus boom. It's a simplified version of the autofocus F-601. Nikon stripped out the AF motor, the built-in Speedlight and the spot metering, and swapped the focusing screen for a micro split matte suited to manual focus. What's left is a straightforward, autoexposure 35mm SLR with matrix and center-weighted metering, auto film loading and advancing, and an electronically controlled vertical-travel shutter from 30 seconds to 1/2000.
Opinion on why the camera exists is divided. One reviewer called it "perhaps the most pointless Nikon ever made," and noted that it works best with AF lenses rather than the manual-focus glass you'd expect to pair with it. The same review concedes there's a lot to like, and credits Nikon for releasing a manual-focus body at all in 1990, when the industry had committed to AF. The camera has its defenders too. At least one photographer got into film with it.
Known specifications are thin but consistent: Nikon F-mount, ISO 25–5000, Program/Aperture/Shutter/Manual exposure modes, powered by two CR123A batteries. The body is polycarbonate, weighing 565g without batteries, and dimensions are 154.5 × 96 × 65 mm. The larger high-eyepoint viewfinder was a deliberate benefit of omitting the AF module.
One dictionary source lists a price of $480 MSRP, but it gives the introduction year as 1991, which conflicts with the September 1990 date from other sources. A current Craigslist listing in Vancouver asks $80 CAD for a body. Beyond that, the record is quiet. There are no original production figures, no shutter or metering details beyond what's above, and little on common failures.
- 35mm SLR, manual focus, autoexposure
- Nikon F-mount
- Shutter: 30s to 1/2000s, electronically controlled
- Matrix and center-weighted metering
- ISO 25–5000
- 2× CR123A batteries
- 565g body weight; 154.5 × 96 × 65 mm
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