This was the camera for people who could not decide between a Nikon and a Canon; and could not afford either!  We know that this camera was made and sold by FPC because it has an "FPC Quality Passed" sticker on it. It is a representative of one of FPC’s most successful designs, and appears under several other names. The TIME and Sports Illustrated magazine versions alone would have run to many thousands of units. (The TIME camera famously has a “kinetic optical color lens” (plastic) or a “kinetic optical glass lens”)

It is one of only two Nikanons found so far; the other one, the Nikanon YN 300 is a representative of another very numerous family, (The Yunon Optical Company sold the same camera with the same model number) “RX-7” was a suffix used on several FPC cameras, and probably refers to the legendary Mazda RX-7 launched in 1978.

The Nikanon RX-7 has provision for a cable release or mechanical timer, and a nice weight, partly provided by about 100 grams of scrap metal in the base. These cameras are often dismissed as “pseudo SLR’s”, but no-one would really mistake this for an SLR would they? They are novelty cameras not to be taken too seriously. The ‘prism’ is just a protective shield around the ‘hot shoe’.

This camera was purchased in the original box with papers offering a Nikanon 218M electronic flash for an additional $20 and a "user lifetime” replacement warranty for $25; about the price of a new camera ! The box is silver-grey with black lettering like many other FPC cameras not ordered by corporate clients. The company name on the box is "Bracha Export Corp." of 1127 Broadway New York. Bracha described itself as both an importer and an exporter. The manual is written in English, French, German Spanish and Japanese (?).

This basic design has been found under 20+ different names. Many of them have plastic lenses, by the omission of the word “glass”. There is a variant with the same body but with lever wind. (Kinusa KX-7)