Nikkormats - do they offer anything today?

<p>Having an FE and FM3a I have not looked at Nikkormats at all as I was under the impression that they were not only old but old and built down to a price (plus the name is not very inspiring).</p>

<p>My local store has been getting Nikkormats in as P/X and they are being offered at prices that are getting difficult to resist - and some look very clean. So, is it worth making a move on any of the Nikkormat range and if so, which one is the best to go for?</p>

<p>All of them still seem to work but I am unsure how they differ from my FE so any insight from users is much appreciated.</p>

<p>I find Nikkormats and Nikomats usable and very interesting... I`m still regretting from selling my FT2, up to the point that I have to recall myself that I still have too many cameras, more than I can use, to feel better.<br /> Nikkormats are very well built, are extremely beautiful to my taste, and I guess that with a little care they will last forever. And the best of them is... that most can use non-Ai lenses <em>without being modified</em>! A real<em> free ride!</em><br />Ai lens users should pass over them ^^. These are reserved for non-Ai lens lovers. :)</p>

<p>More seriously speaking, from other than a nostalgic, collector/connoisseur or fashionable point of view, I`d say they doesn`t have anything to offer.</p>

<p>Nikkormats offer the same thing that would please a Nikon F fan or owner. They are more or less the same camera body but without an interchangeable prism and with a slightly different control layout. One obvious advantage was already mentioned: use of non-converted pre-AI lenses, as well as any subsequent Nikkors. They are very solid, all-mechanical cameras from before the more compact era of the mid-to-late 1970's.</p>

<p>Many of these are not much older than the FE you have, and they have no unrepairable electronics to fail. But on the other hand, if you already have the other cameras, there wouldn't be any advantage to getting a Nikkormat. There are different models though, and it would be wise to read up on them before buying one.</p>

<p>When the Nikkormat system came out in 1965 it offered many blockbuster features; radical for its era. The 1/125 strobe sync speed was handy; the F's was about 1/2 of that many other slrs were still at 1/30 th too. In sports usage on a tripod or for slide copying; one could reload without removing the camera body. One does not have this loose back to hold in a pocket lik on a nikon F. One has a mirror lockup with the Ft and FTn. The camera was very sucessfull with run from 1965 to the later 1970's.</p>

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<p><em>"... old and built down to a price."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well, both could be said about the FE, and the latter about the FM3A if you want to split hairs. ;-) :-)</p>

<p>I expect the only feature of the Nikkormats that is missing from the FE that might be useful is mirror lockup. If that feature were really important, then one might choose an FT3 (or EL2) over an FE.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Ai lens users should pass over them ^^. These are reserved for non-Ai lens lovers. :)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Except that many (most?) AI lenses also featured the older non AI meter coupling bracket.</p>

<p>In my humble opinion, these were the pinnacle of manual controlled film SLR's. The location of the DoF preview alone is shear genius. Compared to the FE or FM3, the 'matts are much heavier. Also their viewfinders are a tad dark by later standards.<br /> Of course now days most of these old timers have meter troubles. But the copal shutters live forever.</p>

<p>As for being built down. Nikon introduced the Nikkormat, and it started hurting sales of their flagship "F" cameras. It was as one wit put it, "a better mousetrap".</p>

<p> Now days if you shoot film, and you have Nikkor glass. The 'matts are a steal, and one of the truly great 35mm SLR's.</p>

<p>i have kept my FT3 ---- the best and the last nikkormat. used it as backup to my F2AS in my pj days many moons ago. today i still love looking at both and sometimes hold them and exercise their shutters.</p>

<p>steve is right. for $100 or less, the FT2 and FT3 are steals.</p>

<p>Another "cool" factor with the Nikkormats is the top deck mounted light meter (besides the one inside) AND able to read your f-stop setting thru the viewfinder. I have a non metered original "F" nikon with the standard prism and as much as I love that camera, I have to say I give the nod to the FTn in terms of build and practicality. Other than bragging rights and interchangeable screens and prisms, I actually prefer the Nikkormat! IMHO...All black FTn's are very coooooool!<br>

Mark</p>

<p>The Nikkormats were perhaps lower build quality than the F and F2 models, but if anything, they were probably built sturdier than the FM and subsequent "non-pro" models. By today's standards, they are incredibly solid and durable. And that's really what they offer -- an inexpensive durable reliable basic camera.</p>

<p>As for what special things they offer today versus other Nikons, they have a few unique ergonomic features, which may be loved or despised by different photographers. The shutter speed can be controlled entirely by feel, which is something pretty much unique. Someone who knows the camera well can tell, just by touching it, what shutter speed is selected, at least within a stop or so. Also, the meter info is visible on the top deck, which is not unheard of, but is somewhat unusual among film cameras. On the downside, the Nikkormats are perhaps the only metered Nikons where the aperture is not visible in the finder.</p>

<p>For an interesting use of the unique ergonomics of the Nikkormat's shutter speed control, see here:<br>

<a href="http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/eclipse_2001/gallery.html">http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/eclipse_2001/gallery.html</a><br>

Look for the sentence:<em> Now the sweet thing about this photographic technique is that with a totally mechanical camera like a Nikkormat and sufficient practice, you can do it entirely by touch.</em></p>

<p>The other things the Nikkormats offer is coolness.</p>

<p>Yes, I really liked being able to change the shutter speeds without having to fiddle with a knob on the camera's top plate. Unfortunately, the mechanics behind the shutter control system are the main reason for meter failures on Nikkormats.</p>

<p>In the day when they could be purchased new, there was no feeling that they were "built down" in terms of quality. It was more a matter of features like not having a removable prism. Many professionals used Nikkormats as second bodies - or even sometimes in preference to the clunkier mechanical operation of the not-so-beloved Photomic heads on the Nikon F. For a long time after the name on them was changed to Nikon, the older Nikkormat FTn and especially the EL maintained very high used values because they were such nice shooters.</p>

<p>I still have both an FTn and the EL and find them very convenient cameras to use, especially as my lenses are all non-AI. Maybe someday I'll add a Nikon F2 to my Nikon F and have the whole shooting match for the non-AI lenses.</p>

<p>The original Nikkormat FTn owners can easily be identified by Sherlock Holmes from the distinctive fingernail damage from the film speed dial around the lens mount on them.</p>

<p>I remember that in the "F" days, the Nikkormat was definitely looked down upon as a more amateur grade camera. If there was any possible way to get an F, you didn't get a Nikkormat. Compared to many later Nikon models they're built like a tank, and time has shown them to be consistent performers. Still, given what film bodies go for today I'd prefer several other bodies in my collection before including a Nikkormat.</p>

<p> I have two Nikkormats, the FT, I bought second hand in 1973. It travelled with me on my surfing trips around Australia, on the back of my BMW motorbike around Europe, photographed various bike races, came back to Australia and shot numerous weddings with it. I`d like to say it never missed a beat, but it had a few minor problems, nothing a good CLA couldn`t fix. I even bought another second hand FTN from a mate who preferred his EL, both cameras are still going strong, the FT is currently loaded with some HP5. So what does the Nikkormat offer, just 3 controls, aperture , shutter speed , manual focus and access too some truly great lenses. The only weak point being the meter, they require a 1.3v mercury battery, they can be recalibrated to run on alkaline batteries though. If you don`t mind using a hand held meter or the sunny 16 rule, a couple of rolls of your favourite film and your away, oh and remember they make a terrific anti-mugging device.</p>

<p>The Nikkormat has a nylon gear in the wind mechanism, that caused some early breakage. I guess they got that fixed, but I don't know. I had one that broke.</p>

<p>As someone said, for sentimental value only. You are covered with the bodies you have already. They may 'look' clean but the insides maybe a different story. I have found that the bodies of that vintage hide many horrors. Anything made of rubber or foam inside has probably turned to sticky goo causing all sorts of problems. My FE's foam strip (that dampens the mirror as it slaps up), turned to sticky goo 15 to 20 years ago. By today its anyones guess what condition it would be in. Bear in mind that the local store offering the Nikkormats at tempting prices is highly unlikely to go any expense checking them or fixing faults. They take them as a sales incentive, and surely need to shift them out asap too. Surely at this stage of the game you may be better off rideing out the film phase with your existing bodies.</p>

<p>Thanks for the comments. Nice as they sound I won't actively seek one out, but if a mint one is offered for peanuts then at least I know that they are decent cameras and I will look at them in that light.</p>

<p>Ian</p>

<p>Since 1967 I've had several Nikon F and various Nikkormat bodies. The latter doesn't have some of the desirable features of the F, but seems every bit as reliable. Replacing foam strips isn't difficult. I'd certainly rather adapt either the battery holder or meter circuit of the Nikkormat to use non-mercury batteries than use the monstrous Nikon F meter. Using a Weston, GE, or Norwood meter seems appropriate for us who still use cameras from that era.</p>

<p>If I remember right, a lot of news photographer started using the Nikkormats because they were light and easy to use.<br>

I do know that the San Diego Union and Tribune's photographers used them for many years.</p>

<p>Like Ramon, I too have an FT3 and feel very reluctant to part with it, largely because it has mirror lockup and will work with any of my lenses except the G ones. I also have a Nikkormat EL which is very handy for attaching odd optics to - such as medium format lenses, mirror lenses, enlarging lenses etc (via a kludge adapter if necessary). The exposure is still very reliable after all these years, because it was a backup camera for an F2 that never failed. It is fun sometimes to pay around with other optics to see what they can do, and having AE makes the job a lot easier.</p>

<p>Sorry I'm a bit late to this thread, but John Jennings commented that there is a gear in the Copal shutter that breaks.</p>

<p>There were a few early Copal designs.</p>

<p>I can't remember if the earlier first-generation Copal Hi-Syncro shutter had this nylon gear problem, it was a different design. The Hi-Syncro's main problem was the shutter blades were driven by pins that engaged in cam slots in a rotating drum, and these pins would jump out of the cam slots. The Hi-Syncro is found in the Konica FP and FS and the Nikkorex, perhaps other early 1960's Japanese SLR's too.</p>

<p>The early second-generation Copal Square-S shutters (1966?) had a nylon timing gear that Copal cut to thickness from a moulded nylon continuous extrusion with a saw. The action of the saw, slicing through the nylon to make the gears a precise thickness, fractured the structure of the nylon and the teeth quickly fell off in use.</p>

<p>Copal got around this by using a blade to "chip off" a gear at a specified thickness, in the same way you would slice off a piece of salami. Back in the day Copal offered free replacement shutters for all early cameras with this problem, such as early Nikkormat's and Konica's Auto-Reflex.</p>

<p>I think you would be hard-pushed to find a mid-1960's camera that still has the original flawed early second-generation Copal Square-S shutter, but then again some strange stuff turns up on eBay.</p>

<p>For anybody contemplating buying a Nikkormat or Nikomat I think this is a non-issue today.<br>

<br /> <br /></p>