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Photomic FTN on older F model, again


greg_lehey

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A few months ago I bought a particularly tatty looking Nikon F with Photomic FTN:

 

Nikon-F-6.jpeg

 

It seems to have been left in the sun in a car; the rear side is undamaged. And mechanically it seems to be in reasonable condition. I'm looking on it as a learning experience in restoration. Apart from the skins, which I'm clearly replacing, the question is how to fit the head: the camera has a Type 2 name plate. I've read Nikon F 68xxxx/ FTn head nameplate mod howto?, which is helpful, but the photos don't really show "before" and "after". It would be nice to have photos of Type 2 and Type 3 name plates above each other, so that I can get a real feeling for how much I need to file off the plate.

 

Also, the viewfinder well has a layer of plastic foam at the back:

 

Nikon-F-focus-screen-2.jpegNikon-F-focus-screen-3.jpeg

 

Does anybody have an idea what that could have been intended for?

 

I haven't mentioned the serial number because I don't know it. The top left plate has the number 7075271, but that's clearly incorrect, as the right plate shows:

 

Nikon-F-detail-4.jpeg

Nikon-F-detail-4-detail.jpeg

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A proper FTn would have a little piece of foam at the location of yours, though likely a little thinner with no swelled ends.

 

The difference is very small. If you look at the earlier type, it tapers straight from the top outward toward the bottom. The later one reverses the taper at about the halfway point, and returns the length to that at the top. At the very bottom is a bevel, and it's that that allows the front claws of the FTn meter to get under and pull.

 

If you need precise measurements, I can probably do that, but here is a closeup of the ends of a Type 3 atop a Type 2 from serial number 65....etc.

 

nameplates.thumb.jpg.ab640b3eedf329a2428bcd3dfdacf7e3.jpg

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To my eye, it looks like a file job Photomic T conversion, which I think pins it the 6.5 or 6.6 million SN range.

 

There are a few other little nit-picky details that can help you pin things down a bit more. In the very early range, there were several versions of both self timer and film advance lever, although I think these had pretty well settled down to their "permanent" design(at least until the "Apollo" plastic tips) by 1962 or so. There's a site out there with lots of really nice photos of super condition Fs, and classifications on several different small design details.

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Nikon F Collection & Typology has a nice collection of old Nikons of various vintages and a good rundown of the variations.

 

Another pretty good sit is Nikon SLR cameras, though I don't think he goes into the physical variations.

 

Nikkor lenses - A little Personal Opinon has a lot of info on the internals of things, lens variations etc., though gain I don't think they go so much into the subtle variations of bodies.

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I bought a Nikon F Photomic T while serving in the USAF in Japan in 1965. Two or three years later, I lost it in a NYC subway. Maybe you found it? :)

Yes, that sounds right. Clearly it didn't like your side of the Pacific, so it came to Australia instead, where I bought it. :)

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