Nikkormat and my latest craze (carshows)

<p>Nikon's Nikkormat FTn does not need any particular introduction. That mir website calls it as a 'sister' of the Nikon F and F2 cameras. Built like a tank (aluminum alloy and finished in chrome plating) it has a rock solid feel to it. The shutter works at all speeds without battery too. Today I took this camera to shoot car show (my latest craze). Used a NAI 50mm f/1.4 lens and Riteaid 400 film which was developed at CVS. Below are some pictures. The clouy weather today sort of helped to contain the reflection.<br /><br />As always, your comments are very much appreicated.</p>

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<p>No 1</p><div></div>

<p>No 2</p><div></div>

<p>No 3</p><div></div>

<p>No 4</p><div></div>

<p>No 5</p><div></div>

<p>No 6. Not a car. But I just could not resist </p><div></div>

<p>Sharp and vibrantly colorful. Thanks,sp</p>

<p>Beautiful pictures. They just drip with colour.</p>

<p>Great results. Your Nikkormat and 50mm Nikkor turned in a solid performance. Thanks for posting.</p>

<p>Sadanand,</p>

<p>Beautiful colors. The first car looks like a candy-apple treat. </p>

<p>I forget what the tail light treatment is called in picture #2. Anybody recall what it is?</p>

<p>I always like to see these restored cars. Thanks for posting.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Even on a gloomy day the colors really stand out. Nice looking classic camera too!</p>

<p>I hate seeing posts like this when Spring is here I have Car Fever! A guy I know has an unrestored Chevy the same vintage as the one in the first two pictures. I have to see it every day at work, and I'm sure he would sell it too me at a good price. But the time and energy to fix it up I don't have. And I have a 1970 Ford Maverick and 3 Datsuns to fix first. It is always easier to find project cars than to complete them.</p>

<p>Marc - I believe the term for the tail light treatment is "Frenching": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frenching_%28automobile%29 I'm surprised remembering that, since I probably haven't thought of the term in over 40 years.</p>

<p>Len</p>

<p>Len,</p>

<p>Thanks for the answer. It is hard to do a search for a word like this. You have to use too many words to describe what you are talking about. The search engines go crazy.</p>

<p>Beautifully vivid and crisp, <strong>Sadanand</strong>, and you certainly have an eye for an interesting angle. A fine-looking post, indeed.</p>

<p>My brother just gave me his old Nikkormat + 50mm. Sadamand, your photos are almost enough to get me to give it an outing. But then I think.......processing, printing, scanning.....</p>

<p>Nice shots though.</p>

<p>Very nice - some cameras and lenses are just like many people ... although they are old they still can get the job done very well and with a great deal less drama than what is used today. LOL</p>

<p>Very nice pictures. I have exactly the same camera and lens (plus a few other pre-AI Nikkors). The Ftn is a superb camera. I also have an F. The Ftn has the same basic shape and feel, but the shutter mechanism is entirely different, and of course, so are the shutter and ISO speed controls. The only problem is that that the standard model doesn't make focusing easy as your eyes age. It's just a plain microprism, and it's not interchangeable.</p>

<p>The later FM and FE models feel like toys compared to an Ftn.</p>

<p>Thank you all for viewing and commenting<br>

Marc Bergman and Len Robertson - thanks for that new term. I am not so much into cars. But certainly I like shooting those classics. It is a new found thing for me <br>

Rick Drawbridge: Thanks. I did a some 'how to ' reading before going to the car show and tried to follow some of that though most of them were recommending a wide angle lens.<br>

Colin Carron: I would suggest you to try the camera. As for processing, printing, scanning, agreed it is a bit of hit or miss these days. I normally go to Target to develop and scan only. No printing. This time at CVS.<br>

Allen Hale: LOL<br>

Pierre Lachaine: You have summed it up nicely. I agree with you on the focusing. For subjects such as cars (big and colorful) it was rather easy and that f/1.4 lens helped too.<br>

Again, your comments are very much appreciated.<br>

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<p>Sadamand, I borrowed my brother's Nikkormat in about 1975 for a trip round eastern europe so it holds few surprises for me. Here's a shot taken at Dubrovnik (Croatia) with the Nikkormat at that time.</p><div></div>

<p>Colin Carron: Beautiful picture. That Nikkormat would have been much younger then in 1975. Thanks for posting.</p>

 

<p>Oh my gosh, Colin. I have about the exact same picture of Dubrovnik, taken in 2006 with — wait for it — the good ol' Nikkormat FTn. (Unfortunately, I wasn't having all my film scanned then, so I can't throw a comparison shot up here. One of these days I'll pull the trigger on ScanCafe and get all that taken care of, though —or so I keep telling myself!)</p>

<p>Let me also throw in a <strong>huge</strong> +1 for the Nikkormat. It's my main shooting camera and is utterly dependable. Glad to see others are still enjoying it too. I will say that I can't quite get myself to buy cheap film, though. Pro film and pro processing just make such a difference in terms of punchiness and positive comments from others, and now that I've moved from Fuji NPC to Kodak Portra / Ektar (well, I was forced to by Fuji, but still), I spend far less time adjusting color casts and black levels in Lightroom. It does cost money, but really— if my photos of loved ones aren't worth a little more, what is?</p>

<p>Thanks for sharing, Sadanand. Those shots are spot-on and lovely.</p>

<p>Nikkormat just arrived here. I wanted a camera to be able to use some NAI lenses. Surprisingly, despite being old and the light seals pretty stale, it has no light leaks and works perfectly. Yes, these cameras were built like tanks. I use it with 35 f/2, 50 f/1.4, and 135 f/2.8 lenses.</p>

<p>On the other hand, it IS a little bit bigger and heavier than my FG or FE2.</p>

<p>I had a number of Nikkormats back in the day. A terrific camera. The only issue I had with them was calibrating the shutter from time to time. They were as durable as the Fs I had at the same time.</p>

<p>Skip Kempe, Sebastian Moran, John Ellingson: Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated. Always good to hear from other Nikkormat owners :)</p>