WTB Eyelevel Viewfinder for Nikon Ftn Photomic

I've given up on finding a working solution the metered viewfinder that came with this Nikon F, the Apollo model, and would like to buy and replace it with an eyelevel viewfinder instead.

I'm uncertain if pictures should accompany this request, but feel confident all here knows what they look like. If you have one available you'd like to part with, please let me know.

Thanks

I believe there were 3 different versions of the eye level finder-two different sized rectangular eyepieces and then a round one.

Are you looking for any particular variant? I believe round would have been correct for a camera that originally shipped with an FTN.

No promises on any variant, but I'll look...I'll also add that it's often easier and about the same price(if not less expensive) to buy a camera with the eye level you want include it and just swap it on to the camera body you want.

I believe there were 3 different versions of the eye level finder-two different sized rectangular eyepieces and then a round one.

 

Are you looking for any particular variant? I believe round would have been correct for a camera that originally shipped with an FTN.

 

No promises on any variant, but I'll look...I'll also add that it's often easier and about the same price(if not less expensive) to buy a camera with the eye level you want include it and just swap it on to the camera body you want.

Thanks Ben! At the moment I submitted this request that thought occurred to me also, which of the many would fit? I can post a picture of my F sans metered finder if that would help. Perhaps there's a site where I could check my F's serial number to the correct finder?

I hadn't done my research very well when I arrived at the 'used camera store', saw this F, very clean and a good price, and it was all over. I had one with me that day at Kent State, and for some years after so it has some meaning.

Thanks again Ben, meanwhile I'll try to research which model would fit.

I found one marked 'very good condition' on Robert's Used Camera Supply at a fair price and decided to buy it. Now to see if anyone might be interested in a metered non-working F finder.

Thanks Ben

Hi Eric,

Glad you found one. Is this an FTN? If so, I might be able to put it to good use. PM me with what you'd want for it.

Not that it matters to anyone who'll actually use the camera, but for arguments sake if you were a collector wanting the "correct" match for display: the Nikon F "Apollo" body (with plastic wind lever and self timer handle) would have shipped with the round-eyepiece version of plain prism.

The plain unmetered F prisms still left on the market are often afflicted by desilvering and separation issues (dark spots, hovering blobs, and/or vertical line of the prism roof bisecting the view). The minute yours arrives from Roberts, check it thoroughly by aiming the camera at a white wall: if there are any serious distractions in the view, you might want to return it unless the price was very attractive (under $90). The spotting and separation will worsen over time: not immediately, but over a few years. A plain prism with super-clean glass typically costs more than a complete Apollo FTN camera.

While the plain prism is iconic, lightweight, and a better balance on the F body- at this point most of them are in bad optical condition. While it can be frustrating to lug around an FTN meter prism with dead meter, your chances of finding one with a clear view are significantly better. And far cheaper: an ugly banged-up desilvered plain prism can still fetch nearly $100, while an average FTN with dead meter but clear optics goes for as little as $25. For an out-and-about user camera, the FTN prism is easier to find in good shape (and more economical).

This is what you'll see thru an F plain prism with deteriorating optics. IRL, the spots float and appear to move between the eyepiece and screen image:

orsetto, I can' thank you enough. This is just the type of information and cautionary info I need. But what's the reason for the de-silvering issues on the eye level finder that the Ftn finder escapes? I'm guessing you're referring to the mirror, not the removable prism itself.

I will say that the Ftn finder I have is clear as a bell, and I'd have a hard time looking through a finder with floating globs.

All the Nikon F prisms suffer from a design flaw akin to the Olympus OM1/2, Leicaflex, and several other classic legendary SLRs: they originally had foam (same material as back seals) cushions around the eyepiece and over the prism roof. This was generally OK during the expected use life of the camera, but after 15-20 years (never mind 40 or 50), the foam decays and shrinks and turns to goo (just like back seals). As it shrinks, it pulls bits and pieces of the micron-thin silver reflective coating off the glass prism surfaces, resulting in dead spots that become opaque "floaters". The top roofline edge of the prism can become visible, resulting in a vertical shadow line hovering between eyepiece and screen. (The F2 and F3 prisms rarely develop this problem: Nikon used a plastic shield in those between foam and glass surface).

Some cameras have easily replaced prism glass that can be swapped out in an exact match with a more common "lesser" model often found for very little money in mint condition (i.e., the unloved budget Olympus OM10 is often used as a prism donor for OM1/2). But the Nikon F prisms are each bespoke: the plain prism glass can only be swapped with another F plain prism, the FTN meter prism only with another FTN, etc. In theory, you can have a repair shop remove the glass and send it to a re-silvering company, but this is expensive (likely $150 minimum between labor, re-silvering, and shipping between several locations). If you can afford it, great: it certainly guarantees having a perfect F prism, so may be worth it if you intend to make an F your everyday shooting camera.

Usually it makes more sense to just settle for a clean-glassed FTN prism, even if the meter is dead. Given the location of the meter needle way above the screen, its easy enough to simply not look up at it and pretend you just have a really bulky plain prism. The FTN prism has the best chance of surviving without desilver issues: it happens, but with half the frequency of the plain prisms and earlier version meter prisms (which had worse foam placement). More commonly you get a very faint separation line in the FTN, if even that. I went thru seven plain prisms before I found a nearly perfect one for $175: it developed slight roof separation two years later. After that I gave up, and tolerate the big FTN on my "user" bodies.

Roberts is a reputable dealer: if they didn't describe it as having issues, the plain prism you ordered from them should be perfectly fine: crossing my fingers you end up very happy with it. But if it proves to have issues you can't live with, perhaps you might revert to your clear FTN. Good luck! :)

Weirdly enough, the only F I have with really BAD separation is a black FTN. I've been meaning to pick up a working good chrome FTN to swap the faceplate, since that's the only "black" part of the black FTN(I don't really want to take one apart enough to swap prisms).

My eye level is a bit spotty, but tolerable.