Cold and Nikkormat FT2

[michael_walter1]

I have a Nikkormat FT2 that I keep in my pickup. I like the idea of

having a camera 'at the ready' when an opportunity presents itself. I

live in Minnesota. The winter can get mighty cold here. Is there a

problem leaving the camera in the truck every night? Since it is

mechanical I would imagine that the only issue might be the batteries

in the flash. Am I correct? I don't want to haul it in and out every

day if I don't have to. Also, the summers can get to 100 degrees+ .

[alan_olander1664878205]

I live in MN, too. The camera might take the heat extremes OK, but the film could get brittle in the cold or damaged in the heat. Do you use the built in meter? The batteries for that might not survive the cold.

[loreneidahl]

Living in the same ice box as you I too have the same extremses in temp.

 

The film in the really cold conditions is an issue. I spent a few years on Da' Range and I had winters where we had -70 with wind chill.

 

Nothing worked. The lube in the cameras stopped lubing and the film broke.

 

Now I live in "Tropical" Mn. The film in the camera needs to be wound gently ( no motor drives). I use a fast f1.4 lens on the F2 at all times so I dont have to use a flash and load it up with 800asa film.

 

I also have a small battery independant meter. The F2 with 50 f1.4, meter and a few rolls of film fit nicely in the glove box.

 

To make sure that I dont stick to the camera metal parts - gaffers tape is well used.

 

Summer is a different story. The heat ruins film in a day. Camera is fine - film is toast.

[steve_levine]

Thirty year old dried out lube, has issues at room temperatures.Drop it down to freezing or below, and things are "crunchy".There are two solutions,A)ignore it and shoot away,or B)send it out for cleaning and lubing.This will un-gum the parts and remove the old lube, and new lube would be applied.Chances are nothing will happen crunching away as you have been.I have a few old 'Mats that still see some use,inspite of never having been maintained.

[jeffcallen]

I've used my old Nikkormat FTN in Alaska, it worked fine, but the lube probably had left

the body some years ago... it was a slightly squeaky camera. I also found that an AF lens

turned easier in the extreme cold than an AI or pre-AI lens.