Nikkormat FT

[mjferron]

<p>And Tony some very fine tones on those landscape shots</p>

 

[User_502260]

<p>I have many Nikkormats and Nikomats, all mechanical. Changing the ASA on an FTN is a nail breaking experience. As I have mentioned before, my favorite of the mechanical models is the FT2. Changing the ASA is much easier, the battery is a plain MS-76 and it works equally well with pre-AI, AI and AIS lenses. Nikkormats, like other cameras, have their weak points. The meter needle can get jumpy. The foam seals can wear out. The aperture indexing mechanism can get stiff or jam. My repairman prefers the FT3 because it doesn't have the indexing mechanism of the earlier models. It has the more reliable and easier to use spring loaded auto indexing system which Minolta already had on the SRT 101 in 1966 but which didn't appear in a Nikon SLR until 1977. If I do not need the higher flash synch speed of a Nikkormat I usually prefer a Canon FTbN. The Canon has a quieter shutter and an easier to use mirror lock-up.<br>

A Nikkormat in good condition is a pleasant camera to use and is capable of fine results, as Tony's photos show. I still do not have an FS but one day one will come along at a good price. I have enjoyed using my Nikkors on various Nikon bodies but more on a Nikkormat FT2 than on any other. </p>

[glen_h]

<p>I have both the FT3 and EL2, which seem like Nikon's practice for the FM and FE. Both use AI coupling, so work with more modern lenses. (Many lenses, such as AF series, don't have the coupling prong but do have AI coupling.)</p>

<p>Both I bought in the last year or two from Goodwill auctions. $50 and $46, each including an AI 50mm lens.</p>

<p>I have used both, and they seem to work fine. </p>

[Rob_the_waste]

<p>I have three Nikons, an FT2, F60 and F70. I like the FT2 the most, hands down. Wonderful pics of the beach.</p>

[CoryAmmerman]

<p>Lovely series of images Tony. I especially like the beach images the best. The Nikomat FTn was my first classic camera. As such it has a special place in my heart. I really should give it some exercise. I also have an EL that I've yet to run a roll through, though.</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Beautiful shots, Tony! I <em>love</em> the beach shots and agree that those must be excellent prints. I just recently picked up another FTN from a flea market, a black, rather banged up example complete with a Nikkor SC 50/1.4 for a mere $35. The wear and brassing just add character to an otherwise wonderful camera to use. Thanks for the post!</p>

 

[fred_haeseker]

<p>Great b&w shots, Tony! I have the last of the series, an FT3 that I bought new in 1977 and has never let me down. The FT2 and 3 have the advantage of taking the S76 1.5 volt battery instead of the now banned 1.3 volt mercury battery. The FT3 was also the first to be capable of using the AI lenses. I've always liked the location of the stop-down button on top of the cameras. Of course any of the series give the same fine results with Nikkor lenses.</p>

[tony_lockerbie]

<p>Thanks guys,you are right about the asa setting dial, I forgot about that! I tend not to change film speeds too much :) Interesting to see how many CMCers have used or are using a Nikkormat.<br>

I do have the FT3, but the meter has died on that one. The battery issue on older Nikkormats can be a problem, but at the moment I can still get batteries for the old beast.<br>

Jeff, I hear you with the FTb, another camera that I really like, but I actually prefer the noise that the Nikon makes.<br>

Maybe we could do a thread on the favourite shutter noises...or has that been done?</p>

[Brian1664876441]

The original Nikkormat FT has an averaging meter, akin to the Nikon F Photomic "T". The FTn uses center-weighted

metering. The second version of the FTn has the plastic tip on the advance.

 

They are solidly made cameras- built around the copal square shutter. They are very close cousins of the Cosina Hi-Lite,

aka Argus/Cosina STL1000.

 

Beautiful pictures, nice to see the FTn get a workout.

[Mike Gammill]

I've been thinking about an FT3 to compliment my FE2. Nice results.

[puderse]

<p>I've two FS Nikkormats. They're the only ones I'm looking for now. Of course any old Nikon around $100 deserves a double take.</p>

<p><em>"We don't need no stinkin' batteries."</em></p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>I have an FT. It is the heaviest, largest and loudest 35mm SLR I have (heavier and bigger than a Leicaflex SL), and the shutter will wake the dead. It is, though, an impressive piece of machinery. I have to say though that Nikon took a complex route to the same end that Leica, Minolta and Canon achieved much more elegantly. The FTn is simpler than the FT, but even so the Rube Goldberg coupling of aperture to the meter always seems cumbersome to me. However, it is true that the other makers had Nikon to look at first and so devised their more elegant open aperture coupling systems as a response.</p>

[mike_rosenlof3]

<p>In response ot Robin Smith, I think you have to look at the history of Nikon's metering for the F to understand the reasons behind the indexing.<br>

<br />The first coupled meter for the F was not through the lens, it was integrated in a prism, but the cell faced the world. Kind of like the original Leicaflex. To make this work, the meter needed to know what actual aperture the lens was set at.<br>

<br />Now when moving to a TTL meter, it doesn't really need to know what the actual aperture the lens is set at for open-aperture metering. The meter needs to know how many stops down from wide open the aperture is set for. And there came the funkiness. Nikon had a method for communicating the actual aperture, but not a method for communicating how many stops from wide open the lens was set. The indexing procedure, mount at f/5.6, twist to wide open, and to minimum, set a stop at the maximum aperture, I think by a purely mechanical operation.</p>

<p>I have to guess that Nikon engineers knew all they needed to measure was the delta from wide open. I would not be surprised to learn that they kept the old "bunny ears" index because of a requirement to stay compatible with existing lenses and/or because some other manufacturer held a patent on a system to communicate "stops down from maximum" to a meter.</p>

 

[puderse]

<p>Besides the FS, I've come across several really nice N'mats in the $20 range. They seem, to me, to be worth at least as much as a pitcher of beer!<br>

Is there any value in collecting/using them in terms of anything other than esoteric terms?<br>

I have to stop this madness!!!</p>