Camera for Soligor 75-260mm Nikon Mount

Hi guys!

And once again I must says, that im blown away by the warm welcome here on APUG.

Now here's the deal. I have recently gotten a Soligor 75-200mm f/4.5 lense and i can see, thats it's a Nikon mount. So now the interesting thing is now to fin a camera to mach it and start shooting some rolls.

Any thoughts on camera choice to best support this lense? Any film type in particular you would recormmend? And is it calles "F"-mount or am i mistaken here?

Cheers, Oliver!

You need to determine if the lens is a non-AI (or pre-AI, if you prefer) meter coupling style. Most of the manual focusing Nikon lenses have a meter coupling shoe that engages the meter on older Nikons. But the earlier non-AI lenses had aperture rings that were made such that they will interfere with the meter coupling on newer Nikons, from approximately the late 1970s onwards. It is pretty easy to tell the difference. Take a look at the rear edge of the aperture ring. If it is smooth all the way around, with no notches or protruding tabs, then it is the early non-AI lens, and if you want to be able to meter with it, you'll need to go with a body designed for this meter coupling style or with a later body that has the capability for its metering tab to be lifted out of the way. In the latter case, the camera will be able to meter, but only when the lens is manually stopped down. If the lens's aperture ring does have a notch or protruding tabs (as well as the meter coupling shoe, which is usually the case), then it is designed to be used with both older and newer meter coupling systems, in which case any manual-focus Nikon, and even some AF Nikons can be used.

I'm guessing that this Soligor is pretty old, and if I were in your position, I'd look around for an old Nikkormat, which would use the old-style meter coupling, whose meter still works. They are workhorse cameras and can be found for pretty cheap nowadays.

Best,

Michael