Flash unit for first-gen Nikkormat FTn?

j-dogg · Sep 3, 2011

How the hell do you get a flash to work on these things? I got a shoe mount and a flash bracket. It's the older FTn that lacks the hotshoe on the prism that the FT2 has. It has the X and A plugs on the side for a flash cord.

brucemuir · Sep 3, 2011

Umm...
a PC cable from the X sync to your flash mounted either in the accessory add on cold shoe available for the early Nikkormats or your flash bracket.

Are you saying you've tried the PC cable route and it wont work?
The sync contacts inside the camera body indeed can get corroded and fail over time.

R gould · Sep 3, 2011

If you have connected a flash to the x contact via a pc cord and it didn't fire then first of all check that the sync cord is working by shorting the pin, if the flash fires then I would suspect that the problem lies with the contacts in the camera, I don't know the camera, but some cameras will not fire the flash if the camera is not set to the sync speed or slower, so also check that the camera is set to 1/30th or slower.
Richard

BillBingham2 · Sep 3, 2011

Are you sure the flash and its chord are working?

B2

brucemuir · Sep 3, 2011

R gould said:
I don't know the camera, but some cameras will not fire the flash if the camera is not set to the sync speed or slower, so also check that the camera is set to 1/30th or slower.
Richard

Nikkormats sync at 1/125 but I cant remember if it fires at 1/250 and above.

j-dogg · Sep 3, 2011

No I don't even have a cord or any of that but I wanted to get a flash unit for it. I've shot Canon EOS E-TTL this whole time so this is all new stuff for me. I just stick it on the hotshoe change my settings and go.

BillBingham2 · Sep 3, 2011

It does but it doesn't expose the full frame. I've never heard of flash circuitry going in a Nikkormat.

B2

brucemuir · Sep 3, 2011

j-dogg said:
No I don't even have a cord or any of that but I wanted to get a flash unit for it. I've shot Canon EOS E-TTL this whole time so this is all new stuff for me. I just stick it on the hotshoe change my settings and go.

Get a PC cable and hotshoe to PC adapter and use your 550/580EX in manual mode.

Or
get a cheap Vivitar 283 and a PC to vivitar cable.

BillBingham2 · Sep 3, 2011

The flash contacts on the ttl flash our settings on the flash might be denting the wrong commands to the flash. The Nikkormat circut is much simpler than your EOS. It only tells the flash when to fire, nothing about when to stop the light the way your EOS does.

Check you flash manual about using out with an older canon model, say Ftb. That's about the same era as your FT2.

B2

R gould · Sep 3, 2011

If the camera does not have a hot shoe then you need some form of pc cord, you can get a hot shoe to pc cord adaptor where you put the flash onto the hot shoe and it has a cord comeing from the base of the adapetor, you put the flash with the adaptor onto the hot shoe or flash bar and connect the cord to the x sync socket and you should be fine, The other way is to get hold of an old Vivitar 283 flash with the cord and connect the cord the socket and you should be away,
Richard

MattKing · Sep 3, 2011

In case you have never seen one of those hot shoe to pc cord adapters...

http://www.amazon.com/Kalt-PC-Hot-Shoe-Adapter/dp/B00009R8G8

Note the associated photo that shows the cord.

I use one of these frequently when I use small flashes and medium format cameras.

j-dogg · Sep 3, 2011

brucemuir said:
Get a PC cable and hotshoe to PC adapter and use your 550/580EX in manual mode.

Or
get a cheap Vivitar 283 and a PC to vivitar cable.

Now that would be awesome, I use my 550ex in manual mode anyway. I love that thing. I got a few diffusors for it.

I figured the Nikkormat flash cable only told it when to fire, cool beans I'll have to get up on this. Thanks.

Gonna look a bit weird my 550ex hooked up to my old Nikkormat, but it will work.

Someonenameddavid · Sep 4, 2011

if your flash doesn't fire chances are you have the plug in the x-socket and the speed set greater than 125. if your flash fires and you are blacked out partially or totally, you are plugged into the m socket

mopar_guy · Sep 4, 2011

X or M?

The MIR website has a little information on the Nikkormat FTn: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikkormat/fseries/ftn/index.htm

You also have the option to use class "M" flashbulbs with this camera.

Last December I used an Olympus OM-1 and a Graflite with some Sylvania FP-26B flashbulbs to expose some Kodachrome 64. That combination will sync at any shutter speed up to the 1/1000 sec maximum of the camera.

brucemuir · Sep 4, 2011

j-dogg said:
I figured the Nikkormat flash cable only told it when to fire, cool beans I'll have to get up on this. Thanks.

Gonna look a bit weird my 550ex hooked up to my old Nikkormat, but it will work.

The nikkormat will ONLY tell it to fire at the correct time.
It wont relay any ttl info, thats why you need to use the EX's in manual mode.
You will need to know subject distance & guide number for the flash in question because the 550/580's have no thyrister to quench the flash.

I would recommend a vivi 283 except it doesn't swivel. Only drawback.

Pumalite · Sep 4, 2011

Vivitar 1900 has PCcable incorporated. I just used in my Nikkormat FTn. Works fine.

John_Nikon_F · Sep 5, 2011

Does the 550EX have a sync socket on the side, like a lot of the Nikon flash units? If it does, pick up a female-female sync cord like the Nikon SC-15 and use it to connect the 550 to the FTn directly. If not, then use the adapter. I would personally use the bracket, since the accessory shoe that Nikon provided for the early 'mats seems to need an eyecup (Nikon DK-4, btw) on the eyepiece ring to help keep it from rotating when a flash is mounted.

-J

Someonenameddavid · Sep 8, 2011

T

brucemuir said:
The nikkormat will ONLY tell it to fire at the correct time.
It wont relay any ttl info, thats why you need to use the EX's in manual mode.
You will need to know subject distance & guide number for the flash in question because the 550/580's have no thyrister to quench the flash.

I would recommend a vivi 283 except it doesn't swivel. Only drawback.

The 283 and 285 both have removable sensors that fit into an extension cord ( which is hot shoe compatible) with the cord pointing towards your subject you can swivel the flash head any way you choose, the vivitar bracket grip does this for you.

David

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