SLR Nikomat - compatibility with lenses

[allohse]

Hello. Second time posting on the forum!

I've only started with film photography and I'm thinking about buying a japanese Nikon Nikomat SLR camera (it is not a Nikkormat!). I have a few questions though: first and foremost, will it be compatible with the more modern analog Nikon lenses I already have here? I also have some lens adapters for Nikon cameras, do you think they'll work with it? If I'm not mistaken the Nikomat is from the 60s, right?

Also, I heard somewhere that the light meter uses a kind of battery that is not in production anymore. Is it worth it anyway? I could use an app on my phone or buy a light meter, but it seems kind of inconvenient.

The ones I really wanted were a Nikon FM-2 or F2/F3 but they are way too expensive for me right now. I could also try other brands, but I already have a lot of Nikon lenses and adapters here so it does not seem worth it. I also thought about buying a Nikon F-601, but it appears to be very plastic-y and I don't really trust the durability (reliability?) of the electronic parts. I also saw a review saying it does not work very well with manual focus lenses, is it true?

Anyway, thanks y'all.

edit: uploaded a picture with the serial number

 

[madNbad]

You have the choice of getting a battery adapter to convert the modern 1.5 volt silver oxide to the 1.35 volt of the original mercury battery. If you are comfortable with the price of the body, research adapters and see if it's something you want to do. Any lens must have the metering coupling shoe (rabbit ears) to connect the lens to the metering prong. Lenses up through the Ai-S had them and will work. The only lenses that will not work with a Nikkormat are any requiring a mirror lock up or very early lenses with a deep aperture ring. When mounting the lens, set the aperture to 5.6, mount the lens so it engages the pin then turn it to the maximum (1.4, 2.0 etc) then to the minimum. This will register the lens to the meter. If the meter is jumpy or simply doesn't work, a hand held meter or phone app is a good work around. The FT is from the mid 1960's and is a fine camera. Good luck with it and welcome to the forum.

 

[madNbad]

I just noticed the “N”. All the previous information still applies. This was the updated version from 1967 till the FT2 that was introduced in 1974.

 

[Dan Fromm]

In some countries, the camera sold as Nikkormat was badged Nikomat. Otherwise the same.

 

[wiltw]

Cameras with meters using PX13 mercuric oxide 1.35V battery can use Wein air cells which output fixed 1.35V, but which deplete themselves continuously once you have activated the cell (...no Off switch helps). Or you can buy real MR-9 adapters, which accept 1.55V silver oxide cell and regulates the Voltage down to 1.35V. IBeware so-called 'MR-9' which do nothing except adapt the size of air cell batteries and do NO Voltage regulation!)

 

[reddesert]

As others have said, Nikomat is the same as Nikkormat.
There are ~3 generations of mechanical Nikkormat: FT and FTn, FT2, FT3. (Plus the early FS without meter, and the later EL and EL2 with electronically controlled shutter.) You can use these with virtually any Nikon compatible lens that has an aperture ring. Lens adapters should also fit. For the pictured FTn camera, you need the prong or rabbit-ears on the aperture ring to couple to the meter. Sometimes you can add a prong on if you are handy/clever. (For the later FT3 and EL2, the meter uses the AI ridge at the rear of the lens rather than the prong.)

The meter in the FTn is supposed to use a 1.35v mercury battery, you can use a voltage dropping adapter, a zinc-air cell, or just try an alkaline battery and see if you can get results consistent with your external meter by compensating the ISO. The meters in these cameras are sometimes off or unreliable given their age. (The shutters, however, seem darn near bulletproof.)

The major successive improvements in the Nikkormats are, I think:
FT - full frame average metering
FTn - center-weighted metering, improved method of indexing lens aperture when mounting.
FT2 - fixed flash hot shoe, uses modern S76 1.5v battery, split-image focusing screen. Plastic tip on wind lever.
EL - electronically controlled shutter
FT3 - like FT2, but uses AI indexing rather than prong.
EL2 - like EL, but uses AI indexing rather than prong.

The FT2 use of a modern battery is extremely nice. If you already have more AI lenses, the FT3 is good, but they are less common and probably a bit more expensive. If you want to go out and get some vintage prime lenses, the non-AI lenses are often cheaper than the AI ones on the used market.

(Since you asked) For the autofocus film cameras like the F-801, F-601, F90, etc, they work fine with many manual and autofocus lenses, but not with DX lenses that only cover the smaller digital sensor. The AF film cameras don't have a focus aid like a split image, so you have to get used to focusing on the matte screen or using the electronic focus aid. Most AF cams won't mount a "non-AI" lens - that leads you into the bewildering array of Nikon compatibility issues, best covered on Ken Rockwell's page: https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm Personally I think the F-801 and F90 are great cameras even if you don't use AF, and generally still very underpriced today compared to their use value. I like the F-601 less, partly due to the annoying battery it uses.

Anyway, don't worry too much about the deep dive into the bowels of Nikon equipment. Put on a couple of decent prime lenses and go out and make pictures.

 

[wiltw]

You cannot use simple compensation for too-high voltage (above 1.35V) in all meters. For example, my Olympus OM-1 meter reads in error, and the amount of error both depends upon the precise Voltage output by the battery when the battery is used (1.5V results in different error than 1.4V), but meter error is also dependent upon the INTENSITY of the light being measured...so I cannot simply compensate for fixed error and lie using a different ISO rating!
A few meters use a circuit design which is not sensitive to Voltage of battery used.

 

[jimjm]

I've got the same Nikomat FTN in chrome. Yours appears to be the later version made between 1973 and 1975, if it has the plastic wind lever.
Beautiful camera, solid as a tank and worth keeping and shooting, if you like it. Mechanically, they're really well-built.
As others have mentioned, most any Nikkor lens with rabbit ears will work with this.
I've used Wein air cells, but they've tended not to last as long as a CRIS MR-9 adapter with a 386 silver-oxide battery. If the meter is dead or erratic, just use a handheld meter or smartphone app to meter, but it has no impact on the shutter's accuracy.
Sunny-16 (or some version) works fine if you're shooting print film outdoors.

 

[allohse]

Thank you all for the answers! It really appears to be a very sturdy, beautiful camera.

Apparently, the store that is selling it to me also has px625 batteries for sale (I think they are the same as PX13 and MR9, they've been using them to test the lightmeter), which are (at least according to the store) still being made in China. For a long term solution, though, metering it on my phone seems the best option.

 

[abruzzi]

the trick with lens compatibility is it requires that the lens has the little aperture prong (the so called "bunny ears"). Most pre-autofocus lenses have them, but most autofocus lenses don't, and the "Series E" manual focus lenses don't either. Also, make sure you learn the indexing motion and perform it every time switching lenses. (mount the lens, turn the aperture ring to the largest aperture, then to the smallest aperture, then back to where you want it.) That makes sure that meter know the aperture range of the lens.

 

[allohse]

Abruzzi, do you mean this? (image below) I'm confused because the ones on the actual lenses have two little holes on them. It may sound dumb, but... if an adapter has the "bunny ears", could I possibly attach an autofocus lens (or any lenses without them) to the FTN by using it? Or is that just not a thing.

 

[reddesert]

That's a non-AI extension tube, not a lens adapter (it connects a Nikon lens to a Nikon camera). It has a relay mechanism to connect the rabbit ears of the lens to the camera's pin. But if the lens has no ears, it won't do anything. You can still use the lens, but you'll need to learn to do stop-down metering (see the manual).

Generally, AI lenses have the ears with two little holes in them, and non-AI lenses have the ears without holes, like this extension tube. There are minor exceptions (a few third-party lenses, and occasional homebrew AI conversions where someone filed off part of the aperture ring).

 

[jimjm]

For a lens to correctly engage your meter and allow open-aperture metering, it needs to have an aperture ring and the "rabbit-ears". The Series E lenses and most autofocus lenses do not have the rabbit ears and will not correctly engage the camera's meter, even though they may mount to the camera. Many autofocus lenses do not even have an aperture ring. Doesn't make a difference if the rabbit ears have holes or not, older lenses were designed without them.
Your camera will work with almost any AI, AIS or pre-AI Nikkor lens.
The extension tube you showed still needs a lens with rabbit-ears in order to transmit the aperture setting to the camera.
Ken Rockwell has an extensive page on Nikkor lens types and compatibility differences. About a quarter of the way down this page is a good "Guide to Lens Types", with photos of the different lenses.

 

[MattKing]

Apparently, the store that is selling it to me also has px625 batteries for sale

Most likely they are the alkaline version of the batteries.
This means that the battery fits physically, but the voltage starts out too high, then decreases through its life.
Meters designed for the mercury cells usually don't like that, but they will often give a reading.

 

[allohse]

Does anyone know a tutorial on how to do stop down metering? A video (or anything with images) would also be very helpful.

 

[madNbad]

Try these two:



He also has some great videos on how to use and develop different film types.

 

[allohse]

Thank you!

Dou you think it would be inconvenient to use stop down metering on a regular basis? Do anyone here does it? I'm not really a fan of the lenses I have that would properly fit the Nikomat, and although I’m looking around, its been kind of hard to find nikon manual focus lenses with good prices.

 

[madNbad]

Could you give us an idea of what lenses you currently own in F mount? If they do need to be stopped down for metereing it would be inconvienient but with the Nikkormat having an external meter readout, you woulndn't have to look through a darkened viewfinder to get a reading.

 

[Wallendo]

My experience has been that silver oxide batteries work well without an MR-9 adapter on my FTn and FT2. On the other hand, I don't shoot much E-6 with my Nikkormats so I really can't be sure how accurate the exposures are.

As for lenses, if your lens lets you set the aperture on the lens it will most likely work.

Stop-down metering is only a minor inconvenience. Unless you are shooting rapidly changing scenes, you can probably set the aperture once and fire away until the scene changes.

 

[__Brian]

The Nikkormat FT2 and FT3 are made to take Silver Oxide batteries, MS-76.

The Nikkormat FT and FTn were made to take Mercury Cells.

 

[madNbad]

What battery for this one?

 

[__Brian]

My Nikomat FTn measures within 1/2 stop from ASA 100 at 1/15th sec at F2.8 through to 1/125 sec at F8 using a 50mm F1.4 lens. The 1.5v PX625a was within 1/2 stop higher than the measured-good PX625 Mercury cell.

If you are worried about it, set the ASA a bit lower, ISO 80 for 100 speed film.

 

[__Brian]

What battery for this one?

View attachment 298934

It that an FS? There was the Nikkormat FS that did not have a meter.

The Nikkormat EL, ELw, and Nikon EL2 have the battery chamber under the mirror.

 

[madNbad]

It that an FS? There was the Nikkormat FS that did not have a meter.

It's a early run FS. The early FT and FS's had a flat counter window and a take up spool with a singe slot.

 

[__Brian]

No battery for that one. The Nikon Rep stated it was marketed towards wedding photographers as a second body. The price was not much less than the metered cameras, Nikon did not sell many of them. Now- considered a collectible. The Nikkorex-F had a clip-on selenium cell meter, as did the Nikon F with eye-level prism.

I'm trying to remember: I think the mirror-up switch was also left off of the FS?

I also have a Nikkor-UD 20mm F3.5. Great lens.

Nicest thing about my Nikon Rangefinders- no battery for any of them. Same with my Eye-Level Nikon F's and F2's.