Thoughts on Nikkormat / Nikomat series

tessar · Jun 30, 2018

I've found my old Nikkormat solid and very dependable. I bought an FT3 new in 1977 and it's still going strong. The shutter-speed ring is not hard to get used to (the Olympus OM-1 has the same design). I like the DOF preview button on the camera top. Over the years I've built up a good collection of Nikon lenses, can't beat those in my view.

flavio81 · Jun 30, 2018

tessar said:
(the Olympus OM-1 has the same design).

And, IMO, this is one of the things that make the OM-1 suck. At least the Nikkormat F* tell you which shutter speed you're in, on the viewfinder.

Agree with you on the DOF preview, it's really well placed on the Nikkormats.

macfred · Jun 30, 2018

flavio81 said:
I'm laughing over the fear of the Nikkormat EL. It is a reliable camera, if there is an electrical problem, it must be simple corrosion.
The EL2 uses almost the same circuit as the FE which is a proven reliable camera. The FE is a well liked Nikon and the EL2 is like an FE but with much better build quality.
For me the EL and EL2 are some of the best nikons ever ...

This !

macfred · Jun 30, 2018

Ste_S said:
The shop in the end couldn't find the non-ai 35mm, and subbed in a more expensive ai 35mm for no extra charge. I think its the six elements/six groups version

Usually I prefer those old 'non-ai' Nikkors for my F2 (Photomic) bodies but my 35mm f/2 is an early ai-lens from 1978 (8 elements in 6 groups) and it's a really recommendable lens for a reasonable price.

Ste_S · Jun 30, 2018

Had a blast shooting with the FT2 today, so much so I finished a test roll of Colorplus and then burned through a roll of Ektar.
Sadly the local 1hr photo's minilab broke* as they where about to start processing my film, so I'll be off to a proper lab with them on Monday. Which is kinda frustrating as I want to go shoot more with it tomorrow but want to see the results before I potentially waste more film. Ah well, it's not as if I haven't got other cameras to shoot

New favourite feature on the FT2, the self timer. The soft mechanical clunk from pressing the shutter to start it (which lifts the mirror) screams quality. If only all consumer cameras were like this.

*Met a nice guy with an F at the 1hr photo shop and had a chat, so not all bad.

Dennis-B · Jul 1, 2018

I like my FT3's. Found one with a 50mm f/1.8 ($100), and a second with a 50mm f/2 ($25 estate sale find). Both are a pleasure to use, although the under/over exposure needle tends to bounce a bit from time-to-time. For a strictly manual camera, I like my FM2. The FM2N doesn't offer me any real edge, and besides, the "N's" sell for way more (kind of like the premium now for F2's). For electronics driven, I like both my FE and FE2. I have a lead on a EL2, but not sure that it offers any advantage other than MD compatible.

Sometimes simple is better.

flavio81 · Jul 1, 2018

Dennis-B said:
I like my FT3's. Found one with a 50mm f/1.8 ($100), and a second with a 50mm f/2 ($25 estate sale find). Both are a pleasure to use, although the under/over exposure needle tends to bounce a bit from time-to-time.

This is most likely because the brushes that make contact with the lens-mount resistor are making intermittent/faulty contact.

Theo Sulphate · Jul 1, 2018

Until this thread, I knew and cared little about the EL series. Now I am trying to discover more:

* Does the EL meter pre-AI lenses wide open? (I assume the EL2 requires stop-down)

* How does the EL/EL2 compare to the FE/FE2 in features?

* Other than size or weight, what advantages do the FE's have over the EL's, if any?

macfred · Jul 1, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
* Does the EL meter pre-AI lenses wide open? (I assume the EL2 requires stop-down)

Yes, EL and EL/W will meter those non-ai lenses wide open (like F2 eyelevel, F2 Photomic, F eyelevel, F Photomic, FT, FT2, FTN, Nikkorex F)
EL2 requires 'stop-down' metering (like the FE series,F3, F4, FM, ... ).

Theo Sulphate said:
* How does the EL/EL2 compare to the FE/FE2 in features?

The Nikon EL2 has mirror lock up (missing on the FE and FE2) and it has the finder quality of a Nikon F2. Focus screens are not interchangeable.
The FE2 has the major advantage of standard TTL flash and 1/250 flash sync instead of 1/125. The FE2 also has a top shutter speed of 1/4,000th compared to 1/1,000th for the EL2 and FE.
The Nikon EL2 has silicone photo diodes as do the FE and FE2. The Nikkormat EL and ELW used Cds cells.
The Nikon EL2 lacks an exposure compensation indicator in the finder.
These are all 'ai' cameras (EL2, FE; FE2). As mentioned the FE2 requires AI, AIS or AI(ed) lenses, 'non-ai' Nikkors will damage the body.

Theo Sulphate · Jul 1, 2018

macfred said:
Yes, EL and EL/W will meter those non-ai lenses wide open ...

Thank you, sir! So, I think the EL would be the perfect complement to my FT2.

Cameras from this era seem to have a particular appeal.

If I'm feeling extravagant, I do have an FE2.

macfred · Jul 1, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
Thank you, sir! So, I think the EL would be the perfect complement to my FT2.
Cameras from this era seem to have a particular appeal ...

agreed !

Dennis-B · Jul 1, 2018

Today, I pulled the trigger on an EL2 from a local dealer through eBay. Picking up tomorrow. This one is an early model, probably first year, since the serial number is 7800XXX.

Kodachromeguy · Jul 1, 2018

Any Nikkormat is great!! My first "serious" camera was a Nikkormat FTn with 50mm f/2.0 Nikkor lens. I bought it in 1970 at the then-famous discounter, Lechmere Sales, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I had considered some of the other cameras of the era, such as Minolta SRT101, Pentax Spotmatic, and the Nikon F. The F was just that much bigger, clunkier, and more expensive, and I did not need all of its capacities, so the Nikkormat was a good choice. I used it in the Caribbean, hiking in the White Mountains and Cascades, in Europe, and in South America when I worked in the oil industry. It was reliable and rugged. Then I sold it to a coworker in 1982. He promptly broke it, so my wife and I thereafter called him the Clod-who-Breaks-Nikkormats. Here are two Tri-X frames from New York City from that era. The negs are dirty and scratched, but they have survived 44 years (something for the digital set with their infatuation with their Lightroom "workflow" to consider). I often rolled my own Tri-X because I had access to it in the lab, where we used it with Zeiss microscopes to photograph foraminifera and other tiny ocean critters. Those were the days of innocence and optimism.....

.

flavio81 · Jul 1, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
Thank you, sir! So, I think the EL would be the perfect complement to my FT2.

Cameras from this era seem to have a particular appeal.

If I'm feeling extravagant, I do have an FE2.

Great choice.

Think of the EL as a FE that has been upgraded to higher build quality and robustness, that works on pre-AI lenses, but uses CdS sensors instead of more modern sensors.

sissysphoto · Jul 1, 2018

The Nikkormat FTN-3 series could very well be the finest 35mm camera ever made, if you take into account every category. Certainly the most rugged and least prone to failure. F2 being the finest in the engineering, fit and finish category. I may be a bit biased as I believe I've accidentally become the Sover Wong of Nikkormat repair ability (at least in my own mind). I seem to have unwittingly become a home for wayward Nikkormats. I can't help myself. If its a poor abused Nikkormat, I will heal its dents and fix its workings. Heck of a camera.

flavio81 · Jul 1, 2018

sissysphoto said:
The Nikkormat FTN-3 series could very well be the finest 35mm camera ever made,

No, because it relies on the AI system. The FT2 uses the pre-AI coupling and thus is more compatible with the universe of manual focus Nikkors.

No, because the vertical shutter does not have the smoothness of the F2 and the F, the latter being also super quiet.

F2 being the finest in the engineering, fit and finish category

I love my F2 cameras but the Canon F-1 has a better fit and finish. Not to mention the best of the Rollei and classic Zeiss cameras.

sissysphoto · Jul 1, 2018

I had a Canon at one time. I owned it many years. Best fax machine out there.

flavio81 · Jul 1, 2018

sissysphoto said:
I had a Canon at one time. I owned it many years. Best fax machine out there.

har har

Try a Canon F-1 (original model) model and you'll see. It is indeed on a higher level of finish than the Nikon F2. But the F2 is better designed.

The revenge of Canon comes with the New F-1, which is better designed than the F3.

Ste_S · Jul 2, 2018

Kodachromeguy said:
Any Nikkormat is great!! My first "serious" camera was a Nikkormat FTn with 50mm f/2.0 Nikkor lens. I bought it in 1970 at the then-famous discounter, Lechmere Sales, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I had considered some of the other cameras of the era, such as Minolta SRT101, Pentax Spotmatic, and the Nikon F. The F was just that much bigger, clunkier, and more expensive, and I did not need all of its capacities, so the Nikkormat was a good choice. I used it in the Caribbean, hiking in the White Mountains and Cascades, in Europe, and in South America when I worked in the oil industry. It was reliable and rugged. Then I sold it to a coworker in 1982. He promptly broke it, so my wife and I thereafter called him the Clod-who-Breaks-Nikkormats. Here are two Tri-X frames from New York City from that era. The negs are dirty and scratched, but they have survived 44 years (something for the digital set with their infatuation with their Lightroom "workflow" to consider). I often rolled my own Tri-X because I had access to it in the lab, where we used it with Zeiss microscopes to photograph foraminifera and other tiny ocean critters. Those were the days of innocence and optimism.....

.View attachment 203347 View attachment 203348

I like both of those photos, scratches and all

Ste_S · Jul 3, 2018

Which Speedlight would people recommend to partner with FT2 ?

vsyrek1945 · Jul 3, 2018

Ste_S said:
Which Speedlight would people recommend to partner with FT2 ?

Since the FT2/FT3 don't have extra hot shoe contacts for dedicated operation, any "auto thyristor" flash with decent output will do nicely. There are good third-party shoe-mount units from Vivitar, Sunpak,Metz, Achiever, Starblitz, and others.

I like the Vivitar 3700; it has decent power, with a 120 guide number in feet at the 35 mm lens setting, and accepts the MFS-1 Macro Flash Sensor accessory for close focus automatic flash shooting.

Regards,
Vince

Marco Gilardetti · Jul 4, 2018

Ste_S said:
Which Speedlight would people recommend to partner with FT2 ?

None. I would instead recommend a Metz 32 CT 3 if you want a top-mounted unit, otherwise a Metz 45 CT 5 if you like separate flashguns.

Tomwlkr · Sep 20, 2023

Chan Tran said:
The EL is different from the other older Nikkormat's. It took silver oxide batteries.

No, It takes a 6 volt battery behind theirror

Chan Tran · Sep 20, 2023

Tomwlkr said:
No, It takes a 6 volt battery behind theirror

Once again I think you talk about the EL. The FT2 and FT3 takes 1.5V silver oxide. The FT and FTn takes 1.3V Mercury battery.

Tomwlkr · Sep 20, 2023

Chan Tran said:
Once again I think you talk about the EL. The FT2 and FT3 takes 1.5V silver oxide. The FT and FTn takes 1.3V Mercury battery.

EL takes a 6 volt battery

Thoughts on Nikkormat / Nikomat series

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