Nikkormat FTn

[ravilamir]

OK, but the Nikkormat was the first. Apart from that, it had a very handy lever, the M5 and the EF had dials that worked only if you had a strong index-finger. The OM was not build to professional standards, but the Nikkormat was.

The CL doesn't count, that was a nasty toy.

Erik.

Sorry Erik, as a owner of several Nikkormats as well as of OM-1 I can see why you say the OM-1 isn't as robust as the Nikkormats.
But, let me tell you if a robust built is what makes a "professional" SLR, then the OM-1 is far from being fragile.
I have dropped mine into asphalt and, yes, there's a ding on the bottom plate, but that's about it. It works as well as before.

Olympus always referred to the OM-1 as a professional system camera.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Thank you for helping me out of this plight, Ricardo.

Do you know if the speed was only visible in the finder of the FTn or also in that of the FT?

Personally I've never used the OM (my only Olympus was the Pen FT) but a friend of me did and he was always complaining of loosing all kinds of bits from the top plate, such as the ASA/DIN setting disk etc. Shouldn't happen tot a pro camera.

Erik.

 

[John E Earley]

I've had a Nikkormat since 1966 but after lots of use and 2 sons using it for HS photography class it's a bit worn. Recently I purchased a body from Roberts Camera for $18 in such nice shape it's like a brand new camera.

What a wonderful design.

 

[Anthony Harvey]

A propos whether Olympus OM cameras were built to professional standards or not, I recently posted a note about their use on the successful 1975 Everest South West Face expedition. The note was in connection with the metering methods used by the summit climbers, particularly by Dougal Scott, but it's relevant to include other parts of the post here. One can hardly imagine a more demanding environment.

"I remember attending a public lecture and slide show in 1977 in Exeter UK of the photographs taken on the 1975 Everest South West Face expedition. It was presented by Doug Scott, one of the expedition photographers, who with Dougal Haston was the first to reach the summit on that expedition, followed a day or so later by Pertemba and Pete Boardman. Sadly, Mick Burke died in a fall, after, it was believed, he had reached the summit. Chris Bonington was the expedition leader.

Doug very modestly introduced the talk by saying that if the audience felt that any of the photographs had some aesthetic and photographic quality - in fact they were all superb - they should remember that the audience was only seeing a very small selection of the 20,000 or so frames that had actually been taken, implying that the rest weren’t to the same standard!

He mentioned the winterised Olympus OM1 cameras that had been donated by Olympus, who were eager to get publicity for their new camera and system introduced in 1973, and said that the cameras performed flawlessly.

The exhibition prints that were made to accompany the public tour - and for other exhibitions at the time - were Cibachrome. They were superb. I can vividly remember the summit prints, taken in fading daylight, where Scott and Haston took photos of each other."

 

[Erik van Straten]

Noted. Thank you very much.

Erik.

 

[FrankS]

I remember reading that in the 1970's some news agencies switched to Olympus gear and that it didn't go well. Just saying.

That said, I think the OM1 is a fabulous camera and that their other single digit camera models are very interesting and innovative.

 

[ravilamir]

Thank you for helping me out of this plight, Ricardo.

Do you know if the speed was only visible in the finder of the FTn or also in that of the FT?

Personally I've never used the OM (my only Olympus was the Pen FT) but a friend of me did and he was always complaining of loosing all kinds of bits from the top plate, such as the ASA/DIN setting disk etc. Shouldn't happen tot a pro camera.

Erik.

hi,
I've never had a FT or FS, but the manuals for these don't show any info on the viewfinder apart the meter needle for the FT.
The MIR site only has info on the FTn.
I have a recollection that the speed info on the viewfinder was introduced with the FTn.
Also the early FT didn't even had a + or - in the brackets in the viewfinder.
A curiosity: The FT and FS didn't have the thread around the shutter release for the "Leica bell" or the soft release AR-1.
The early FTn also didn't have it.

I have seen an OM-1 without the ASA disc and I have seen many others models from Canon, Pentax, Minolta, etc. missing a lot more bits.

 

[Rob-F]

It took awhile but I am now up and running with my F2A and the 50 1.8 lens. This camera is addicting.

I love this beast and it now resides in an old Domke waist pack alongside the black Nikkormat FTN. So I thought I may as well check the meter and used the lens from the F2A and sure enough, the meter works perfectly. But.... The FTn doesn't have a lens of it's own. And the black body with chrome advance lever is too cool to let it sit in a bag! I need to find a lens or two!!!

I am a diehard 50mm shooter it seems but I love the 105 and even a wider lens like the 28 or 35. Any lens with character is desirable but of course I am limited by price.

Anyone have recommendations? :angel:

OK back to the lens issue. 55mm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor. One of Nikon's best! And you are a 50mm guy!

 

[x-ray]

OK back to the lens issue. 55mm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor. One of Nikon's best! And you are a 50mm guy!

I'd agree the f3.5 is superb. I own a couple of them and use them on my digital as well as film. The images hold up quite well under close examination. I've owned several and sold one a year ago for $40 if I remember correctly. They're quite cheap in any case.

Someone mentioned the old non AI 28 f3.5. I picked up one of those a few years ago for almost nothing and it's an excellent lens. Matter of fact it's on my Nikkormat FTn right now.

A good friend was cleaning out his old camera closet and gave me a neat new FT2 with a 50 f2 on it. I graciously accepted and carry it in the consele of my Jeep.

Amazing how cheap you can build your dream kit now.

 

[Huss]

So... what happens if your camera has an occasionally jumpy meter? Resistor ring issue? Cleaning helps? (if so, how to do that..)
Replacement parts (is the one in the FTN the same?)

 

[ravilamir]

So... what happens if your camera has an occasionally jumpy meter? Resistor ring issue? Cleaning helps? (if so, how to do that..)
Replacement parts (is the one in the FTN the same?)

For the Nikkormat FTn there might be no replacement parts available. I doubt that today any repairer would have any.
Cleaning the carbon track in a FTn in most cases is all that it needs.
I don't know how to do it, but reading a repair manual might tell you how or at least where and how to reach it.
In the UK, this is my recommendation for a repairer: http://www.aztechservices.com/#/nikon-cameras/4533190829

 

[paulfish4570]

my meter is jumpy, too, but i still have enough brain meter left to shoot anyway, if i'm not getting a steady reading ...

 

[grouchos_tash]

I have never used any Nikon cameras apart from the F80 my wife got me for Christmas. This might have a pretty obvious answer but is there any reason why you couldn't mount modern Nikon lenses to old bodies (apart from aesthetics)?

 

[css9450]

I have never used any Nikon cameras apart from the F80 my wife got me for Christmas. This might have a pretty obvious answer but is there any reason why you couldn't mount modern Nikon lenses to old bodies (apart from aesthetics)?

For the most part, you can.

With some combinations, you lose certain functions though.

 

[grouchos_tash]

For the most part, you can.

With some combinations, you lose certain functions though.

Interesting....haha 😉

 

[ravilamir]

I have never used any Nikon cameras apart from the F80 my wife got me for Christmas. This might have a pretty obvious answer but is there any reason why you couldn't mount modern Nikon lenses to old bodies (apart from aesthetics)?

That depends on what "modern" lenses you are talking about.
Maybe it will be better if you do a simple study of the Nikon mount variations. Then you can understand and answer your own question.
You can start with the MIR site.
A simple answer is the newer -G and -E lens without aperture ring can't be used in any manual focus camera.
Actually, they can be used, but you have no control over the aperture.

 

[Kent]

I really love those old Nikkor lenses and have yet to see a bad one!

My models are:

3.5/20 UD (pre AI, sold some time ago = a mistake)
2.8/24 (still with me, as pre-AI)
2.0/28 (need to buy one again!)
1.4/35 (still with me, as AI, one of my top ten fav lenses!)
2.0/35 (recently sold, just because of the 1.4/35)
1.4/50 (still with me, as pre-AI)
1.4/50 (still with me, as AI)
1.8/50 (still with me, as AI)
1.8/50 (still with me, as AI "pancake", i.e. nt the real pancake but the smaller version)
1.2/55 (still with me, as pre-AI)
1.8/85 (still with me, as pre-AI, another one of my top ten fav lenses!)
2.5/105 (still with me, as pre-AI, and another one of my top ten fav lenses!)
3.5/135 (pre-AI, sold some time ago, can't even say why)

 

[FrankS]

http://www.nikonians.org/reviews/nikon-slr-camera-and-lens-compatibility

 

[grouchos_tash]

That depends on what "modern" lenses you are talking about.
Maybe it will be better if you do a simple study of the Nikon mount variations. Then you can understand and answer your own question.
You can start with the MIR site.
A simple answer is the newer -G and -E lens without aperture ring can't be used in any manual focus camera.
Actually, they can be used, but you have no control over the aperture.

Thanks for the reply, I looked before I asked the question but everything I could find was about doing it the other way around i.e. old lenses on a digital SLR.

I only have one lens, a 50mm 1.8D which looks like it would work as it has an aperture ring.

 

[ravilamir]

Yeap, the AF 50mm /1.8D will work in any AI body. I have that same lens, curiously marked US. It is good to go in any FM/FE series, F3 or EM/FG/FG-20 body and many others.
For the early Non-AI bodies like the Nikkormat FTn, you could possibly add a prong or "rabbit ears" at the 5.6 position for it to work. Otherwise it will still meter in stop-down mode.
Some AF lenses came with points around the 5.6 mark on the ring to make it easier to add a prong.