View and Download NIKKORMAT FT2 instruction manual online. FT2 Film Camera pdf manual download. FOREWORD The Nikkormat FT2 offers the high quality performance and durability common to Nikon cameras, but with the basic simplicity of de- sign that has made the Nikkormat camera popular with amateur and professional alike.
The Nikomat (Nikkormat) EL is the first focal plane shutter Nikon SLR camera with aperture priority (Av) automatic exposure capability, in addition to manual exposure setting. In fact, this is one of the first cameras in the world to offer aperture priority exposure control and an electronic shutter. The camera is based on the Nikkormat mechanical body chassis, although its exterior pentaprism design is looks different from the mechanical Nikkormats (the larger prism housing design accommodates the non-flexible circuit board inside). The control interface has been changed, though, to the style of the future FE/FM series of cameras.
In other words, the shutter speed and ASA (ISO) are no longer set through rings on the lens mount, but rather with dials on the top of the body. Although the traditional Nikkormat interface worked well, this new layout is easier to see and adjust, and became the standard for future generations of Nikon bodies until the advent of control wheels on the Nikon F-801 and other similar bodies of that later generation. The Nikomat EL is the first of three electronically controlled bodies in the Nikkormat line.
Later models included the Nikomat ELW and the Nikon EL2. Nikon made various changes over the lifespan of these three models, leading the way to eventual release of the FE, which was based on a new, more compact and lighter body design. All three models feel similar to the user and work great. Differences between the three models will be discussed below, and basically entail gradual improvements in specifications. The Nikomat EL still incorporated CdS exposure meter technology, which had somewhat slower response at lower light levels compared with later SPD meters. The exposure meter gives a 60% weight to the 12mm circle in the center of the viewfinder, which is the Nikon standard for most cameras of this era. The measuring range of the exposure meter is EV 1-18, which remained unchanged on all EL/ELW/EL2 bodies, as well as the future FE/FM series.
The electronic shutter has an official range of only 4 sec. To 1/1000 sec. There is no detent position on the shutter speed dial for 8 sec., but if you move the dial to where 8 sec. Would be if it were marked, the shutter actually opens for about 8 seconds! I haven't actually used the 8 sec.
'setting' so I don't know how accurate it is, or whether the exposure meter can accurately select up to 8 sec. In aperture priority mode. In any event, 8 sec. Is not officially supported on the EL. If the battery dies, the EL shoots at a fixed shutter speed of 1/90 second regardless of what speed the shutter speed dial is set to. Film ASA range is limited to 25 - 1600 in this first generation EL, and there is no exposure compensation dial on the ASA setting ring.
Of course, if you know how to use the camera, you can easily implement exposure compensation by just changing the selected film speed. The EL is from the same generation as the Nikkormat FT2, and links the lens to the camera's exposure meter by slipping the aperture ring claw on the lens onto the metering pin around the lens mount. For users of Nikon bodies of that generation, attaching lenses to the camera body this way is second nature. The EL is the first Nikon body to use the use the new type of exposure meter display in the viewfinder, which became very popular and continued to be used virtually unchanged all the way through the final body in the later FM line, the FM3A! In manual exposure mode, a green needle points to the selected shutter speed on the left side of the viewfinder; you adjust the aperture ring and/or shutter speed dial until the position of the green needle coincides with the position of the black exposure meter needle. In aperture priority mode, the green needle points to 'A' instead of a shutter speed, and the black needle points to the automatically selected shutter speed, including intermediate shutter speeds of course.
There are two disadvantages of the EL's viewfinder display. First, it works great when there is sufficient light to see the needles, but the needles can be hard to see when photographing at night or in a dark theater, etc.
This weakness continued all the way through the FM3A. Another disadvantage of the EL's viewfinder display, which continues from the mechanical Nikkormats, is that there is no indication of the selected lens aperture. You need to look at the aperture ring on the lens to know our aperture setting. The selected aperture does not show up in the display of these semi-pro Nikon bodies until the FM. The location and type of battery used by the EL, ELW and EL2 as relatively unusual.
The camera uses a single, relatively large 6 volt silver oxide battery (e.g., 6.2v 4SR44). The battery is installed at the bottom of the mirror box by using the mirror lock-up lever to raise the mirror and opening the battery compartment cover with your finger. This works OK, although you need to be careful to avoid getting dust, etc.
In the mirror box when changing the battery. The EL apparently had at least two types of focusing screens. My EL has a central microprism spot surrounded by a 12mm circle for the central weighted area of the exposure meter. The central microprism circle pops into focus and is quite easy to use. However, the EL user manual describes the standard screen as a central split-image surrounded by a microprism collar.
Since my EL is not a particularly early model (The EL starts a serial number 5100001 and mine is 5174881) perhaps my sample was a special order. Focusing screens on the EL, ELW and EL2 are not interchangeable. Viewfinder coverage is a rather limited 92%, but this is not unusual for the era. So what improvements were made in the subsequent ELW and EL2 models? The ELW was almost unchanged from the EL, although it adds a split-image and microprism collar focusing screen instead of microprism only central area of the EL.
More importantly, the ELW adds support for the AW-1 auto winder. It also adds a shutter release button lock (to accommodate the auto winder), although the shutter still locks on the EL when the film advance lever is pressed in against the body. All other features were the same as the EL.
The EL2 incorporates a larger number of changes, and is closer in features to the subsequent Nikon FE. The EL2 does away with the exposure meter pin/claw system and moves to the more convenient automatic indexing system that is employed by the Nikkormat FT3 and later cameras. Also, another big change for the EL2 is that it employs a more modern and faster SPD exposure meter technology compared with the CdS meter of prior generations. The shutter for the first time officially supports shutter speeds as long as 8 seconds instead of the previous 4 seconds.
The EL2 also includes for the first time an exposure compensation ring and expands the available film ASA range to 12-3200. Finally, Nikon changed their naming convention starting with the EL2. The camera is called the 'Nikon EL2' instead of 'Nikkormat/Nikomat' which was the name used for the EL and ELW. Considering all of the upgrades available on the EL2, I think that this final model is the most desirable of the EL/ELW/EL2 line for actual picture taking.
However, if you only use manual focus Nikon lenses with the aperture claw, and don't care about a slow motor drive (1 frame per second) in today's modern age, the original Nikomat EL works perfectly fine too. Still, since these three bodies are based on the original Nikkormat full-size chassis with a weight of about 780 grams without lens, my preference is to use the next generation FE/FM bodies which are significantly smaller (but not too small, unlike, say the Pentax MX) and lighter (only around 590 grams).