Nikkormat Ft Serial Numbers

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The Nikkormat body is also available in black finish. For identification among the rest of Nikkormats is quite easy, a 'FT' precedes the serial number on the camera body' and the letter 'N' is inscribed next to the film rewind knob and above the light meter window on the top of the camera.

There used to be a myth that the serial numbers corresponded to year of manufacture of Nikon F cameras. As far as I know: All Nikkormat (and other Nikon bodies) serial numbers run consecutively in a given series. The FT started at SN 3100001. The FS started at SN 7400001. The FT2 started at SN 5000001. The FT3 started at SN 6000001. Nikkormat (Nikomat in Japan) was a brand of cameras produced by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K., as a consumer version of the professional Nikon brand. Nikkormat cameras, produced from 1965 until 1978, were simpler and more affordable than Nikon-branded cameras, but accepted the same lenses as the Nikon F series. Technically excellent Nikkormat FT3 with serial number 6056249. Well-running shutter and self-timer. Light metering in order. Minor damage on the prism housing (see pictures). The prism itself is not damaged. Otherwise in neat condition. No dents or impact damage. Minor traces of use on the chrome. Includes half-case with Nikon strap, an extra Nikon carrying strap and battery. A neat workhorse. Dec 16, 2018.

As the Nikon F dominated the professional market, the company brought the same level of quality to the advanced amateur with Nikkormats. The second generation of these was the FTn.

Made from 1967 through early 1975, the FTn featured several improvements over its short-lived predecessor, the FT, which was made from 1965 to 1967. A meter-less version, the FS, was launched at the same time as the FT and remained in production until 1971.

It was the FTn that introduced the “Nikon Shuffle” for lens aperture indexing. On the FT the process was similar, but more complicated (described roughly on Wikipedia). For the FT: set the lens aperture to f/5.6, slip it into the mount with the indexing fork aligned over the pin, twist the lens until it locks, and immediately run the aperture ring to the smallest, and then the largest, openings. The technique would survive more than a decade and through a number of models before AI (“Auto-Indexing”) lenses were introduced in 1977.

The other noteworthy improvement over the FT was a change to the metering method, from an all-over averaging to the center-weighted pattern that remains among the most popular metering modes even in today’s top digital cameras. Compared to the F and F2, the FTn lacks interchangeable viewfinders, accessory motor drive compatibility, and the split-image aid on the focusing screen.

The Nikkormat offered a considerable savings over the F2 — 30-50 percent depending on options — and yet sacrificed very little. The construction is similarly high-quality and the Nikkormat is compatibile with all the same Nikkor lenses.

Visually, the Nikkormat line established most of the design cues that would continue through the shift to AI lenses as the advanced amateur models moved from Nikkormat to the Nikon name. The design heritage can be seen on the FM2n, EM, FG and other models well into the 21st century.

Specifications

Built around a fully-mechanical, vertical-travel, metal focal-plane shutter, the Nikkormat FTn keeps up easily with competitors such as the Pentax Spotmatic and Canon’s FT series.

Nikkormat Ft Serial Numbers

Center-weighted, open-aperture metering with a CdS cell (the only thing requiring the camera’s mercury battery) took 60 percent of its reading from the viewfinder’s 12mm center circle, and the remaining 40 percent from the rest of the viewfinder area. A match needle is visible in a window on the left-hand side of the top cover, as well as in the viewfinder.

A 4mm-diameter microprism focusing aid is visible in the center of the viewfinder screen, and the meter’s 12mm center sensing area is marked with a ring farther out. At the bottom of the viewfinder the selected shutter speed is visible in white (clear) with the next-higher and next-lower speeds seen to either side with a yellow tint. The viewfinder offers 92-percent coverage of the image area.

The shutter speed selector is a ring at the front of the lens mount, just behind the lens’s aperture ring. A complex mechanism, the shutter speed ring can be rotated by a knob at the lower left, and displays the speed on the top right of the ring. Speeds from 1/1000 down to 1 second, plus Bulb, are available.

On the top left of the ring, the maximum aperture of the lens is indicated by a small red dot along a scale marked from f/5.6 to f/1.2. After the Nikon Shuffle is performed, the dot should match the marked maximum aperture on the lens, or else the lens will have to be removed and re-mounted.

The bottom of the shutter speed selector ring features the film speed setting, which is also coupled to the light meter. Speed selections from ASA 12 to ASA 1600 are available and are selected by sliding a small silver tab one way or the other along the scale until the desired speed is visible in the center of the tab.

On the left side of the lens mount are the lens release button and the mirror-up switch, and to the left is a 10-second-maximum infinitely-variable self-timer lever.

On the bottom cover a standard tripod socket is flanked by the battery cover and take-up spool release button. The rewind knob on the left-hand end of the top cover features a flip-out crank handle, but is also knurled around the edge and can be turned without opening the crank and can be pulled up to disengage the film cassette. On the edge of the top cover below the rewind knob are two PC sync sockets for M- and X-sync.

Just to the right of the viewfinder housing is a depth-of-field preview button. Farther out the frame counter is a white disc with red and black markings under a slight magnifying lens. In front of the frame counter is the shutter release button (with a release cable thread) and to the right is the film advance lever.

The single-stroke advance lever pulls out about 25 degrees to turn the meter on and moves in a 135-degree arc to advance one frame, automatically incrementing the frame counter (up) each time. The frame counter resets automatically when the film door is opened. The back cover latch is on the bottom left corner of the camera and pulls down to release the latch. Film loading is straightforward.

Visually the earlier FTn was indistinguishable from the FT aside from the “N” marking in front of the top-cover light meter display. Some updates in 1971-72 added an updated film advance lever with a plastic tip, the plastic-tipped self-timer lever and an improved focusing screen with a split-image focusing aid in the center, surrounded by a microprism ring.

The Nikkormat Experience

Using the FTn is hard to remark upon critically, to be completely honest. Aside from the limitations imposed by the lack of interchangeable viewfinders or motor drive attachments, it’s very similar in operation to the Nikon F2 or Pentax K1000. The major difference, functionally, is the shutter speed selector ring, which took some getting-used-to.

In the hand, the Nikkormat feels like a slightly less-polished version of the Nikon F2 in almost every way. The size and shape are very similar, and the weight is nearly as impressive. As if to proof the adage about Nikons’ solid builds, my FTn looks very much like it was actually used to pound in a nail or two.

When it came to me (and I probably overpaid for it) I didn’t think the dent in the top of the pentaprism housing would be any trouble, but it turns out that the deformation of the housing extended down the front face enough to alter the alignment of the aperture coupling apparatus.

I had to remove the nameplate from the front in order to clean, lubricate and adjust (read: tap gently with a block and hammer) the complex mechanism whose binding-up problem made it impossible to remove the lens, or adjust the aperture to anything other than f/16 or f/11. After my “adjustments,” the aperture indexing works correctly and apertures larger than f/11 can be used again, and lenses can be put on and taken off again without issue.

The shutter release is well-positioned and operates smoothly and responsively. Not mentioned above, I find it interesting to note that while the shutter release button is drilled and threaded for a standard cable release in the button itself, an externally threaded collar around the bases of the button can also accept a Leica nipple. The FT and FTn were reportedly favored as second or back-up bodies by photojournalists using the F2, so accommodating the nipple makes sense so photographers don’t have to carry two releases in their bag.

The depth-of-field preview button is very conveniently located and easy to operate, as is the mirror lockup button. The self-timer lever’s look, feel and placement all appear identical to the F2, though the lever actually is slightly longer on the F2. Changing the film speed can be very, very difficult. The slider is tough to move and hard to get a grip on, as well.

The film advance lever is standard Nikon fare — a relatively short stroke and that comfortable stand-off position you can hook your thumb behind. Popping it out to turn on the light meter is easy and convenient, and being able to turn off the meter positively is excellent for conserving battery power.

The viewfinder is big and, while not as bright at the F2 or FM2n, fairly bright overall. The light meter display is easily visible, well-marked and easy to use. The shutter speed selection display is useful, though to my eye it would make more sense to highlight in yellow the selected speed, rather than using the yellow to indicate the speeds to either side.

The shutter speed selector ring, similar to Olympus OM-System cameras, is abnormal enough to throw you off for a bit if you don’t use this camera regularly, but not hard to get the hang of. It does get a little difficult to move back once you’ve slowed down to 1 second or Bulb, as the tab your finger moves to turn the ring moves over the edge of the lens mount, making it more difficult to get a finger behind it.

One minor complaint is the battery door. While the tripod mount and take-up spool release button on the bottom cover work simply enough, the battery cap uses a bayonet-type fitting rather than a thread. It most be rotated a quarter of a turn to move the cap’s tabs to match gaps in the fitting, and it can be rotated either way with ease, meaning it has to be aligned just right to stay snugly in place, and that sweet spot can be overshot a little too easily for my taste.

Fortunately, the battery is only needed for the light meter and the shutter works at any speed without a battery. Sources disagree on whether the FTn has a bridge circuit and can therefore return accurate meetings even with the increased voltage of a silver-oxide battery. Mine doesn’t seem to work at all.

All in all, a worthy competitor for the K1000 and other all-manual workhorse 35mm SLRs of the 1970s, and a solid addition to the Nikon line.

Here are some more test images:

Daniel J. Schneider
Nikon Nikkormat FTn 35mm SLR camera
4
Nikon FT2 with Nikkor 35mm f/2.0
Now that I've finally gotten some good use out of this camera, it's time for a review. The Nikkormat name was given to the consumer-level line of cameras manufactured by Nikon through much of the 1960's and 1970's. This particular model, the Nikkormat FT2, was manufactured from 1975 to 1977 as the successor to the FTn. So this camera is just about as old as I am. It's a metered manual camera, meaning you set the aperture and shutter speed yourself, and there are no automated modes available.
The FT2 is available in black and chrome, and the going rate for a working one seems to run about $25 to $35 for the body alone. It's really not a bad price, if you don't mind dealing with some of its quirks (which I'll tell you about). Personally, I found mine locally on Craigslist from a guy who had moved away from film, and he sold me the FT2 along with a Nikkor 35mm f/2.0 (non-Ai) for $70 total. Since the going rate for this lens on eBay is $85 to $100, I figure I basically got the FT2 body for free.

Build and Layout

The shutter speed selector ring
and self-timer switch
The Nikkormat FT2 is built like an absolute tank. It has an all-metal construction, and as such it's pretty heavy. It weighs in at 1.7 pounds (780g) without a lens! Mine has some brassing along the edges, which is to be expected, and there are some imperfections on the baseplate, but otherwise it has held up quite well over the last 40 years. They made the rather strange decision not to print the camera model prominently on the front of the body, like they have with just about every other camera. Instead, there's a small 'FT2' etched on the back of the camera next to the serial number.
ISO selection needle
The shutter speed selection is done via a ring at the base of the lens mount. It's a bit too close to the lens aperture ring for my taste, and the protruding lever that you use to rotate the ring is on the lower left side of the camera, which takes a little getting used to. That lever contains a small spring-loaded knob that you can pull out to release the lock on the ISO selector, located on the underside of the shutter speed ring. As if that wasn't enough, the shutter speed ring also contains a display that verifies that you've mounted the lens correctly. We'll get back to that momentarily.

On the top panel, you have the standard equipment. The film rewind knob, the film advance lever, the shutter release button, and the frame counter. The film rewind knob is pulled up and out of the body to release the film canister, but unlike many cameras, it does not also open the film door. This is instead accomplished by a small tab on the lower edge of the door, on the latch side. The top panel also contains a plunger that acts as a depth of field preview button, and a small metering display. The top panel metering display is one really nice benefit of this camera that isn't seen on many from this time period.

Nikkormat Ft Serial Numbers Calculator

Rewind knob and meter display
Frame counter and film advance lever.
Front left: depth of field preview button
The front panel has a self-timer switch on one side of the lens, and on the opposite side it has the lens release switch, and a mirror lock-up switch. The mirror lock-up switch operates independently of anything else, which is nice.Lookup
Finally, there's the viewfinder. Like most 35mm SLR viewfinders, it's big and bright. It has the split-image rangefinder spot in the center, with a microprism collar. A wider circle is etched into the screen to show the boundary of the center-weighted area. On the right side you have the meter display, showing a centering needle pointing to + or - on either end, or in the center to indicate correct exposure. At the bottom of the screen is a shutter speed display, with the selected shutter speed in white and the next and previous steps printed in yellow. This display changes with the position of the shutter speed ring, and it's lit by the scene (so don't expect to be able to see it in low light).
The shutter itself is fully mechanical, meaning you can use it without batteries at any speed, as long as you know how to work without the light meter. It's capable of 1 sec to 1/1000 sec, plus bulb, and flash syncs to 1/125. Speeds outside of the flash sync range are printed in red on the selector ring.

The FT2 in Use

Nikkormat Camera Value

Using this camera is a bit weird, I'll admit. It may be a side effect of its age, but while the shutter speed dial does click into place at each stop, it has this weird damping that allows it to move uncomfortably within that click stop. Sometimes you're not sure if you pulled it too far. When you do change the shutter speed, the areas in between speeds cause the meter to blank out until the ring clicks into a stop. Combined with that play in the ring, it means that sometimes I have to wiggle the shutter speed ring around a little to get the meter working. Also, the ISO selection is a bit strange, where you're pulling out on the end of the shutter speed selection lever and simultaneously sliding a small needle to a spot adjacent to your desired speed. Although I do appreciate that it's locked into place, because I could easily see it being bumped to a different setting otherwise.
Another possible sign of age is the film take-up spool. You need to get the film leader into a slot of the take-up spool, and then rotate it one full turn to ensure that a sprocket hole has snagged on a tooth in that slot. Unfortunately, I have the absolute worst luck with this. It's harder than it is in any other camera that I've ever used, and it sometimes takes me upwards of 5 minutes to get the film seated correctly without popping out of the slot as the spool begins to turn. On the upside, when I do finally get the film loaded, the film advance feels clean and smooth, and requires little effort to move from one frame to the next.
Meter coupling pin
Then there's the lens mounting. If you're not familiar with non-Ai Nikon bodies, the lens mounting dance can seem a little strange. In the case of the FT2, the procedure involves first 'resetting' the meter coupling pin on the camera body (located near the name plate, the coupling pin much be pushed toward the lens release switch until it clicks into place and stays there). Then the aperture ring on the lens needs to be set to f/5.6. This puts the 'rabbit ears' in the correct place to allow the lens to be placed on the body with the meter coupling pin in the middle. The lens is rotated clockwise until it locks into place. Finally, the aperture ring must be racked all the way over to the wide open aperture, and then all the way back to the minimum aperture. This 'indexing' allows the camera to know the endpoints of the lens aperture settings. If this is done correctly, the red dot on the lens aperture display on the camera's shutter speed ring will point to the correct maximum aperture of the lens.

Nikkormat Ft Serial Numbers Free


Lens attached with meter coupling pin
inside 'rabbit ears' prong
Lens aperture index indicator: red
mark indicates an f/2 lens is mounted
Oddly, the shutter speed selection lever can cover the lens release switch, so you have to change the camera's shutter speed in order to change lenses. Oh, and the meter doesn't like low light very much, so below a certain threshold it will just stop operating, even if there's room left in the settings to adjust.
One last strange behavior, which is common to many Nikons, is the fact that the meter is only turned on when the film advance lever is pulled out a step. If the lever is pressed flush against the body (as it normally would be with any other camera manufacturer), the meter is disabled. Normally, I wouldn't mind that extra step, because it does help extend battery life. The problem is that I'm left eye dominant, which means that if I want the meter enabled while I'm looking through the viewfinder, the film advance sticks out uncomfortably close to my right eye.

So What's the Word?

Okay, there are definitely some strange design decisions at work here. But after taking it with me on a trip to California, and then bringing it along on a nice hike in the woods of Central Florida, I've gotten pretty used to its quirks. It really is built to take a beating, and I'm a sucker for fully mechanical shutters, so it gets bonus points for that. It sounds great, and the meter has been surprisingly accurate. The non-Ai body means that you can mount any non-Ai, Ai, or Ai-S lens as long as it has the rabbit ear prongs installed, which is nice (Ai and Ai-S bodies require lens modification to fit non-Ai lenses, making non-Ai bodies the most compatible).
So would I recommend it? I guess it depends. For the money it competes with others from its era, like the Pentax K1000 or Spotmatic II, and I would choose the FT2 in a heartbeat. I have both of those other cameras, and the Nikkormat has a better flash sync speed, has the top mounted meter display, and has the mirror lock-up switch. I also prefer the split-image rangefinder with microprism collar to the microprism-only spot that the other two offer.
If you're looking for a body to mount to your existing non-Ai glass, then this is a no-brainer. It's the last non-Ai model that Nikon made, and has a number of benefits over the older FTn. If you're looking to get started in film photography and you're trying to decide which sub-$50 camera to start with, I can recommend this for that purpose as well. However, if you're willing to put a little more money into the hobby, then there are other options that I would look at instead.

Nikkormat Ft Serial Numbers Lookup

For what it's worth (not much, I'm afraid), I have a Flickr photo album containing photos taken with the FT2 (as well as the photos above of the camera itself). It's updated with new photos from time to time, as I use the camera.
Did I miss anything, or say something stupid? If you have anything to add or questions you'd like answered, feel free to leave a comment!