This $20 Nikon Camera Is Built As Well As A Leica M3 - Nikkormat FTN

The Nikkormat FTN is an absolute sleeper setup. If you own Nikon lenses this might be the one body that stands above the rest.
"Sincerely" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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[@RANDassociatesinc]

I have that model Nikkormat. The build quality IS astonishing. It IS a tank. And my edition of it had been taken extremely good care of so it looks and feels like its a brand new body.

[@user-oe5jl2br6u]

65 years ago, this was my press photographer’s camera..

[@oh_aces]

Wow! We have confirmation that this was indeed a pro level camera. Thank you.

[@d.r.martin6301]

A few years ago I went to a history exhibit about the Decade of the '60s. One of the artifacts on display was the NIkkormat Boris Yaro used to photograph the dying Bobby Kennedy.

[@RobertFalconer1967]

This level of build quality is a big part of how Nikon established themselves as THE professional 35mm camera system in the early 1960s. A moniker they held, largely without much challenge, for nearly 30 years.

[@oh_aces]

Right! I compare that to when I had the Canon R5 "beast" that felt like a plastic toy, and I can even feel most modern cameras actually creak and flex...

[@CrosbyThomley-bl7em]

I have an FT3 and a Nikkormat EL that I bought new in the 1970s. Meter out on the FT3, but both still work great. Just wanted to mention that the stop-down button on the FT3 is more for checking DOF than metering, so it’s still functional. Having used all of the older Nikons from that time, the indexing requirement to mount lenses was irritating at first, but you got used to it with use. Bargain lenses for it are found on lots of sites and may be better options if the Soligor is less than stellar. Good review though. I never liked the slider to change ISO though.

[@DrCowinabox]

Ive got the Nikkormat EL, the F(x2), the F2, the FM, FE2, and a handful of other nikon bodies. Some of them were cosmetically pretty thrashed when i got them, but none have ever needed maintenance. While they dont feel quite as good in the hand as some of the barnack leicas ive handled, theyre undoubtedly better engineered than anything that ever came out of europe. Those copal shutters in the nikkormats and fm just dont fail. Good cameras.

[@markgoostree6334]

My brother in law gave me an FTn ten years ago. I lost it in the upstairs room for eight years. Found it!! Been having fun just knowing it is in the rotation now. I'll be getting out with it this year.

[@oh_aces]

Stories like this make me happy!

[@markhaney2884]

Have a FT2 bought in 1978, think I need to go play with the rewind lever, lol.

[@oh_aces]

Just try to stay composed, and maybe light a candle or something... 🤣

[@utube321piotr]

100% agree. I own both early Leica SLR's as well as the Nikkormat. All bodies are just outstanding in feel and function. Nikkormats are just a steal at the current depressed prices. Bad light meter is a non issue with light meter apps in smart phones.

[@oh_aces]

I'm low key mad at myself for making this video. It might push the prices up before I can snag a second body 😂😂😂

[@utube321piotr]

@@oh_aces Pentax K1000 is closing on 200USD for nice examples, the Nikkormat is far more solid camera, so get ready for value appreciation

[@utube321piotr]

@@oh_aces Another sleeper is the Miranda Sensorex w/ removable viewfinder. I have one of those and never stopped being impressed at the engineering content.

[@oh_aces]

@@utube321piotr YES! You're like the third person to mention that I need to check that camera out. I hate the way it looks, but the black version is quite nice looking.

[@TXGRunner]

Older lenses like that are not so difficult to disassemble and clean. Unless the fungus has etched the coating, the repair is complete. I inherited my dad's FTn which he bought at the PX in Okinawa along with a 50mm f/1.4 lens (I also have) that cost his entire monthly salary. My mom, back stateside living on a base with a toddler was livid. Some 60 years later, I think all is forgiven now. I used that camera growing up. Back around 2017, I arranged dual layovers in Tokyo so I could drop off and pick up the camera and lens from a repair shop run by retired Nikon engineers and technicians. Almost everyone there was in their 70's or 80's, working part time continuing their passion. When I went to pick up the camera, they gave me a little baggy of a slightly corroded plate and some contacts for the meter they replaced. They were curious why it might be so corroded and I explained the camera was on a sailboat for 2 years in Central America in 1979-80. The Nikkormat FTn isn't a tank, it's a battleship.

[@oh_aces]

What a story! I recently got my hands on a Nikon F photomic FOR FREE! The owner just asked that I repair and reuse it, and I got it working, with a few hiccups still needing resolution. It was also purchased on a PX (Vietnam) and was traded to the guy who sent it to me for a Triumph motorcycle. It still needs a thorough mirrorbox repair but I got it back to the point where the shutter is accurate and this thing would still run if I was "in the field", and it was all I had. Battleships Indeed!

[@shinichihayakawa7619]

It's nice to know I'm not the only person out there who just keeps admiring the rewind cranks of old Nikons😁.

[@oh_aces]

@@shinichihayakawa7619 should we be called "cranks?" 😂

[@reindeerdashie]

I once dropped my Nikkormat FTN on the floor. The floor took damage

[@wullieg7269]

i used mine for years mirror sticks now but i got shutter to work and the light meter died long ago so i needed a film camera and got F4 for cheaper than i can belive full working so my lenses are back in full frame

[@DuncanCox]

There is a degree of irony in this video

[@oh_aces]

This entire hobby - Im told - is ironic 😆

[@d.r.martin6301]

I lusted after one of those when I was a teenager, but couldn't afford it. I ended up with a Canon TL, which was a pretty good camera in its own right.

[@oh_aces]

My Canon F1 is incredible, but my Canon IIIA is my favorite canon camera of all time!

[@robiulahmed]

Wow. If i didn't already have an F2 and FM2n, I'd be on eBay right now 😅

[@oh_aces]

Life is short and no one is making affordable new film cameras. You have my permission to buy!

[@jmcgonnell]

vintage nikons, you cant go wrong!

[@hansemannluchter643]

And Nikkormats are supposed to be consumer-grade cameras.. Incredible value for money these days.

[@oh_aces]

Someone commented that their press photographer (legit pro) used one.

[@hansemannluchter643]

@@oh_aces yep.. I've seen that, They had a Nikon F, or F2 And a Nikkormat if something whent wrong.

[@j.f.7509]

Nikkormats are a well kept secret!

[@oh_aces]

For $20 I'm going to get two backup bodies!

[@arnavverma2135]

20$? I paid 80$ 😭

[@jasongold6751]

It's not perfect! The viewfinder, one of the worst, in seeing exact image! But way ahead of my Leica M6TTL! Bought an unused one! I must put film thru.. can't figger out meter!

[@oh_aces]

Yes. I find it difficult to focus sometimes, but I have yet to find an slr that has a great VF.

[@OrelRussia]

​@@oh_aces try Pentax LX with the SA-23 focusing screen.

[@JoeLopez]

Get a room 😎🥸 They are beautiful cameras. Most cameras were so well engineered and made in that era. Thanks for sharing!

[@oh_aces]

Its insane to see how we have so much advanced tooling like CNC, laser, 3d printing, etc... yet these camera were built 60+ years ago, to outlast civilization itself it seems. No consumer goods are made like this anymore.