Nikon Nikomat FTN (1967–1975)

Name: Nikon Nikomat FTN
Brand: Nikon

The Nikomat FTN is the Japanese-market name for what was sold elsewhere as the Nikkormat FTN. It was a fully mechanical, manual-focus 35mm SLR built by Nikon from 1967 to 1975. It's a heavy, substantial camera in the classic Nikon tradition, built to be used for decades rather than replaced.

The FTN improved on the earlier Nikkormat FT in two ways. Shutter speed information became visible inside the viewfinder, and the focusing screen gained a ground-glass collar around the microprism spot. Metering is full-aperture TTL match-needle, center-weighted, and it couples with both the diaphragm and the shutter-speed dial. You set the shutter speed on the lens barrel itself, which is an unusual arrangement, and the selected speed shows in the finder. The meter needle is visible both in the viewfinder and atop the body. The single-stroke film advance lever (135° throw, 26° standing angle) doubles as the meter's on-off switch.

Shutter speeds run from 1 second to 1/1000 plus Bulb, with X sync at 1/125 or slower. The camera uses a non-AI (pre-AI) F-mount, so it accepts Nikon Non-AI lenses natively. Later AI and AIS lenses can be mounted, but you need stop-down metering if the camera's meter is to function. The meter is a CdS cell powered by a 1.3V mercury battery (PX625 type). The shutter and mechanics need no battery at all. Metering range is EV 3-17 at ASA 100.

Blogger Jim Grey, who has written about the camera at length, called it "better than the sum of its parts," noting that it's "big, it's heavy, it's mechanical." These were workhorse cameras, and many surviving examples still function today. The most common issue is the light meter. Age takes a toll on the CdS cell, and the mercury battery that powered it is no longer manufactured, so accuracy is often suspect. One current dealer listing (F Stop Cameras) sells an example with a Nikkor-H Auto 50mm f/2 lens and accessory shoe for $120, discounted from $155 specifically because the meter "does not appear to be accurate." The mechanical body keeps going, but the meter is a gamble.

The Nikomat FTN was sold primarily under the Nikkormat name outside Japan, so documentation under the Nikomat branding is thinner. The camera is identical to its export sibling. It remains a popular recommendation for photographers wanting a first fully manual film SLR, solid, dependable and inexpensive.