Nikkormat / Nikomat

It’s like a streamlined, simpler Nikon F. Key feature: it uses the same lenses.

**Nikkormat FTN** 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S (Color photos of the camera were made with a Nikon F, 55mm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor-P.C, and Portra 400.)

**Formal occasion** Rockville, Md. Nikomat FTN, 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H, Plus-X, late 1990s.

Nikomat, Nikkormat… What’s the difference?

The cameras are identical except for the nameplate on the prism. In Japan it was the Nikomat, elsewhere it was the Nikkormat. If this camera were a car, the Nikomat would be the JDM version.

**Nikkormat FTN** with 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S

Nikkormat v. Nikon F

The Nikkormat is a way to use Nikon F lenses with a less expensive body. The size, weight and build quality are similar. Cost reduction was achieved by removing features.

Compared to the Nikon F, the Nikkormat has:

No modularity. Prisms and focus screens are not interchangeable modules and the back does not remove. Instead, there’s a conventional rear door.
An integral light meter (the Nikon F’s meter is in the detachable prism).
A different shutter, made by Copal rather than Nikon. The range of shutter speeds is the same (maximum 1000) except that the Nikkormat lacks a T setting.
No split image focusing on the earlier models up to the FTN. This feature was added in 1975 on the FT2.

**Hotel room** San Diego, Calif. Nikomat FTN, 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H, Tri-X, mid-1990s.

Design and use

The first Nikomat was introduced by Nikon in 1965 and went through a series of model iterations through the mid-1970s. The FTN version appeared c. 1967. It sold well, was in production a long time, and is not hard to find today. It wasn’t until 1975 that the next model, the FT2, came out. (McKeown, 1996).

This is an all-mechanical, manual exposure SLR. The battery is only for the meter, so I leave it out and use a hand-held meter or the sunny 16 rule.

The shutter speed control is different than on other Nikon SLRs. It’s not a dial on the top deck, it’s a collar around the lens mount instead. The Olympus OM-1 shares this design and I like it.

**Focus, aperture, and shutter speed controls are on the lens.**

**Rainy afternoon** Nikkormat FTN, 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S, HP5+, 2023.

A rugged, high performance machine

‘Costing roughly the same as a comparable Pentax, each successive Nikkormat model was unarguably heavier, tougher, and a more ‘professional’ feeling camera than the Pentax’ (Matanle, 1996).

**Nikomat FTN** with 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor non-AI

Style

The Nikkormat is a good-looking camera with a lot of style. In particular, the top deck is less cluttered than that of many of its contemporaries.

I like that its own name, ‘Nikkormat’ or ‘Nikomat’ is on the prism. I think it’s cool! The market, though, appears not to agree. Although ‘Nikon’ is discretely inscribed on the back, the lack of Nikon branding on the front seems to depress the price. Which makes this camera all the more appealing for users.

Later, corporate branding strategy changed. ‘Nikon’ was indiscriminately applied to the front of all sorts of cameras all the way down to cheap plastic point n’ shoots.

**Qipao** Rockville, Md. Nikomat FTN, 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H, Tri-X, mid-1990s.

Maintenance and repair

I replaced the mirror bumper foam on one, that’s it. A simple job and I did it myself. These are not high-maintenance cameras.

**Cobbled street with disused streetcar tracks** Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Nikomat FTN, 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H, FP4+, 2024.

References / further reading

Camera manual: orphancameras.com

More references:

Long, B. Nikon: A Celebration, 3rd ed. Ramsbury, England: Crowood Press.

p. 65: ‘The Nikomat series was actually far more important in historical terms than many collectors realize’.

Matanle, I. 1996. Collecting and Using Classic SLRs. New York: Thames and Hudson.

McKeown, J.M. and J.C. 1996. McKeown’s Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 1997-1998. Grantsburg, Wis.: Centennial Photo.

p. 338: ‘The Nikkormat name never had the snob appeal of the Nikon F, and was considered by many to be the ‘poor cousin’. Those of us who used them knew otherwise… Rugged, workhorse cameras!’