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.)

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

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.

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

**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.

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

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).

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

Style

The Nikkormat is well-known and it has recognizable style.

It has been handicapped in the market, both when new and today, because of the lack of a Nikon label on the prism (‘Nikon’ is discretely displayed on the back). This depresses the price making the Nikkormat all the more appealing for users.

Later, Nikon branding was applied to everything all the way down to cheap plastic point n’ shoots.

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

Controls

On most 35mm cameras, a dial on the top deck controls the shutter speed. The Nikomat uses a collar around the lens mount instead. The Olympus OM-1 shares this design and I like it.

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.

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!’