Nikon FTn finder issues...

Alex_Holland · Apr 28, 2011

I recently purchased a Nikon F with an FTn Photomic finder... While the body works perfectly, (as expected) the meter/finder is giving me some trouble. For my first roll through it, I used the camera manually and exposed all pictures based on my limited knowledge of light, and they came out good. Then my 1.35v batteries came for my FTn and I threw them in.. weird things happened.

First, the meter needle will sometimes jolt back and forth across the needle field. Other times I'll get a totally wack reading for an indoor exposure, say 250th at f/2, which is ridiculous. And other times it will say the batteries are like dead, when I just opened them yesterday.

Anyone else have this problem ever with an F and a FTn? Should I sell the meter and buy another (working) one? Am I doing something wrong? Hmmm...:meh:

Alex_Holland · Apr 28, 2011

Also... sometimes... it just works. It's possessed, I'm convinced.

compur · Apr 28, 2011

I've owned lots of Nikon Fs and the meters in their finders are often glitchy or not working at all. I don't think I've ever used any of the meters myself, opting for a plain meter-less prism or a waist lever finder and hand-held meter if necessary. The Nikon F body is a wonderfully reliable piece of machinery which, unfortunately, has outlived the meters in its finders. About all you can do is make sure the battery chamber is clean and that you have correct voltage batteries or look for another finder with a better working meter. At one time there were technicians around who worked on these finders but its become economically impractical to have them repaired now.

Alex_Holland · Apr 28, 2011

Wish I could afford a regular prism... Do you recommend the waist level finders? This FTn is going on ebay.

compur · Apr 28, 2011

I like waist level finders but not everyone does. The image is reversed right-to-left which takes some getting used to. But, if you've used them before you already know that.

BTW, you don't need to get a meter-less prism if you already have an FTn finder -- just don't use the meter.

Alex_Holland · Apr 28, 2011

I use TLR's so that's not an issue...

I'm too big of an OCD case to do that.

Derrel · Apr 28, 2011

Well, you "might" be doing something wrong!!! First off, I am familiar with the FTN finder/meter, and you have the slightly earlier FTn (small n). Anyway, are you properly indexing the lens to its maximum aperture? THe lens should best be dismounted ,from the camera with the aperture ring at f/5.6; also, it's best to re-mount the lens with the aperture at f/5.6 as well, so that the pin will slip right into the buckhorns; AFTER the lens is twisted onto the camera and it locks, then you need to open the lens up to maximum aperture, which the meter will then "key in", mechanically. Have you been doing this? This is called "indexing",and it absolutely MUST be done, or the meter will not function correctly.

Also, these meters were not uber-sensitive; at times, it was tricky to get a low-light reading at smaller apertures, or at lower ISO values like 100 to 200.

FINALLY---we're talking about a meter prism that might have been made in 1966 or thereabouts...so, it's nearing half a century old...Photomic meters were never known for their ultra-reliability. Quite the opposite in fact--these things can sometimes be quite cranky, and they do demand that the user understand the protocol for use, as well as the metering sensitivity range, which in the FTn was not as good as in a modern camera.

Alex_Holland · Apr 28, 2011

I would just sell the darned thing for parts and buy an eye-level prism but I can't afford the prism haha. I'm not too bad at judging light on my own.

compur · Apr 28, 2011

Derrel's right. Mounting lenses on pre-AI Nikon and Nikkormat SLRs is called "the Nikon shuffle." It's an automatic thing for us "old-timers" but the newer kids are often unaware of it. This is what the later "AI" (auto-indexing) lens mount was all about -- not having to do that any more.