Senior wants to return to film shooting - considering Nikkormat FTn

Rivergull · May 18, 2014

Hello to all.
In the 1960's in San Francisco, I had a black body Nikkormat Ftn with a standard 50mm lens. I was ONE with that camera. Oh the simplicity!!!
Wore it out actually. Shot Kodachrome mainly. I now own a Leica D-Lux 5, but I've never warmed up to shooting without a viewfinder and detest scrolling through menus with my old eyesight. I'm in my 70's now and want to give film shooting another try...even though commercial processing and printing will be costly to me on a fixed income.

Best of all, I recently found someone selling my fave camera for under $150: a Nikkormat FTn with 50mm Nikkor S-C 1.4 lens. Hopefully, I'll find a 28mm or 35mm lens in the future.
I have a Canon Pixma Scanner MP990 which does a GREAT job scanning my old slides and negatives. I also have Adobe Lightroom (came with D-Lux 5)...but haven't used that software, as I already have over a ton of images in my iPhoto library and it's hard to switch over to a new learning curve.

Your opinion is valued. Should I spring for the Nikkormat Ftn ??? I love manual shooting. No auto-focus for me.

compur · May 18, 2014

Sure. Nikkormats are wonderful cameras, super rugged and the shutters are still quite accurate. You can use pre-AI Nikkor lenses which can be relatively low-cost but deliver wonderful images.

I have a Nikkormat EL which adds an auto-exposure mode to the all manual FTn.

PS - I was in the SF Bay Area in the 1960s too.

dxqcanada · May 18, 2014

The FTn was/is a fantastic brick of a camera.

... umm, both of you guys actually "remember" what you did in SanFran in the 60's?

cgw · May 18, 2014

With respect, I'd give some thought to looking at newer cameras. Late Nikon AF models like the N90s/F90x and F100 work superbly with manual focus lenses. Their viewfinders are big and bright and provide focus confirmation with their electronic rangefinedrs. They also provide spot metering as well as center-weighted. Aperture-priority shooting is another plus.

Camera repair can be pricey and tough to find now, so unless you have the chance to shoot a test roll on the FTn, I'd widen my search for something newer and likely more reliable.

Rivergull · May 19, 2014

Thanks compur. I'll look into the Nikkormat EL before pulling the trigger on the FTn. SF ...those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end. I was 22 ...discovering the joy of photography. Husband a painter focusing on pop culture icons and social commentary. VW vans were everywhere vs the BMW's of today. Ahhhhh.....

Rivergull · May 19, 2014

Thanks dxqcanada. I agree 'brick of a camera.' As for remembering the 60's ...well... that's why I made sure I took a lot of photos, heh heh heh

Rivergull · May 19, 2014

cgw ... The one for sale looks mighty clean, but you're right on about fearing camera repair expenses. I'll consider your suggestions. Thanks!!

Mike_E · May 19, 2014

Hi River and welcome.

I'm not quite there with you age wise but I have to ask, How are your eyes again?

Set and composed shots are OK but street scenes are tough to hit if your eyes aren't what they use to be and auto focus makes the process fun where it would be a struggle otherwise. Almost as seamless as shooting a no frills manual with young eyes and I don't know about you but in my estimation life is too durned short to be frustrated with a camera.

The learning curve on an N/F90S (the S has spot metering the N/F90 doesn't) isn't steep at all and it's a good shooter. It does have some plastic but they are still tough cameras.

By the way, since you already have the scanner, why not get a daylight tank and develop your own negs? C41 isn't hard after you get over being worried about it. It's a LOT cheaper too. A C41 press kit will run you around $20, more with shipping and will do 12-14 rolls of 24 exp. or about $2 a roll to develop.

limr · May 19, 2014

Do it! Sure eyesight, sure older camera and possible repairs, yeah yeah yeah. I think what's more important is that it's a camera you know you love. Not just like, but LOVE. There's something special about having that kind of connection with your gear and I think the pleasure you get from using it will outweigh possible issues with focusing and repairing.

Now, if it does happen that these things cause more problems than you think and it ends up detracting from the experience, then look into a different, newer camera with auto focus. But you're not going to know unless you give it a try, right?

Here's a question I often ask myself when I'm trying to decide on a purchase: If I wait until tomorrow morning and the item has been sold, how will I feel?

vintagesnaps · May 19, 2014

I don't see any reason not to go for it, but that is my very biased opinion!! - I've always used mechanical film cameras. Really I usually sleep on it and then I'll know if it's something I'm really interested in or more of an impulse buy.

If I ever have trouble focusing usually the more I try the worse it gets so I lower the camera momentarily and look around and give my eyes a break, then start over and can usually get it focused. Sometimes too I'll find something with lines or an edge to it that's the same distance from the camera as whatever I'm photographing, use that to get focused then reframe and adjust the focus as needed.

You might want to take a look at Buy & Sell New & Used Cameras ? Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad, Leica & More - KEH.com , I've bought used from them quite a bit. If it didn't work out and you'd had too long to be able to return it, they'd buy it back or you could trade it in for something else (probably not at the full price you paid), but that might be an option.

Does that Nikon have different focusing screens? I just got a Nikon F and that was pro in its day so there are different screens, finders etc. made for that camera. I find the split image type easier to focus.

Hope you enjoy whatever you get. There are options these days of developing your own film or sending it out, getting it scanned etc. so it's a matter of figuring out what will work best for you.

compur · May 19, 2014

I have older eyes and wear glasses and have no trouble focusing with SLRs having a split image focusing aid in the viewfinder. Some Nikkormat FTNs and ELs have this feature and some don't. You have to check the viewfinder or, if the camera has an "A" inside a circle symbol atop the center hub of the film advance lever, then you know it has it (a little-known Nikkormat secret).

Canoneer · Jul 15, 2014

I just acquired some Nikkormat FTNs and so far am quite in love with them, especially the on deck meter display. (That would be great with a waist level finder. Maybe I'll find a 90 deg tube to screw onto the eyepiece so I can frame pix at waist level.)

It's two months late to help the OP, but the newer FTNs (call them FTN-ns) have a split image viewfinder. The old ones dating in the 60s do not. Far as I can tell the only change was in having a plastic tip to the film advance lever and the improved viewfinder.

webestang64 · Jul 15, 2014

I never worry about camera repairs.....just buy another one. I bought a Pentax MG for $50....used it for 4 years. It broke, repair would have been at least $150......bought another body for $40 10 years ago, still works fine.