If you’re a die-hard Nikon fan—not someone who merely enjoys Nikons, but one of those folks who absolutely refuses to even look at any other type of camera—then do me a favor and go away. For the love of all that is holy, please, I beg of you, do not read any further.
Don’t worry—Nikon’s reputation will escape this review intact. I plan to tell the world that my Nikomat FT2 is an outstanding camera. But I also plan to talk about the ridiculously and unnecessarily complicated way this relic of an SLR goes about its business, and you’re probably not going to like that.
So spare yourself. Spare us. Go read Joe Monat’s Leica M6 review so you can understand how inadequate you make the rest of us feel.
Are the Nikon-heads gone? Good. Now we can talk.
Welcome to my review of the Nikomat FT2, and if by some chance you think I’m spelling the name wrong, I’m not—Nikomat is the name applied to Nikkormat cameras sold in Japan. So HAH!
Oh, sweet Jesus, I’m turning into one of those hyper-annoying Nikon owners already. Damn my eyes.
And now I’ve written 200 words and haven’t told you anything. I really am turning into a Nikon owner!
Nikkormat was Nikon’s consumer line of cameras from the early days when they didn’t want to sully the pro-level Nikon brand, before they figured out that a bit of sullying would sell a crap-ton of cameras. My Nikomat was one of a bunch of SLRs my friend Mark gave me when he learned I was getting back into film photography. The FT2 was the second-oldest camera in the box, and yet it was in the best condition. It looked like it hadn’t been used much, and that should have been my first clue. Why would someone who had such a good camera avoid using it?
I now know why: Because it is, I am pretty sure, the strangest SLR ever produced by a mainstream camera manufacturer. I’m not entirely convinced that Rube Goldberg wasn’t the chief engineer. (Youngsters: Wikipedia time.)
Let’s start with the shutter speed, which is set not by a dial up top but by a collar around the lens. The idea, as explained to me by an Olympus apologist (most of the OM-series cameras use the same setup), is that you can adjust the shutter speed with your left hand without taking your finger off the shutter button. Well, that makes sense.
Except this totally doesn’t apply to the Nikomat, because the dial is too stiff to use with your fingertips. I was taught to support the camera with my left hand and set exposure and shoot my right, but the only way to adjust the FT2’s shutter is to transfer the weight of the camera to the right hand, grasp the shutter adjustment firmly between your thumb and forefinger, muscle it into position, then the shift the weight back to the left hand to take your picture. I’m used to it now, but it still slows me down.
Incorporated into the shutter speed collar is a small, precision-engineered device apparently designed for the express purpose of destroying fingernails. Coincidentally, it also sets the film speed.
The Nikkormat FT2 is seriously heavy—and remember, this is coming from a guy who owns a Pentax KX. With a 50mm lens on the front and no neck strap or film, the FT2 weighs a staggering two-and-a-third pounds. For those of you not in ‘Murica, that’s just over a kilogram of camera. My Pentax MX weighs three-quarters of a pound (360g) less. Hell, my car weighs three-quarters of a pound less.
Even the usually-simple task of opening the back is unnecessarily difficult. Instead of pulling up on the rewind lever (which you have to do anyway to provide clearance for the film cassette), there is a tiny metal latch on the camera’s edge. Anyone lacking decent-length fingernails will be unable to load the camera—and that’s every FT2 user, thanks to the aforementioned film-speed adjustment gizmo.
But the strangest thing about the Nikomat FT2 is the way you mount the lens.
You may have noticed those little “rabbit ears” on Nikkor lenses. All of the Nikkormats, save the short-lived FT3, make use of those. They engage a meter-coupling pin on the camera body to tell the camera what aperture is selected.
In order to mount a lens, one must first set the lens aperture ring to f/5.6, then push the coupling pin on the camera clockwise as far as it will go—otherwise the pin and ears won’t line up. Next, you put the lens on the camera and twist it… backwards. Nikon lenses turn counter-clockwise to go on and clockwise to come off, opposite of everything else in your life (bottle caps, volume knobs, nearly every other 35mm SLR camera lens, etc).
Now the lens is on, but you’re not done—you have to twist the aperture dial as far as it will go in one direction and then the other. This “tells” the camera the lens’ minimum and maximum aperture, the latter indicated by a little red dot on the side of the lens mount. (It’s kind of cool to see it pop into the right place.)
Now you can finally start the process of focusing the camera and setting your exposure, provided your subject hasn’t moved. Or died of old age.
To be fair to the Nikomat, the rigmaroles required to use it become second nature after a while. (I find myself racking the aperture dual back and forth on my Pentaxes, because it’s kind of fun.) I initially regarded them as quaint traits of an older camera, along with idiosyncrasies like the need for a silver-oxide (S76) battery instead of easier-to-find LR44 alkalines.
But then I discovered it isn’t an older design. The Nikomat FT2 was produced from 1975 until 1977, same as my Pentax KX, which has the shutter-speed control in the proper place, takes LR44s, and uses lenses that twist in the correct direction.
So why would I put up with this overweight, overcomplicated, fingernail-killing brick of a camera?
Because I love it.
You probably think I harbor a deep disdain for the Nikomat FT2, but the truth is the exact opposite—I am deeply, hopelessly, blindly in love with my Nikomat, to the point that I’ve shot more rolls with it than any other camera I own.
Why? What the hell is wrong with me?
Maybe it’s the pride one feels in mastering something that is difficult, or in possessing knowledge that few others have. Owning one of these cameras is like belonging to a secret club. If you don’t know how to position the meter-coupling pin, you don’t get to come to our meetings.
Maybe it’s the fact that the Nikomat FT2 is a mechanical camera, which I find vastly superior to electric cameras (something upon which I’ve already pontificated in my review-of-slash-loving-ode to the Pentax KX). The FT2’s shutter and winder have a very distinct feel, smoother and lighter and more refined than my other (Pentax, Minolta, Ricoh and even other Nikon) cameras.
Maybe it’s the fact that the Nikomat FT2 is something of a contrarian, and so am I.
Or maybe it’s just that it makes beautiful goddamn pictures. Mark gave me the camera with an off-brand 39-85 zoom that made ominous crunching noises when I turned the focusing ring, but happily I had some genuine Nikon manual-focus lenses—a Nikkor 50/1.4 and 28/3.5. That fast 50 in particular has become a favorite, and I consistently get good images from it.
Don’t tell the Nikon fanatics—their egos don’t need any expansion—but they really are on to something when they drone on and on about the superiority of Nikon lenses. And I don’t think there’s a much more cost-effective way to get into classic Nikkor glass than these old Nikkormat (and Nikomat) cameras. I regularly see FT2s like mine selling on the ‘Bay for $50 or less. Ditto the earlier FTn, which lacks a hot shoe, and later FT3, which eliminates the lens-mounting dance but can’t use some of the older lenses. Those lenses can be a bit dear—Nikon, y’know—but it helps that the Nikkormats (except for the FT3) can use early non-AI units that are incompatible with later-model Nikons.
I had a broken Nikon FE that I’ve since had repaired, so I now have an alternate way to shoot through those Nikon lenses, and I really should put the FT2 on a shelf. It’s in lovely condition and I don’t want to risk anything happening to it. But I know I won’t, because I love shooting with it. The Nikomat FT2 infuriated me with my first roll of film, but it’s since become a genuine favorite and a camera I’m happy to recommend to others. After all, who wouldn’t want an SLR that will confound them, delight them, and build their biceps, all at the same time?
Just don’t tell the Nikon fanatics how much I love the Nikomat FT2. And if they ask, tell them I’m off shooting with my $10 Ricoh KR-10 Super.
A quick post script: Our proprietor, Hamish Gill, reviewed the Nikkormat FTn and came to pretty much the same conclusions that I did. I swear on a stack of Kodak Darkroom Dataguides that I didn’t read his review until after I wrote mine. Even die-hard Nikon fans will, when pressed or threatened with torture, admit that these are bizarre-o camera.
© 2020 Aaron Gold
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Alexander on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Ross Attix on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
I had an FT3, which as you mentioned is very similar but will automatically index to the lens when mounting.
I got rid of mine years ago because it’s meter stopped working and I did not want to shoot it in that condition. Although heavy, there was a great “precision built” feel to it. That differentiated it from many other 35mm cameras in the same way a V Series Hasselblad was unique among many MF competitors. I can still “feel” the action of the Nikkormat when I would advance the film. That one feature was what attracted me in the first place.
I’m glad you have grown to enjoy using yours. Reading this brought back great memories.
Lou on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Terry B on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
I left my views of the FTn on Hamish's original post, so I won't go into more detail here, except to reiterate that I don't like the shutter setting procedure Nikon adopted for the very reason(s) you point out. Otherwise, lovely cameras, with little to go wrong as long as they have been treated reasonably well during their lifetime.
Clive W on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
I've just offloaded my FTN, but not before it led to an FE - and an FM2N, and an FG (of which, controversially, I like the FM2N the least, which may be material for an article some time.) See, it turns out I do value portability; the bulk of the FTN was its main reason for getting left at home once the smaller, newer cameras arrived.. But I also kind of like the way those scalloped '60s Nikkor-S and -H lenses misbehave in the sunshine, which their more disciplined '70s and '80s descendants do not. I can use them in stop-down on the FE, of course, but I may yet go back for an EL to make a rabbit-eared mini-kit, but with aperture priority too.
Nick Lyle on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
David Hill on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
(2) The Grip: Most people seem to hold an SLR with the lens cradled in the web of the left hand, thumb underneath, fingers on top of the lens. That's handy for focus and aperture, but its not terribly solid, and as you note, its hopeless to handle the Nik shutter speed ring. I won't presume to assume how you're holding your camera, but the /proper/ Nikormat Grip is reversed -- camera sits in the left palm, thumb on the left side of the lens, fingers wrapped beneath to the right side. The thumb falls right on the Nik shutter adjuster, and moves easily to aperture or focus. If the camera is in good condition, the shutter ring moves easy under a thumb.
. The Grip is a solider platform - the camera rests right on the butt of your palm instead of suspended in the fingers. Get used to it :) The Nikkormat isn't the only design that expects this grip: witness the Minolta SRT line--with that depth of field preview button under the lens mount--which falls right under the third finger if you're using the bottom-side hold.
. And yeah, I love lens mounting with the pre-Ai Nikons.. f/5.6, align the pin, lock in, wind on/off/on. Such a signature move, and so elegant when done smoothly :) They /are/ lovely cameras, quirks and all.
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Jon Campo on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Brian on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Weakest spot: tendency for shutter to lock-up, especially using "B" and advancing the film too quickly.
My FT2 has been going strong for the last 45 years. The FT3, I've only had for 25.
Now- what you need is a Nikon F2Sb. Or get a Nikomat EL, shutter speed and ISO on top deck. Mine is the ELw, takes the AW-1. AW stands for AWful.
Roger B. on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Flashknappen on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Lee on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
I also own an FE2 and can definitely attest to the heftier size and weight of the Nikkormat by comparison, but it does allow you to mount some seriously nice, less expensive Pre-AI glass. I bought a Pre-AI 105mm f/2.5 specifically to pair with my FT2. By the way, I also have a 28mm f/3.5 AI lens that I absolutely love for walking around and for landscapes. The Nikkormats also have a mirror lockup switch which is very useful if shooting longer exposures or on a tripod. The Nikkormats have a lot going for them, the FT2 in particular. They have a high value coefficient because you get a lot for what you pay, as your review accurately asserted. Nikon fan know this, appreciate this, and take advantage of this. Keep that FT2 rolling!
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Patrick Abe on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
I ended up with an unusual prime lens set: 24mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, and 85mm f1.8, which was fine for "wide to medium range" vistas. I had a 43-86mm f/3.5 zoom lens briefly, but found it didn't focus close enough, was "less than sharp," and optical distortion was slight but noticeable. This camera took a while to get used to, and my Canon FT-using classmate thought that the "f/5.6 to mount, close down and open up" meter coupling hand exercise was slower than the "just mount it" ethos of Canon or Minolta.
As for the "around the lens mount shutter speed ring," one got used to it, since I didn't use other SLR cameras. Setting the shutter speed (and hoping the film speed slider on the bottom stayed put) was a one finger thing with time, though two fingers was a better practice. Like most cameras of the era, it endured the usual rough and tumble wear of the student photographer into the middle 1970's, when the Nikon FM arrived, along with AI indexing.
As a "look to the future," I'd had all my Nikon lenses upgraded to AI/ADR as soon as possible, since buying new lenses was out of the question.
I'd passed the Nikkormat FT2 and FT3 variations, since they weren't major upgrades or I was set on the Nikon FM completely.
Would I buy it again? Probably, since the Nikkorex F wasn't available, and Nikkormat have a flair all their own that the Minolta SRT and Canon FT series didn't. I could (in theory, at least) use Nikkor lenses that Professionals used for that "Life magazine/National Geographic look."
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Jim Grey on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 13/03/2020
Daniel Castelli on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 14/03/2020
I'm worrying about toilet paper, I just blew up the still where I was cooking up some hand sanitizer and then decided to sit down, drink a Corona w/lime and read you review. Talk about camera flashbacks...
My first Nikkormat was the FTn model. It looked like it was milled from a solid block of special Nikon aluminum alloy. It equaled the Nikon FTn. I used it with the one oh five nikkor (silver barrel.) The Leica M2 was fitted with a 35mm Summaron. Both tough enough to be wrapped up in a towel or skivvies and tossed into a rucksack. Shot lots of Tri-X. My second Nikkormat was the 'refined' FT2. By refined I mean it's like the tough kid getting a tattoo removed. I think it had a split-image focusing screen, it was painted black, and sported the 35mm f/2.0 Nikkor. The M2 by then has a 50mm Summicron. I loved locking the Nikkor on the camera. It was like shooting a bolt action rifle. There was authority to the action. (relax, those days of firearms & shooting are long, long gone.)
Jon got it right when he compared it to the Saab 900. And, I've still managed to hold onto got the M2 (a VW Bug?)
Gil Aegerter on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 14/03/2020
I thank god that I learned photography in the era before cameras weighed less than helium and required more onboard computing power than a space shuttle. My FT3 and F2 (the standard by which I measure all other film cameras) are happily clicking along, more than four decades after their birth.
I once dropped my FT3 on a crowded bus in Tahiti and watched it bounce down the aisle to the rear. The other riders issued a collective gasp, but I assured them, "Pas de problem ... c'est un Nikon!" They sighed and nodded their heads, and I collected the camera and went on shooting.
Michael Hill on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 14/03/2020
George on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 14/03/2020
Steve Ember on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 15/03/2020
I finally made the move from Pentax M42 mount cameras to Nikon in the mid-80s with the FE2 and a used FM as second body. But more recently I've expanded the Nikon fleet - nothing older than the FE - until I got curious about an EL2, which I take to be a functional forerunner to the FE. It's not as heavy a beast - or as cantankerous to operate - as your Nikomat FT2, but there's just something about that more massive feel...So naturally your review now has me thinking about trying out a Nikkormat or Nikomat of the type you described, especially as some other commenters have indicated the controls in question aren't stiff by design. The more menu-driven it all gets out there, the more I'm attracted to the "comfort food" experience of a built-like-a-tank, built for the long haul, hefty monster with some classic Nikon glass up front.
P.S: Loved your black and whites. And the classy shots of your "beast."
Andy Umbo on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 15/03/2020
Huss on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 16/03/2020
The film advance lever on the FT2 is delightful - much nicer and more solid feeling than the sloppy mess on the much vaunted Nikon F3 (and I have two of those..)
Why you no mention the cool meter readout on the left side of the top plate? Kinda groovy that you can meter from the waist and so be all set before bringing the camera to eye.
Neilson on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 17/03/2020
Eventually I got rid of them. I never really warmed up to that shutter speed ring and I discovered that it's pretty easy to either buy old lenses that have been Ai converted or get it done myself. I went back to my first love, the FM2n.
Warren Heitzenrater on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 01/05/2020
Paul on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 01/05/2020
SPii on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 01/05/2020
n3eg on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 02/05/2020
A on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 05/05/2020
Jeremy on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 05/05/2020
I keep thinking about getting an FM before they get too expensive, but I just can't justify it with this $30 FTN in the arsenal.
By the way, I just sent out my FE2 for service. Seems it is actually true that the 80s electronics are not as reliable as a good mechanical camera that has had a modicum of exercise.
Aaron Gold on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 05/05/2020
Jeremy, this has been my experience as well -- I inherited and FE that did not work at multiple shutter speeds (which I had repaired) and an FG that is DOA (so far have not).
OTOH this might be a Nikon thing. I have Ricoh, Pentax, and Minolta cameras of the same era with electronic shutters (you'll read about the Minolta soon) and all work just fine. I have heard other tales of Nikons of the early-mid 80s being unreliable, more so, I think, than with other cameras. All anecdotal, of course.
Aaron
Goofyfoot on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 07/05/2020
Robert Kay on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 07/05/2020
Daniel on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
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Phil on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
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Phil on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 14/05/2020
Howie Dewing on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 30/10/2020
Pentax ME Super review - Kosmo Foto on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
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Bill Smith on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 10/01/2021
Tim Wheeler on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 23/04/2021
P.S. The FE was may favourite body - just so intuitive to use, solidly built, and workmanlike.
Jock on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 01/07/2021
Speaking of which, I soon had to get a wide angle and a telephoto, 35 first but soon changed to a 28. My favourite lens was an 85/f2 and subsequently an 85/200 Zoom if I remember correctly. I also loved the Nikon flash guns…..pricey but fantastic. Apparatchik? Yes, I bought loads of filters and lens hoods and cases…..Nikon carried you away…..oh, those yellow and black straps! ! And the Gold and Black boxes everything came in…..untouchable, yes I moved on to an EL2 then FMs and FEs. Never did get the Holy Grail …..an F. Still love them and in the digital age went through many a compact before getting a modern digital SLR.
Toby Madrigal on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 05/07/2021
Martin South of France on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 20/07/2021
Bud Sisti on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 11/03/2022
On that note, and following that "logic", the ultimate Nikkormat is the rare but elegant FS. No meter, so you don't have to worry about your manicure. Clean, simple, pure photography. Just what the doctor ordered to flush those nasty automation toxins out of your brain!
Alessandra on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 09/04/2022
Neil Scott on Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold
Comment posted: 21/01/2024