Nikkormat EL, the Signal of Things to Come.

The Nikkormat EL is an interesting camera, Nikon wanted to keep up with consumer demand for bodies with electroncially controlled shutters, Pentax was there with the Electro Spotmatic and later the ES and ESII, Minolta later on had the XE-7 they co developed with Leica, and Canon was off doing their own thing with the EF. The EL was the top of the line of the Nikon Prosumer line up from 1973 to 1977 when it it was replaced with the EL2 and a few months later with the FE.

The camera had full manual and aperture priority, if you own an FE, the EL was the testbed for design and proof of concept. The only downside if the electronics go bye bye, the camera becomes a doorstop because NOBODY really wants to work on them. That's pretty much the only downside if you find a camera that works, and they cost usually around $75, get it. The EL takes the same battery as the Canon AE-1, the 4SR44 which is good. The vast majority of cameras in the early to mid 1970s were still using 1.3v mercury cells which aren't good for the environment.

I have two of these cameras, the black one pictured below and a chrome Japanese home market Nikomat, both work great. I might take the chrome one out for a spin at some point, we'll see.


Camera: Nikkormat EL, Nikkor lenses.
Film: Fomapan 100, Rodinal 1+50.