Chrome Nikkormat FT3, last of the Nikkormats.

 

I got this camera on a whim, I already had a black Nikkormat FT3 that was gifted to my by fellow Classic Camera Revival Podcast cohost and dear friend Alex Luykx but being the collector I am of course a chrome body had to join at some point. I owned a pair of Nikon FM's, reliable cameras until they weren't, lost the meter on one and the other is just a problem child and money pit. The only thing I had to do with the chrome FT3 was replace the seals, which took a leisurely afternoon with steady hands.

The chrome Nikkormat FT3 looks pristine, and the meter was rock solid, this was a camera at the end of its design life. I plan to sell off both my FMs as is/parts/project cameras, the Nikkormat FT3s fill that roll nicely, especially the chrome one. I also added another Ai 50 F1.4 lens along with Ai 35 F2 lens filling my "Super hits of the 1970s" kit. The funny thing, both my FE's just keep on trucking while the FM's became problem children. The perils of heavily used, or, cameras that sat for 40 years. 


Camera: Nikkormat FT3, Nikkor Ai 50 F1.4, Ai 28 F2.8 lens. 

Film: Ilford HP5 400, Ilfotec HC 1+31. 



Nikkormat FT3 Thomas St. Looking North to Lakeshore Lakeshore Looking at Geroge St. April 2022 Crossing Lakeshore at Geroge St. April 2022 House at Allen and MacDonald April 2022 Reynolds and MacDonald April 2022 Toll Gate Keeper's Cottage Two MacDonald April 2022 Bongs Variety April 2022 Carpenter's House April 2022 Jo Anne and I April 2022 George Square War Memorial April 2022 Mercedes AMG Coupe April 2022 Walking the Lakeshore Bridge April 2022 Empty 16 Mile Creek April 2022 Halfway Across 16 Mile Creek on Lakeshore Bridge Forsythe Town House Front Stoops 55 Forsythe Harbour Payphone Empty Oakville Harbour April 2022 Closed No Access April 2022 Waiting for the Sailboats April 2022

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Barnack Madness, What Was I Thinking?

Image
 My last adventures with Scewmount Barnack Leicas didn't end well, on the few occasions I tried my brother's IIIf and IIIg, I botched the loading and got 36 exposures on one frame. I was quite content to just shoot with my M3 and M4-2, even though I wanted to get a IIIg because Alex got dad's from the estate.  Logic has no place shooting with a Barnack Leica, if the cliche film photography slows you down, working with a III series body is an exercise in zen. First you have deal with bottom loading, wind the film advance before adjusting shutter speed and be careful where you point your camea as bright sunlight can incinerate a rubberized silk shutter cloth instantly.  That said, Joan at Burlington Camera had this red dial Leica IIIf from the mid 1950s with a pre war Elmar 50 F3.5 lens, on the used shelf, I saw it, handled the camera, and put it back. In a fit of camera GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) a few weeks later I came back in and bought the camera. I wonder if Joan...
Read more

Second Roll of Aerocolor IV (Flic Film Elektra 100)

Image
 I bought a bunch of Flic Film Elektra 100 after shooting a roll of Santa Color 100 late last fall down in Niagara on the Lake  with my good Canon New F-1. I packed a two rolls gifting one roll to my brother Alex before heading south on vacation for a week. This time around my second adventure of Kodak Aero Color IV at a different time of the year.  Again, I shot at "box speed" at 100 ISO only this time through my Nikon F3/T. This time I loved the results even more, not just because it went through a different camera system. I think back late last November there was more infrared light in the spectrum due the time of year thus influencing the colour cast of the Aero Color 1V. Shooting the second roll in late March gave me a lot more the look I adored. Due to the polyester base Aero Color IV is easy to scan, you can almost colour correct during the scanning process, reducing your work flow a bit at the other end in Lightroom. Again being a polyester base, you want to load...
Read more

The New Addition to the Fleet, the NIkon FM2T

Image
 I didn't need a NIkon FM2T but I got one. I already have both a chrome and black Nikon FM2N bodies but being not only an analogue photographer I'm also a Nikon collector. Ok, the FM3a's are getting a little out of hand in the used market. As you have read over the past few months I've been on a gear acquisition tear this is more a prize. James over at Casual Photophile wrote a great pieec back in 2019 on the camera , and pretty much shares what I think, yeah, you don't really need this camera but if you're a Nikon collector you want one. The FM2T was only made from 1993 to 1997 and is a rare beast in the grand scheme of things compared to the FM2n which was made from 1989 to 2001. What the FM2T is a lighter and tougher version of the FM2N. with a titanium outer housing, like a regular FM2n it feels great in my hand. This particular example was spot on with the meter and did not take one bad photo at all.  Film wise I ran with Ilford Delta 100, I'm just tryi...
Read more