Nikkormat/Nikomat - Guestbook/Message Board

1. From : rick oleson (rick_oleson@yahoo.com)
Url : http://rick_oleson.tripod.com
Date : 12:41 AM Tuesday 29 July, 2003

Hi Dan: The actual reason why the little half circles go black occsionally is that they are prisms. The way that they work is that each one receives a beam of light from near the edge of the lens; your eye compares these images from opposite edges of the lens, and when they line up you're in focus. The farther out toward the edge the beam comes from, the easier it is to focus accurately.

But if you have a slower lens, the point where the light beam is coming from may be BEYOND the edge of the diaphragm opening. If this happens, what you see in the prism will be the back of the diaphragm blades, or the inside wall of the lens barrel: in other words, black. There is a range, usually around f/5.6, where this effect is just beginning to happen. Here you may see one half of the prism clear and the other half black... sometimes the upper half will be black, sometimes the lower half. What causes the choice between the upper and lower half at this point is your eye position: move your eye back & forth in the eyepiece and you'll see the black side switch between the top and bottom halves of the circle. With very careful eye placement, you may still be able to use the rangefinder.

(The "microprism" type screen also blacks out, though it's alittle less obvious because the segments are so small) Some cameras have alternate screens with rangefinders designed to work with slower lenses; however, these are not as easy to get critical focus with as the standard screen, and they will still black out if you stop down further. If this is distracting, the best option is probably a plain matte screen. rick :)=

2. From : JWoods (centurywoods@yahoo.com)
Url : http://not yet
Date : 03:20 PM Sunday 27 July, 2003

This is a phenomenon common when using a slow speed lens with the standard K-screen most MF Nikon bodies are using (in particular when you are using stop down metering or when the lens is not coupled to the camera's metering coupling while turning the aperture to smaller settings (e.g. f/5.6 and smaller). Fast lenses exhibits less of such phonomenon but it has nothing to do with eventual quality of image (as long as exposure is correct). Older cameras also usually have a less desirable light tranmission diversion to the finder. A common way to minimize such effect is to leech your close closely to the eyepiece or simply change the focusing screen to an all matte type (but Nikkormat does not provide with an interchangeable screen feature).

3. From : Dan (pedalfaster69@hotmail.com)
Url : http://
Date : 05:42 AM Sunday 27 July, 2003

Gen, thanks for the tip. I wonder if you also know why those two half circles in the view finder will sometimes go black when you are not looking through it at exactly the right angle. Specifically, only one half will go dark, the other is always clear. When you move your eye up or down slightly and change you viewing angle then you can make this go away. This only seems to happen sometimes, I haven't tried logging when it happens yet, and it doesn't seem to correspond with any particular setting or light level. Hope I am explaining this right. Thanks again for the help. DAN

4. From : Gen Holst (genholst@excite.co.uk)
Url : http://nil
Date : 02:57 PM Saturday 26 July, 2003

Simply because the lense aperture does not coupled with the camera's meter for full aperture metering. The FT has an TTL average metering (not center-weighted type like found on other Nikon bodies). The minimum F value. is set by hand. Anyway, try detach the lense once again (you may have experiencing a little bit of problem when you try detaching it now because it wass not being mounted correctly earlier, don't use force), set the aperture of your lense to f/5.6 and mount it with the meter pin slotted correctly into the slot of the meter coupling shoe (the rabbit ear-looked tiny metal piece on the top of your Series 1 lense). It should works again.

5. From : Dan (pedalfaster69@hotmail.com)
Url : http://
Date : 05:44 AM Saturday 26 July, 2003

Hi, very nice and informative site you have here. I am hoping someone can answer my question about my Nikkormat FT w/ Vivitar 70-210 Macro zoom.

I recently took the lens off for cleaning, and when I put it back on, all of a sudden when I make the aperture larger or smaller the viewfinder becomes lighter or darker. This never happened before, it was always just quite clear and bright. Also, the small circle in the centre of the viewfinder that is divided in two goes black as I make the aperture smaller, so I can't use it to line up vertical lines for fine focus. Before removing the lens, everything still worked as it should (changing shutter speed or aperture would make light meter change, pictures would be exposed as they should) but no change in the view finder. Does anyone know what I did here? I like the fact that I see a more 'realistic' view now as I change the amount of light coming in, but I don't like the fact that my little focus circle goes all black and I can't line up verticals for fine focus. Would appreciate any help or advice. Thanks, Dan

6. From : Phil J. (catiamaven@yahoo.com)
Url : http://
Date : 10:58 AM Wednesday 23 July, 2003

I've owned a Nikkormat FTn for more than 30 years and have taken many wonderful pictures with it.

A little more than a year ago I noticed that the line in the frame counter had rotated so that it does not point to the correct frame number. I got a comment from another FTn owner whom I met over the internet that he had the same problem. I'm guessing that this is something relatively easy for a repair shop to fix. Does anyone have any insight into the cause or correction of this problem? Your replies will be appreciated. Thanks!

7. From : fabre (lebail3@aol.com)
Url : http://
Date : 09:26 PM Friday 04 July, 2003

hi, i have aNikkormat EL, but it doesn't work.Ihave a problem with the battery. Please help me Thanks a lot

8. From : Guy Clark (jguyclark@attbi.com)
Url : http://
Date : 12:32 PM Sunday 29 June, 2003

I just found my FT2 that I have not seen for 24 years. It is in great shape except for a very dirty/dusty lense. I am concerned in how to clear it, in fear I may scratch. Any one with ideas. Thanks

9. From : rick oleson (rick_oleson@yahoo.com)
Url : http://rick_oleson.tripod.com
Date : 03:51 AM Saturday 28 June, 2003

Hi Tom: If you're in the United States, you might try looking at www.KEH.com - look at their "Bargain" condition for better prices, as they tend to be almost excessive in their conservative rating of condition. A 1970-era Nikkormat (probably an FTN) would accept either Non-AI, AI, or AIS series lenses; you will get better prices by buying a Non-AI lens, and the others really offer you no advantages unless you plan to update to a later model camera. The only Nikkormat that does not accept Non-AI lenses is the FT3, which wasn't introduced until 1977. happy hunting rick :)=

10. From : Tom Fitzgibbons (tomfitzgibbons3@yahoo.com)
Url : http://
Date : 04:21 AM Sunday 22 June, 2003

I have a Nikkormat camera I purchased in 1970 and would like to know where I can purchase at,a reasonable price, an undamaged working 80-200 Nikon zoom lens that would fit my camera. Thank you.

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