Nikon EL2 User manual

Nikon
INSTRUCTIONMANUAL

NOMENCLATURE
Shutter-speeddiallock Filmrewindknob

Distancescale
Focusingring
Aperturering
Metercouplingridge
ASAfilm-speeddial
ASAfilm-speedscale
Filmrewindcrank
Film-speedscaleindex
Powercheckbutton
Powerchecklamp
Accessoryshoe
Aperture/Distancescaleindex
Metercouplingshoe
Depth-of-fieldindicators
Shutter-speedscale
Framecounter
MeterONindex
Film-advancelever
Film-planeindicator
Viewfindereyepiece
Hot-shoecontact
3

BRIEFGUIDETOCAMERAHANDLING
TheNikonEL2'sconveniently-placedcontrols
andfullyautomaticshutterfacilitateoperation
underevenrapidlychangingconditions.After
performingthepreliminarystepsaspresented
in"PreparationforUse"(pages8 ~ 12),shoot-
ingwiththeNikonEL2isassimpleas:
1)Settheshutterspeeddialto"A"toprepare
thecameraforautomaticoperation,asde-
tailedonpage13.
2)Setthelensaperturetothesettingappropri-
atefortheshootingsituationathandby
turningtheaperture ring, asdetailedonpage
14.
3)Turnonthemeterandshuttercontrolby
simplymovingthefilm-advancelevertothe
30°standoffposition,asdetailedonpage14.
4)View/focus/composethesubjectthroughthe
viewfinder,turningthelens'focusingringas
necessarytoachievea sharpimage(seepages
20- 25).
5)Assumea shootingstanceanddepressthe
shutterbuttontoexposethefilm(seepages
18and19).

CONTENTS
Foreword7
Preparationforuse' 8
Installingthebattery8
Removingthebattery9
Checkingthebattery9
Loadingthefilm10
Priortoshooting11
Operationofcameracontrols12
Settingthefilmspeed12
Settingtheshutterspeed13
Settingtheaperture14
Film-advancelever14
Framecounter15
Shutterreleasebuttonlock15
Self-timer16
Memorylock16
Unloadingfilm17
Holdingthecamera18
Shutterreleaseoperation19
Operationviacablerelease19
Focusing20
Infraredphotography22
Film-planeindicator22
Depthoffield23
Depth-of-fieldpreviewbutton23
Depth-of-fieldindicators24
6
Exposuremeasurement26
Automaticshutterspeedselection26
Manualshutterspeedselection28
Exposurecontrol29
Meteringrange30
High-contrastlightingsituations30
Stop-downexposuremeasurement32
Exposurecompensationadjustments34
EVrangeofthecamera35
Flashsynchronization38
Mirrorlockup39
Tipsoncameracare40
Changingthelens42
Couplingleverlock/releaseoperation43
Accessories44
Features/specifications46

FOREWORD
TheNikonEL2cameraofferstheseriousphoto-
grapherthehigheststandardofquality,performance,
convenienceandversatilityavailableinanauto35mm
SLRcamera.TheEL2isengineeredtotaketheguess-
workoutofphotographywithautomaticfeatures
anyonecanlearntouseinminutes.Togetthemost
outofyourNikonEL2camera,studytheinstruc-
tionscarefullyandpracticeusingthecontrolsbefore
youloadanyfilminthecamera.Keepthisbooklet
handyforreadyreferenceuntilyouhavemasteredits
basics,andfollowthesuggestionsforcameracare
givenonpage40.Thefewmomentsyouspendfamil-
iarizingyourselfwiththecamerawillguarantee
youthebestresultsandincreaseyourpicture-taking
enjoymentmanytimesover.
7

PREPARATIONFORUSE
InstallingtheBattery
Theexposuremeasurementandshuttercontrolcircuits
oftheEL2arepoweredbya single6-volt(type544)
batterymountedinthebatterychamberatthebottom
ofthemirrorbox.Toinstallthebattery,firstremove
thelens(ifmounted)fromthecamerabody(seepage
42)andlockupthemirror(turnthelockuplever
upwardasfarasitwillgo,asdescribedonpage39)to
gainaccesstothebatterychamber.Then,openthe
batterychamber(slidethelidtotheleft,thenup)
andinstallthebattery,makingsuretoproperlyalign
thepositive(+)andnegative(-)terminalsofthe
batteryasdepictedontheinteriorofthelid.After
insertingandproperlyseatingthebattery,snapthe
chamberlidshut,unlockthemirrorandremountthe
lenspreparatorytoshooting.
Caution: Shouldthebatterybeinstalledincorrectly(i.e.,inthe
reversedirection)inthechamber,itsenergywillbedepletedin
amatterofminutes;thus,takeextracaretoinsertthebattery
properly.Also,becarefulnottotouchtheshuttercurtainand
mirrorsurfacewhileinstallingthebattery.
Note: Removethebatterywhenthecameraisnottobeused
fora longperiod;thiswillpreventleakagewithinthecamera.
Also, keepthecameraaswarmaspossiblewhenoperating
undercold-weatherconditions;otherwise,thebatterymayfail
tofunction.(See"TipsonCameraCare"onpage40for
additionalinformation.)

RemovingtheBattery
Thebatterychamber'sbuilt-inejector-typemechanism
makesforeasierremovaloperationwhenremoving/
replacingthebattery.Toremovethebatteryfromthe
camera,takeoffthelensandlockupthemirroras
mentionedpreviously.Then,whileholdingthecamera
upside-down,releasethebatterychamberlidandpush
itslightlytowardthebackofthemirrorboxuntilthe
batterydropsfreeofthechamber.Afterremovingthe
battery,installa freshoneasexplainedpreviously.
CheckingtheBattery
TheEL2isprovidedwitha specialcircuitthatenables
thephotographertocheckthebatterypowercondition
withoutcausingexcessivebatterydrainwhichmight
occurbyhavingtoturnthecameraon.Tocheckbat-
terypower,simplydepressthepowercheckbutton
andwatchthepowerchecklampforindicationofthe
powerlevel.Ifthechecklampglows,batterypoweris
sufficient.Ifthelampfailstoglow,batterypositioning
shouldbechecked; then, ifthelampstillfailstoglow,
replacethebattery.
Note: Whencheckingbatterypower,holdthebuttondepressed
onlylongenoughforthechecklamptoglow;prolongedde-
pressingonlyservestodrainbatterypower.

PREPARATIONFORUSE-continued
LoadingtheFilm
Slidethecamerabacklatchreleaseatthesideofthe
rewindknobtotherearand,whileholdingtherelease
back,lifttherewindknobupuntilthecameraback
popsopen.Then,withtherewindknobintheup posi-
tion, dropa standardfilmcartridge(aNikonreloadable-
typecassettecannotbeused)intotheleft-handfilm
chamberwiththefilmleaderalignedalongthefilm
guiderails.
Afterpositioningthecartridgeandfilmleaderproperly,
pushtherewindknobdowntoholdthecartridgein
placeand, then, inserttheendofthefilmleaderinto
anyoftheslotsinthefilmtake-upspool.Ifnecessary,
releasetheshutterand, then, strokethefilm-advance
leverslowlytomakesurethattheleaderwindssmooth-
lyonthespoolandthatthefilmedgeperforations
engagewiththefilmsprocketroller.Whensatisfied
thatthefilmisproperlyfeedingand is travelingcorrect-
lyalongthefilmguiderails,snapthecamerabackshut
tosealthefilmchamber.(Also,see"TipsonCamera
Care" onpage40.)
Caution: Whenloading film, besuretoshadethecamerafrom
directexposuretosunlighttopreventinadvertent"fogging"
ofthe film.

PriortoShooting
Foldouttherewindcrankandturnitgentlyinthe
directionoftheengravedarrowuntilyoufeela slight
tension; thistensionindicatesthatthereisnomore
slackinthefilmcartridge.(Besurenottorewindthe
filmbackintothecartridge.)
Settheshutter-speeddialtooneofthefixed-speedset-
tings(seepage13),advancethefilmviathe film-
advancelever(seepage14)andmaketwoblankex-
posurestodisposeoftheinitialportionofthefilm
exposedduringloading.Whileadvancingthe film, check
thattherewindcrankturnsinthedirectionopposite
thearrow.Crankrotationindicatesthatthefilmhas
beenloadedproperlyandisbeingadvanced.Then,fold
thecrankflatforfilmstorage.
Afteradvancingthefilmtwoframestodisposeofany
exposed film, theframecounterattheupperrightof
thecamerawillindicate"0";nowadvancethefilmone
moreframetopreparethecamerafortakingthefirst
exposure.
Note: Settingtheshutter-speeddialtooneofthefixed-speed
positions(ratherthanto"A")priortomakingblankexposures
willprovideforthemostrapidloadingasthisactionwillpre-
ventthecamerafromselectinga slowspeed,asmightbethe
caseshouldloadingbeperformedwiththelenscapinplace.
However,besuretoresetthedialto"A"ifautomaticoperation
istobeperformed.

OPERATIONOFCAMERACONTROLS
SettingtheFilmSpeed
Asfilmresponsesensitivityduringexposuretolight
(called"filmspeed")varieswithfilmtype,adjustment
ofthecamera'smeteringcircuitisessentialtoensure
uniformexposuresunderalloperationalconditions.
Thus, a film-speeddial(ASAgraduations)isprovided
forthispurpose,witha safetylockmechanismbuilt-in
topreventaccidentalshiftingof the dialduringshooting.
Tosetthefilmspeed,depressthefilm-speeddiallock
and, whileholdingthelockdepressed,turntheASA
film-speeddialuntiltheredindexmarkisalignedwith
theASAvalueforthefilminuse.Aftersettingthe dial,
releasethelockandtestthedialtoensurethatitisset
firmlyatthedesiredASAvalue.Themeterissensitive
acrossthefullrangeoffromASA12toASA3200.
Thefilm-speeddialhastwograduationsbetweeneach
pairofnumbersforintermediatesettingssuchas64,
80, 125,etc.Thefigurebelowindicatesthevaluesfor
allintermediatesettings.
12

SettingtheShutterSpeed
TheNikonEL2issetforautomaticormanualshutter
speedselectionviatheshutter-speeddialpositionedto
therightofthefinder,withsettingoperationpossible
atanytimeeitherbeforeoraftertheshutteriswound.
Thedialisprovidedwithpositionsforautomatic("A"),
speedsoffrom8 secondsto 1/1000 second,anda "B"
setting. Tosetthedialforautomaticshutterspeedse-
lection, simplyrotatethedialclockwiseuntilthegreen
"A"(automatic)settingclicksandlocksintoplace
alignedwiththeshutter-speedscaleindexatthebase
ofthe dial; thebuilt-inlockingmechanismensuresthat
thedialcannotbeaccidentlyshiftedfromtheautomatic
positionduringshooting.
Tosetthedialformanualshutterspeedselectionused
during"match-needle"exposuremeasurement,simply
depresstheshutter-speeddiallockand,whileholding
thelockdepressed,rotatethedialcounterclockwiseoff
ofthe"A"position;whenthedialisalignedwithwhite
settingsoffrom2 to1000,theactualshutterspeedisa
fractionalvalueoffrom1/2secondto 1/1000 second,
whiletheremainingsettingsindicatetheactualvalues
offrom8 secondsto1 second.Thered"125"setting
indicatesthatthe1/125secondshutterspeedisthe
fastestspeedprovidingX synchronizationforusewith
electronicflashunits.Atthe"B"setting,theshutter
remainsopenaslongastheshutter-releasebuttonis
depressed. Ifyouhaveforgottentoinstallthebattery,
theshuttergivesa mechanicallyfixedspeedof1/90
secondregardlessofthedialposition.(See"Flash
Synchronization"onpage38foradditionalinfor-
mationonflashphotography.)
Note: TheNikonEL2consumesbatterypoweratallshutter-
speeddialsettingsand,thus,issubjecttothesamelimitations
onbatterylife(i.e.,approx.10hourscontinuousoperation
withfreshbatteries)evenatthe"B"setting.

OPERATIONOFCAMERACON
SettingtheAperture
Theringfittedatthebaseofthelensadjuststhesizeof
theaperture(oropening)intheirisdiaphragm.Topre-
setthelensaperture,turntheapertureringuntilthede-
siredf/numbersettingonthescaleisalignedwiththe
indexmarkprovidedonthe lens. Theirisdiaphragmcan
alsobesettointermediateaperturesbetweentheclick-
stopsettingsformorepreciseexposures.
ROLS— continued
Film-AdvanceLever
Thefilm-advanceleversimultaneouslyadvancesthe
film, cockstheshutterandoperatestheframecounter.
Italsoswitchesontheexposuremeterinthefinder
andunlockstheshutter-releasebutton.Toadvancethe
film, stroketheleverwiththerightthumbina single
stroketotalingonly135°.A built-inlockingdevice
preventstheshutterfrombeingreleasedunlessitis
fullycockedandthefilmadvancedafullframe.Atthe
completionoffilmadvance,releasetheleverandit
willreturntothe30°standoffpositionreadyforshut-
terrelease.
Note: Donotapplypressuretothefilm-advanceleverwhile
makinganexposure.

FrameCounter
Theframecounteroperatesautomaticallytoshowhow
manyframeshavebeenexposed.Whenthecameraback
isopenedforloading,thecounterisresettothe"S"
(start)position,twoframesbefore"0."Oncethe
cameraisloadedandthebackclosed,each film-
advance/shutter-releasesequencewillcausetheframe
countertoadvanceonepositionuntilthemaximum20
or36frameshavebeenexposed.Thedialoftheframe
counteriscalibratedwithdots(foroddnumbers)and
figures(forevennumbers),andwithsettingsof"S,"
"20" and"36"inred.
ShutterReleaseButtonLock
Aspecialcontrolisfittedaroundthebaseoftheshut-
terreleasebuttontoprovideforgreatereaseofopera-
tionwhenusingtheEL2withtheAutoWinderAW-1
mountedforautomaticfilmadvance.Withtheshutter
releasebuttonlock,thefilm-advancelever'smeter
ON/OFFandshutterbuttonlockfunctionsaredupli-
catedtoenablepositioningoftheleverflushtothe
bodywhileusingtheAutoWinder.Tooperatethe
cameraviatheshutterreleasebuttonlock,simply
switchthelocktothelefttorevealtheredmeterON
index;inthisposition,themeterisonandtheshutter
buttonisunlockedfornormalreleaseoperation.When
notusingtheAutoWinder,switchthelockbacktothe
rightandoperateviathefilm-advancelever.
Note: Wheneverthecameraisstored,besurethattheshutter
releasebuttonlock(aswellasthefilm-advancelever)issetto
the"meter-OFF"positiontoensureagainstaccidentalbattery
drain.
15

OPERATIONOFCAMERACONTROLS-continued
Self-Timer
Thebuilt-inself-timercanbeusedtotriptheshutter
aftera delayofapproximately10seconds,anditwill
operatewhethertheshutterspeeddialissetforauto-
maticormanualshutterspeedselection.Totakea pic-
tureusingtheself-timertofirethecamera,firstsetthe
apertureandshutter-speedcontrols,advancethe film,
andcocktheself-timerbyturningitsleverdownward
asfarasitwillgo; then, simplydepresstheshutterre-
leasebuttontostartthecountdown,withshutterre-
lease occurringatthecompletionofthecycle(notethat
themirrorwillriseastheshutterbuttonisdepressed
andreturnattheendofthecycle).Notethattheself-
timercanbeseteitherbeforeorafteradvancing film;
however,oncecocked,itcannotberesetexceptby
pressingtheshutterreleasebutton.Theself-timermay
notbeusedatthe"B"shutter-speeddialsetting.
Caution: Shouldself-timeroperationbeperformedwiththe
camerasetforautomaticoperation,besurethatthefindereye-
pieceiscoveredtopreventtheentryofstraylight.Failureto
dothiscanresultinincorrectlyexposedpictures.
16
MemoryLock
Theconvenient locationoftheself-timerlever,making
forreadyfingeraccess,provesadvantageouswhenusing
thebuilt-inmemorylockfunction.Memorylockenables
thephotographertoretainanexposuremeasurement
takenclose-uptothesubject,orviaselectivecomposi-
tionthroughtheviewfinder,by"lockingin"thereading
takenpriortooperatingthelock.Tooperatethe
memorylock,viewthroughthefinderandmeteron
theselectedarea; then, simplypushthelevertoward
thelenstoholdthereadinguntilthecompletionofthe
exposure.Thereadingwillberetainedaslongasthe
controlisheldinthisposition.Thus,severalframescan
beexposedusingthesamelockedreading.Also,the
aperturecanbeadjustedwithoutaffectingtheshutter
speedlockedin.(See"High-ContrastLightingSitua-
tions" onpage30fordetailsontheuseofthememory
lockfunction.)

UNLOADINGFILM
Whentheframecounterindicatesthelastexposurehas
beenmade,orwhenthefilm-advancelevercanno long-
erbestroked,therolloffilmhasbeenfullyexposed
anditshouldberemovedfromthecamera.
Tounloadthecamera,firstpresstherewindbuttonon
thecamerabaseplate; then, unfoldtherewindcrank
andturnitinthedirectionoftheengravedarrow,
usinga smooth,evenpressure.Whennomoretensionis
felt,thefilmleaderhasleftthetake-upspoolandthe
camerabackmaybeopenedasexplainedpreviously.
Afteropeningthecameraback,carefullyliftthefilm
cartridgefreeofthefilmchamber.Notethat as the film-
advanceleverisstrokedforthenextexposure,there-
windbuttonwillbereleasedtoengagethefilm-advance
mechanism.
Caution: Becarefulnottopushtherewindbuttonduring film-
advanceoperation,astemporaryfilmstoppageanddoubleex-
posuremayoccur.Also,donotattempttoforcetheadvance
leveratthecompletionofthe roll, asthiscanresultintearing
thefilmoutofthecartridge.

HOLDINGTHECAMERA
Camerashakeisoneofthemostcommoncausesofun-
sharppictures,especiallyatslowshutter speeds. Learn
toholdthecameracorrectlyandpracticesteadyshutter
squeezing.Thephotosshowthebestwaystoholdthe
cameraforsharppictures.
Wrapthefingersoftherighthandaroundthecamera
bodysothattheindexfingerrestscomfortablyonthe
shutter-releasebuttonandthethumbfitsbetweenthe
camerabodyandthefilm-advancelever.Positionthe
camerasothattheeyelooksthroughthecenterofthe
viewfinder.Cradlethecamerainthelefthandforaddi-
tionalsupport,withtheleftthumbandindexfinger
graspingthefocusingring.Fromthisbasicstance,the
cameracanbeproperlysupportedandeasilyswitched
fromhorizontaltoverticalformat shooting. Asa general
rule, theslowestshutterspeedyoushouldusewiththe
camerahand-held is equaltothereciprocalofthefocal
lengthofthelensinuse (e.g., fora 500mmlens,use
1 /500sec;fora 105mmlens,use 1 /125sec).However,
astheabilitytoholdthecamerasteadymayvarywith
eachindividual,werecommendthatyouexperiment.In
general, thehighertheselectedshutter speed, thesharp-
erthepicture.
18

SHUTTERRELEASEOPERATION
Forsharppictures,correctshutterreleasingisjustas
importantassteadycameraholding.Afteradvancing
thefilmtoa freshframe,thecameraissetforshutter
releaseviathebuttonprovidedattheupperright.
Whentakingthepicture,holdthecamerasteady(as
explainedpreviously),relaxanddepressthebuttonus-
inga steadyevenpressuretoreleasethecamera'sshut-
ter—remember,a quickjabofthefingerwillcause
cameramovementandmayresultina blurredphoto-
graph.
OperationviaCableRelease
Theshutter-releasebuttoncanalsobetrippedviaa ca-
blereleaseorsimilaraccessoryformorevibration-free
operationwhenthecameraistripod-mountedandop-
eratedatslowshutterspeeds.And,astwomounting
threadsareprovided,virtuallyanytypecablereleasecan
beused.ToattachanISO-threadrelease(Nikonmodel
AR-3, etc.),screwtheconnectorintotheV-shaped
threadinthecenterofthebutton.ForNikon-thread
releases(modelAR-2,etc.),screwtheconnectoronto
thethreadsprovidedaroundthebutton.Theshutteris
thentrippedbydepressingthereleaseplunger.
«'
19

FocusingisdoneatfullaperturewithNikkorlensesfit-
tedwithanautomaticdiaphragm.Thistechniquepro-
videsthebrightestpossibleimagesonthefocusing
screenforeasyfocusingandcomposing.Italso mini-
mizesdepthoffieldsothattheimagesnapsinandout
offocusdistinctly.
TheNikonTypeK screencomeswiththecameraas
standardequipment.Tofocus,turnthefocusingring
onthelensuntilthetwohalvesoftherangefinder
imagecoincidetoforma single,crisp image; whenusing
themicroprism ring, turnuntilthemicroprismpattern
shiftstoa sharpandcrispimage.Youcanalsofocuson
themattefieldthatsurroundstherangefinder/micro-
prismcentralarea.
Thelenscanalsobeprefocusedusingthedistancescale
engravedinbothmetersandfeetonthelensbarrel.
Simplyturnthefocusingringuntilthedesiredcamera-
to-subjectdistance(asmeasuredorestimated)islined
upwiththedistancescaleindexonthelensbarrel.This
techniqueisusefulforcandidshotsofelusivesubjects
whentimedoesnotpermitthrough-the-lensfocusing.