Nikon Nikkormar FT3 User manual

Nikkorlll_
INSTRUCTION MANUAL

NOMENCLATURE
Coupling Lever Release
Meter Coupling Lever
Cou pies the exposure meter
to the lens' auto diaphragm.
Neck Strap Eyelet
Shutter-Speed Index
Align with the desired
shutter speed.
Self- Timer
Trips the shu tter in 8
seconds delay.
ASA Film -Speed Index
Adjusts the meter for the
speed
of the film used.
ASA Film-Speed Scale
Range: 12-1600 ASA.
Tripod Socket
Rewind Button
Press to rewind the film.
------------------~
2
Lens Mounting Index
Mirror Lock
Slide downward to lock the
mirror up out of the optical
path .
Lens Release Button
Unlocks the lens for remov-
ing
or changing lenses.
Shutter-Speed Lever
ASA Lock
Camera Back Latch
Press to open the camera
back.
Battery Chamber
Houses the silver-oxide
battery that powers the
meter.
Camera Back
Hinged to swing open from
the side.

Aperture /Distance Scale Index
Infrared Mark
Lines up with the prefocused
distance to compensate
for shift in focus.
Meter Coupli ng Shoe
Aperture Ring
Sets the lens diaphragm to
the desired flnumber.
Depth- of ·Field Preview Button
Press to preview how much
background or foreground
is in or out of focus.
'----
Fl ash Terminal
Accepts a flash sync cord.
Rewind Crank
Fold out to rewind the film.
Meter Wi
Finder Eyepiece
Permits comfortable viewing,
composing and focu ~
Hot-Shoe C :..; o :..; n .:..: t ", a c:. c c:. t _______________________________ --'
Film -Plane Indicator
Shows the exact position of
the film plane .
Distance Scale
Depth - of -Field Scale
Color-coded mar kings give
depth-of-field at different
apertures.
Focusing Ring
Easy-to-grip, knurled sur-
face for
quick, accurate
focusing.
Meter Coupling Ridge
Connects to the meter
coupling lever.
Shutter-Speed Scale
Speeds from 1/1000 to 1
1r t- _____________________ se _ c _ o _ n _ d ~ p _ lu _ s _B_ . __________ _
Shutter Release Button
(With screw thread for
cable release).
Frame Counter
Indicates the number of
frames ex p ~ o = se :.: d :.: . ________ __
Film -Advance Lever
Advances the film, cocks
the shu tter and operates
the frame cou nter. Also
switches the built-in
exposure meter on or off.
Meter ON Index
3

CONTENTS
Nomenclature ... ... ... ....... . .. . . 2
Shutter Release Operation ....... ...... 20
Foreword .. . . . . . . . . . . 5
Depth of Field ....... . . . ........... 21
Loading the
Camera ... 6 Depth-of-Field Preview Bu
tton .. . ... 21
Film-Plane
Indicator 8 De-pth-of-Field Scale .
...... .. . . .... 22
Film-Advance Lever . 8 Self-Timer
........................ 24
Frame Counter. . . . . . . . . 9 Mirror
Lock .. . ... . ................ 24
Film-Speed (ASA) Setting ........... 9
Infrared Photography ................ 25
Exposure Con trois . ................. 10
Setting the Shutter Speed. . . . . . . . 11
Setting the Aperture . . ............ . 11
Exposure Measurement ............... 12
Fu ll -Aerture Exposure Measurement .... 12
Turning On the Meter .. . . . . . .12
Centering the Needle ... ..... . ...... 13
Getting the Right Exposure .. ... . .. .. 14
Stop-Down Exposure Me asurement .. . .. 15
Special Cases .... . ........ .... . .. 16
Silver-Oxide Battery ... . ..... ....... . 25
Flash
Synchronization . ... . . ......... . 26
Changing
the Lens ... . .............. 27
Accessories ... ...... .. . ........... 28
Lens Hoods ..................... 28
Filters
.. . ... .. ................ 28
Finder Eyecup ... . .. . ..... . ...... 29
Eyepiece Correction Lenses . ... . . .... 29
Camera Care ...................... 30
Features/Specifications ............... 31
How to Hold the Camera .............. 17
Focusing ......................... 18
4

FOREWORD
The Nikkormat FT3 offers the high quality
performance and durability common to Nikon
_ cameras, but with the basic simplicity of de-
sign that has made the Nikkormat camera
popular with amateur and professional alike.
Systematically-positioned controls for picture-
taking ease, a convenient flash unit mount for
simplified flash photography and the extensive
possibilities of the Nikon System of Photo-
graphy further enhance the capabilities of the
Nikkormat FT3.
To ensure you get the best results from your
Nikkormat FT3, read this instruction book
carefully and practice using the controls be-
fore you load film into the camera. Follow
the suggestions on camera care on page 30 and
you will receive many years of reliable service.
5

LOADING THE CAMERA
Press down the camera back latch on the side of the
camera and
the hinged back will spring open . Pull up
on the rewind knob and drop a film cartridge into the
film chamber with the film leader pointing towards
the take-up spool. Now, push down the rewind knob
to hold the cartridge in place and insert the end of
the film leader into anyone of the three slots in the
take-up spool. Rotate the take-up spool as shown in
the illustration so that the. film passes under the spool
with its emulsion side (dull side) facing
out. Make sure
6
that the perforations along the edges of the film mesh
with the sprockets.
Close the camera
by pressing on the back until it
snaps
into place. Fold out the rewind crank and turn
it gently in the direction of the arrow until you can
feel a slight tension. This will
take up any slack in the
film cartridge. Be careful not to exert too much pres-
sure on the rewind crank.
Loading exposes the first few inches
of the film. To
dispose of this exposed film, wind the film advance

lever and make two blank exposures. Watch the rewind
knob to see if it rotates in the direction opposite the
arrow while the fUm is being advanced. This will
indicate
that the fUm has been loaded correctly and
is being advanced.
The
frame counter on top of the camera should now
rest at "0". Advance the fUm one more frame and
you are ready to take the Hrst picture.
Caution: Do not load the camera in bright sunlight. If no
other shade is available, shade the camera from the sun with
your body while loading.
To unload, press the rewind button on the camera
baseplate,
unfold the rewind crank and turn it with a
con~tant, gentle pressure in the direction of the arrow.
Avoid uneven or excessively fast rewinding. When no
more tension can be felt and the crank turns loosely,
the fUm has left the sprockets and the camera may be
opened. pull the rewind knob up slightly and the fUm
cartridge will drop out.
The rewind button will pop out again as soon as the
fUm advance lever is stroked.
7

LOADING THE CAMERA- continued
Film-Plane Indicator
The (~) mark on top of the camera body shows the
exact position of the film plane. This is important to
know when measuring the fUm-to-subject distance,
especially
in close-ups and macrophotography.
8
Film-Advance Lever
The fUm-advance lever simultaneously advances the
film, cocks the shutter and operates the frame counter.
It also serves as an on-off switch for the exposure
meter.
Stroke the film-advance lever with the right thumb in
a single
stroke. A built-in locking device prevents the
shutter from being released unless it is fully cocked
and the film has been advanced a full frame.
The film-advance lever springs back to its original posi-
tion, with ample clearance for the thumb, after each
stroke. However,
the meter will remain in the "on"
position until the lever is pressed flush against the
camera body.
Caution: Be careful not to push the rewind button (on the
camera's baseplate) during ftlm advance operation. Should
this occur , temporary stoppage of ftlm transport and double
exposure of the negative may result.

Frame Counter
The frame counter located on top of the camera works
automatically to show how many frames have been
exposed. The numbers 20 and 36 are colored red to
correspond to the number of frames in a standard
3Smm cartridge. The frame counter stops just past
the 36-frame mark and resets itself automatically to
"S", two frames before "0", when the camera back is
opened for reloading.
Film Speed (ASA) Setting
Some films are more sensitive to light than others. A
fUm's sensitivity
is commonly known as its "spee d,"
expressed in ASA numbers.
In order to work with films of different speeds, the
Nikkormat FT3's light-meter circuit must be adjusted
for
the ASA number of the film used, This is done by
means of a slotted index pointer located on the
bottom of the shutter-speed ring. The ASA film-speed
scale has
numbered settings for speeds from ASA 12-
1600 with dots between each pair of numbers for
intermediate settings such as ASA 64, 80, etc.
.Pull
up the ASA lock on top of the shutter-speed
lever and , while holding the lock up, slide the slotted
ASA index pointer until it lines up with the ASA
number of the film in use. After releasing the ASA
lock,
check that the ASA index pointer is securely
locked
into position.
Film-Speed (ASA)Scale
1620 3240 64 80 125160 250 320 500640 10001250
ILLILLILlIL!I!LIL!I~~1
12
25 50 100 200 400 800
1600
9

EXPOSURE CONTROLS
The amount of exposure the fUm receives is determin-
ed by a combination of shutter speed and aperture.
The larger the lens aperture, the more exposure. Like-
wise,
the slower the shutter speed the greater the
exposure. Aperture is expressed in f/numbers with
larger numbers representing smaller apertures and vice
versa.
For example, f/8 gives twice as much exposure
as f/11. Shutter speed is expressed in seconds or
fractions of a second. The numbers on the Nikkormat
shutter-speed scale are reciprocals of the actual speeds
(250
represents 1/250 second , etc.).
Camera
aperture and shutter-speed controls are cal-
culated so that an increase of one f/number com-
pensates for a one-step decrease in
shutter speed. For
example, 1/250 at f/8 is equivalent to 1/125 at fIll.
The table below shows how aperture and shutter -
speed are
interrelated. All the combinations give the
same exposure.
Aperture
f/1.4
f/2
f/2 .8 f/4
f/5 .6
Shutter speed
1/500 1/250
1/125 1/60
1/30
(seconds)
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