Nikkormat - Design History

Design History

In 1959, Nippon Kogaku released its first 35 mm SLR, the professional level Nikon F. The F combined every SLR technological advance available in 1959 (automatic diaphragm lenses, instant return mirror and eyelevel pentaprism viewfinder) into one superbly integrated package with bulletproof mechanical durability and reliability, plus topnotch optical quality. It also offered the most complete system of accessories in the world, including interchangeable viewfinder heads, viewfinder screens, motor drives, flashbulb units, bulk film backs and eventually over fifty world class Nikkor lenses. The F quickly became the preferred 35 mm camera among professional photographers (especially photojournalists) and amateurs of the 1960s.

However, the professional SLR market was (and is) a small market with very expensive offerings. The Nikon F with Nikkor 50 mm f/2 lens had a list price of US$359.50 in 1959 when a good new car could be had for US$2500. Many amateur photographers desired to buy the F, but simply could not afford it.

Nippon Kogaku's first attempt to produce a moderately priced, amateur oriented SLR, the Nikkorex series of 1960 to 1965, was a failure. Actually manufactured by Mamiya Camera Co. with one model shared with Riken Optical Co. (today, Ricoh), the Nikkorexes were clunky beasts, larger than the Nikon F despite having far fewer features. Undistinguished fit, finish and feel, and mediocre reliability (due primarily to an outsourced shutter design) did not help. Few people were impressed. Nippon Kogaku went back to the drawing board.

Nippon Kogaku's second attempt was designed and manufactured completely in-house. Compared to the Nikon F, the Nikkormat FT had a fixed pentaprism viewfinder and did not accept a motor drive. However, with very sturdy construction plus access to the Nikkor lens line, Nippon Kogaku finally achieved its desired success with amateurs.

The Nikkormat FTn was a particular bestseller and had an enviable reputation for toughness and reliability. It is now regarded as one of the finest SLRs of its generation, rivaled only by the Canon FTb of 1971.

The 1970s presented Nippon Kogaku with a different challenge. With the 35 mm SLR optical and mechanical format perfected, the industry turned to advancements in electronic convenience features. It had already begun during the 1960s with built-in light meters, but accelerated dramatically in the 1970s.

First came the electronically controlled focal plane shutter. A major expense of the Nikkormat F-series was its high quality mechanical shutter. Just as a cheap mechanical watch keeps mediocre time, so does a cheap mechanical shutter. Unreliable or fragile shutters were a major source of exposure errors or mechanical failures in low end mechanical shutter SLRs.

Then came electronic autoexposure. Built-in light meters and electronic shutters combined with microelectronics to make exposure control simpler and faster. It was hoped that this would expand the amateur SLR market by enticing photographers normally intimidated by the need to learn all the gritty details of operating a manual SLR to step up from compact automatic leaf-shutter rangefinder (RF) cameras.

Like other first generation autoexposure SLRs, the Nikkormat EL was a conservative evolutionary design, and as such, has proven very reliable.