What to do with 10 old Nikkormat bodies?

[MILLIREHM]

The F2 is loud especially with the Motordrive, the F4 is not silent but sounds less metallic. MD12 especially made FM2/FE2 very loud.

Also never got an F5, I was disappointed by the new ergonomics. Took me five years (after 1988)  to get a used F4, it did an extreme price leap compared to F3 and was too expensive for me to buy new

What I liked with the F2 and the Nikkormat is that they were able to take the AR-1 soft touch release - for me still the best way to release the shutter although not Giugiaro design.

[Imagelover]

Keep all the Nikkormats! My personal opinion is that they all are really nice to look at. I also have some of them, and will "newer" let them go.

[MEPER]

I wonder if there is still companies like Kodak and Fuji that spends money and time to develop new films?   
Or has development stopped completely?

The E100 (Ektachrome) that is advertised here as "new":
https://imaging.kodakalaris.com/photographers-photo-printing/film/color

.....is that just a "remake" of the old Ektachrome or is it a new variant?
Since Kodak decides to add this film it must be because there is a demand for it?
So Kodak not totally "dead" it seems.....
Ektachrome and Nikkormat could be a good match!

I only have chrome Nikkormats......no blacks. I was never able to get a black that looked good.....only have a "hot shoe" in black.

[MEPER]

Ok......the news is only that E100 is available in 120 and sheet's......so not really something new......

[David H. Hartman]

I wonder if there is still companies like Kodak and Fuji that spends money and time to develop new films? ... Or has development stopped completely?

If developments affecting the price of silver continue as expected mortals may not be able to buy silver based photographic films.

Dave

I thought Kodak only made picante sauce, skins for phones and generic drugs.

[Hugh_3170]

+1

My first SLR was an FTn and the second was an FT3.  Both still usable and the FT3 with its Ai lens mount especially so.

Keep all the Nikkormats! My personal opinion is that they all are really nice to look at. I also have some of them, and will "newer" let them go.

[MEPER]

As a technical point of view it would be interesting to know how far film could have developed today if there was same demand as 25-30 years back.
Would we have an ISO800 RMS 4 Provia?

[Jack Dahlgren]

As a technical point of view it would be interesting to know how far film could have developed today if there was same demand as 25-30 years back.
Would we have an ISO800 RMS 4 Provia?

Not sure if there have been advancements in the basic technologies used in film production. Digital sensors definitely improve on flatness and alignment as well as image stabilization and ability to adjust to different lighting conditions.

[Roland Vink]

FE2 very compact and for tripod use with mirror lock-up I just used the "self timer" and pulled it a bit out to a few seconds. Then when trigger was released the mirror flipped up and 2-3 sec. later film was exposed. Some blamed the camera that you could not "break" the self-timer after it was activated but I used this "flaw" as a very nice feature. Much easier than a real "mirror lockup" mechanism. Also the camera made its exposure calculation during activation of the trigger and used that a few sec. later. Light could change a bit but I never found that as a problem.

I have the same experience with my FE2, used the self-timer as a type of mirror lockup regularly. A great camera.

[Roland Vink]

A counter indication for the Nikon FM2n and FE2 is the sound level, sharp, loud.

Possibly due to the fast flash-sync speed (1/250 sec), it was the fastest shutter when introduced. With a slower shutter it is probably easier to dampen the sound. The FM3a is quieter, and a little more refined all-round compared to the FE2.

[Eddie Draaisma]

In 1982 the FM2 stole the show with having the fastest shutter; 1/4000s top speed and 1/200s flash sync. In 1983 the FE2 arrived with a slightly faster 1/250s flash sync and a honeycomb patterned shutter. In 1984 the FM2 was succeeded by the FM2n with also 1/250s flash sync, this shutter did however not have the honeycomb pattern. The FA from 1983 has the FE2-type shutter.

[MEPER]

I have two FM2n. One with the honeycomb shutter and one without. The one without is the most recent. It seems the first FM2n that came out had the nice Titanium? honeycomb shutter.
There was some discussion which was best and if it was to save money they put another shutter in. The never shutter is probably aluminium?
The honeycomb shutter looks better.....

[Roland Vink]

I think the honeycomb shutter is titanium. To achieve a very fast shutter speed and x-sync, the shutter blades had to be as light as possible. The blades were made very thin with some thicker sections to make them strong enough, which gives the honeycomb pattern.

Nikon later found a way to make an aluminium shutter that was durable enough to withstand the high acceleration and deceleration of the fast shutter. Aluminium is cheaper and easier to fabricate, so it replaced the titanium shutter. But yes, the titanium does look better

[Eddie Draaisma]

I have two FM2n. One with the honeycomb shutter and one without. The one without is the most recent. It seems the first FM2n that came out had the nice Titanium? honeycomb shutter.
There was some discussion which was best and if it was to save money they put another shutter in. The never shutter is probably aluminium?
The honeycomb shutter looks better.....

Mine has the "flat" shutter; the honeycomb is indeed the nicest looking shutter.

[David H. Hartman]

In 1982 the FM2 stole the show with having the fastest shutter; 1/4000s top speed and 1/200s flash sync. In 1983 the FE2 arrived with a slightly faster 1/250s flash sync and a honeycomb patterned shutter. In 1984 the FM2 was succeeded by the FM2n with also 1/250s flash sync, this shutter did however not have the honeycomb pattern. The FA from 1983 has the FE2-type shutter.

On the test bench I've see X-sync speeds of about 1/180th and 1/230th second for the FM2 and FM2n/FE2 respectively. I believe these are within ANSI (or whoever's) specs. I don't remember the fastest shutter speed but they might have been 1/3200th to 1/3800th second. The decades have rolled by and my friend at who's shop I did my testing died in 2015. I don't have notes.

Dave