Check listings on That Auction Site and you discover that, akin to late-model Pentax Ks the ones made in China , the EL2 seems to suffer prism fungus. Short of buying a parts donor body, or squinting around the ugly black tracery, a prospective EL2 buyer needs to be on the lookout for this problem.
Sadly, prism rot got more and more common with cameras into the late 70s and 80s. The first two examples I had both of which I got rid of , had this issue. Thankfully the second pair which I still have, do not. The reason why I write you is that I recently bought a nice EL2 which puzzled me. It was absolutely an EL2, but the serial was way off. Instead of the EL2 78xxxx numbering this one has serial without the EL2 prefix.
Today I learned from Nico van Dijk www. Well, Mike, it took a week and a half since I read this post to find a clean and working and black EL2 with a 40mm f1. You, sir, cause many of us a lot of GAS …!
I have a chrome and a black body. I also still have a Nikkor-S Auto I have since acquired a Carl Zeiss I have also converted a Carl Zeiss I will continue to use them with hopes for good images.
Never turn down an opportunity to make a fine image. Best wishes. I think those adverts claimed that the upgrade to the Nikon name for the EL2 was based on a decision to apply that name exclusively to cameras which accepted power winders and motor drives. I expect, though, it is generally accepted it was really done as a selling point for a camera that was priced at semi professional level or more :. Indeed, at the time, the Nikkormat FT3 model looked like a long in the tooth design for the demands of the contemporary marketplace having neither the features or adaptability of similarly priced yet lighter and more compact Olympus and Pentax models.
As you say, this was soon later addressed by the more expensive Nikon FM model. Home Photography Nikon EL2 I appreciate the larger size and high build quality of the older Nikkormat body with the addition of modern features like an infinitely variable electronic shutter, twin Silicon Blue Cell exposure meters, an extremely bright and easy to use viewfinder, excellent ergonomics, and support for both AI and Non-AI lenses. I absolutely recommend this camera! History From the moment Nippon Kogaku started working on their first consumer camera in , the company prioritized quality and perfection over innovation.
A Nikon S3 compared to the Nikon F. Pentaprism Viewfinder — First introduced on the Rectaflex in The Nikkormat FT emphasized compatibility with F-mount lenses on a less expensive body. The Copal Square vertically traveling metal blade shutter was enormously successful and used in a huge number of Japanese SLRs.
This is an early example from from a Nikkorex F. The EL2 was marketed as a semi-pro camera with features like optional motor drive attachment and a modern and accurate auto exposure system. NikonEL2Test In the 5 page test of the EL2 from the April issue of Modern Photography above, the editors repeatedly praised many of the EL2s operations from the bright and extremely easy to use viewfinder, to the accuracy and responsiveness of the new SBC exposure meter, to the new AI system and how easily it is to mount lenses.
Three Decades of Nikons Nikon F Like this article? Share it! Like this: Like Loading Thank you for passionate article about the EL2. Excellent article. I expect, though, it is generally accepted it was really done as a selling point for a camera that was priced at semi professional level or more : Indeed, at the time, the Nikkormat FT3 model looked like a long in the tooth design for the demands of the contemporary marketplace having neither the features or adaptability of similarly priced yet lighter and more compact Olympus and Pentax models.
Remove the 2 screws in the picture to remove the dial. The shutter speed dial assembly can be broken-down into these subcomponents. Clean it properly with naphtha or isopropyl alcohol. Next, remove the advance lever assembly by beginning with the cap. Use a rubber cup for extra friction, this unscrews by turning it counter-clockwise. The retainer underneath it should also be removed. The advance lever now be removed.
Do note that this thing is connected to the other end of a coil spring so be careful as you go or you may damage the spring The spring is there so that the lever will return to its position after you have cocked your shutter.
To remove the rewind lever, stick a small rod into the rewind fork and then unscrew the rewind lever by turning it counter-clockwise.
Be careful not to snap the fork! I use small wooden chopsticks for this if I have some available. The top panel can now be safely removed. The moving parts here should be lubricated when needed using the naphtha-oil solution that I taught you earlier in this blog post. To remove the prism, you must first remove these 2 screws. Be careful not to lose those 2 washers. There are 2 other washers here. The brace looks really dirty! Removing the 2 retainer springs should free-up the brace. Clean it thoroughly with some alcohol, it also looks corroded and you will have to get rid of that as well.
We are nearly there! The 2 CDS cells can be removed by picking them off with your nails. Just be careful not to damage these because they are delicate. There are 2 screws here for you to remove. The screws atop the black plastic parts secure the housing of the CDS cells or photodiodes, the ones on top of the grey metal parts left are for something else.
The shim for the prism can now be removed. It is used for calibrating your viewfinder image. We have a problem here. Remove the galvanometer and its housing by unscrewing some screws. Be careful while removing this, the needle can be very easily bent! Here it is, see how thin the needle is? There is also a printed acetate scale underneath it. It looks fine here but I accidentally crumpled mine! Remove the optics from the housing with your hands but make sure to touch it only at its corners and edges when possible.
The fresnel screen can be easily damaged so be careful while handling it. The smallest scar will show as a black spot inside the finder. It comes in 3 parts, the condenser lens at the top, a fresnel lens at the bottom and a shim between them. Do take note of their orientation before you separate it. Yuck, just look at that fungus! I cleaned it the same way I do with my fungus lenses. See how I do it by reading this article. I am going to show you another way to clean the focusing screen and the bottom surface of the prism without removing the top and going too deep into the camera.
The focusing screen can be accessed from the front by removing this brace. Remove this screw so you can remove the brace. This is also a good chance to replace the foam bumper stuck to the brace. I replace mine with a 2.
Once the brace is gone you can flip the tab of the frame down to reveal the spring under it. Do note that the other end of the spring and frame sits on top of a ledge.
Make sure that you put it back in the same position. You can finally extract the focusing screen. You can clean the bottom surface of the prism with bent Q-tips to help you reach its corners. Blowing air also helps remove any dirt or dried foam in harder-to-reach places. It sure is tight but this sure beats opening teh camera up just to access these parts.
This is great if the camera is not super dirty and will save you lots of time. Compared to the Nikkormat Ft series, this is a bit more difficult to clean because there are many electronic parts inside that you will have to be careful with.
I cut scraps of black plastic from a notebook. Be careful when putting back electronic parts. This spring needs to be wound-up before you put back the winding lever. The hook at the end of the spring can be annoying to position so I tired it with a thread. So long as it comes back into place after winding then it should be fine. The string trick is the easy way to do this. Wrap it in lens tissue and saturate it with solvents. Read my article on how I replace old foam. The way I do it is the most common way here in Japan when it comes to old-school repairers.
You may have your own preferences but I find this to be the cleanest and easiest way. Foam is used as some kind of a dust seal and is there more to keep dust out than to keep it light-tight. After all that work, this camera is now functioning properly.
Because the circuit board lead wires are too short to allow room to re-hook the springs, it was much easier to hook them to the frame outside of the the camera and insert the entire assembly.
Be aware once again that the wire leads going to the top circuit board can be shorter than the camera in this particular presentation, and may not allow as much room to work underneath the circuit board.
Finally, it is not necessary to extract the meter needle assembly as far out of the camera as in this presentation. It is only necessary to pull it out enough to clear its slot.
Be extremely careful and use a very close magnifier. Thank you everybody for supporting this blog. I wrote this article by request so I hope it will help somebody. Keep your Nikon equipment operating like new with Nikon factory service and repair. With both mail-in and in-person service available, our expert technicians provide diagnostics, maintenance, warranty and repairs for nearly all Nikon products. Sign In to Dealer Account. Nikon cameras and lenses are engineered for brilliant performance.
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