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Page last updated: Monday, June 02, 2008
The Nikkormat FT3 (1977 to 1978)
According to numerous sources, the Nikkormat FT3 was a stopgap camera, filling time between the end of the FT2 era, and the release of the Nikon FM. Depending on where you're reading, production lasted somewhere between three months and two years. My research indicates at least 131,000 were made, which would lead one to believe it was in production for at least a year. By contrast, more than 1.2 million FTn's were produced between 1967 and 1975. This is an average of about 133,000 per year.
The FT3 has also been cited by some as the rarest of the Nikkormat cameras. This, too, is not likely. I've yet to find a Nikkormat FS with a higher serial number than 7418237, which indicated just over 18,000 of these coveted cameras were produced. Had Nikon proceeded based solely on FS sales, the Nikkormat/Nikomat brand would have gone the way of the Nikkorex F.
I did own a couple of FT3's back in the 1990's, but didn't use them a lot. Around that time, I was assigned as a crime scene photographer, and normally relied on my Nikon FG for work. I recently got two FT3's (one chrome, one black) for a combined total of $100. They normally retail about that for one. A recent chrome example went for more than $150 on eBay. The black camera had a cruddy looking lens coupler, which I replaced with another from the parts drawer. Voila, cosmetic problem solved! Their photos can be found on the varieties page.
I don't know - my copy of their book was printed before the FT2 or FT3 were released. If I find out, I'll update the page.
And Comon and Evans (Who were Comon and Evans?)
"This model has all of the features of the Nikkormat FT2 plus automatic indexing (AI). Identify by: 1) 'Nikkormat' inscribed on the front of the prism housing. 2) 'FT3' preceds (sic) the serial number on the top of the camera body."
The price guide indicates the FT3 had a list price of $307 in chrome or black.