Used Nikon Nikkormat FTN Camera

The shutter release is buttery smooth for a camera this old, and the build feels like it could survive a drop off a desk. I took it out shooting in bright sunlight and the match-needle metering worked perfectly. A solid, no-frills workhorse for learning manual photography.

The meter needle is dead-on accurate even after all these years, and the all-metal body feels like it could survive a car crash. Manual controls are a joy once you get the hang of the stop-down metering, though it takes a little patience at first.

I’ve been shooting with this for three weeks now, and the light meter is dead-on every single time. The manual controls feel incredibly solid — the shutter ring clicks with that old-school precision you just don’t get anymore.