I must say: I am pleased as punch!

I recently ordered yet-another-Nikkormat EL from a Japanese seller on eBay. I do this from time-to-time because they’re a bit challenging to fix and even if they weren’t, the number of film camera repair people is rather small.

So when I saw the listing boast that the camera had recently been overhauled and reviewed the photos, I shoo’d away any feelings of skepticism and clicked the buy now button.

After some unexplained time lingering in Cincinnati, it arrived at my apartment door and I quickly opened the box to inspect it. It sure looked overhauled, all fresh and smooth, its black paint free of blemishes.

After inserting a battery and mounting a lens, I began to wave it around at various scenes in the apartment. As promised, the light meter reacted and appropriately too!

…and a few days later when I brought it out for a test roll, it also felt overhauled. I don’t think I’ve ever felt a smoother-operating film camera. What a treat!

Admittedly, making the first roll Astrum FN-64 was a bit of a choice. I actually quite like the results it gives in the right conditions. Unfortunately, the yarn and wires that form my internal decision tree are bent in odd ways and I am forever compelled to use this fussy stock in bright mid-winter sun. It’s a recipe for runaway highlights and copy-of-a-copy-of-a-copy-grade contrast.

Those were certainly features of this roll (as the mosaic above can attest to), but what I was looking for was even frame spacing, consistent (good) exposure across the frames, and an absence of light leaks. It succeeded on all three!

It will most definitely be getting another more “normal” roll of film next, but I am quite confident that this one will be the main EL I use!

---