Nikon Nikkormat EL1972

History

Nikon introduced aperture-priority automation to the Nikkormat line with the EL in 1972, four years after the Nikkormat FTn established the Non-AI coupling standard. The move to AE reflected competitive pressure: Konica had shipped the Auto-Reflex with AE in 1965, and by the early 1970s automated exposure was increasingly expected even in serious-amateur bodies. The EL retained the Nikkormat's familiar form factor - fixed pentaprism, bottom-mounted film-advance lever - while adding the silicon metering cell that enabled stepless electronic shutter control. It was succeeded by the Nikkormat ELW (1976), which added a motor-drive coupling socket. Production of both models ended in 1977 when Nikon launched the consumer-focused EM and the professional Nikon F2.

Why It Matters

The Nikkormat EL is a transitional camera in Nikon's history: the proof that Nikon could deliver automatic exposure without abandoning the professional F mount or the mechanical reliability the brand was known for. It predated the Nikon FE by five years and demonstrated to the market that AE and F-mount interchangeability were compatible goals. For collectors, it is an interesting study in how camera makers approached the first generation of electronic shutter design - the battery dependency was a real limitation, and Nikon later addressed it more gracefully in the FE (1978), which offered a 1/90s mechanical fallback as a genuine emergency speed rather than an artifact.

Lenses & Accessories

Nikon F mount with Non-AI coupling prong. All Non-AI (pre-AI) Nikkor lenses mount and meter correctly using the aperture-indexing procedure (rotate the lens from minimum to maximum aperture on first mount). AI and AI-S lenses can be mounted but meter in stop-down mode only. The standard pairing was the Nikkor-H 50mm f/2 or Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 Non-AI. The EL does not accept the MD-1/MD-2 motor drives; the ELW successor added that capability.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Adopted by advanced amateurs transitioning from earlier Nikkormat FT/FTn bodies who wanted AE without leaving the F-mount ecosystem.
• Featured in Nikon advertising and catalog literature of the early-to-mid 1970s as evidence of Nikon's move into automated SLR design.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Nikon Nikkormat EL
• Wikipedia: Nikon Nikkormat - covers the full Nikkormat lineage including EL and ELW