The Nikkormat EL was the first Nikon camera with an electronically controlled shutter – and therefore the first one to offer aperture-priority AE autoexposure with stepless shutter speeds from 4 sec to 1/1000s and exposure lock. The EL’s shutter speed dial was moved to the top panel again.

Another feature introduced with the EL is used subsequently until today: the “match-needle” exposure control. In manual mode the photographer has to align a black needle showing the metered shutter speed with a green needle displaying the actual speed set. In automatic mode the green needle stays on A.

And men… this is a really heavy brick!

Manufactured from November 1972 to mid 1977, sold as Nikomat in Japan.

I purchased the pictured camera at a camera store in Zurich, Switzerland, in April 2001.
Shown with a matching 28mm/3.5 lens.