Help with Nikon FA.

[leica M2 fan]

I got a lens yesterday for my FA from KEH, it says Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 35-70 f3.5-4.8 on the front. It's supposed to be AIS but does not have the prong. When I point it at a subject I see in the VF in P mode shutter speed of C250 and I don't know what this means if anything, likewise when I move the selector to S I see the same C250! Does this mean anything and did Nikon have any AIS lenses without the prong?

 

[Mark Wood]

I got a lens yesterday for my FA from KEH, it says Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 35-70 f3.5-4.8 on the front. It's supposed to be AIS but does not have the prong. When I point it at a subject I see in the VF in P mode shutter speed of C250 and I don't know what this means if anything, likewise when I move the selector to S I see the same C250! Does this mean anything and did Nikon have any AIS lenses without the prong?

If it's the prong I think you're talking about, it was for pre-Ai meter coupling. For both the P and S modes, the aperture needs to be set to the highest f-stop value (f16, f22...) for the metering to work properly. (Or at least I think it does.) This sounds like the Cosina-made lens, originally for the FE-10 which I think should be AiS.

 

[Ken Shipman]

Some later AIS lenses were made without the prong, and some folks removed the prong and put in a couple of small screws, since the prong is not needed with later cameras.
On the aperture ring, is the "22" colored orange? If so it's an AIS lens.
Also, look at the rear flange. With the index mark at the 12 o'clock position you should see a small "gouge" in the flange, about 3/8" in length, at the 9 o'clock position. Presence of that also indicates an AIS lens.
For auto aperture to work - as in P and S modes - you need to set the aperture to f/22 (thus the special orange color) so the camera has the full range of aperture settings to work with.

 

[leica M2 fan]

Mark and Ken just absolutely good news from you. I'm positive it is AIS it has the gouge at 9 o'clock and the orange "22" x2. I tried the camera lens and it worked great and the scans were right there. Thanks so much for the input, BTW Ken I just love your avatar, does it represent anything or anyone....?

 

[slm]

The FA has a "feature" that locks the shutter speed to 1/250 and displays the C250 in the LCD, for the frames prior to frame one. Once you reach the first one, it should be ok thereafter. Weird eh? Still, I love that camera!

Cheers
Steven

 

[Ken Shipman]

Glad the lens is working good for you.
I get a few questions about that avatar. For the record it's not a picture of myself, although if I were to dress up that way there might be a striking resemblance.
Our local town has a Halloween ghost walk every year, and at a dramatic moment a local octogenarian makes her appearance as the ghostly Lady in White.
I snagged her with a Noctilux under a mix of sulfer and mercury lights. Next to focusing in the dark, the biggest battle was correcting the color balance without resorting to black & white.
I guess you could say it's a haunting image. 🙄

 

[Ken Shipman]

The FA has a "feature" that locks the shutter speed to 1/250 and displays the C250 in the LCD, for the frames prior to frame one. Once you reach the first one, it should be ok thereafter. Weird eh?

I'd forgotten about that. The theory behind that feature is that you might have the lens cap on while loading a new roll. If you fire off the first couple of shots while on auto exposure you'll drain the batteries with some long dark useless exposures. To save you that agony it forces the shutter to use the sync speed until your frame counter reaches zero.

 

[leica M2 fan]

Ken, thanks for the updates on the FA it is a very good camera. Thanks also for your story on the avatar, Yes, I agree it could be a "haunting image".