In praise of Nikon FM/FE/1/2/3

kshapero

kshapero

South Florida Man
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Anyone who has ever owned a Nikon FM/FE series camera knows that they are compact and essentially bombproof. My FE (circa 1981) was my first SLR. It has gone backpacking thru the wilds of the Rocky Mts, The Blue Ridge Mts, the Everglades and many sandy beaches. It has never failed, ever. I have owned an FM3a (I am an idiot for selling it). Yes they are a bit clunky compared to a Leica M, but these rigs are great street shooters as well as great with telephoto lens. I love traveling with my Fe combined with the CV pancake 40/2 and a Nikkor 105/2.5. Light and tough. Nuff said.

FE

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FE with 105

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FM3a

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I have a pair of FE2. Yes, a good camera! I used mine to shoot thousands of slides in Colorado. Recently i noticed that my FE2s were overexposing, a thing I had never noticed in all those slides. I'm not sure if it's a new thing, due to age, or if it was always doing this and I didn't know it. How could that be? Because I shoot Velvia. Most of those slides were on Velvia 50, which has/had a reputation for being slower than the box speed. Many photographers shot it at 32, or even 25. If I shoot Velvia 100 at 125 or 160, I get perfect results with the FE2.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Something I really like about the FE2 is the analog exposure needle. I can really fine-tune an exposure with it!
 
Bought an FM-2n twenty years ago to use as a back-up to an N90s and then an F4s. Eventually sold the N90s and the F4s, but the FM-2n will probably be with me for life.

Strangest thing about that camera, I bought it in black on black because I was using it for work, but for some reason I remember it as silver on black. It stays packed away most of the time these days, but whenever I take it out, I'm always surprised that it's black on black. Never fails. I have a total memory block when it comes to the color of that camera.

Put in the solid matte focusing screen years ago because I was using it with long lenses while covering sports. Recently used it with a 50 and the matte screen doesn't work so well for that, so the split prism will be going back in.

Great camera.

Best,
-Tim
 
I own FM and FM2n and I really admire the engineering behind those cameras. My friend recently measured shutter speeds on both of cameras and they were within 10% margin! After some 20, 30 years of use. FM2n was used by a wedding photographer, so heavily (mis)used and still all speeds were spot-on!

It's wonderful how they simply work...

I'd also like to add that ever since I obtained Plustek 7400 scanner, I also believe that Nikkor lenses are great and I'd be hardly pressed to think of a situation where they wouldn't be up to the task...
 
Timmyjoe said:
Bought an FM-2n twenty years ago to use as a back-up to an N90s and then an F4s. Eventually sold the N90s and the F4s, but the FM-2n will probably be with me for life.

Strangest thing about that camera, I bought it in black on black because I was using it for work, but for some reason I remember it as silver on black. It stays packed away most of the time these days, but whenever I take it out, I'm always surprised that it's black on black. Never fails. I have a total memory block when it comes to the color of that camera.

Put in the solid matte focusing screen years ago because I was using it with long lenses while covering sports. Recently used it with a 50 and the matte screen doesn't work so well for that, so the split prism will be going back in.

Great camera.

Best,
-Tim
Click to expand...
Get that rig out and use it.
 
An FM3A was my reintroduction to manual-focus cameras. Bought used on a whim while I was waiting for Nikon's D200 to hit the shelves, it instead led me down the path of manually-operated film cameras - and I can't say I ever regretted it. It has since been traded away for a medium-format camera because good though it was, it couldn't in the end compete with my F3HP on quality of finder or of shutter release.
 
I have a black Nikon FM. Nice little camera. Noticeably smaller than the F bodies and a lot lighter. Tough as nails.
 
Wow - this thread made dig through the drawers to find a forgotten black FE.
Agreed, great little camera... but I got seduced by the OM line.

BTW - Also found my lovely Nikon 2002. The one with the slow-ass auto focus.
When used with a manual lens, this is one terrific camera... auto wind, focus confirmation, decent metering and all in one handy package.
 
I remember when the first FMs were released and had some first production teething problems. Nikon quickly took care of that.

Then the FM2 came out with the new shutter that X-synched up to the unheard of speed of 1/200 second for a focal plane shutter. It was unheard of. Along with interchangeable focusing screens etc, it was grand.

Another short time and the FM2n was released, with a revised shutter and overall internal upgrade. The FM2n received yet another thorough overhaul by Nikon around 1989, where all internals were made even more robust with self-lubricating rollers and pins in the shutter to meet the toughest standards of use in the arctic and jungle environments ... no lubricants needed to get runny or freeze up. A rock of a camera.

The original FE came out replacing the Nikkormat EL.. then the FE2 came out about 1982 and was everything the FM2n was with auto metering besides.

The FM3a melded the two lines.

I loved these cameras. An FM and FM2n were the basis of my SLR kit, along with an F3, for nearly 20 years. I have often considered buying another but I just don't shoot with SLRs enough anymore to warrant buying more than the two SLRs I have now.

G
 
My beat-up FE gets regular use. The battery gets replaced once a year. It's got the little film reminder frame on the back door. What's not to like? I've never understood why the FM3A goes for so much on ebay, when an FE can be had for about US$50.
 
I've shot the FE2 more than any other camera. Have had 4.5 of them (the .5 is a parts camera). Destroyed two of them in semi-professional use (stringing for newspapers in high school and as photographer for the student paper in college). Deployed with AIS lenses: 24/2.8, 35/2, 85/2, and 180/2.8 ED. One of the bodies had a motor (MD12?) on it.

Other than the M6, the FE2 is my favorite do-it-all SLR. In particular, the TTL flash system and 1/250 sync speed were godsends for indoor basketball and for fast portraiture.

Had an FM2 also, and it's great as well. Flash and match-needle metering were why I preferred the FE2 to the FM2. Still have 1.5 FE2's. The 1/4000 shutter speed on both cameras was unique when they were released and was great for shooting baseball with the 180/2.8 ED on a sunny day.

Even with the sports work, I'd say 2/3 of the frames I've shot with these cameras was with the 35/2 AIS. Great, small, competent setup.
Only thing better is an M6 with a Summilux ASPH. :D



David Thomas, leader of the seminal experimental rock band Pere Ubu. c. 1987. FE2, 85/2, HP5 probably pushed to 1600.
 
These are just great cameras, every model of them. My only quibbles really are that the meter needle on the FE series can be hard to see in low light, and I do wish the finder was closer to 100% (the OMs are superior in this respect). But I think that if I were told I could use only one SLR, it'd probably be one of these.
 
KoNickon said:
These are just great cameras, every model of them. My only quibbles really are that the meter needle on the FE series can be hard to see in low light, and I do wish the finder was closer to 100% (the OMs are superior in this respect). But I think that if I were told I could use only one SLR, it'd probably be one of these.
Click to expand...

I always preferred the three-LED metering readout in the FMx models. It is a nearly perfect system, for me, and I was so glad when Leica went to that in the M6TTL. :)
 
ruby.monkey said:
An FM3A was my reintroduction to manual-focus cameras. Bought used on a whim while I was waiting for Nikon's D200 to hit the shelves, it instead led me down the path of manually-operated film cameras - and I can't say I ever regretted it. It has since been traded away for a medium-format camera because good though it was, it couldn't in the end compete with my F3HP on quality of finder or of shutter release.
Click to expand...
I understand the finder part but what do you mean by the shutter release part?
 
KoNickon said:
These are just great cameras, every model of them. My only quibbles really are that the meter needle on the FE series can be hard to see in low light, and I do wish the finder was closer to 100% (the OMs are superior in this respect). But I think that if I were told I could use only one SLR, it'd probably be one of these.
Click to expand...
I put a K3 screen from the FM3a on my FE. Makes all the difference in the world.
 
kshapero said:
I understand the finder part but what do you mean by the shutter release part?
Click to expand...
My F, F2, and F3HP, all had shutter releases that were/are completely smooth and crisp; the release on my FM3A always felt like it was catching slightly just before tripping the shutter. Similar to the difference between a well-sorted competition 1911 and its service-issue counterpart (I remember the days when an Englishman could still play with interesting toys). The FM3A wasn't bad, but the F3HP was better.

Of course that could just have been my example of the little Nikon, but it looked like it had led a sheltered life before it reached me - and in any case it was the only one that counted.
 
My first two SLRs were an FE and an FE-2 respectively, and except that they didn't have illuminated finders, I'd still be using them.
Wonderful cameras with all the essential features one needs for serious photography.
They're both long gone, replaced by an F2 and an FA, but, 33 years later, I've added an FM to my SLR kit.
 
I've been shooting exclusively for the last three months with an all black FE that my dad bought new in '78. At first with the 50/1.4, and I've since added a 105/2.5 and a 35/2.8. I took the time to replace all the seals myself, and it feels really solid now, akin to closing a VW door (well, not quite). I actually really like the loud clunk of the shutter release, and winding the film on. It reminds me that I'm operating an analog device with moving parts. Its satisfying. Although, the shutter noise does get noticed on the street. Perhaps one day I'll experience the understated "tsik" of a Leica shutter release and it's "buttery smooth" film advance and the FE will be ruined for me, but until then, the FE is great. I carry it daily with two lenses in a messenger bag over my shoulder, because it's small enough.

I've also picked up a gently brassed black FM. In general I prefer the match needle of the FE over the LED display of the FM, but agree that the needle of the FE is hard to see in low light, which is where the FM will be better.

I like to push HP5 to 800 or 1600, and at times I'd really like the 4000th shutter speed of an FM2 or FE2 when I'm going from inside to outside. The brighter viewfinder would be nice too.
 
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