nikon FE or FA?

[Highway 61]

Reliability always a consideration but I'd guess none of these are fragile.

Not to put it bluntly, but your FE will fail on you sooner or later, their shutter speeds ceramic regulators are now very old. I have owned two FE, both failed the same way (erratic shutter speeds) after years of faithful use.

The FA is known to have battery drain problems. With my FA, I found myself saving an important shot in extremis by quickly setting the M250 mechanical rescue shutter speed. This happened only a few weeks after having installed brand new SR44 batteries to replace the OEM batteries set, which had lasted a surprisingly very short time. Fortunately a routine check of the LCD display in the viewfinder had told me that the batteries had suddenly come empty. The third set of batteries lasted an equally short time. Clearly, the body had a battery drain issue. That was in the late 1980s and at that time many FA owners noticed the same problem.

It is possible that the FA you can now find on the second hand market are those which were immune from this issue, but...

Frankly, go for the FE2. This is by far the best choice to complement your FE if you want an aperture priority auto Nikon SLR of that era with the new honeycomb 1/4000s shutter, 1/250s TTL flash monitoring and the brighter focusing screens. The FE2 is quartz regulated and is a real workhorse.

 

[Fraser]

I've Had Them All But Only In The Last Few Months Have Bought An Fa, It Feels Like A More Compact F3 And The Shutter Is Really Smooth The Whole Camera Feels Very Well Put Together And At The Moment Are Cheaper Than The Fe2.

 

[presspass]

Keep in mind the MD15 also powers the FA. That reduces the issue of onboard battery failure.

 

[paul in AZ]

Plenty to think about.
I have loosely added the F3HP to the mix. Mostly for the benefit of a High Point finder [I wear glasses]. F3 adds a little weight and of course cost. Lots of beaters out there with motor drives. All too many kits with lenses that I don't need. Nice bodies get pricey.
One of them will sing out to me.

 

[splitimageview]

How many people use winders/motor drives on film cameras anymore?

Cameras like the Nikon F80 or the Contax Aria are exceptions as they are the essentially the same size as older SLRs like the FE2 or FA that don't have motors.

I have an old MD11 for my FM, it works, but I'll almost certainly never use it again.

Simply adds too much size and weight and I haven't fired off a sequence using film since the before the turn of the century...

 

[santino]

Winders are useful for left eyed shooters that don‘t want to lift the camera from the eye in order to advance the film.

 

[CMur12]

Winders are useful for left eyed shooters that don‘t want to lift the camera from the eye in order to advance the film.

That's me! Winders also offer gripping surface, as well as balance against heavier lenses.

I don't see why film users would use winders or motor drives any less now than they ever did. If shooting film, these devices have the same utility today that they did in the past.

- Murray

 

[Highway 61]

I have an old MD11 for my FM, it works, but I'll almost certainly never use it again.

The only advice here is to NEVER EVER use a MD-11. Or it will deadly damage the camera innards sooner or later by forcely rewinding before the shutter release cycle has ended its journey. If you absolutely need a motordrive unit for a FM/FE/FE2/FM2/FM3A, use a MD-12 (which is also compatible with the FA).

All the MD-11 should be sent to the recycling parts trash bin.

 

[css9450]

The only advice here is to NEVER EVER use a MD-11. Or it will deadly damage the camera innards sooner or later by forcely rewinding before the shutter release cycle has ended its journey. If you absolutely need a motordrive unit for a FM/FE/FE2/FM2/FM3A, use a MD-12 (which is also compatible with the FA).

All the MD-11 should be sent to the recycling parts trash bin.

Fortunately I'd imagine MD-12 production probably outnumbered the MD-11 by a significant number. Three-to-one? Five-to-one? Ten-to-one? Hard to say but I think it would take some luck (bad luck perhaps) to stumble into an MD-11 at this late date. I could be wrong though.... Maybe many MD-12s have long since worn out from heavy use and are retired.

An interesting note about the MD-11: It's body and grip were made of metal in places where the MD-12 used plastic. A friend of mine had an MD-11 and it saw so much use the paint was wearing off in places where my MD-12 just showed scratches in the plastic. His MD-11 had the kind of "patina" a Leica shooter would go ga-ga over!

 

[splitimageview]

I’m a lefty eye shooter but still have no plans to use a winder. �� Thanks for the heads up on the MD-11 although there is no risk of damage since it won’t be used

 

[james.liam]

Doesn't the FM3a have aperture priority?

 

[Gregm61]

Doesn't the FM3a have aperture priority?

Yes. The shutter is electro-mechanical so it'll work in aperture priority and, if the batteries fail, all the shutter speeds will operate mechanically. Best world of both an FE2 and FM2.

 

[james.liam]

Yes. The shutter is electro-mechanical so it'll work in aperture priority and, if the batteries fail, all the shutter speeds will operate mechanically. Best world of both an FE2 and FM2.

Last one of those made only 15 years ago, about 20 years newer than the FE or FA. Seems a better bet despite the price tag.

 

[Highway 61]

A black FE2 just popped out at the RFF Classifieds.

 

[J enea]

I have and use both. both are very capable and have made many great shots for me. Each has a specific use. the FA gets slide film 95% of the time. yeh, it does not have an exposure lock, but that's because Nikon decided that matrix meter has better results than CW, lock exposure, then shoot (just repeating what I heard from a former Nikon repair guy). It's too bad as I would use it a lot more if I could use exposure lock. But even with Velvia 50 and the matrix metering, I get 99.5% of the exposures spot on.

The FE-2 gets neg film. I have my exposure for neg film dialed in and with using the exp lock I know what to expect. it also helps that neg film is a lot more forgiving. I really prefer the match needle metering over the LCD of the FA or almost all of the cameras following the F3 and FA ( I do own a FM3a).

I would say get whichever is cheaper and in better condition. The FA has more electronics which can fail. I had one fail on me and traded it to my repair guy for a free CLA on my other FA. Either way, just get one, use it and enjoy it.

john

 

[james.liam]

I have and use both. both are very capable and have made many great shots for me. Each has a specific use. the FA gets slide film 95% of the time. yeh, it does not have an exposure lock, but that's because Nikon decided that matrix meter has better results than CW, lock exposure, then shoot (just repeating what I heard from a former Nikon repair guy). It's too bad as I would use it a lot more if I could use exposure lock. But even with Velvia 50 and the matrix metering, I get 99.5% of the exposures spot on.

The FE-2 gets neg film. I have my exposure for neg film dialed in and with using the exp lock I know what to expect. it also helps that neg film is a lot more forgiving. I really prefer the match needle metering over the LCD of the FA or almost all of the cameras following the F3 and FA (I do own a FM3a).

john

I get your different cameras for different film. Have a matrix-metered Leica R8 that I use with slide film, Nikon FM2 for color negatives and an M6 for B&W so I can use color filters without obscuring the look through the VF. Seems to work best this way.

 

[Rob-F]

The only advice here is to NEVER EVER use a MD-11. Or it will deadly damage the camera innards sooner or later by forcely rewinding before the shutter release cycle has ended its journey. If you absolutely need a motordrive unit for a FM/FE/FE2/FM2/FM3A, use a MD-12 (which is also compatible with the FA).

All the MD-11 should be sent to the recycling parts trash bin.

Funny, I've been using a pair of MD-11 since 1987 without seeing this problem. I use them on my FE2s. Has anyone else has experienced this defect?

I thought I remembered that the MD-12 isn't for the FE2, but meant for the FA.

 

[Highway 61]

Funny, I've been using a pair of MD-11 since 1987 without seeing this problem. I use them on my FE2s. Has anyone else has experienced this defect?

I thought I remembered that the MD-12 isn't for the FE2, but meant for the FA.

Of course all MD-11 weren't defective, and you've been lucky with yours. But I wouldn't use an MD-11 on a FM/FE/FE2/FM2 body I want to keep safe and sound, onwards from now.

The MD-12 looked like the MD-11 exactly but with auto power off and improved mechanics. It could also be used on the FA with no problem if you removed the (removable) camera body front corner grip. See :

https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfeseries/fefmshared/md12/index.htm

The actual matching motordrive for the FA was the MD-15, see post and photo by "css9450" above.

 

[css9450]

A funny note about that MD-15: A few years ago, maybe ten years ago, I noticed B&H still had brand new MD-15 motordrives in stock. Not surprising perhaps, considering they only fit the FA which was only made for a few years (unlike the long lifespan of the FM/FE series which lasted all the way up to the FM3a and they all used the MD-12). So I ordered one to mount on my very new-looking FA seen in the photo above. I am assuming my MD-15 sat in B&H's inventory for some 25 years or so!

 

[paul in AZ]

Done.
I decided to get an F3 maybe with HP. Before ordering one I called a friend who has Nikons for an opinion. He has [now used to have] two F3s and insisted on giving me one that has a very tiny bit of brassing but is otherwise excellent. A semi-virgin.
The plain finder looks like it will work OK for me. It is not that much bulkier or heavier than my FE. The moulded grip does help in holding it.
Wow. Made my day.