Nikon FM/FE series

[belgiumreporter]

I've just bought a nikon FM2, i used to own one when new in the early 80ties but i sold it rather quicly and continued using my F2. Still as time passed by i came to regret selling it and i thought whenever the occasion would arise, i would get one back.

Meawhile years went on and i was able to collect the FM an FE both in black and chrome, but a FM2 never came up (at a reasonable price that is).

The FM2 is a remarkable camera as it is one of the very few manual all mechanical compact dslr's capable of a sync speed of 1/200sec (the fm2a 1/250sec) and a top speed of 1/4000sec.I am not a sports photographer, but these high speeds come in very handy when you want to shoot wide open in the sun.

I would love to have the FM3a(titanium) someday as it combines best of both worlds, Unlike any other camera, the FM3a offers both the electronic automation of the FE and FE2, and also offers the complete, full-range mechanical, no-battery-required shutter of the FM, FM2 and FM2n! Sadly though not the matrix metering of the FA.

On the issue of the titanium version,i ask you, does anyone these days have any real use of a titanium over the metal alloy body? my guess the price diffrence is only "snob" value. An extreme case of that is demonstrated by the olympus OM3 (a camera quite like the FM2) wich will set you back some 3-400$ in its normal version, but add the T and prices will be more like 1500-2000$.

I will be using the FM 2 to shoot a roll of black and white, this time i will not run out of battery power half way through the roll as happened me before with the FE and i will not likely run in to a situation of "to much light".

[galenk]

Lovely group! I've been collecting for 30 years and just got my first Nikon an F last week it's an amazing old tank. I think my Minoltas are getting jealous!

[carl19]

Belgiumreporter, you have a fine collection of cameras. I totally agree with you regarding the FM2n. I have 6 of them all together including a Titanium version, which have been purchased over a period of several years. I love mechanical cameras, and the FM2n is extremely reliable and, as you say, doesn't depend on batteries (apart from the meter).

Regarding your question about Titanium bodies, I purchased mine only recently. I was always interested in owning one, but only at the right price and if it was in mint condition. They can be quite collectable, and if in "as new" condition, they can command extremely high prices with camera dealers. I found this particular one in a store in London, and the temptation proved too hard to resist.

The FM3 is a nice camera to use, but unfortunately I didn't have much luck with mine. The shutter developed a problem with one of the bodies and it was firing at the same shutter speed regardless of what was set on the dial. My second FM3 body developed a fault only a few months after, only this time the shutter stayed open and the mirror locked up. The only way to reset it was to turn the shutter speed dial to 1/500 second or higher.

In the end, I parted with them. I'll stick with the FM2n's....no problems whatsoever with these.

[belgiumreporter]

Hi carl, thanks for your input, i didn't know about the problems with the FM3's your story made me reluctant to go after one.(i've got two F3 titans, was planning on selling one to finance the FM3)
A few high end cameras in my collection over time developed unacceptable problems( contax RTS, pentax LX...)i don't need any more dead body's on the shelve!
When some cheap camera develops a problem somehow one can comprehend those cameras won't live forever, i never had any problems with any canon or nikon single digit F camera, can't say that about the high end leica, minolta's contax,rollei and pentaxes.

[carl19]

Hi belgiumreporter, to be honest I haven't heard of anybody else having problems with the Nikon FM3. If you really fancied owning one, I'd go for it. They are great cameras to use, and I had them for a few years with no other issues. However, it was just bad luck that both of them should go wrong within a short period of time from each other.

Having said that, some of my earliest FM2's are well over 20 years old and still going strong with no problems at all. The only thing I've had to do is change the light seals, but that's to be expected I guess.

I noticed you mentioned a Pentax LX. Back in the late 1980's before switching over to Nikon, I used to have two Pentax cameras...the MX and the LX. The only problem I had with the MX (after several years of good use) was the meter display in the viewfinder began to flicker, and eventually it was impossible to obtain a meter reading. A local repairer told me this was quite a common problem with this model.

The LX was bought second-hand and like the MX, I had years of good use with it. Eventually however, the mirror began to stick and would sometimes remain locked up even after the shutter had been fired. As time went by, it was happening more and more often. I then made a decision to part with both cameras and switched over to Nikons.

There is a camera shop in London called Gray's Of Westminster, which only sells Nikon. I have bought lenses from them over the years, and I regularly look at their website. I would love to own some of the F2 and F3HP bodies they currently have in 'Mint' condition....if only I had the spare cash. Never mind, it doesn't cost anything to dream.