I've never been a Nikon fan but...

rpavich · Aug 6, 2016

But now I've been to the dark side.

I got a wild hair to try out an FM2 and I have to say that now I'm hooked and loving this camera.

It was weird at first (what with the film advance lever lock) and the HUGE shutter/mirror sound (compared to my K1000 or my M6) but now I'm a convert.

I got a 24mm f2.8, a 35mm f/2, a 50mm f/2, and a 105 f/2.5 and love them all.

Navigating the strange lens designations was daunting and I had to have a couple of my lenses converted by John White (fantastic job) but after that early mistake, it's been smooth sailing.

The focusing (as compared to my other film cameras) is a pleasure to use...very nicely done Nikon.

One thing that impressed me is that one morning it slipped off of my shoulder while reaching down and it hit the kitchen floor and I was mortified that I'd broken it but it didn't seem to mind and works just was well as it ever did, lens and all.

Contrast that with my M6 that took a 6" (yes, you read that right a 6") tumble to my kitchen table and I had to have a lens repaired!

Since getting this camera I haven't touched my M6.

Here are a few photos of my baby made in May 1982.

BrianShaw · Aug 6, 2016

Welcome to the world of real cameras. Ha ha.

removed-user-1 · Aug 6, 2016

Twenty-some years ago I worked in school photography, including a stint loading FM2s for a graduation photography company. Those cameras had dozens or even hundreds of rolls of film shoved through them every week. They got dropped. They got shipped around the country. They got rained on. Some were very ugly.

They always worked.

rpavich · Aug 6, 2016

rthomas said:
Twenty-some years ago I worked in school photography, including a stint loading FM2s for a graduation photography company. Those cameras had dozens or even hundreds of rolls of film shoved through them every week. They got dropped. They got shipped around the country. They got rained on. Some were very ugly.

They always worked.

That's great to hear. It must be a very well thought out robust design.

One day I might cut that M6 loose.

Terry Christian · Aug 6, 2016

I have a chrome FM2n. They're great and are pretty much equivalent to Nikon's flagship camera of the time, the F3.

anfenglin · Aug 6, 2016

I think I can sink aircraft carriers with a good, well-aimed throw with my Nikomat FTn.
This camera is ages old, built from 1967 to 75 but it is as tight as a drum, everything works perfectly and completely smoothly.
The FT2 I have also works perfectly apart from the meter, the aperture ring is loose and wobbly and won't lock at maximum aperture.
But this one has been to at least fifteen wars from the look of it.
Don't even start with F2s and F3s. They are legendarily reliable.
Also, they are not overloaded with features and Nikon builds fantastic lenses (apart from the AF 35-70).

CMoore · Aug 6, 2016

I am not a Nikon "fan" per se, but i own a few different models. I also own a couple of Canon and an Olympus OM1n.
I like them all equally (more or less).....assuming they get equal time. You tend to get comfy with the model getting used most often, so my "favorite" changes from time to time.
Anyway.....what was it about Nikon that you did not like.?
For 35mm, they are usually seen as the high-water mark of the film ear.
Thanks

rpavich · Aug 6, 2016

CMoore said:
Anyway.....what was it about Nikon that you did not like.?
For 35mm, they are usually seen as the high-water mark of the film ear.
Thanks

Nothing rational or deliberate, I just started out on Canon gear and then went to Leica. They just never grabbed me is all. I guess if I had happened to start on Nikon the story would be different.

I WILL say, however that the lens designation scheme is daunting! Thankfully all I need to know right now is "Ai" or "Ais"

spacer · Aug 6, 2016

I don't consider myself especially brand loyal, but most of my more modern gear is Canon... mostly because... systems! However, one of my favorite cameras to hold... even cuddle sometimes... is my F5. I shoot with it, too, by the way.

fstop · Aug 6, 2016

Terry Christian said:
I have a chrome FM2. They're great and are pretty much equivalent to Nikon's flagship camera of the time, the F3.

what? the FM is no where near as capable as the F-3, no way the equivalent

Jim Jones · Aug 6, 2016

The Nikkormats were indeed rugged cameras, in that respect the equal of their big brother F series. They were less conventional to operate. They also lacked the F's huge range of accessories. However, they were easier to carry than the F with its monstrous meter. Most photographers who don't need a variety of viewfinders and focusing screens, a 250 exposure back, a Polaroid back, and a motor drive should be happy with a later Nikkormat that uses available batteries. I used both series over several decades.

shutterfinger · Aug 6, 2016

I had a FA with a 75-300 zoom on a lightweight tripod sitting on a slope. The tripod was extended to 50 or so inches. A light breeze blew it over. It hit on the edge of the pentaprism and rewind knob onto concrete. The bottom third of the lens mount on the body bent outward 1/8 inch. After installing a new mount ring on the body it worked like new. The FA is the same/similar die cast aluminum body of the F series cameras.

mrred · Aug 6, 2016

fstop said:
what? the FM is no where near as capable as the F-3, no way the equivalent

Maybe not, but I would not give my FM2 up for one.

MartinCrabtree · Aug 6, 2016

spacer said:
I don't consider myself especially brand loyal, but most of my more modern gear is Canon... mostly because... systems! However, one of my favorite cameras to hold... even cuddle sometimes... is my F5. I shoot with it, too, by the way.

Nice to know it's not just me. The feel of it when shooting is just..............difficult to describe. Pleasant is a word that fits.

narsuitus · Aug 6, 2016

rpavich said:
"I've never been a Nikon fan but..."

I did not start life as a Nikon fan. In fact, I started as a medium format fan. My first 35mm SLR was a Miranda Sensorex that broke so many times that I had to replace it with the more reliable Nikon F. Since then, I have used the Nikon F2, F3, F4, EM, N70, L35, and Nikonos. After decades of reliable Nikon performance, I am now a big Nikon fan.

Nikon F4 & F2 by Narsuitus, on Flickr

Theo Sulphate · Aug 6, 2016

Congratulations on your FM2 - your current setup should last a very long time.

The wind lever being used as a shutter lock is something Nikon started with their amateur cameras beginning with the revised FM (the early FM had an explicit locking collar). Since then, the FM2, FE, FE2, etc., all had it. The Nikon pro models, F through F3 never had it. I first discovered that with the FM3a and have never gotten used to it.

I started with one Pentax, then one Canon, before buying an F3/T. Then I became addicted to F2's, F4s's, and the F. The appeal to me, I think, is the ruggedness.

Yeah, for manual focus lenses the designations aren't that varied, just three: pre-AI (also called non-AI or NAI), AI, and AIS. AI and AIS will work for you.

Here is a link you might enjoy that explains things:

https://www.cameraquest.com/aidaiais.htm

Also, AIS won't do anything for your FM2, but if you or others are truly curious about the real difference between AI and AIS:

http://www.throughthefmount.com/articles_back_difference_ai_ais.html

Sirius Glass · Aug 6, 2016

For decades I used only Minolta cameras, then my girl friend won a Tameron 28mm to 300mm AF zoom lens. I had a choice of either a Canon or Nikon camera for the lens, but I had twenty minutes to make a decision before I had to leave for the airport to go back to work. I chose Nikon partly because of the reputation and partly because I knew that Nikon had not changed the slr lens mounts for decades while Canon had recently changed to larger diameter lens mount leaving Canon slr owners in a lurch. I chose Nikon and never looked back to Canon.

Theo Sulphate · Aug 6, 2016

Sirius Glass said:
... I knew that Nikon had not changed the slr lens mounts for decades while Canon had recently changed to larger diameter lens mount leaving Canon slr owners in a lurch. ...

It was a ballsy move by Canon to abandon the FD mount and adopt the EF mount. Who wouldn't've wanted to observe all the boardroom decision making at Canon Headquarters for that?

Yes, they took a short term drop in loyalty and consequent sales, but their decision was ultimately the correct one (*). To this day, any EOS body made between 1987 and today works perfectly with any EF lens made between 1987 and today.

With Nikon, there's an approximate 20-year sliding window between bodies and lenses where you have perfect compatibility. When either a body or lens exceed that range, there may be some loss of functionality. Thus we have these indispensable charts, the best on the internet:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm

(*) alas, if you're fond of smooth weighted manual focusing helicoids and having real aperture rings, then it's not.

benveniste · Aug 6, 2016

fstop said:
what? the FM is no where near as capable as the F-3, no way the equivalent

I agree, but the FM2 does have some advantages over the F3. It allows shooting at all shutter speeds without batteries. It has a faster minimum shutter speed (1/4000th vs 1/200th) and more importantly a faster flash sync speed (either 1/200th or 1/250th vs 1/80th). It also accepts shoe mount flashes without having to upgrade to the F3P or use the AS-7/AS-17 kludges.

If I were buying a Nikon manual focus body for occasional use today (and didn't already own a Nikon FA), I would choose an FE2 over either a FM2 or F3. (I'd love to own a half-frame FM2, but I doubt I'd shoot it very often.)

Darko Pozar · Aug 6, 2016

I've had my FM2n new from Hong Kong since 1985 and still have never needed a service! Still going strong...

monkowa · Aug 7, 2016

"Also said:
http://www.throughthefmount.com/articles_back_difference_ai_ais.html[/URL]

This website was really hard to read, and Im not sure I still understand the difference between the two AI lenses. The writer jumps all over the place from different types of cameras, to different lenses and still doesn't make much of a point.

Anyway, I'm definitely a Nikon convert. Every single one of my cameras still work and they look like they've been chewed on and dropped off of a cliff.

Poisson Du Jour · Aug 7, 2016

Darko Pozar said:
I've had my FM2n new from Hong Kong since 1985 and still have never needed a service! Still going strong...

I could well be mistaken of course ...That's the one you used on an evening sunset shoot at Gully Beach, Aireys Inlet in 2000. The mirror whack was so loud it caused the tide to race out again...

Darko Pozar · Aug 7, 2016

Poisson Du Jour said:
I could well be mistaken of course ...That's the one you used on an evening sunset shoot at Gully Beach, Aireys Inlet in 2000. The mirror whack was so loud it caused the tide to race out again...

No that was the morning shoot at Aireys Inlet in 2000 with your Canon with perspective control lens...and the tide came in! ...But I could be mistaken!

Theo Sulphate · Aug 7, 2016

monkowa said:
This website was really hard to read, and Im not sure I still understand the difference between the two AI lenses. The writer jumps all over the place from different types of cameras, to different lenses and still doesn't make much of a point.

To provide some context, the issue deals with trying to control how far the aperture blades open in response to a shutter-priority system.

Looking at his page, you'll see an AIS lens adjacent to an AI lens from apertures f/4 to f/32. With the AIS lens you'll see that as the aperture closes down, the aperture lever on the lens moves in a linear fashion (the yellow lines). On the AI lens, this movement is not linear. What this means is that, for a given shutter speed, the amount of distance the aperture lever on the lens needs to be moved (by an actuator in the camera body) is defined, precise, and regular from one aperture to the next. On the AI lens, the distances are not linear and the amount from one aperture to another is not regular - therefore it is likely the precise aperture won't be formed.

This has meaning only on bodies like the FA, where shutter priority can be selected and actuated mechanically.

EDIT: at this point some may say "How is it then that AI lenses work fine in program or shutter priority mode on my FG or FA? Why use AIS?". Well, that's the "Nikon trick" Jürgen explains - with a mere AI lens the correct aperture cannot be set, the camera realizes the exposure is wrong and compensates by adjusting the shutter speed. Jürgen proves this by using tissue to freeze the aperture wide open and still the resulting exposure is correct.

miha · Aug 7, 2016

Great camera, I have used them for around 10 years, one was also of the earlier type (=X200), before I moved to another make.
Canon never had anything similar to offer.

I've never been a Nikon fan but...

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