Nikon FA Opinions?

Ap507b · Aug 19, 2012

Leigh B said:
I think the difference is the matrix metering. Nikon made a really big deal out of that when it was introduced.

- Leigh

FA also adds program shooting mode. It needs an AIS lens to work properly & shifts into a high speed program when anything longer that a 135mm lens is put on it (IIRC?). I bought an FA new back in 1986 & have been very happy with it. I have had no problems with it beyond the foam needing to be replaced.

I have an FE2 as well, picking one up cheap off of ebay a few years back. Out of the two I much prefer to use the FA. Two things that swing it for me are having an MD15 attached to the FA so find that it handles better & I prefer the LCD to a needle in the viewfinder. I also much prefer the FM2's LED viewfinder to the FE2's needle.

Photo-gear · Aug 19, 2012

Ap507b said:
I have an FE2 as well, picking one up cheap off of ebay a few years back. Out of the two I much prefer to use the FA. Two things that swing it for me are having an MD15 attached to the FA so find that it handles better & I prefer the LCD to a needle in the viewfinder. I also much prefer the FM2's LED viewfinder to the FE2's needle.

I have the MD12 for both the FM2n and FE2 and it works out just fine. And concerning the viewfinder, I understand your point of view, but I also put up with FE2's one. But if the differences come down to those 2 points, I don't see the big deal out of that. I think I'm gonna read more reviews regarding that, just to make sure I don't miss the point.
I understand that the FA model was innovative - matrix metering on manual lenses - at the time of its release. I think this is why the FA model has a deserved and great reputation.
Thanks for your comments.

Ap507b · Aug 19, 2012

Two other techno things that the FA has over the FE2 are shutter priority shooting mode & a cybernetic override facility on the exposure.

Pinched from Ken Rockwell's review of the FA at http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/fa.htm

"The FA offers Cybernetic Override, which new Nikons omit but Canon includes. This always active mode allows the camera to alter the chosen aperture or shutter speed in S or A automatic modes if the lighting changes and the camera runs out of suitable shutter speeds or apertures at the setting you've chosen. This way it is almost impossible to make a bad exposure, even if you make a silly choice in shutter- or aperture-priority modes. I like this a lot: with the modern Nikon AF cameras one has to adjust the settings manually if the light changes or get a bad exposure."

Another good place to look for FA info is Mir.

http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfa/index.htm

The matrix meter by the way is a bit primative & can be foiled by turning the camera from landscape to portrait orientation according to what I have read. I haven't experienced it. One thing that the FE2 has over the FA is an exposure lock. Maybe they didn't think it was needed with the matrix metering?

Preferring LCD over needle is a personal thing. The only display that I have met that I have liked less than a needle is the LED one in the F301/N2000.
I agree that the other point could be cured by getting an MD 12. The FA should have a little finger grip on the right hand side (it has to come off if an MD is being fitted & a lot you see for sale are missing it) The FE2 lacks one & providing it is still on the FA, you may find it feels a bit better in your hands?

Photo-gear · Aug 19, 2012

That is unfortunate that Nikon dropped the Cybernetic Override after the FA release. It is also called the "Safety Shift" function on the Canon T90. Indeed, it is quite useful.

Mir and Rockwell, of course, are reliable references.

Thanks a lot for these precisions.

fotch · Aug 19, 2012

I purchase the FA for my wife who only used it a couple of times. I tried it and while nice, just to complex for me. I prefer the F3, FE, or EL and should of sole the FA when they were still available new.

jochen · Aug 20, 2012

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cramej · Aug 20, 2012

Ap507b said:
FA also adds program shooting mode. It needs an AIS lens to work properly & shifts into a high speed program when anything longer that a 135mm lens is put on it (IIRC?). I bought an FA new back in 1986 & have been very happy with it. I have had no problems with it beyond the foam needing to be replaced.

I have an FE2 as well, picking one up cheap off of ebay a few years back. Out of the two I much prefer to use the FA. Two things that swing it for me are having an MD15 attached to the FA so find that it handles better & I prefer the LCD to a needle in the viewfinder. I also much prefer the FM2's LED viewfinder to the FE2's needle.

This is incorrect. Program works just fine with any ai lens so long as you have selected the minimum aperture on the lens. It will show a FEE error when moved from the minimum in Program mode.

Ap507b · Aug 21, 2012

cramej said:
This is incorrect. Program works just fine with any ai lens so long as you have selected the minimum aperture on the lens. It will show a FEE error when moved from the minimum in Program mode.

Having read again what I typed nowhere do I say that you need an AIS lens for the Program mode to work & the next few words after where you have gone bold clarify why you need an AIS lens to get the best out of Program & properly select the best Program mode based on the focal length of the lens.

If you use an AI lens in Program mode it defaults to the High Speed Program. Fine if you are using a telephoto lens & want bias towards high shutter speed but not so good if you have a shorter lens & would prefer a bias towards more depth of field.

You are right on the FEE error, but an AIS lens is defintely needed for Program to work in the way it was designed & switch between the two modes. See this for confirmation: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/nikonfmount/lens2.htm

Also if you have the FA manual to hand see pages 11, 17 & 21.

SamSpade1941 · Aug 21, 2012

I actually avoided the FA and FE like the plague when they were new, I owned one used several years back but never had the love affair with them that I did with my FM2 when I owned it. They just seemed like cheap versions of the F3 and by cheap I mean not as good. But then I always felt the F3 was not as good as the F2. I generally did not have the love affair with Nikon's early electronic cameras that I do with their manual cameras. The F3 though was and is solid kit. A good friend of mine has an FA with a MD attached which is still running strong and he bought his new so they cannot all be bad IMO.

Ap507b · Aug 21, 2012

I lusted after an FA from the moment that I saw the advertisement & was smitten the moment that I got my hands on one. I did think of an F3 but the AMP metering & shutter priority in the FA tilted me towards it. A few years back I picked up an F3 to give my FA a quieter life & have since added a second. The 80/20 meter seems to me to be as accurate if not more so than AMP. FA's definitely aren't all bad. Apart from needing to replace the foam mine hasn't given me any problems in 26 years.

azdustdevil · Mar 11, 2013

I have been using an FE2 (my first Nikon) since 1985. After many thousands of exposures, it is still my favorite because it's so easy to use. It weighs like a tank and cost like a space shot when I bought it and now, the FE2 and I are almost 30 years older. The FE2 seems much heavier now that I'm not quite so young. I'm looking at an FG (due to it's small size and light weight) and maybe an FA due to the fact that it may shoot reversal film better than just about anything else. I can't wait to find out!

SafetyBob · Mar 11, 2013

I got my first "used" FA about 4 years ago and a second body about two years ago as a spare incase the first one died on me. Neither have died (thank goodness) so far, but when they do there will be no repair, they will go to the shelf for display for historic purposes.

Hindsight now says to me that any flavor of the FM would have been good choice too, perhaps better if one wanted to hand it down to the next generation. But using an FA in the field sure is enjoyable......seems like all the modern cameras are a roll of the dice now (look at me calling the FA a "modern" camera) because of the electronics.

So does that mean that unless something is forced and broken, an "old" camera like the FM couldn't be repaired and lubed to work like new again? So how many years will the old F2's and F3's and FM's really last?

Bob E.

SamSpade1941 · Mar 11, 2013

Ap507b said:
I lusted after an FA from the moment that I saw the advertisement & was smitten the moment that I got my hands on one. I did think of an F3 but the AMP metering & shutter priority in the FA tilted me towards it. A few years back I picked up an F3 to give my FA a quieter life & have since added a second. The 80/20 meter seems to me to be as accurate if not more so than AMP. FA's definitely aren't all bad. Apart from needing to replace the foam mine hasn't given me any problems in 26 years.

I recently inherited my friends FA from him because he was going to discard it and he has never had an issue with it. I could not bear to see it be tossed , it is going to need to foam replaced at some point in the future and I need to find a place to have that done. Other than that though it does run well.

Ap507b · Mar 12, 2013

Discard a working FA? ........I had to do the seals & the mirror bumper foam on my FA a few years ago & it is very easy to do yourself with a kit from Jon Goodman/Interslice.

dmtnkl · Nov 6, 2017

I got one a few days ago... sent it back because it was working correctly only with AI lenses.

Any of the auto exposure modes would simply not work when mounting an AI-s lens. What a shame

Theo Sulphate · Nov 7, 2017

That's very odd. The main difference between AI and AIS is that with AIS the operation of the aperture lever is much more linear, thereby making shutter- priority operation more accurate with AIS than with AI.

Explained here:

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

dmtnkl · Nov 7, 2017

The FA has a pin on its mount that is pressed down by AI lenses and stays relaxed when an AI-s lens is attached. This is because AI-s lenses have a dent that allows the pin to relax.

So, in my case, unless the pin was down (AI lens), the camera would not function properly.

Btw, AI-s lenses are not always linear. I tried some of them with a dandelion chip on a D40 and the aperture size was not reducing in a linear fashion when controlled from the camera. This is one of the reasons the FA had a closed loop exposure meter, so that it could take a last moment reading as the aperture stopped down and compensate.

benveniste · Nov 7, 2017

dmtnkl said:
The FA has a pin on its mount that is pressed down by AI lenses and stays relaxed when an AI-s lens is attached. This is because AI-s lenses have a dent that allows the pin to relax.
So, in my case, unless the pin was down (AI lens), the camera would not function properly.

I've owned my FA for over 30 years, and used it as recently as last month. While I haven't heard of that particular piece of weirdness before, one of the reasons I don't recommend buying one today are electronic gremlins. The lens type signal pin tells the FA to use a different mechanical action when setting the aperture stop point in P and S exposure modes, but AFAIK it's strictly an on/off signal to the electronics. Exactly how would it not function properly?

dmtnkl said:
Btw, AI-s lenses are not always linear. I tried some of them with a dandelion chip on a D40 and the aperture size was not reducing in a linear fashion when controlled from the camera. This is one of the reasons the FA had a closed loop exposure meter, so that it could take a last moment reading as the aperture stopped down and compensate.

Which AI-s lens did you try? Pre "E" Nikon autofocus lenses also rely on a linear aperture action, so it seems unlikely to me that Nikon would get this wrong. It may be that the aperture action in the lens was loose, or an issue with the Dandelion chip. Given my own travails with Dandelion chips, I'd check the latter first.

dmtnkl · Nov 7, 2017

In aperture priority, the mirror would fire and stay up. P & S modes were also problematic. If i recall correctly, the suggested speed in the LCD was correct, but the shutter would always fire at the same fast speed.

Note that with AI lenses, all modes were perfect. I tried a bunch of lenses, not just one or two.

Regarding the dandelion chip, it only informs the camera about min/max aperture and focal length of the lens, so i do not really think it plays a very important role for the linearity issue. The camera assumes that the aperture travels linearly and stops it down accordingly. I tried it the 50mm series e, and i had a conversation with one other user who tried the same lens and noticed overexposure because of this.

Maybe i missed something somewhere, but i can't really find what.

BradS · Nov 7, 2017

dmtnkl said:
I got one a few days ago... sent it back because it was working correctly only with AI lenses.

Any of the auto exposure modes would simply not work when mounting an AI-s lens. What a shame

Lemme guess...KEH?
they only grade on cosmetics.

dmtnkl · Nov 7, 2017

it was an auction.

Kevin Ekstrom · Nov 13, 2017

Well, mine works just fine. The FA is a must have for any Nikon collector.

Vincent Peri · Jul 15, 2020

I'd like to comment about my FA's in this 13 year-old thread.

I had 5 FA's at one time (loved them), but after testing them with Kentmere 100 B&W film, I found that 2 of them were overexposing oddly - perfectly exposed frames for a while, and in the middle, an overexposed shot or two. I sent them off for repair, but one was unrepairable so I scrapped it. The other cost $100 to fix.

My 4 FA's are in storage now, because I'm almost 70 years old and I don't get out much to take pictures, especially now with the Covid-19 pandemic.

I'm seriously thinking about selling them. One is in mint- condition, one in excellent+ condition, and the other 2 are excellent condition. I'm curious if readers here are interested in buying one. Let me know, and if I get any interest, I'll list them on the For Sale forum.

Nikon FA Opinions?

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