nikon FE2 question

pollux · May 22, 2012

I cannot find the answer to this, however is it true that the shutter cannot fire unless the winder is pulled out, and not flush (parallel) with the camera body? I am considering the FE2 for its good flash sync, meter and low 2nd hand prices.

spatz · May 22, 2012

yes that is true. i have an fe2 and it is a very good and solidly built camera. the only qualm i have is that the meter doesnt work until you have advanced until frame 1 and before that the shutter is stuck on mechanical 1/250. other than that, dont hesitate!

Les Sarile · May 22, 2012

This is the way Nikon chose to save us from extra long exposures while advancing the film to position 1 and was common to the FE2, FA and F3.

BTW, at the mechanical speed of M250, the meters on these cameras are disabled.

Chris G · May 22, 2012

Also, you can leave the lever pushed in if you are using it with a MD-12 motor winder. It does take some getting use to the lever when holding the camera vertical as the lever hits your eyebrow. Other than that, the FE2 is a great camera.

Daire Quinlan · May 23, 2012

Also, I've heard left eye dominant people complain about it, as the wind lever hits their nose and/or right eye when using it. Drawbacks aside, it's one of the more intuitive switches/shutter unlock mechanisms that I've used. My F4 has that annoying lockable on/off switch that needs two hands to operate, my F100 has a pretty neat on/off switch which can be flicked easily with one finger and has never seemed to switch by itself. All of these are better than my couple of spotmatics which of course have no shutter locks at all, leading to at least one or two wasted frames on every roll. In testament to the FE-2's design though (and getting back on-topic ) I often find myself, while shooting the spotmatics, trying to flip the wind lever out a couple of degrees with my thumb before shooting

Russ - SVP · May 24, 2012

I am an a "left eye" shooter. If I had to to shoot with just one body (auto-focus or manual focus) I'd probably choose the FE-2. Yes, with a Nikon TTL flashunit attached, it will default to 1/250. But why not put it in manual mode and "drag" the shutter?

brianentz · May 24, 2012

Love my FE2. Don't hesitate. Love my FA as well.

LJSLATER · May 24, 2012

I have a question that's only somewhat related. When I'm using an MD12 on my FM2, the advance lever cannot be extended at the time of exposure. If it is, the motor drive will jam, necessitating removal of the drive and "resetting" it by turning the coupling slot. Why does it do this?

I'm so used to shooting with the advance lever extended that this happens all the time and it drives me insane.

pollux · May 25, 2012

does the fm3a have this drawback? maybe not, as you can shoot 38-39 frames on it per roll.

Les Sarile · May 25, 2012

Nope, the FM3A did away with the fixed speed until frame 1, film back release lock and enabled metering on M250. As well as added a few more facilities and of course the hybrid shutter that works on all speeds when battery is drained.

nikon FE2 question

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