Nikon FM is the shutter speed dial continuous? Can the click stops be removed?

[68degrees]

Are the speeds set on the clicks or are the shutter speeds continuously variable depending on the position of the dial? In other words if you put the dial halfway between 125th an 250th will it fire at 200th? Can the click stops be removed?

 

[John Bragg]

Short answer, no. Long answer, it is mechanically timed and an item of jewel like precision. Only electronically timed shutters are stepless. Access half stops on the lens.

 

[ronnies]

Short answer, no. Long answer, it is mechanically timed and an item of jewel like precision. Only electronically timed shutters are stepless. Access half stops on the lens.

Not true. The F2 (entirely mechanical) is stepless above 1/80th and rumour has it the Nikkormats are above 1/125th.

Ronnie

 

[Nitroplait]

While an intermediate shutter value may or may not be selected, the shutter dial may not communicate an intermediate value to the lightmeter.

 

[John Bragg]

Not true. The F2 (entirely mechanical) is stepless above 1/80th and rumour has it the Nikkormats are above 1/125th.

Ronnie

I bow to your superior knowledge Sir. Like the man in orthopedic shoes, I stand corrected ! It is never too late to learn.

 

[gone]

It doesn't seem to be a feature that was needed. I've never had any problem getting proper exposure with the usual setup. Wouldn't such a feature slow down your shooting? The click stops allow you to know where the speeds are w/o looking at the top of the camera.

 

[BrianShaw]

Wouldn't "stepless" aperture be much more preferable and do the same thing?

 

[68degrees]

sure but sometimes I want a certain aperture and want to prioritize it. Sometimes I want shutter priority and I just adjust aperture. I guess my main gripe is that it takes a fair amount of fiddling and pressure to change the shutter speed while looking through the viewfinder. I wish it was clickless like my aperture rings. (i removed the clicks and love it. ) If I cant have stepless speed with the FM can I at least have clickless speed selection? Whats under that dial? Thanks.

 

[BrianShaw]

It really isn’t necessary to have that level of control.

momus is right about why the clicks are there in the first place. Without them you’d be complaining very loudly about the errors you would be making.

 

[Kino]

Whats under that dial? Thanks.

https://learncamerarepair.com/downloads/pdf/Nikon-FM-Revised-Service-Manual.pdf

 

[68degrees]

It really isn’t necessary to have that level of control.

momus is right about why the clicks are there in the first place. Without them you’d be complaining very loudly about the errors you would be making.

I wouldnt think so because the meter would still accurately indicate proper exposure for me it would be just easier to turn the dial while looking through the viewfinder.

 

[68degrees]

https://learncamerarepair.com/downloads/pdf/Nikon-FM-Revised-Service-Manual.pdf

Thank you Kino. It looks to be just a removable tang. Do I dare??

 

[dourbalistar]

FWIW, the Nikon FM manual does not mention intermediate shutter speeds, but does indicate that intermediate aperture settings are useable, when required. Since the metering is TTL, I presume an intermediate aperture setting would be reflected (no pun intended) for the meter readings.

 

[Kino]

View attachment 272409
Thank you Kino. It looks to be just a removable tang. Do I dare??

I wouldn't, but that is me...

 

[BrianShaw]

I wouldn't, but that is me...

... and me too.

 

[dourbalistar]

OP, if you need a pre-set aperture prioritized but also want stepless shutter speeds, perhaps the Nikon FE could be an inexpensive alternative? Unless of course a fully manual mechanical camera is also desired. I can understand the gripe about the shutter speed dial being hard to turn without taking your eye from the viewfinder. My FM2n (which also doesn't offer intermediate stepless shutter speeds) is the same way.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Wouldn't "stepless" aperture be much more preferable and do the same thing?

of course, changing aperture changes DOF where changing thetimer does not. So, same exposure but different picture.

 

[68degrees]

ya so.. I took the dial apart and it is not at all like the diagram. The click cannot be removed this way. The click is actually under the top cover which I stopped myself from removing. I have it all back together now and everything works fine. I did notice that my shutter speeds indcator in the viewfinder is off by 1 speed. So at actual 60th of a second on the dial and actual shutter speed, the indicator in the viewfinder is saying 30th. I honestly never noticed this before so I dont know if this was there before or if I caused it. Anyway now that I am aware of it, does anyone here know how to adjust this? With my ocd and all this is going to bother me.

 

[BrianShaw]

of course, changing aperture changes DOF where changing thetimer does not. So, same exposure but different picture.

Of course... Ever so negligibly so.

 

[Autonerd]

If I cant have stepless speed with the FM can I at least have clickless speed selection? Whats under that dial? Thanks.

I know the Pentax cameras with electronic shutters are stepless in automatic mode, and I believe the same is true for most (if not all) cameras with electronic shutters -- basically anything with an aperture-priority automatic mode. In the Nikon world, FE and FG are stepless.

A tangent: While I own a few all-mechanical cameras, I think this feature is highly overrated. Electronic shutters never go out of adjustment and so far I've only had two that didn't work properly (one Ricoh, one Nikon). FWIW, I own several Nikons (FE, FG, N8008. FT2) and also think they are overrated. FG is my favorite. But I am a contrarian and a Pentaxian.

Aaron

 

[68degrees]

No. Nikon FM cannot have the shutter dial made smooth. It can not be de clicked.

 

[gone]

You could always take the mount off one of your lenses and remove the little bearing that lets it fall into the aperture grooves when you change the aperture settings. That will give you a stepless aperture. so you can see if that adds anything to your shooting experience. It would be much easier than taking the camera apart. Or buy a Leicaflex, I think that mine has a stepless shutter (but I always place it on the clicks because it's faster and easier to shoot that way, to me anyway). Personally, I see no difference on my negs w/ small shutter or aperture changes.

You'll probably get better negatives by buying an inexpensive shutter tester to see what your speeds actually are on an old camera. My Nikkormats were usually at least one stop off, but not on all the speeds. It doesn't make much sense to make tiny speed changes unless you know what speeds the shutter is actually firing at. I'd start there if I wasn't satisfied w/ my exposures.

 

[Chan Tran]

For the FM only on click stop. As someone already said the F2 can be set stepless above 1/80. Electronically controlled shutter cameras are stepless only in automatic mode. When the shutter speed is set manually I don't know of any camera with electronically controlled shutter that can be set steplessly.