YESSS!!! New cameras!

[Mearns]

Hey everyone, I just got a very welcome gift from a close friend of mine. He just found out recently that I have been into photography for a while and gave me the following cameras he had in a box in cupboard:

Yashica Electro35 - Fully reconditioned still under warranty!
Nikon FG - Oh it was love at first site with this camera!
And a broken down Pentak MZ-50 which I'll try get running for a party camera.

Anyway I've just been getting tome info on the FG and I've read that it has TTL flash metering, does this mean I can use my Nikon SB-600 Speedlight on this body? With the fully supported TTL feature?

Thanks, oh and I'll definitely have more questions to come! Opinions on these cameras would be most welcome (good or bad) as I'm not too informed about them yet. They were literally just dropped off in a box!!!

 

[Steve Smith]

Hello. Lots of info on the FG here: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/emfgfg20/fg/index.htm

I have an FG which my father got for me about 25 years ago which is still working perfectly. It is a decent, compact (OM size) body which I find ideal when I don't want to carry too much with me.

The standard flash for the FG was the SB-21. Looking at data for the SB-600 it seems to have some compatibility with the FA and the F3 which are of the same era. The FG is not mentioned in the list but I would try it and see if it works as there is probably a lot of similarity in the systems used.


Steve.

 

[niimo]

Score! I have a few Electro 35's, great cameras. They have a bit of a cult following because they are affordable, quite simple to use Aperture Priority cameras, and they are beautiful. Plenty of info out there on these cameras, try http://www.photoethnography.com/ for the Electro. Have fun!

 

[Mearns]

Thanks for the info. Still haven't put batteries in the FG so finger are crossed there but the Electro35 is GREAT!

 

[BobNewYork]

The FG doesn't have TTL flash capability. It may give you a "Flash Ready" indicator in the viewfinder. The SB-600 on auto should do just fine though. As for the Electro 35 - used to sell these in my Dad's shop back in England in the 60's. They had awesome lenses. You'll have me reliving my youth......if I could only find that black book!!

Enjoy them

 

[Nova1B]

I know this is an old thread, but I have to correct the previous poster – the FG does indeed have TTL, Off-The-Film (OTF) flash metering, and was only the second Nikon body to sport such a feature, back in 1982. It was also the first with a fully automatic Program mode (as well as Aperture Priority and Manual modes). The same OTF sensor used for the flash also provides instantaneous stopped-down metering in the two automatic modes, so if the light changes in the split second after you hit the button it will adjust the exposure accordingly. In short, for its age, this is quite a sophisticated little camera!

The FG is also severely underrated and largely forgotten by many, which is a shame (unless you’re trying to pick one up on eBay). This is probably down to the fact that Nikon aimed this camera at consumers rather than pro’s, and used some plastic in its construction to keep the weight and cost down, so camera snobs have been discounting it ever since. In reality this is still a very sturdy camera, with a durable metal skin over a polycarbonate top and bottom, wrapped around a strong alloy chassis with a steel lens mount – all considerably more solid than many of the more recent cameras Nikon (and others) have produced.

I’ve had one since it was bought used in 1991 and it’s never let me down – I just recently dusted it down after a prolonged spell of disuse, cleaned out and replaced the light seals, and its now up and shooting again in 2011. For me it’s a great size and weight, and also a nice balance of the mechanical and the modern – it relies on only two watch batteries, and although these are needed for the two automatic modes and most of the quartz-controlled manual speeds, the shutter still fires mechanically on the Bulb and “M90” (90th of a second) settings. Combined with manual focus and wind-on, it’ll carry on shooting for as long as you’ve got film.

The FG was a big update on the EM body (adding TTL flash and OTF metering, LED light meter, Program mode and Manual speeds). Oddly it was subsequently replaced by the similarly named and styled FG20, which actually downgraded features (removing the OTF sensor, TTL flash and Program mode again) leaving a camera which was quite a bit less special than its predecessor. I wonder if some of the confusion over the FG stems from that.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

I have a Yashica Electro 35 for a while still works great!

Jeff

 

[Pumalite]

My SB-20 works great with FG ( still intact, mostly from abandonment) I pick it up now and then and run the slow velocities I have 3 Yaxhicas; the 14e Ic f/4, the MG-1 f/2,80 and the Electro 35 GSN. Be careful with the flare. The GSN has an obturator that can go to 16 sec. Great for night pictures

 

[aaron9316]

Cool ~

 

[Anscojohn]

I have a Yashica Electro 35 for a while still works great!

Jeff

**********
For all the gee-whiz features of that camera that astounded us when it first hit the market, the cleverest idea I had ever seen was having the battery-check bulb double as an illuminator for the frame counter.

 

[TimmyMac]

The title of this thread cracks me up. It's exactly how I feel when I get new gear.