I had almost 5 FM2s the last 30 years. I’m a F4 guy since 2008 and I want the most beautiful mechanical body : FM2/T with the 2/40mm Voigtlander. Very good video indeed! Greetings from France!
I admit to being "over the top" nostalgic in most areas of my life, and thus why I still shoot film in 2021. It's super obvious that there have been absolutely no "logical" reasons to shoot (small format) film within at least the last 10 years, if not more. That being typed, while nobody appreciates craftsmanship and the durability of a well-made mechanical (levers, gears, and springs, oh my) item more than I do, I have never understood the, "This camera does not need a battery" sentiments that seem to be overly espoused online. If we were talking about having to carry around something the size of a car battery, or even 8 AA batteries, I guess I could 'get' it. But we're talking about a $5 battery, that if you had 20 of them in your pocket, you still wouldn't notice, AND even the no name versions last (at least) a year. Just never understood people going on and on about the tyranny of "having" to carry an extra $5 battery that weighs less than the cardboard spool that toilet paper comes on, AND that takes up absolutely ZERO room in a camera bag, pants pocket, or wallet. Zero experience with the FM2. I own a Nikon FM3a, and it's a "nice" camera, but I would trade it THIS afternoon for a working, mint condition sealed box Nikon F3 body. "Why?" I prefer the heavier, larger form factor, build quality, and, while by no means the best metering display in a 35mm body, it's eons better (for low-light) photography than the impossible to see/read in less than broad daylight needle display in the FM3a. Team Nikon F3. No flash.
Hi Fred, thank you for your interesting comment and telling us of your experiences. I agree completely that the extra weight of a battery is not relevant, and it should be well known if it isn't that electronic shutters are more accurate and operate over a continuous range of shutter speeds compared to mechanical ones. Certainly, when those cameras were made in the 1980s and 1990s their longevity was not an issue. But it is now. I've seen reports of Nikon FE and cameras of a similar age beginning to fail due to failure of the circuit boards with no replacement available. This is not just Nikon, but also Canon, Leica and so on. Some people buy more than one to swap parts. So since there are nearly no new film cameras being manufactured, some are advising that people at the entry level get mechanical shutters as there is a chance they will last longer. Although personally I have never used a Nikon F3, from all reports it is one of the best cameras, and as I have a Nikon F I can agree that a larger inertia and form factor can be an advantage. All the best for your search for that mint F3. I've heard the opinion that the F3 shutter might be the last electronic shutter to still work in the future, due to the build quality :).
I have the same camera and i don't trust the meter so i use a Sekonic L-358 to enure proper exposure. It has a Nikkor 35mm f/2 lens. It originally came with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 that i traded for the 35.
Great video. Just watched the SRT100 vid and then this. I have the SRT 101 (as mentioned in that vid) and recently bought a Nikon FM. It's just superb. My only issue is getting used everything working in the opposite rotary direction to the Minolta! 😂. ...Lens mount, aperture, shutter speed. The FM is basically the same camera as the FM2 with very minor differences. ( Double exposure button in different place and it has a shutter button lock ring which I'm not sure that yours has?. )👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks. I underwent the same shock of everything going the wrong way, which can be hilarious if you don't mind getting things wrong. I haven't used an FM myself but what I do like is the fact that you can use pre-AI lenses whereas those lenses can damage the exposure arm on the FM2. As you say, the shutter lock is different on the FM2, the shutter is locked when the wind-on arm is folded against the body. They're very close cameras, they take great pictures and I'm sure you'll get a great deal of fun out of it.
We seem to have the same taste in cameras and lenses. I have the FM2, 28mm f/2.8 ai-s, 55mm f/2.8 micro ai-s, and 200mm f4 ai-s. I believe that the ai-s and ai lenses are almost the same in function except that the ai-s lenses can unlock a high-speed program mode in the FA.
Thanks for your kind words. Some of these are excellent lenses. One thing, although AI and AIS lenses usually have the same lens formula, there is one known exception, the 28 mm f2.8 AIS. It has an improved lens formula compared to the AI, and has close focus correction. Nikon redesigned it because the E series 28 mm f2.8 was as good as the AI Nikkor 28 mm f2.8. Cheers.
thanks for your kind words. I have no hands on experience of zoom lenses. I've heard that zooms come in commercial and professional grades. The professional grades have constant aperture of f2.8 and are generally expensive and some of these have special low dispersion ED glass.
I love how 100% of reviewers of the FM2 say " its manual camera and only needs a battery for the meter." At the point when the battery dies..... 99.99% of todays photographers would have to call it a day and go home, as they would have no clue how to continue without the cameras meter. SO we all might as well get an electric film camera (FE2/F3/ F4) and carry a spare set of AA batteries and carry on regardless
Spare LR44s take almost no space which is nice. For my F4 I have to carry six spare eneloops, so the FE2 might be a solid choice (plus you can keep shooting without any juice since there’s a 250M shutter speed option) since it doesn’t need a lot of batteries. But then again, six AAs isn’t * that * much, but it does take up space in my bag
I had almost 5 FM2s the last 30 years. I’m a F4 guy since 2008 and I want the most beautiful mechanical body : FM2/T with the 2/40mm Voigtlander. Very good video indeed! Greetings from France!
Thank you for your kind words. I hope you get the camera you are seeking. Cheers.
Your GAS thought process is exactly like mine, I also have all those lenses 😀 There’s always a good reason why you need to buy another lens!
Or camera! At the moment I'm dithering over a 20 mm Nikkor I just haven't discovered a need for it yet. Thanks for sharing your experience. Cheers.
I admit to being "over the top" nostalgic in most areas of my life, and thus why I still shoot film in 2021. It's super obvious that there have been absolutely no "logical" reasons to shoot (small format) film within at least the last 10 years, if not more. That being typed, while nobody appreciates craftsmanship and the durability of a well-made mechanical (levers, gears, and springs, oh my) item more than I do, I have never understood the, "This camera does not need a battery" sentiments that seem to be overly espoused online. If we were talking about having to carry around something the size of a car battery, or even 8 AA batteries, I guess I could 'get' it. But we're talking about a $5 battery, that if you had 20 of them in your pocket, you still wouldn't notice, AND even the no name versions last (at least) a year.
Just never understood people going on and on about the tyranny of "having" to carry an extra $5 battery that weighs less than the cardboard spool that toilet paper comes on, AND that takes up absolutely ZERO room in a camera bag, pants pocket, or wallet. Zero experience with the FM2. I own a Nikon FM3a, and it's a "nice" camera, but I would trade it THIS afternoon for a working, mint condition sealed box Nikon F3 body. "Why?" I prefer the heavier, larger form factor, build quality, and, while by no means the best metering display in a 35mm body, it's eons better (for low-light) photography than the impossible to see/read in less than broad daylight needle display in the FM3a.
Team Nikon F3. No flash.
Hi Fred, thank you for your interesting comment and telling us of your experiences. I agree completely that the extra weight of a battery is not relevant, and it should be well known if it isn't that electronic shutters are more accurate and operate over a continuous range of shutter speeds compared to mechanical ones.
Certainly, when those cameras were made in the 1980s and 1990s their longevity was not an issue. But it is now. I've seen reports of Nikon FE and cameras of a similar age beginning to fail due to failure of the circuit boards with no replacement available. This is not just Nikon, but also Canon, Leica and so on. Some people buy more than one to swap parts. So since there are nearly no new film cameras being manufactured, some are advising that people at the entry level get mechanical shutters as there is a chance they will last longer.
Although personally I have never used a Nikon F3, from all reports it is one of the best cameras, and as I have a Nikon F I can agree that a larger inertia and form factor can be an advantage. All the best for your search for that mint F3. I've heard the opinion that the F3 shutter might be the last electronic shutter to still work in the future, due to the build quality :).
I have the same camera and i don't trust the meter so i use a Sekonic L-358 to enure proper exposure.
It has a Nikkor 35mm f/2 lens. It originally came with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 that i traded for the 35.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Cheers.
Why don’t you trust the meter?
Another great video! Thanks again!
Thank you again, glad you liked it
Great video. Just watched the SRT100 vid and then this. I have the SRT 101 (as mentioned in that vid) and recently bought a Nikon FM. It's just superb. My only issue is getting used everything working in the opposite rotary direction to the Minolta! 😂. ...Lens mount, aperture, shutter speed.
The FM is basically the same camera as the FM2 with very minor differences. ( Double exposure button in different place and it has a shutter button lock ring which I'm not sure that yours has?. )👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks. I underwent the same shock of everything going the wrong way, which can be hilarious if you don't mind getting things wrong. I haven't used an FM myself but what I do like is the fact that you can use pre-AI lenses whereas those lenses can damage the exposure arm on the FM2. As you say, the shutter lock is different on the FM2, the shutter is locked when the wind-on arm is folded against the body. They're very close cameras, they take great pictures and I'm sure you'll get a great deal of fun out of it.
We seem to have the same taste in cameras and lenses. I have the FM2, 28mm f/2.8 ai-s, 55mm f/2.8 micro ai-s, and 200mm f4 ai-s. I believe that the ai-s and ai lenses are almost the same in function except that the ai-s lenses can unlock a high-speed program mode in the FA.
Thanks for your kind words. Some of these are excellent lenses. One thing, although AI and AIS lenses usually have the same lens formula, there is one known exception, the 28 mm f2.8 AIS. It has an improved lens formula compared to the AI, and has close focus correction. Nikon redesigned it because the E series 28 mm f2.8 was as good as the AI Nikkor 28 mm f2.8. Cheers.
Thanks for sharing that information.
I just bought a Nikon zoom lens 35-70mm for my Nikon FM2 what do you think of it?
P.S Thanks for this good video
thanks for your kind words. I have no hands on experience of zoom lenses. I've heard that zooms come in commercial and professional grades. The professional grades have constant aperture of f2.8 and are generally expensive and some of these have special low dispersion ED glass.
One camera 2 lenses, I would go my FM body, 35f 2.0 and my 105 f 2.5
The 105 is a great lens
I love how 100% of reviewers of the FM2 say " its manual camera and only needs a battery for the meter." At the point when the battery dies..... 99.99% of todays photographers would have to call it a day and go home, as they would have no clue how to continue without the cameras meter. SO we all might as well get an electric film camera (FE2/F3/ F4) and carry a spare set of AA batteries and carry on regardless
Spare LR44s take almost no space which is nice. For my F4 I have to carry six spare eneloops, so the FE2 might be a solid choice (plus you can keep shooting without any juice since there’s a 250M shutter speed option) since it doesn’t need a lot of batteries.
But then again, six AAs isn’t * that * much, but it does take up space in my bag