I really like You’re channel. You are well researched and have good experience to draw from. You’re comparing a pro-sumer camera to first-line pro machines in the F line. I bought my F2A new when it was introduced in 1977. At the time, a camera with variable mechanical speeds that went down to 10 secs was mind blowing. Only the newest electronic cameras of the time did more than 1 sec. I still shoot my F2A; it still looks like new even though it has outlived two high speed MD-2 motors. BTW, my F5 has the same irksome door release fail safe. You do good work; keep creating.
1) You can mod your non-Ai lenses to Ai standard, it's not a rocket science 😉 2) Allegedly, the idea behind that weird on-off switch incorporated into film advance crank was to be able to shoot in rapid succession, or something like that. For me, as an reporter, that was actually a good feature back in the day. Anyway, if you have MD-12 attached, you DON'T need to have crank leaver extended, just turn on the motor and shoot away...
Really? I’m getting ready to send my non-AI 50mm1.2 off to be converted but haven’t researched how I would do that myself. Hmmm interesting about the switch. In that case it is very useful but a niche field I guess. Thanks for clarifying that
Totally agree with the film advance as on/off switch. Horribly annoying. That said, it's actually a brass camera and is better built than I assumed it would be. I was on an electric assist kine doing ike 20mph when my camera strap broke and the FE2 went crashing across the street. Amazingly, it works just fine still. Maybe I just got lucky... But I wouldn't expect any camera I own to survive that, let alone the light and compact FE2. So did the nikkor 50mm 1.2. Inexplicably.
DeanoTXR53 ya brass. I should have been more specific. I meant it does have far more plastic and lighter body than something like a Nikon F which is a brick. Haha. That is rather lucky I would think. But you are right if you had dropped a plastic body it would have wrecked.
There's also exposure lock on this camera. You push the self timer to the left (towards the lens) and it locks exposure. It also has a much more intuitive metering screen when you shoot in either manual OR auto... way better than the FM2 little led lights (the F3 also uses those little lights). And the same metering system that Nikon adopted for the infamous FM3a. Dude, and you have to admit that 1/4000th of a second is pretty badass. Throw some Portra 800 in this camera and literally be able to shoot beach day, then into the night. I would say this camera is more than "ehhh"
Great video. The FE2 is such a surprisingly underrated camera compared to the more popular FM2n. I’m not sure why people pay twice as much for a camera that isn’t as precise and slower to use than the FE2.
Agree. My main point for choosing the fm2 would be you don’t need a battery and can shoot fully mechanical all the way up to 1/4000 shutter speed. Same basic design just one needs a battery and one doesn’t. Also fm2n has the titanium shutter. But if you don’t mind that (and are going to use a battery anyways for the light meter) the FE2 makes more sense money wise.
Graham White I personally don’t think paying the extra money for a less precise, slower operating camera is worth it. But I’m glad people don’t realize that yet, since it keeps FE2 prices more reasonable. Btw, the FM2n was actually downgraded to a aluminum shutter, whilst the FE2 and FM2 (non N) shares the same 1/4000th titanium shutter. The FM2 had a less reliable mechanical shutter design, and they had to rework it with a cheaper aluminum one found in the FM2n to make the mechanics work.
@@JP1050x the aluminum one is simply superior from what i've read and what was used in the FM3a for a reason. some of the early fm2ns had the titanium shutter too. ultimatley it doesnt matter though. the pure mechanical nature is reflected in the price/experience.
@@chucky29949 oh ya, one of my FM2n’s actually have the older honeycomb titanium shutter too. I’ve used FM/FE bodies for years, with hundreds of rolls of film. And the FM3A has been the only one that’s been a bit finicky, reliability wise for me. All other F cameras I’ve used have been super reliable. I don’t really use my Nikon stuff often these days, because I mainly shoot my Contax S2 with fantastic Zeiss glass. The S2 also shares the same aluminum shutter as later FM2n cameras.
FM2 sir that's the answer to your trouble light weight manual independent of battery life shutter is the same verticals curtains shoot away with or without batteries bright view finder no wonder crack out to light up check into. Here is my reliable work horses Leica M3, Nikon FM2, Nikon F2 AS, Nikon FA. Nikon FM, later years Nikon F5, Leica R6
basically it comes down to 1. will you use non Ai lenses (early era Nikon glass) and 2. do you need shutter speeds of over 1000. you will get better battery life and a much lower price if you go with the FE. honestly non ai glass isn't as common to find or have so unless you have high quality vintage glass, you want to shoot really fast moving objects or maintain a very low aperture for portrait bokeh no matter the lighting I would go with the FE. either way you will have a very accurate and easy to use light meter. in the camera that's fun and has a nice size and weight.
6:47 well... it's also the On/Off switch for the camera... and coming from the world of Olympus, I LOVE that that's the on/off switch. On and Olympus OM-1 OM-2 etc they have a switch you have to remember to turn the camera off. I basically NEVER remember to flip it off. Then my batteries are dead. The lever being the on/off switch just makes sense to me because I'm basically never going to not remember to pop that lever back in. (although you did mention it automatically shuts off after 16 seconds... so maybe just that being an option would be better. idk... I like the film advance being my on/off switch so far.
oh 100% I prefer to have an on/off switch, huge battery saver with all these old cameras. But yeah this way of doing it when you have to have your face up against it isn't my favorite method.
8:47 I did notice that when I push that lever without the intent of opening the film back, I see the rewind wheel spin 1 or 2 revolutions... so maybe it assists with keeping the film tight? Just a guess. Maybe it does nothing and for reasons I don't understand the film side spool just does that? (You can try it yourself... if it does nothing wind that knob a few times til you feel the spool get tight, then hit that button)
quick question: has anyone noticed the black needle in the meter to be a little sluggish or slow to react? If I move only one F/Stop up it normally doesn't even move. I sort of need to quickly move up a few F/Stops then back down to what I want to get the needle to move. Is this normal?
It;s been a while since I have shot with mine, but I feel like I remember it having a bit of a delay as well which is interesting. Never thought much about it though.
