Dude Nikon is just the worst camera to buy. Because you buy one (FM2 in my case) then you get a lens, then you get another lens, then you have like all the lenses, then you use them on everything, from film bodies to even your mirrorless, then you look at your bank and are broke. Its the worst I tell you. 😄
For sure. Several months ago I bought my first Nikon--a minty F2 made in 1974. Since then I've bought four Nikkor lenses and keep spending $$ shooting film in it. Now I'm fighting off the temptation to buy yet another Nikkor lens--and I think I'm starting to slip.
Starting in the latter 1970s, and as a new professional with an expanded photo equipment budget, I hopped on the FM train when introduced. That was traded for the FM2 when available, which in turn begat a FE2. There followed an FE donated by a client who abandoned photography, and a mint F3 which whispered the song of the Lorelei to me at a swap meet. I was smitten with the FA in 1984 for its revolutionary matrix metering system, but in the real world of my landscape and urban photography, that was more show than go. And, a new FA was "expensive". After the autofocus revolution, I belatedly acquired a used 8008s, which proved to be far more useful and fun to drive than I expected. In time, that aged out (gifted to a newbie) and was replaced by an F100, which I like so much that I put a mint second body in storage so I can never be parted from one. Still have the collection of manual bodies, plus an FG (cheap, for dangerous times and places) and a brace of Nikkormats for old times sake. The FA today? Think of it as an FE2 with a shutter priority mode you'll never use and a matrix meter you probably don't need, but at the right price, why not? [Two side notes: (1) Having to remove, and loose, that finger grip to mount a motor drive is a feature shared with its contemporary, the FG. It sucks. (2) The FG was a test bed for program shutter mode and a practically unknown function in auto-exposure modes which checks the aperture once it closes to shooting to make sure that the lens is delivering what the meter ordered, and adjusts accordingly. This was required for AI lenses, which did not have a tightly uniform aperture mechanism among various lenses. The aperture linkage was standardized, thus issue corrected, in the AIs lenses.]
Yo I use it all the time. I learned in the 90s on a 70s F2. My teacher was like, "the dof preview is the most important button for composing your photo" 🧘♂️
Also super useful if your using pre-ai lenses as they don't meter automatically with the body, you have to use the depth of field preview button and meter using that
I have an FA. When I used to shot film had very good success with it. Shot only primes on it, and exposures were always accurate. It wasn’t my first Nikon but it always felt good in my hands. I’m shooting D800 and D850 now, familiar like old friends.
Great video. I have a FE myself, and love it. If you get the AF-D lenses from the 90s/00s, they work great, and you don't have to pay the "retro" tax on them.
Well they just about cost the same(50 1.8 aside) I'd say and older ones are better built and smoother focusing, but you get autofocus on dslrs with the newer ones. Glad nikon kept f mount for so long
Have you tried using the DOF when shooting subjects that are backlit? Makes it easier to gauge how much light is falling on your subject with the aperture you've set.
I have to use it all the time on my Nikon FM. Some of my old Nikon lenses won't automatically work with the light meter when stopped down, but will when I hit the dof preview. A small price to pay to use cool lenses though!
@@BadFlashes Yep. The camera companies predicted that in 1990, the ONE guy who would FINALLY use the DOF preview feature would be born... I fulfilled the prophecy :D
I started with a Minolta SRT101 and later got an X700. Their center-weighted averaging meter with CLC was spot on almost every time. I also started with Kodachrome and most of what I shot was some kind of slide, more demanding than negative film. There is nothing wrong with a good center-weighted meter most of the time. And if you get a body with a button for backlight compensation or spot metering mode, you can deal with almost all the tricky stuff. While matrix is definitely an improvement because it slices and dices more, it is not so much a leapfrog feature as an incremental one. Later, Nikon introduced 1005 point matrix metering in the F5. Notable for how it invited a George H. W. Bush joke. The 1/4000 shutter is the real differentiator. Two more stops does add flexibility to your ISO choices. (The Minolta Maxxum 9000 had that as well.) Program mode, which the F3 does not have, is very nice for fuss-free shooting, but most serious shots are taken in Manual or Aperture Priority anyhow. The 93% viewfinder chops off what would be masked by a slide frame or some film carriers during printing. Hence, you see what you will likely end up with. Only the most professional (and expensive) cameras featured 100% viewfinders. They were larger and thus not only more costly but bumped the internal sizes a bit. Now that you made the case for it, I find myself ponder whether to get an FA to augment my F3 and FG. Maybe just for the S&G...but then turning it off all the time is a bit of a turn off. Great post as always!
I miss depth of field preview. Yes, I used it, back before you were born. It helped to visualize the range of focus back when good glass was really glass.
I purchased an FA about 8 years ago and I love it. I have to say that it hits a sweet spot for me in terms of technology.... I may be slightly biased though... part of the reason I chose it is because it was released the same year I was born.
This camera has a really good exposure meter, but the lack of an exposure lock option negates that advantage.The FA is a really good camera, but the best is the FM3A, but it's obscenely expensive, so the FE2 is the best choice. I've had a lot of situations where the FA matrix metering was wrong, it doesn't give any advantage over center-mounted metering... I changed my FA to FE2 which has exposure lock and now I am more satisfied. Also, the arrow indication of the exposure parameters in the FE2 viewfinder is also much more convenient...
FA, my first SLR. It was stolen. So I got a F801, but I didn like is just as much. I got a new FA a way back, and I will have it services soon, i hope. The FA is a stunning piece of semi pro equipment. Exposure, handeling, programs, manual mode, flash mode, just amazing.
I have owned and used an FA since 1983. It's a great camera but I must add a note of caution on the matrix metering. It works well with print film but will often over expose slide film. I get better results with center-weighted when shooting slides.
Yeh, I bounced around various models for years but the day I got an FA and felt that shutter shhhhhhhhfffffffflick, I ordered a black one to go with my silver one and now that's all I shoot. The black one gets the 14mm f2.8 aspherical and the silver gets the 85mm. Just make sure you're running AIS lenses (with the little divot) or you lose Matrix Metering.
Oh that’s sick! Found your way to the FA but after reading the manual, I don’t think that last part is actually accurate … the divot is for something else…. I used to think the same thing :)
The divot is used to tell compatible cameras that an AI-S lens is attached to the camera. This allows for slightly faster shooting in program and shutter speed modes because the aperture action in AI-S lenses is linearised, though in practice the difference is not noticeable. Ken Rockwell has a good write up about it on his site. On the FA you get Matrix metering and full PASM functionality with all AI and AI-S lenses. AI-converted lenses will use centre weighted metering.
Liking the more tech camera feature videos. Lots of cool SLRs ended up right before the dark I mean digital side came out. I love my EOS 3 and I love the Nikon F5 and 6.
I think my black FA has that problem. Or something like it. Advance lever won't advance film. I'm pretty sure the autowinder, which is pretty violent, caused the issue. KEH said they couldn't fix it but never said what was wrong. So now it is a beautiful brick on my shelf. Sadly, my fully functioning silver FA is sitting right beside since I no longer shoot film. But one of these days..............
Great video! Humour and technology nicely combined. Just a point that could be added: the P and S modes only work with AI-S and E-Series Nikon lenses and not with AI lenses. Still, that's not really a problem since the A and M modes do still work with AI lenses.
For me the Minolta is Bang-For-Buck in terms of lenses and bodies. I have an SRT 303b as my main work horse, with a spare SRT Super body (essentially the same camera) as a back up / spare that I got for $20AUD. With lenses being good overall and in lower demand than the other big film brands (Pentax, Nikon, Canon) it stacks up for an occasional shooter like myself i can also bang it around and not worry too much.
My Nikon FA with a Nikon Nikkor Zoom 80-200mm lens is on the way!! Ordered earlier for $250 total.. which I didnt feel was too bad. Im pumped man.. also dropped off some rolls earlier and they are currently on their way to The Dark Room believe it or not lmao..
The motor drive? I have the f3 with the motor drive. Definitely the opposite from what I wanted from shooting film but love it also at the same time. Very easy to go broke with the motor drive.
Always liked the idea of a original Nikon F, look so cool. But constant debate between that and the F3. Currently have a Hasselblad 500 series and Rollei35 if that matters
4:00 The Rolleiflex SL350 and SL35M(E) also switch on and off with the advance lever. But in that case it's just a lightmeter, the rest is still fully mechanical.
I've had an FA since october as my 1st film camera, and I like it quite a bit. I'm tempted to get an f3 with waist-level viewfinder, but they're so pricey.
I just got a Nikon FA for my birthday. My girlfriend brought me to a store which is specialised in old camera’s. Can’t be happier! And I am from 83, so perfect. :)
Interesting review. I would still prefer my F3 but you certainly have me thinking. How do you find the varied Aperture Tokina zoom lens you had on the camera ?
You use a Nikon 50 in this video, but also a zoom that's not a Nikon. What is it? I'm not a fan of zooms with manual focus cameras but yours looked intriguing enough. Thanks in advance!
My Minolta X700 just broke my heart due to its capacitors finally giving out. Glad to see there might be an alternative that still scratches the same itch!
Okay fine. I was really holding out, but I finally subscribed due all the Nikon love you’re showing. Next you’re gonna get the f2, guaranteed. I bet it’s already in your KEH shopping cart.
I love the FA so much I have three of them. The 2D matrix metering was sweet, and only bettered with the 3D matrix metering of the F801, and then it was better mostly better with flash. Also it should be noted that the honeycomb titanium shutter was needed to enable 1/4000th sec was marketing BS. This became apparent when the F801 got 1/8000th sec, and did it with a plain old aluminum shutter.
@@BadFlashes I have a feeling that someone developed a method of making the honeycomb pattern, and someone at Nikon saw it and went cool, THIS will make our upcoming Technocamera look like it comes from the future, we have to buy this patent. The FA was very high priced, so doing these sort of expensive manufacturing techniques was doable at its price point. And so, they marketed the heck out of it. It does look cool, and the story about being necessary sounded plausible. Yet when they released the F801/N8008 they never mentioned that the shutter was just conventional aluminum, instead the marketing included other things like the name. They had skipped the 700 series name, which it should have been, and chose a name with 8's in it as a not so subtle way of reminding photographers about the 1/8000th shutter, and made zero mention of the shutter blades type of metal or honeycomb shapes. It was all about the 8's in the name. However, the honeycomb titanium of the FA still looks cool and space age.
I have a Minolta X700 and everything you said just told me I would hate this FA lol (just the on/off lever and the need to have the lense closed to use the program mode come on)
Hahaha well you like what you like … that’s all that counts!!! :) But being closed down doesn’t mean the lens will be closed down for every shot. That’s just the setting haha
I had an FA for years and selling it is one of my regrets. Great little cameras and the exposure never missed in my experience. Is that a Series E 50mm on it? Great lens for cheap.
Doesn`t multi exposure on X700 works when you hold the rewind button and then advance the film leaver? Not practical but possible. I saw lots of people making double exposure photos on Reddit. Also at 3:50 I didn`t understand, you need to have every time film advance lever at that position in order to take photos? That is so impractical.
Your work is groovy! Do you make enough money selling your prints to cover the costs of your photo trips? Can you give advice on how to earn a living with film photography??
Personally I love the k1000 more. I got one as a birthday present like 6 years ago and it just feels like THE quintessential film camera. It's just the bare essentials of what you need, feels solid, and it a joy to use. I have at least 10 film cameras, and thats the one I keep going back tom I just have a hard time recommending it when it cost so much these days, and there's cheaper cameras that are basically the same.
@@BadFlashes It's about $300-$400 CAD because it's gotten popular with instagram. Rightfully so in my opinion, but when you can get the same thing for half the price by going with something like a Spotimatic, the k1000 just doesn't make much sense to buy right now.
This was my first camera. I still have it, and a motor drive for it, in a box somewhere in my bedroom. Can you imagine using a motor drive today for film? That would put you in the poor house quick. I used to go out with pro-packs of Fuji Press 800. Put ten rolls in my pockets and shoot all day. Yikes. Even adult me cringes at that idea now. We used to shoot so much film! Ektar, Velvia, Portra, Tmax. Tri-x was hopelessly old-fashioned. We would hand roll our film in order to shoot even more! In a pinch, we would go to the drugstore and buy the cheapest no-name film for a dollar a roll. But I don't miss film that much. Grain was horrendous. Tmax at 1600 was awful. Tmax 3200 couldn't be shot at 3200, you needed to overexpose one stop and pull development if you wanted any detail in the shadows. The idea that one day we could shoot at 6400 and 12500 iso was inconceivable.
I love my FA, and my photos look great with it. Do you have any tips for shooting in low light/indoor? I'm kind of new to film photography. Currently I use 400 ISO film, with a 50mm 1.8 lens. Should I get a hot shoe flash for indoor photography? Or can I trust the camera in P or A mode in lamp/low light conditions?
@@BadFlashesYeah man it's wild the focus plane at its minimum aperture f/3.5 is actually curved. It's a lot like sitting 10 feet away from a movie screen and still being able to see the whole thing
Question - does the light meter on the FA only kick in on frame 1 or before? My FE2 is dormant until frame 1, which I hate. Yes, that’s me trying to justify another Nikon, and my curiosity of the matrix metering!
Maturing as a photographer is realizing that Nikon was amazing the whole time. Being a gigachad photographer is just starting on Nikon with like 70 years of compatibility and some of the most secretly feature-rich bodies.
I still don’t know of any camera combo as good (and CHEAP) as an EOS 300v/x and 40mm EF pancake. Nikons are great (I’ve had an FE for 20 years now) but the vintage Nikon glass is getting to be out of my price range. Finding it harder and harder to ball on a budget with film….😢 (Also psssst…. Ricoh TF-500 and FF-90 compacts are massively underrated and overlooked for you P&S maniacs. Get one before everyone else figures that out)
@@BadFlashes EOS 300v = Rebel Ti / T2 here in the USA. K2s rock as well. You can literally scoop them up for $25-50 with some patience and digging. They won’t win awards for retro good looks or build quality but they have some high tech features. (great matrix meter, decent AF, EF lens support ofc) I literally don’t know why they are so cheap when they are so capable. 40mm pancake can be had for around $100 and will out-resolve most consumer 35mm films. Ask Trev from The Darkroom, he knows! :)
Light Pix. It’s cheap enough to get the flash and learn the basics since it’s a manual flash. And for the most part pretty good, sometimes it doesn’t want to connect wirelessly, but that’s why I always use a flash sync cable
I have bad memories of the fa. Lets just says carry a tri-pod a 1000mm lens and then the self timer fucked up and pain ensued. Lesson learned test self timers at home before using
would love to try a Nikon but that whole winder lever out to turn on the camera thing puts me off because I shoot with my left eye. I reckon I'd end up with a winder in my right eye every time I shoot haha
Note: In its day, a much overlooked camera with state of the art and above features, but: Be VERY, VERY careful buying Nikon FA's as they are not that reliable. Many have weakened levers that can, and do deform or break causing the camera to lock up. Other issues are failure of long exposures where the camera should expose for minutes only completes a few seconds. Servicing is essential - and there are very few repairers that will even consider looking at the FA as it is an extremely complex camera.
Dood, I have a spare finger grip thingy for the FA. Don’t ask me why, especially seeing I don’t have an FA. Anyway you can have it. Free. I’m in Hermosa but I can just drop it in the mail etc.
I have an FM, F100, and just took an FM2N out of the box today. And my Z6ii 😸 The upside of the FM2N is that it’s FULLY mechanical. But yes, caveman metering. 🤷♂️😹
@@BadFlashes I’m definitely on the Nikon train, but I also have a mamiya C330, standard camera 4x5 v2, and other miscellaneous digital and film cameras 😅 I might have a problem
If you like the fa and f3, wait until you get your hands on the religious experience that is the F4s I didn’t want to / expect to like it as much as I do but honestly it’s arguably the best SLR of all time.
@@BadFlashes It is indeed the biggest of boys. But it doesn't matter because you won't care, once you put a roll of film through it. The feel of the thing is transcendent.
My F4S is 1430g with a arca-swiss plate, so yes a beast. With a shoulder strap (Blackrapid sport) and a quick release It really isn't that bad to carry. No way on a neck strap though. The regular F4 would be about 300g lighter. Heck my F2 with a arca-swiss weighs 890g. Once you see the results you will forget about the weight.@@BadFlashes
I guess it was about 1984-85 or so, my Dad bought the family a 'fancy' camera....a black Nikon FA. I started an interest in shooting....and in about 1986 or so, my parents surprised me and bought me a Nikon FA. We even had the winder for it....and about 3 lenses between us. A couple years ago, I dug up the lenses to play with adapting...one was a REALLY nice lens.the micro-Nikko 55 f2.8. We also had a zoom lens that was nice too (can't remember exactly which one off top of head and too lazy to dig it out). Anyway, the 55mm lens was a bit sticky and I sent it off for TLA....and wow...talk about a gem!! Anyway, Dad is much older now, and I went and looked and found both is and mine FA bodies. Fortunately neither had battery leakage...and the winder still works. After seeing this, I'm tempted to buy a battery (or just put the AA's in the winder since it can power the whole camera) and take them out for a whirl. Thanks for reminding me I had these!! CC ps. What was the LAST fully mechanical Nikon film body? The F2?
I like nikon but they are too heavy, in reality the best film cameras in 35mm are eos because of the modern lens support, weight, and the later models are packed with features, or olympus because they do the same as every other mechanical slr camera with a much nicer size, weight, and advanced ttl
@@BadFlashesyeah I wouldn’t call the fa specifically heavy honestly, just looking at it comparatively. But I shoot medium format so who am I to complain about weight really 😅
