I really enjoy the 20mm, I use it on a FM, FE2, D700 and speedboosted adapted to Fuji X-E2. Works great on cameras spanning 50 years. The Nikon FM also let's you shoot Pre-Ai lenses, which are cheap on ebay compared to the AI and AIS lenses which are optically the same.
I have quite a few Nikons, film and digital, the 20mm in general is one of my favorite focal lengths, I have one of those 20mm 3.5 UD’s, beautifully made, my favorite is my 20mm f1.8G. Usually keep a 20, 35 and a 50mm in my bag. The later 20mm f3.5 AI is a really compact alternative that’s sharp and handy to carry.
I own this camera and the 20mm f3,5 too! And i agree: i love this combination! I use it now on the sony a7 iv and its great too! I love the fm! I have the f eyelevel,f2,fm,fe,em,and the nikonos2,all in a mint condition and love them so much. I use 20f3,5,the 55mm micro and the 80-200f4,5 (old version) mostly. Good wishes from germany Chris
That seems like a mighty deep shade lens for a 20. Shutter speed is really important when I shoot. Far more important than aperture. That’s why I like the FE2 more.
Great camera. I haven’t ever owned one but I have had the FE and FE 2 and now I’m content with my F2AS which I believe has the same metering system as the FM’s. I use the same method of lighting up the dot and the + to get that extra 1/2 stop. As you said, it always comes out. It’s funny how people tend to think that film is less reliable. Even when shooting my Leica M3 without a meter I never have a bad exposure or an out of focus image. I have plenty of bad photos but that’s my own fault 😁 Once you learn who to use the equipment it will rarely let you down.