David Mitchell
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
My Nikon FM2n has finally arrived (along with my Zorki 4k, but thats another story
) I havn't shot anything through it so far but should be doing so this week and hopefully have some test shots soon for everyone, but here is the camera.
I am impressed with the quality of the camera and a few of the features that I find have been very well thought out and one that isn't so amazing but im sure won't be an issue.
Anyway, photos:
Front shot with a UV filter and hood
Side
Rear - there is a small section where you can put in part of the packing from the film so you know what film you are currently running, you can also replace the back with a 'data back' which I believe imprints date information onto the film as you shoot.
Other side
Top
The shutter settings go from B to 1/4000s which in this case is completed by a very high quality aluminium shutter, some models had a titanium shutter which was built for longevity, however I think some had issues warping in very high heat. I have gone with this camera due to having such a good range of shutter speeds so I can shoot anything from landscapes with a slow shutter to sports/racing at a high shutter speed. The light meter also is able to compensate for between ISO 12 up to ISO 6400
Here is the lens release lock as well as the flash sync port - although this does also have a hot shoe.
On the left side you can see the timer lever as well as the DoF preview so you can focus what you need to when shooting wide open.
I'm not really able to get a photo inside the view finder but on the left of the view there is the shutter speed showing and on the right hand side there is the light meter reading which is slightly different to some other light meters as its not a needle.
Here is how the light meter reading works - there are 3 symbols which show what the exposure is:
+ = Over exposed 1+ stop
+
O = Over exposed between 1/5 and 1 stop
O = Correct exposure
O
- = Under exposed between 1/5 and 1 stop
- = Under exposed 1+ stop
This is pretty cool as it means you can meter for just over or just under exposed for certain effects or indeed if you are wanting more highlights or shadow detail. This might also be useful with colour film which I believe can get slightly better colours if you over expose it slightly so a pretty good meter rather than guessing how much over or under exposed it is.
Also at the top of the viewfinder there is a small window fed by a prism just above the top of the lens - its reflecting the readings from the AI lens into the view finder so you know what f stop you are at! I always wondered why there was 2 sets of numbers on the AI lenses and now I know, so you can now 100% keep looking through the view finder as all the information you need is now displayed.
Cool feature #1 - shutter release lock
The film advance lever also doubles as a shutter realease lock, when folded in its locked, then you simply move it to the 'stand off' position and it unlocks the shutter realease. This could be very handy in 2 cases, the first being that you can set the camera up with the correct exposure settings, cock the shutter and then lock it, all you would need to do is flick the lever and shoot - ie you are all ready to go. Another reason could be that you might have advanced the film and cocked the shutter and then didn't need to take the shot, this added safety will mean that you won't accidently release the shutter when you didn't mean to. Its a pretty neat idea.
Shutter locked
Shutter at 'stand off' position ready to fire
Cool feature #2 - double exposures
Another thing to add with regards to the find advance lever is the small tab where the lever joins the body, if you push that and 'advance' the film it will cock the shutter but not advance the film so you can do a double exposure on the same frame.
Cool feature #3 - back door safety
There is a small tab below the film rewind winder which is there as a safety so that you don't accidently knock it, lift it up and open the back of the camera. On all the other 35mm cameras I have you simply lift the rewind knob up to release the back, but there is no way of stopping this happening accidently, the FM2n has this safety lock to avoid this and ruining the film.
So there you have it, a basic run down of some features I can see so far with the camera, im sure I will find other when shooting though
My Nikon FM2n has finally arrived (along with my Zorki 4k, but thats another story
) I havn't shot anything through it so far but should be doing so this week and hopefully have some test shots soon for everyone, but here is the camera.I am impressed with the quality of the camera and a few of the features that I find have been very well thought out and one that isn't so amazing but im sure won't be an issue.
Anyway, photos:
Front shot with a UV filter and hood
Side
Rear - there is a small section where you can put in part of the packing from the film so you know what film you are currently running, you can also replace the back with a 'data back' which I believe imprints date information onto the film as you shoot.
Other side
Top
The shutter settings go from B to 1/4000s which in this case is completed by a very high quality aluminium shutter, some models had a titanium shutter which was built for longevity, however I think some had issues warping in very high heat. I have gone with this camera due to having such a good range of shutter speeds so I can shoot anything from landscapes with a slow shutter to sports/racing at a high shutter speed. The light meter also is able to compensate for between ISO 12 up to ISO 6400
Here is the lens release lock as well as the flash sync port - although this does also have a hot shoe.
On the left side you can see the timer lever as well as the DoF preview so you can focus what you need to when shooting wide open.
I'm not really able to get a photo inside the view finder but on the left of the view there is the shutter speed showing and on the right hand side there is the light meter reading which is slightly different to some other light meters as its not a needle.
Here is how the light meter reading works - there are 3 symbols which show what the exposure is:
+ = Over exposed 1+ stop
+
O = Over exposed between 1/5 and 1 stop
O = Correct exposure
O
- = Under exposed between 1/5 and 1 stop
- = Under exposed 1+ stop
This is pretty cool as it means you can meter for just over or just under exposed for certain effects or indeed if you are wanting more highlights or shadow detail. This might also be useful with colour film which I believe can get slightly better colours if you over expose it slightly so a pretty good meter rather than guessing how much over or under exposed it is.
Also at the top of the viewfinder there is a small window fed by a prism just above the top of the lens - its reflecting the readings from the AI lens into the view finder so you know what f stop you are at! I always wondered why there was 2 sets of numbers on the AI lenses and now I know, so you can now 100% keep looking through the view finder as all the information you need is now displayed.
Cool feature #1 - shutter release lock
The film advance lever also doubles as a shutter realease lock, when folded in its locked, then you simply move it to the 'stand off' position and it unlocks the shutter realease. This could be very handy in 2 cases, the first being that you can set the camera up with the correct exposure settings, cock the shutter and then lock it, all you would need to do is flick the lever and shoot - ie you are all ready to go. Another reason could be that you might have advanced the film and cocked the shutter and then didn't need to take the shot, this added safety will mean that you won't accidently release the shutter when you didn't mean to. Its a pretty neat idea.
Shutter locked
Shutter at 'stand off' position ready to fire
Cool feature #2 - double exposures
Another thing to add with regards to the find advance lever is the small tab where the lever joins the body, if you push that and 'advance' the film it will cock the shutter but not advance the film so you can do a double exposure on the same frame.
Cool feature #3 - back door safety
There is a small tab below the film rewind winder which is there as a safety so that you don't accidently knock it, lift it up and open the back of the camera. On all the other 35mm cameras I have you simply lift the rewind knob up to release the back, but there is no way of stopping this happening accidently, the FM2n has this safety lock to avoid this and ruining the film.
So there you have it, a basic run down of some features I can see so far with the camera, im sure I will find other when shooting though
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have fun playing with it.
