Dear friends, thanks for another good and informative video! I am also a Nikon FE2 user and want to add just another excellent alternative to the FE2: the Nikon FA. The FA has all the useful features of the FE2, and in addition it also offers a much better dampened mirror (also less noise), shutter priority mode and programme mode in addition to manual mode and aperture priority mode. And the AMP metering (forerunner of the later Matrix metering) in addition to the standard centre weigthed metering. So in total the FA is offering more features than the FE2. But it is often overlooked and can be bought a bit cheaper on the used market. Really good value for the money.
@@bfs5113 The FG is IMO the real under appreciated camera from this era. It offers manual, aperture priority and program metering. Although it does not have the matrix metering of the FA, much of the other electronics of the FA was employed in the FG, which was developed parallel to and came out about 6 months before the FA. I think the FA was fully recognized in its time,. It was the "camera of the year" for the European industry. It was advertised like crazy for its introduction of Nikon's matrix metering, which was a revolutionary concept. It did not sell at the same levels as the FM/FE series bodies because it was priced significantly higher. After a few years, it developed a reputation for electronic failings, which also has contributed to fewer used units today. Several years ago, an auction site mixed my purchase up with someone's like-new, black body FA. It was mine for a day, and a thing of beauty.
Loved that FE-2 until my younger brother decided to stick his finger during a shutter release due to curiosity. I still have my FM2. It's still rocking!
Those Nikon FM2 are just wonderful, aren't they? They go up to 1/4000, got a reliable light meter, feel solid in the hands, and have good lenses to choose from. Good enough for Steve McCurry and Mary Ellen Mark - probably would be good enough for many people. I have a FM2/T and it will be probably outlive me without every going to one single CLA. These FM2 just work.
Yeah the FM2 is nice and I wish I could have squeezed into one for the 1/4000. The price point feels a bit high though. I guess we’ll see those increase even more!
I have the FE2, with just the timer lever stuck, the F3 and the FM3A. All the 3 are very solid performers. I agree that the FE2 and the FM3A is almost indistinguishable, but the FM3A feels more solid and better built.
Would you mind completing the list of lens lineup prices? you mention in order of more to less expensive are: leica-r, contax-zeiss, nikon... could you continue?
great video, could you or have you done an alternative to Olympus? I currently own a OM10 and not sure which body i should get next or i should get the shutterspeed adapter and continue with the same body? (currently own 2 lens that im happy with and not planning to get any more after that)
They are in part prioritizing cameras by their high shutter speed. Every camera with a focal plane shutter from this era did 1/1000 second. I have a number of Nikons which have higher shutter speeds but I have to say I have never used a faster speed, not once in 45 years. So what's the big deal about shutter speed? Back in the day, the reason to have these higher speeds was mainly for marketing, not for use.
Honestly I think it's more important in the used-market today than it was then, simply because crazy-small DoF has become such a popular look, and getting that in strong daylight with an ND does need a faster shutter. That said, I don't particularly care either. 1/1000th is just fine.
i mean its flex material for hipsters for being all high quality and that. tbh all SLRs, big name ones or the smaller ones, are gonna be pretty tough regardless of material as long as someone's not a caveman and decides to use it as a hammer.
Very good point about high shutter speeds. I have used 1 / 1,000 of a second but I don’t think I have ever used a faster speed in 30 years By the way, this is a great video with interesting subject material. Thank you. RS Canada
Picked uo an FE2 to be paired when i go out with my F3T. Also i have always been curious, my F3T has a name imprinted in it, was this a thing that people did? I bought it mint in Japan a few years ago.
liked this , liked the comparison it was very interesting to see how cheap the canons are against the nikons .... being a canon f1(3rd gen) , a1, aeprogram owner ,I found the f1 comparison interesting ... I paid £280 for the f1 from japan and I have had it repaired twice costing another £250 in total. the a1 and ae1program have been faultless (both cost me around £100 each), which says to me, although the pro cameras are better made etc etc , sometimes they have had worked very hard and can be in more need of repair and service than a non pro cameras which may have been lightly used through their lifes ... its something to worth thinking about when buying these cameras .,... FD lenses are a bargain , unfortunately prices are going up thanks to to the mirrorless mob ... FD55 1.2 , 200 f2.8 and 35mm f2 thorium coating are some of the best none L cannon FD lenses, you can buy and not yet very expensive ...
A shame, all the pentax models where left out (MX, ME Super, Super A/Super Program ). The LX which got mentioned last is better compared to the F3 with its comparable options and size almost as small as a Olympus OM
They are mentioned in future videos, but you are right. Im not an expert on them and there were none at the shop so we didnt remember. We did 10 vids in a morning, coffee was just starting to flow... ;)
Nikon FE2 is “the camera”. I love it. It’s the camera I use more. It’s the poor man FM3a, but to be honest, today for 99,99% of the users work without batteries is not a real need.
Arturo H&M it’s literally perfect to me aside from the need for batteries (sorry I’ve been burned before) and the fact that the needle meter isn’t illuminated. I loved the match needle so much.
@leicanoct Yeah, me too. Felt 'safe' with my F2A + Motor Drive + Battery Pack four decades ago, since the F2 build was similar to the bullet proof Nikon F. 😊
The FE2 isn't friendly for left eye dominant photographer. It needs the Motor Drive MD-12 to avoid the advance level keeps poking into one's right eye.
I really prefer the Nikon F100 and the Nikon F2AS if I'm talking Nikon film cameras. I have an OM-1 which is like a piece of jewelry. I also love the Zuiko Lenses. I'm not sure why people have no interest in the 645 cameras, especially the Mamiya 645 Pro with the 80mm f1.9 (the fastest medium format lens) and the amazing 120mm macro lens in that line. Pentax also makes a great 645 as well as Contax which is very expensive.
If you really want a bargain try the Nikon F90x 1/8000 shutter flash 1/250 AF. M APS modes etc and was a pro model on nikon website when it was in production Had eyepiece shutter etc and metal rewind fork.
In the early 1960ws, Nikon made much of its pledge to maintain F-mount compatibility over futures models. It was a major selling point, in comparison to Canon, which even then had run through two mounts, ophaning its customer base. Nikon focused on sales to pros, who spend big money on lenses that they didn't want to trash later.
Randall Stewart and don’t you love them for it! Zero intention of switching from Nikon for stills. I got really tempted for cinema gear but I like the feeling of loading/rewinding manually so the EF/FD change really threw in a hairball
Pentax LX is a neat camera, however, you try to find one without that dreaded sticky mirror syndrome. I know, I know, everyone loves mechanical cameras... or at least not fully electronic, but if you live in a 3rd world country, where search for reliable repair shop is an exercise in futility, electronic cameras from late 80s-early 00s may serve you better. At least, you still can find batteries and you're good to go.
What about Minolta cameras? They were well-made and widely regarded as some of the most innovative SLR cameras of their time! For example Minolta XD-11 or XD 7 and of course XK model .
And Rokkor lenses are usually very good and affordable. Minolta is really overlooked compared to other big brands - maybe just because the name isn't alive anymore?
It is a proof that these are all new-comers in film photography. Mentioning only today's famous brands... I would never consider any Canikon over Minolta. Minolta's were so much ahead of their time that you can see today's proof - no matter how much people hate Sony, after all they are most selling cameras today, with over 100 ex-Minolta engineers work for them. Also, Praktica, great cameras, and of course, variety of good, reliable Russian cameras, Zenit, FED, Zorki....
@@dragomirstijovic5569 You are right completely! I watch a lot of videos about analog photography and very few photographers use these cameras that you have listed. Mostly these are expensive Leicas, expensive Nikon camera models, mostly they use expensive models as if they want to show their economic status through these expensive cameras or think that their channel viewership will be higher if they use these expensive cameras. It is as if other models do not exist or that these "cheaper"models are not worthy of their attention. It's not that just American photographers are like that, there are plenty of other European and other that are real snobs in analog photography today!
riddance77 I was going to say that the FA’s matrix metering could be clutch if you don’t mind the batteries. I think CR mentioned the FA on Instagram though
These are definitely the most-clicked... Canon and Nikon are sought today because they're still in the modern consciousness today. Shouldn't be too long (one would hope) that more interest is generated by the other giant players of the day; Pentax, Konica, Minolta, Olympus, even Topcon. There's a huge wealth of relatively untapped value sitting out there still.
In my opinion, a beginner should start with shutter priority/Auto mode before one gets to understand aperture and DOF control. That being said, no one says anything about Minolta and Konica, which both had produced excellent cameras. A Konica AutoReflex T3 was an outstanding camera. Minolta's Maxxum A9 would blow Nikon FE, F2, F3, F5 and FM-2 out of water with a max 1/12,000 shutter speed, matrix metering, etc. I don't get it, why the fuzz about mostly Nikon?
What's so practical in 1/12000 shutter speed? Reciprocity failure at the speed above 1/10000 will negate the need for 1/12000. You may never really reach that speed on film due to rapid loss of sensitivity at the speed above 1/10000. > matrix metering, Do you realize Nikon pioneered matrix metering, right? And by the way, there were only 3 models on the market that were direct competitors to each other: F5, Maxxum 9 and EOS 1v. What FE, F2, F3 and FM2 do in your list? Why not include mechanical FM-10 or Zenit E then? Maxxum 9 will blow these out of the water too. > I don't get it, why the fuzz about mostly Nikon? Nikon just works. The same can be said on Canon AE-1. Whenever someone asks for beginner camera, all you hear is AE-1. Or K1000. The thing is... these cameras do what's intended, so why not? ...I mean, take whatever camera you like and enjoy shooting film. There's nothing interesting or exciting about flaming over another silly brand war.
Dear friends, thanks for another good and informative video! I am also a Nikon FE2 user and want to add just another excellent alternative to the FE2: the Nikon FA. The FA has all the useful features of the FE2, and in addition it also offers a much better dampened mirror (also less noise), shutter priority mode and programme mode in addition to manual mode and aperture priority mode. And the AMP metering (forerunner of the later Matrix metering) in addition to the standard centre weigthed metering. So in total the FA is offering more features than the FE2. But it is often overlooked and can be bought a bit cheaper on the used market. Really good value for the money.
Yes, the FA is quite a unsung hero. Sad that there was none in the showroom at that time, could have talked more about it.
The FG wasn't that bad. Similar to my D3 and D300 pair of DSLR, I had the FE2 (replaced the FM) to backup my F2A + Motor Drive back then.
@@bfs5113 The FG is IMO the real under appreciated camera from this era. It offers manual, aperture priority and program metering. Although it does not have the matrix metering of the FA, much of the other electronics of the FA was employed in the FG, which was developed parallel to and came out about 6 months before the
FA. I think the FA was fully recognized in its time,. It was the "camera of the year" for the European industry. It was advertised like crazy for its introduction of Nikon's matrix metering, which was a revolutionary concept. It did not sell at the same levels as the FM/FE series bodies because it was priced significantly higher. After a few years, it developed a reputation for electronic failings, which also has contributed to fewer used units today. Several years ago, an auction site mixed my purchase up with someone's like-new, black body FA. It was mine for a day, and a thing of beauty.
Loved that FE-2 until my younger brother decided to stick his finger during a shutter release due to curiosity. I still have my FM2. It's still rocking!
Those Nikon FM2 are just wonderful, aren't they? They go up to 1/4000, got a reliable light meter, feel solid in the hands, and have good lenses to choose from. Good enough for Steve McCurry and Mary Ellen Mark - probably would be good enough for many people.
I have a FM2/T and it will be probably outlive me without every going to one single CLA. These FM2 just work.
Yeah the FM2 is nice and I wish I could have squeezed into one for the 1/4000. The price point feels a bit high though. I guess we’ll see those increase even more!
I have the FE2, with just the timer lever stuck, the F3 and the FM3A. All the 3 are very solid performers. I agree that the FE2 and the FM3A is almost indistinguishable, but the FM3A feels more solid and better built.
Would you mind completing the list of lens lineup prices? you mention in order of more to less expensive are: leica-r, contax-zeiss, nikon... could you continue?
great video, could you or have you done an alternative to Olympus? I currently own a OM10 and not sure which body i should get next or i should get the shutterspeed adapter and continue with the same body? (currently own 2 lens that im happy with and not planning to get any more after that)
They are in part prioritizing cameras by their high shutter speed. Every camera with a focal plane shutter from this era did 1/1000 second. I have a number of Nikons which have higher shutter speeds but I have to say I have never used a faster speed, not once in 45 years. So what's the big deal about shutter speed? Back in the day, the reason to have these higher speeds was mainly for marketing, not for use.
Honestly I think it's more important in the used-market today than it was then, simply because crazy-small DoF has become such a popular look, and getting that in strong daylight with an ND does need a faster shutter. That said, I don't particularly care either. 1/1000th is just fine.
Agree.
i mean its flex material for hipsters for being all high quality and that. tbh all SLRs, big name ones or the smaller ones, are gonna be pretty tough regardless of material as long as someone's not a caveman and decides to use it as a hammer.
Very good point about high shutter speeds. I have used 1 / 1,000 of a second but I don’t think I have ever used a faster speed in 30 years
By the way, this is a great video with interesting subject material. Thank you. RS Canada
La mejor alternativa a una FE2 es una FE ;)
Picked uo an FE2 to be paired when i go out with my F3T. Also i have always been curious, my F3T has a name imprinted in it, was this a thing that people did? I bought it mint in Japan a few years ago.
Back in the day people had a camera for life so the name on their camera was just in case it got lost.
1. Nikon FE2. Personally, I preferred the FM-2/FM-2N which was my go-to camera in my film days of the 1980s to Y2K.
liked this , liked the comparison it was very interesting to see how cheap the canons are against the nikons .... being a canon f1(3rd gen) , a1, aeprogram owner ,I found the f1 comparison interesting ... I paid £280 for the f1 from japan and I have had it repaired twice costing another £250 in total. the a1 and ae1program have been faultless (both cost me around £100 each), which says to me, although the pro cameras are better made etc etc , sometimes they have had worked very hard and can be in more need of repair and service than a non pro cameras which may have been lightly used through their lifes ... its something to worth thinking about when buying these cameras .,... FD lenses are a bargain , unfortunately prices are going up thanks to to the mirrorless mob ... FD55 1.2 , 200 f2.8 and 35mm f2 thorium coating are some of the best none L cannon FD lenses, you can buy and not yet very expensive ...
A shame, all the pentax models where left out (MX, ME Super, Super A/Super Program ). The LX which got mentioned last is better compared to the F3 with its comparable options and size almost as small as a Olympus OM
The MX is a cracking little camera.
They are mentioned in future videos, but you are right. Im not an expert on them and there were none at the shop so we didnt remember. We did 10 vids in a morning, coffee was just starting to flow... ;)
In the line of MX you can find the Nikon FG or FG20.
MX and KX are two of the best cameras made at that time. If they'd had a copal shutter rather than horizontal cloth, they'd be perfection.
That’s good. We don’t want prices to go up :P
Nice approach to select those cameras. I miss my Canon New F1 and drool on the Nikon F3 😖
Nikon F3 for the win!
Nikon FE2 is “the camera”. I love it. It’s the camera I use more.
It’s the poor man FM3a, but to be honest, today for 99,99% of the users work without batteries is not a real need.
Arturo H&M it’s literally perfect to me aside from the need for batteries (sorry I’ve been burned before) and the fact that the needle meter isn’t illuminated. I loved the match needle so much.
True Daniel, sometimes is difficult to see the needle in dark backgrounds.
Mostly I used the aperture priority and to compensate I use exposure lock (self timer lever in opposite direction) measuring on dark or light area.
leicanoct it’s not the normal price (at least in Spain), I got mine for 200€ without lens.
It’s a great camera too, but it’s heavy.
@leicanoct Yeah, me too. Felt 'safe' with my F2A + Motor Drive + Battery Pack four decades ago, since the F2 build was similar to the bullet proof Nikon F. 😊
Got 4 out of 5 this time plus the lens for Contax.
The FE2 isn't friendly for left eye dominant photographer. It needs the Motor Drive MD-12 to avoid the advance level keeps poking into one's right eye.
I really prefer the Nikon F100 and the Nikon F2AS if I'm talking Nikon film cameras. I have an OM-1 which is like a piece of jewelry. I also love the Zuiko Lenses. I'm not sure why people have no interest in the 645 cameras, especially the Mamiya 645 Pro with the 80mm f1.9 (the fastest medium format lens) and the amazing 120mm macro lens in that line. Pentax also makes a great 645 as well as Contax which is very expensive.
We are talking 35mm film SLR's here !
If you really want a bargain try the Nikon F90x 1/8000 shutter flash 1/250 AF. M APS modes etc and was a pro model on nikon website when it was in production Had eyepiece shutter etc and metal rewind fork.
What about Yashica fx-3 super 2000?
I have never used it but I think its not a bad option.
What lens is that on the FE2?
leonard moody Nikkor AIS 45mm 2.8 P. www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/45.htm
Nikon 45mm F2.8 pancake. A quite late model, came out with the FM3a I believe.
@@josetarrega890 thanks, was the reason i clicked on the video ha
Are you trying to make me keep my FA? Because it's kind of working.
Keep it, use it, enjoy it :-) . It is an excellent camera.
It’s interesting how Nikon has been generous enough to maintain the F mount for so long. Do they love us or what?
In the early 1960ws, Nikon made much of its pledge to maintain F-mount compatibility over futures models. It was a major selling point, in comparison to Canon, which even then had run through two mounts, ophaning its customer base. Nikon focused on sales to pros, who spend big money on lenses that they didn't want to trash later.
Randall Stewart and don’t you love them for it! Zero intention of switching from Nikon for stills. I got really tempted for cinema gear but I like the feeling of loading/rewinding manually so the EF/FD change really threw in a hairball
leicanoct how do you define “few?”
Pros use aperture priority as well
Pentax LX is a neat camera, however, you try to find one without that dreaded sticky mirror syndrome. I know, I know, everyone loves mechanical cameras... or at least not fully electronic, but if you live in a 3rd world country, where search for reliable repair shop is an exercise in futility, electronic cameras from late 80s-early 00s may serve you better. At least, you still can find batteries and you're good to go.
What about Minolta cameras? They were well-made and widely regarded as some of the most innovative SLR cameras of their time! For example Minolta XD-11 or XD 7 and of course XK model .
And Rokkor lenses are usually very good and affordable. Minolta is really overlooked compared to other big brands - maybe just because the name isn't alive anymore?
It is a proof that these are all new-comers in film photography. Mentioning only today's famous brands... I would never consider any Canikon over Minolta. Minolta's were so much ahead of their time that you can see today's proof - no matter how much people hate Sony, after all they are most selling cameras today, with over 100 ex-Minolta engineers work for them. Also, Praktica, great cameras, and of course, variety of good, reliable Russian cameras, Zenit, FED, Zorki....
@@dragomirstijovic5569 You are right completely!
I watch a lot of videos about analog photography and very few photographers use these cameras that you have listed. Mostly these are expensive Leicas, expensive Nikon camera models, mostly they use expensive models as if they want to show their economic status through these expensive cameras or think that their channel viewership will be higher if they use these expensive cameras. It is as if other models do not exist or that these "cheaper"models are not worthy of their attention. It's not that just American photographers are like that, there are plenty of other European and other that are real snobs in analog photography today!
The video in the series going for cheaper SLRs comes later. Not many Pentaxes or Minoltas hit the 200-300€ bracket.
It would have been interesting to quickly mention the design of the F3 with its distinctive red line.
La F3 esta muy sobre valuada, tiene pocas prestaciones para tan alto costo
Interesante, podrias entrar mas en detalle? He visto muchas f3 en venta
For me the FA is the better camera over the FE2 :D
riddance77 I was going to say that the FA’s matrix metering could be clutch if you don’t mind the batteries. I think CR mentioned the FA on Instagram though
I agree that the FA was missing as a very solid alternative. I don’t know about their reliability.
These are definitely the most-clicked... Canon and Nikon are sought today because they're still in the modern consciousness today. Shouldn't be too long (one would hope) that more interest is generated by the other giant players of the day; Pentax, Konica, Minolta, Olympus, even Topcon. There's a huge wealth of relatively untapped value sitting out there still.
In my opinion, a beginner should start with shutter priority/Auto mode before one gets to understand aperture and DOF control. That being said, no one says anything about Minolta and Konica, which both had produced excellent cameras. A Konica AutoReflex T3 was an outstanding camera. Minolta's Maxxum A9 would blow Nikon FE, F2, F3, F5 and FM-2 out of water with a max 1/12,000 shutter speed, matrix metering, etc. I don't get it, why the fuzz about mostly Nikon?
What's so practical in 1/12000 shutter speed? Reciprocity failure at the speed above 1/10000 will negate the need for 1/12000. You may never really reach that speed on film due to rapid loss of sensitivity at the speed above 1/10000.
> matrix metering,
Do you realize Nikon pioneered matrix metering, right? And by the way, there were only 3 models on the market that were direct competitors to each other: F5, Maxxum 9 and EOS 1v. What FE, F2, F3 and FM2 do in your list? Why not include mechanical FM-10 or Zenit E then? Maxxum 9 will blow these out of the water too.
> I don't get it, why the fuzz about mostly Nikon?
Nikon just works. The same can be said on Canon AE-1. Whenever someone asks for beginner camera, all you hear is AE-1. Or K1000. The thing is... these cameras do what's intended, so why not?
...I mean, take whatever camera you like and enjoy shooting film. There's nothing interesting or exciting about flaming over another silly brand war.
Good for beginners when they're afraid of shooting film???
Dear God! What has this world come to.......
Its gone where we let it go, to many the manual setting are daunting when there is no immediate view of what happens.