Paulo J Moreira
Nikon FE
After the mini sized Olympus OM-1, the world of SLRs would never be the same again. Nikon, in particular, never gave a second of importance to compactness. However, by 1978, the Nikon range (with the Nikkormats also) appeared somehow Jurassic in terms of size, hence the FM first, then its automated sister, the FE. The cameras are almost identical, save for some minor points. I once held a FE2 and found the finder to be yellowish and not very bright. For some reason, this FE has a reasonable viewfinder, not dark at all and comfortable enough.
The fit and finish are superb, even on this relatively battered unit. What strikes the most is the mechanical quality. The wind on lever is smooth and silent, a real joy to wind up the film here! The shutter does not clonk, it is very well dampened, much better than my Nikon D300. For the rest, it is a very straight forward aperture priority camera, the only unusual thing is the speed range of the shutter, one can choose manually exposures up to 8 s, the camera being able to expose for several minutes in auto mode.
Here we have a compact SLR (lets not mention the Pentax ME, in order not to demerit Nikon!), slim, yes less than 500 g and virtually indestructible. It may not be a work of art in terms of design, but it surely is in terms of build and quality. Although I don't collect Nikons, this is my 10 th body, I rarely walk away from a sorry looking Nikon, yeah, I know, in the end, I am a sucker for Nikons!
Nikon FE
After the mini sized Olympus OM-1, the world of SLRs would never be the same again. Nikon, in particular, never gave a second of importance to compactness. However, by 1978, the Nikon range (with the Nikkormats also) appeared somehow Jurassic in terms of size, hence the FM first, then its automated sister, the FE. The cameras are almost identical, save for some minor points. I once held a FE2 and found the finder to be yellowish and not very bright. For some reason, this FE has a reasonable viewfinder, not dark at all and comfortable enough.
The fit and finish are superb, even on this relatively battered unit. What strikes the most is the mechanical quality. The wind on lever is smooth and silent, a real joy to wind up the film here! The shutter does not clonk, it is very well dampened, much better than my Nikon D300. For the rest, it is a very straight forward aperture priority camera, the only unusual thing is the speed range of the shutter, one can choose manually exposures up to 8 s, the camera being able to expose for several minutes in auto mode.
Here we have a compact SLR (lets not mention the Pentax ME, in order not to demerit Nikon!), slim, yes less than 500 g and virtually indestructible. It may not be a work of art in terms of design, but it surely is in terms of build and quality. Although I don't collect Nikons, this is my 10 th body, I rarely walk away from a sorry looking Nikon, yeah, I know, in the end, I am a sucker for Nikons!