If you want manual focus and manual exposure control, here's the way to get it - with proven Nikon performance and durability. The FM2N is the choice
If you want manual focus and manual exposure control, here's the way to get it - with proven Nikon performance and durability. The FM2N is the choice of traditionalists everywhere.
The Nikon FM2n was my fifth Nikon body, and although it knocked a big hole in my miserable finances I have never, ever had cause for complaint. I had tested just about every camera in town beforehand (if only to claim some sort of half hearted market research, as I had already decided many months and even years earlier to go for the FM2), including the Canon EOS 3 whose build quality I found curiously lacking by way of comparison. I just knew as I held the Nikon in my hands that it was 'the one.' Beautiful, even timeless; it's a crying shame that Nikon decided to axe it in favour of the rather lukewarm hybrid that was the FM3, and surprising that Nikon of all people should have so badly assessed the market with its pronounced tendency towards digital (even then).
It's not really very much use me recommnding the FM2n to prospective buyers as of course it is no more, but for those photographers who are less fussy than myself I would wholeheartedly give it the thumbs up second hand. There are always plenty on eBay. Buy one - you know you want to, and believe me you will never regret it.
Incidentally, I do not work for Nikon Corporation. Honestly, I don't!
Mr Nippon Kogaku, Tokyo
Strengths:
I once dropped a Zenith 12XP smack down on the concrete paving of a platform at Sheffield station in South Yorkshire; remarkably, it survived, but I cannot guarantee that had it been an FM2 then the platform would have done likewise ....
All metal construction, very reassuring
Superb handling, generally speaking
Nikon pose value
Weaknesses:
Nothing really very important, except that the viewfinder LEDs can be all but impossible to read in bright light. Well, no, let's face it, they're just impossible. As I live in northern Scotland, 'bright light' isn't really too much of a problem for me, but readers in Tuscany might have something to say about it.
Wind on lever very nearly gouges out my right eye at each and every exposure which it might be convincingly argued is rather problematic for any photographer. But then, it's an eccentric camera. Which is why I love it dearly.
Similar Products Used:
Nikon Nikkormat FTn, Yashica FX-3.
I'm not particularly proud of my Nikon FTn purchase, which was something of an impulse buy; there it was, on my dealer's shelves with an £80 price tag
Tempting? Of course - it was a Nikon, right? Well, sort of. Within just two days I had taken it back to my local dealer and bought a Yashica FX-3 from an old school friend of mine.
Yashica FX-3; nice. Very nice, in fact. But it wasn't a Nikon. So it had to go. Sigh.
Customer Service:
Nikon FM2n? Excellent, especially as they were running a price match system at the time and I managed to knock them down to just £425 for both body and standard Sigma zoom. Yes, Sigma; the only Nikkor lens to which I could stretch at the time was a boring 50mm f1.8. I know the good old standard lens is probably the only lens you'll ever need, etc etc. Yawn. Zzzzzz, indeed.
I've used this jewell as a back up for my F3 for many years. I used to have the FM2 with the titanium shutter and sold it (big mistake). Years later I got the FM2N.
They say the aluminum shutter is better. I'll take their word for it. But I still miss that titanium shutter! Anyway, the FM2N has been through the deserts, on the oceans, jungles, deep down in caves(love those LED's), and on top of some of the mountains of the world. This mechanical marvel has never failed me unlike the F3 once. It is a rather small camera to grip but then again I have small hands so it's not bad. This camera and I have seen some interesting places in the world. I enjoy matching this camera with the Nikkor 28-50MM F3.5, the 24MM F2.8, the 20MM F2.8 and the 75-150MM F3.5 Series E lenses. I've been shooting for many years and was raised with everything being mechanical. Don't own anything AF and don't have the desire to since I shoot landscape and can take my time. This is one reliable piece of equipment.
Strengths:
Strengths? Many times over!!!
Weaknesses:
None that come to mind.
Similar Products Used:
Nikkormat FTN, Nikon FE2, Nikkormat FT3, Nikon F2, Nikon EL2, Nikon FE and even the Nikon EM!
I agree with all the superlatives I've read in the previous reviews of this fine camera, but I would like to add a slight corrective. The FM2N seems to be very sturdy and durable, and appears very well made, but it's not "built like a tank" as so many have written. The Nikon F2, for example, is "built like a tank." The FM2N is actually quite small and light, and feels considerably more fragile than the F2 (although both are all-metal).
Actually, that's the reason I bought the FM2N. When you photograph someone with an F2, everyone within one city block becomes aware of you because of it's deafening shutter sound and mirror flap and its sheer size and professional "aura." It probably looks aggressive & threatening to most. And as for its weight, the F2 is really too much camera for one man to bear for any length of time, although it's the perfect studio camera. Probably the same goes for all the other F models. But the FM2N is small, light, agile, unobtrusive and easy to carry, and probably looks toy-like to the general public. And since it has most of the features of a professional camera (and the high 1/250 flash syc that the F2 lacks), it's really an ideal camera for those who like to travel light and not draw too much attention to themselves.
Think of it as being "built like a WWII Jeep," and just as companionable.
Strengths:
Small and light, but durable
All mechanical, not dependent on batteries
High flash sync
Most of the usual pro features.
Weaknesses:
Viewfinder only shows 93%, so beware of surprises.
Prism/Viewfinder not interchangable (no waist-level for macro, etc.)
(I really can't think of anything else; MLU is available through self timer, & I like the LED exposure indicators.)
Similar Products Used:
Nikon F2AS, most Leica M models, Contax II & IIa, Rolleiflex TLRs, Bronica S2A, other dinosaurs
I purchased this camera to back up my trusty Nikon FA. This camera is a very versitile and reliable camera. I attached an md-12 motordrive to mine and I sometimes would rather take my fm2n than my FA!! I sometimes get lazy with the FA's program mode. This camera keeps me diciplined in manual exposure and forces me to take more creative control.
Strengths:
All manual
1/250 sec flash syncronization
1sec to 1/4000sec shutter speeds
With md-12 it is a comfortable unit
Great backup camera or beginner camera
Weaknesses:
no eyepiece curtain......but for the amount I use that on my FA I think i'll live!
After becoming tired and frustrated with digital non-DSLR cameras I went hunting for a vintage 35mm SLR. Was tetering between a Canon AE-1 and a Nikon FM3a when someone recommended I look at the Nikon FM2n. It was much cheaper than a new FM3a so I grabbed it. Never regretted the decision. The build quality is superb, the film winder is very smooth. Pure joy to use and so simple to operate. All the controls are intuitive and once familiar with them I have no complaints about their placement.
For the beginner it does force you to learn exposure, focus and creative effects provided you have the will to do so. Despite having a digital camera, this one gets the most use.
Strengths:
-Build quality is excellent
-Very useful shutter speed range
-Meter is very accurate and predictable
-Better current system compatability compared to Canon FD
-shutter fires without batteries
Weaknesses:
-Forced me to become right-eyed because of the winding crank... ;)
Similar Products Used:
Canon PowerShot S30
Canon PowerShot G3
Canon AE-1 Program
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