A great Nikon workhorse. Complete manual and aperature priority. Also affordable on the used market.

Top shutter speed is only 1/1000, slow by today's standards.

For anyone looking to get started in photography, this is a great "learning" camera that can be purchased cheaply on the used market.

Customer Service

Got a replacement manual for an FE from Nikon with no problem.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FM2N, Pentax K1000

Ease of use. Over 15 years of use and still works great.

None

I droped the camera on cement floor once, but only thing damaged was lens filter. bottom line is that is is still working great.

Customer Service

not used

Similar Products Used:

FM2N, F100

A true professional workhorse. Very tolerant to extreme tropical conditions. All essential functions are there. Nice shutter music.

Metering needle invisible at night. Missing film window at the back. Viewfinder a bit dark. otherwise the list of strenghts is too long.

I shoot underwater with F90x in Nexus housings but they stay in the housings. My FE is always on the boat, in auto mode with aperture set to 8, ready to shoot passing dolphins or stunning Indonesian sunsets. It is really reliable and precise enough for Fujichrome. The switch to manual is faster than AF cameras, making bracket easy. I love it so much that I just bought two brothers (150$ each), one silver and one black, in a Chinese shop in Singapore. The shutters look like new and they seem ready to work with me for the next few years. At the end, one of them will provide the spare parts for the two others.

I like old 70's Vespa scooters because they are modern enough for daily use, but simple enough for easy maintenance. The FE has the same philosophy for professional outdoor general photography. Simple, efficient, reliable... and very sexy. The question now is "silver or black ?"

Customer Service

Yearly servicing (I would say just cleaning) recommended to keep it healthy after extreme working conditions.

Similar Products Used:

F4, F801, F90x, FM2

One of the most easy to use cameras ever built. Add a MD-12 and you got the Best non-pro camera ever built. I use mine for surf photography with a Sigma 500mm apo lens and the photos are stunning.

I thought the view finder was a little dim so I changed the screen to a B2 (for FE2,FM2) and that was the trick.

This camera is a true workhorse, If you can find one buy it even if it looks all beat up as long as it works you've got a camera that will last a lifetime with little maintnance. Try to find a AF camera that will do that.

Customer Service

Never used them

Similar Products Used:

I had a FM I bought new when they first came out.

lIGHT mETERING;
eASY uSE oF tHE wHOLE oPTIMUM ai aND pRE-ai lENSES aND aLSO tHE nEWER oNES;
cOMPACT, lIGHT wEIGHT, hUGE aND vERY wELL dESIGNED bODY;

lACK oF ttl fLASH mETERING;
fASTEST fLASH sYNC aT 1/125S;

I've readed a lot about the old manual-focus cameras and really think the very only one which bits FE is the FE2.
I have actually not too more to say here about it. Nikon FE is a great camera. I think it is specially an excellent choice for the initiate SLR photographer, once it is not expensive and lets saving some money for an additional lense or several films and photographic books, it also offers some automation - not that spacecraft LSDs.
In comparison with the other brands ones its primal advantage is to easily accept the whole nikon's lenses line. Another good feature is its well balanced construction.
It is a real modern classic camera.

Customer Service

nEVER nEEDED.

Similar Products Used:

None

Ease of Use, flexibility, and durability. I bought my first FE in 1979 and used it regularly for 10 years, when I bought an 8008. Although it worked well and the results were fine, I never enjoyed the camera much. Last year I dropped it at the Grand Canyon and the plastic body broke. I went to ebay and bought a nice body for about $170. Photography is fun again!

Dim view finder. Meter needle is a little hard to see in low light. Some people lament the lack of TTL flash, but I use a Vivatar 283 with my FE and, at least for my purposes, it's a great combination.

This is a good camera for a beginner or anyone who likes to control results. If you want aperture priority auto - you got it. If you want manual control, you can change it without taking the camera from your eye. The only person who should NOT buy this camera is someone who doesn't want to focus manually.

Customer Service

Never needed it. Tho age of these units often necessitates a replacement of the dust/light foam. This is an easy repair that anyone can do. Join nikonrepair@egroups.com for support on just about any question or repair.

Similar Products Used:

Canon AE1, Pentax K1000, Nikon FM, 8008, 4004, Yashica

Accepts all Nikon lenses, from the oldest non-AI to the current AF models.

Great light meter. Very informative and easy-to-use. This is the meter display that should've been in the FM-series cameras.

Compact.

Reliable shutter.

The meter circuit is a weak spot, but then we're talking about a 23-year-old camera. Replacement parts have to be scavenged from other FEs

I prefer using the FE in manual-exposure mode. It's easy and intuitive, thanks to the meter display inthe viewfinder. The 60:40 metering is at once a bit broad for precise control of your reading, and a bit tight for easy averaging. I prefer the 80:20 meter in the F3, or the matrix meter in the FA. Still, the FE remains a viable workhorse with the added advantage of working with old (and economically obtained) non-AI lenses,

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

FA.

Also, practically every other Nikon body including the compact series FG/FG-20/EM.

Most of it was already said:
reliable, easy to control,everything you need is built in (except those newer tricks like AF, TTL-Flash)
But one of the unique features I never found on newer models is the possible *auto* exposure time up till nearly hours!
I tried automatic exposure for landscapes in the middle of the night, the camera decided to open the shutter for I dont know how many minutes and the pictures are great!

no AF, no TTL-Flash

Great little camera! I took it to the Himalayas and to the Sahara deserts for nearly 20 years.
Only once the shutter had to be replaced. Batteries last nearly for ever.

Customer Service

in Munich it is ok.

Similar Products Used:

F3, F90, FM, F-801

Simple
Reliable
Reasonable
Great Quality-Built Camera.
Inter-changeable lense system is such a great idea. I bought in to Nikon system becuase of this.

I calibrated the metering system against F100 spot metering. 40/60 is about a half stop under exposure as for F100's 20/80 in general. I since compensated the film speed. No problem from there.
I wish the grip is as good as modern designed cameras. It just no so easy to give a firm grip on the camera.

I bought this camera as a backup for Nikon F100 on Ebay. It turned out to be one of my favorate cameras. It is simple to use yet produces as good quality pictures as F100. I took it with my on my business trips to Colombia and Mexico. The results are wonderful.

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

F100, Minolta

Excellent value, sharp lenses, reliable

Battery operated, but with M90 shutter the problem no longer an issue.

This camera was purchased to me by a special girl in 1982 as a birthday present or to take her portraits. I was an amateur photographer then, but now I am a professional portrait/wedding photographer using medium format. That special girl is no longer in my life, but the camera is still with me. The bottom line, this camera will last a lifetime. I have a medium camera whose lenses cost 30X the cost of this camera, but if you ask me to trade or sell this camera, I would say NO!

Customer Service

Never used.

Similar Products Used:

FM2, F90X, REBEL