Reliable, over and over again. Light meter hits the mark 99% of the time. Feels solid and durable. Lovely metal, all-manual workhorse, and excellent lens system. Not too heavy or bulky so excellent for backpacking and travelling.

No spot-metering. Price, especially of lenses, even second-hand. But if I'm still using it in 20 years time, then every cent will have been worth it.

As a journalist, I have travelled rough in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, soaked my FM2 on whitewater rafting trips on high-volume rivers and spent months motorbiking around South Africa in extremes of heat, dust and excessive vibration. The FM2 was the only bit of gear that kept working. If you want to learn photography, meet the Teacher. It's supposed to be a work tool and, luckily for me, it behaves like one.

Customer Service

Haven't needed it yet.

Similar Products Used:

Canon TLb and AE1, Pentax K1000, Contax IIIa (still use), Rollei 35S

Pure jewellery of engineering: strong body, electronic free, all Nikkor lenses compatible, fine precision, easy to use.

No real MUL. But the situation is not as bad as a Pentax 67 without a MUL !

I am was recently in South America and spent 2 weeks in the jungle under very humide and war conditions, 2 of my super hight tech cameras failed, jammed, and were operational 25% of the time. Guess what body did all the work ? RULE NUMBER ONE FOR EXTREME OUTDOORS: NEVER LEAVE WITHOUT YOUR FM2.Period.
Personal observation: the combination of the FM2 and the Nikkor 17-35/2.8 is just amazing !

Customer Service

never contacted

Similar Products Used:

Practica ML serie
Also Minolta Maxxum
FM(1)

viewfinder magnification (0,91x),
weight,
size,
built,
backward compatibility with Nikon lenses,
metering

some plastic parts

I appreciate the low weight and backward compatibility in lenses. The viewfinder magnification (0,91x) helps to shoot with both eyes open (with a 50mm lens).

The 60/40 meter is accurate and reliable. Since there is always something 18% grey, no need to carry a greycard or handheld meter. A spot meter wouldn't improve the camera.

Removed the hot shoe (don't try this at home!), because camera got caught when taking it out of the bag.

I wish Nikon would care a bit more for this camera, advertise it, and support it longer than usual (approx. twenty years after end of production). But since it is still in production, no need to worry at the moment.

Customer Service

excellent

Similar Products Used:

Leica M, Olympus OM1

Very reliable camera. if you know your lighting, you won't need battery. small unlike today's bulke auto focus cameras.

no fancy features. camera was not design for that sort of things. My SB28 doesn't to much with, but expected.

Great camera for begineers who wants learn how to take pictures the real way. if you are loking for automatic, this camera is definetely not for you.

Customer Service

never had to us it.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FE, F100,
Canon F1

Shutter speed, handly, accurate, no batteries, multi-expose, classic, hard and, with MD-12 a joy to use

NONE, because the features of this camera are the features of a manual body. If you look for a AF body, go out, and good luck.
Only a note for Nikon engeniers; the manual rewind of this camera is a hard plastic piece... can you make a iron piece on the next FM2X??

For beginners is a joy to use and like backpack body is ok because don´t need batteries and is light.
Actually you can buy a lot of MF lenses for this camera and have it on your backpack or your parka all the days, not only for travels. Is like a Leica M but, cheap body, cheap lenses and with a lot of features (better shutter speed and multi-expose), althought, Leica M is major quality lenses (more expensive)and is a SILENT MACHINE... is true but, it´s silent way is so expensive for a lot of photojournalists.
If you are a person with extress for your work or for your personality, don´t buy this camera... this body is only for artesanal photographers.

Customer Service

Ok, but expensive.

Similar Products Used:

FE2, F90X, F4, Pentax P30N, F401

1) no batteries required at all shutter speed settings
2) rugged metal chasis and finish
3) fast mechanical shutter speeds 1/250 sync, 1/4000 max

1) would love to see TTL added
2) sometimes I do need spot metering for extremely active or fast moving subjects

It just works in any situation! A "don't leave home without it" piece of art. I know an alpinist who stated that the only cameras that worked for them when accending an ice covered peak in Patagonia were the FM2's! Anything electronic died in the extreme cold. It is nice to know that my camera doesn't need batteries to take pictures, even if it does not have all the latest sexy features.

I have had my FM2n for over 8 years and it still functions flawlessly. It uses so little battery power to run the photo-detector that I can go for over 2 years without changing batteries! I quickly out grew the B-type focusing screen and have switched to an E (grids & brighter) screen eversince I discovered there was such a choice. For people who are not used to focusing without the split prizm, the E screen can be tricky to use initially, but this combination shines when using telephoto lenses. By removing the viewfinder's eyepiece (plus being born with a flater nose :-), I can comfortably view nearly all of the screen while wearing my glasses. Yes, the f-stop and shutter info are hard to see.

Most of my more demanding fast moving (children, birds and airplanes) subjects do push my photographic skills to the limit, so sometimes I get the itch for an autofocus Nikon body. Sometimes it is just too though to compensate manually with only the 60/40 metering under strong contrast conditions, so I would like to have spot-metering and TTL capability in this camera. Too bad the new Nikon FM3A doesn't have spot-metering, this would have made the FM3A my next dream camera.

The camera's weaknesses can be strong points. One thing that the FM2 has done is made me a better photographer by focusing my concentration on the lighting which eventually led to my ability to become more creative with available light. The FM2 die-cast body balances well with the large AF 80-200D f/2.8 lens and I love using it hand held. A motor-drive does help handling under very active panning situation. This is one of the few products that will continue to be an exceptional tool as you grow in your skills. My FM2 is like an old dependable friend.

Customer Service

Never have had the need for it

Similar Products Used:

Pentax ME Super
Cannon A-1
Nikon N90s

Tough, simple to use, even for beginers, bright viewfinger, fast machanical shutter. I have the machine for 20 years, Ionly have the rubber parts to be replaced for aging.

Nil, for a machanical slr camera, it is amost perfect. I perfer it over my F-3, which I bought lately. If add, a flash may be.

Tough, easy to handle, reliable.

Customer Service

Actually, I have my FM-2 checking for once, I think the service is ok.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F-3,

1. Rugged.
2. All mechanical.
3. 1/250 sync, 1/4000 top speed.
4. Multiple exposures.
5. Rugged.

1. No MLU.
2. Viewfinder not 100 %
3. MD-12 expensive, slow.
4. Viewfinder annoying for eyeglass wearers.
5. Aperture, shutter speed and exposure info spread all over the viewfinder.

I am not too big on AF, and I find that for my type of work, a MF camera works fine. I mostly shoot Kodachrome 25 (which is rather intolerant of exposure errors). I think I belong to an older school of photographers who prefer to do the thinking on their own rather than let software do it.

For my needs, therefore, the FM2N turns out to be perfect. I occasionally get the viewfinder surprise, (I thought that was out of the frame!!) and hate to shift eye position to see all viewfinder details. With the F3, I don't have this problem, but I like the FM2N better.

The camera is noisy, but it is a pleasant noise, something like ka-ching ;-) rather than the hard ka-plack of a Canon AE-1.

Of course, the lenses are great and the overall system cool. I use the E2 screen (grid) and find that it distracts less than a split image/microprism.

I also like the fact that I can use two SR76 batteries (cheap), and these last LONG...

This camera is great for the following class of user:

1. Who want to think and learn about making pictures.
2. Those who can afford the time to focus and meter manually, and estimate compensation.
3. Those who consider themselves to be a better judge of light than an electronic circuit.
4. Those who are not gadget crazy.

This is a serious camera, and it is supremely capable of satisfying the user, provided the user expects to understand how to use it.

Customer Service

Not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

Canon FD mount cameras (A-1, AE-1, F-1N)
Pentax ME-Super.
Other Nikons (N90s, F70)

Simple, sturdy design. Probably the ultimate refinement of the classic mechanical SLR.

Fast mechanical shutter, good (if simple) metering, durable.

No extra gadgets or gimmicks to complicate the process.

Viewfinder is poorly designed for wearers of spectacles, severely limiting your view of the frame.

I would prefer a moving needle to the FM-2's meter LED's.

I like everything about this camera, except the viewfinder. It is just impossible for me to see the entire frame with my glasses on (and contacts or diopters would not work well). I gave up on the FE and FM-series camera because this constantly frustrated me. For me, it is a major design flaw. If you don't wear glasses, it is not a problem. If you do wear glasses, try the camer before you buy it. Some people report no problem.

Nikon has just introduced the replacement for this camera, the FM-3A. If they have corrected the eye relief problem, I would buy one immediately (but the prism housing looks the same, leading me to think that they have not changed the design).

It's odd that the FM-2 is now considered a "tank." When it was introduced as the FM, it was a lighter-built alternative to the "pro" SLR's. The FM-series cameras haven't changed much, but camera construction has definitely changed, with flimsy plastic construction now the norm on all but the top-of-the-line cameras, and only a few "old-school" throwbacks like the FM-2n, OM-3ti & 4ti, and Leica SLR's are left. Get 'em while you still can. . .

My rating is a 5 if you don't wear spectacles, 3 if you do. I'll compromise with a 4. For value of what you get, just compare the price with a new OM-3ti or Leica R6.2!

Similar Products Used:

Olympus OM-1, Nikon FE

Built like a tank
Great handling
No battery you can still shoot.

Viewfinder if you wear glasses
I never have liked the LED exposure meter indicators. I prefer match needle like the FE has...

I have had my FM2N body 16 years, and never a problem.
No high tech here just a great manual camera.
A great camera to learn on!

Customer Service

Very good, but slow.
It took 3 months to get my FM2 body cleaned.

Similar Products Used:

FE FM2 F2AS SRT101 Richo