A couple of features make this camera stand out from others I've used and own. I find that the center weighted metering of this camera is suitable for most applications, although spot and matrix metering would be nice to have sometimes. Although it doesn't have some of the bells and whistles of today's modern SLRs like advanced metering systems, it does have some great features of yesteryear being the first in Nikon's line of automated SLRs. The Nikon FE is my favorite of all the cameras I've owned and used. I feel comfortable with it anywhere due to its humble looks. As a travel camera that cannot be overemphasized. have travelled north africa, india etc.ĪND this is its major strength as far as i'm concerned is its simple appearance. What i love about it is its simplicity, its laid out how a camera should be with simple aperature control, a quick auto function for ae over-ride for fast composition, its a metal camera which doesn't mind a scratch or bump or two or three. I can't say its never let me down, but i must also say i am abusive and live in one of the coldest climates in Canada and the nikon fe is horrible in cold temperatures due to its battery. I am a professional tv news cameraman and look through a lens daily, yet despite all my options i always come back to my nikon when travel calls or simply to go out for a relaxing day with a lens. its my baby, its what i learned photography upon and for those reasons i love it. Let's be honest, the one thing we've lost with the arrival of digital, are those beautiful 100%, bright views that we took for granted when we still used fine pieces of craftsmanship like the FE. However, I still look through the viewfinder from time to time, even if it were only to remind me what a viewfinder is REALLY supposed to look like. Over 35 years, she has been dropped, beaten, rained upon, taken to the beach, the Peruvian jungle, tossed around on the back of bicycles, mules and 4x4's and she is still alive and kicking.Īs you can realize, I LOVE my FE, it's such a petty she has been overtaken by time. When combined with the MD-11 motor drive she used to eat light meter batteries for breakfast, but then - even without battery - you could set her to M90, guess aperture, and keep shooting. This camera (unlike the FM I bought 2 years later) has never ever seen the inside of a Nikon repair shop in 35 years. I am looking forward to use those on my next full frame DSLR, especially the 50 mm.Īlthough the FE is collecting dust since the turn off the millennium, I KNOW that if I were to take her out of the cabinet today, attach the MD-12 motor-drive and load a roll of film, she would happily shoot off frames like I had never abandoned her. f/2 lenses, that I still use on occasion. I got mine second hand in 1976, together with the AI 50 mm.

Nikon fe 35mm camera