Nikon FE2, The Perfect manual Focus Camera from the 1980s?
The 1980s was an interesting era for camera technology, autofocus was in the wings and there was a race to get a chunk of what I would call the casual photography market, both Canon with their AE-1 Program and Minolta with their X-700 battled for that market segment to the death.
Nikon on the other hand had other ideas, while they had the fully featured FA which featured matrix metering and a boatload of other features including an LCD meter read out just like the F3, the FE2 was aimed at advanced amateurs who just wanted a bombproof camera that had aperture priority capability and full manual control. The magic was under the hood with off the plane metering for the SB series of flashes.
What I love about the FE2 is the simplicity, durablity and the focus on the advanced amateur's needs. While other camera companies were chasing a price point or enticing the casual photographer with more features than needed, Nikon didn't play that game and they went for a solid workhorse with features photographers needed, not what the marketing department thought people needed.
The FE2 was only around for five years between 1982 and 1987 (but you could buy new in box up until 1989), while it sold well, Nikon cleaned up it's product line up to make from the new generation of auto focus cameras coming onto the market. You could say the FM3a is a direct descendent of the FE2 but they will cost you a lot more. I love my FE2 so much I'm looking for a chrome one to go with it, you know, one body for colour film, the other for black and white.
All the shots below were taken on Color Plus 200 which I talked about in my last blog post. I think the right film for a 1980s vintage camera.
Camera: Nikon FE2, NIkkor Ais lenses.
Film: Kodak Color Plus 200.
Nikon on the other hand had other ideas, while they had the fully featured FA which featured matrix metering and a boatload of other features including an LCD meter read out just like the F3, the FE2 was aimed at advanced amateurs who just wanted a bombproof camera that had aperture priority capability and full manual control. The magic was under the hood with off the plane metering for the SB series of flashes.
What I love about the FE2 is the simplicity, durablity and the focus on the advanced amateur's needs. While other camera companies were chasing a price point or enticing the casual photographer with more features than needed, Nikon didn't play that game and they went for a solid workhorse with features photographers needed, not what the marketing department thought people needed.
The FE2 was only around for five years between 1982 and 1987 (but you could buy new in box up until 1989), while it sold well, Nikon cleaned up it's product line up to make from the new generation of auto focus cameras coming onto the market. You could say the FM3a is a direct descendent of the FE2 but they will cost you a lot more. I love my FE2 so much I'm looking for a chrome one to go with it, you know, one body for colour film, the other for black and white.
All the shots below were taken on Color Plus 200 which I talked about in my last blog post. I think the right film for a 1980s vintage camera.
Camera: Nikon FE2, NIkkor Ais lenses.
Film: Kodak Color Plus 200.
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