Well, this camera review is unexpected. I went for a walk with some friends and a different Nikon SLR which I will review at a later date. Then my friend said, “Hey, use this one instead!” So I switched the film and the lens over as I would only have this FG for the day. Therefore this review is unexpected and short.
The first thing I noticed, other than its small size, was the loading procedure. Once you loaded the film, the camera did not cock the shutter until the counter reached number one.
This is the second camera I have tried recently that I had just a day to try, I wouldn’t recommend it. The other camera, the Bronica, seemed to be easy to use but difficult to load. The FG was the opposite, using it seemed to be ‘quirky’. At first I found it worked just like most SLRs from the early 80s. But then, the sound the camera made seemed to be a little slower than I expected. Then it stopped altogether, it had jammed. I handed it back to the owner and he moved some of the dials around. I suspected he put it on the red 60 or changed it from the ‘A’ which I had it set to, as it suddenly started working again.
I had loaded it with a roll of slightly expired Kodak Ultra 400, it was still a little low for the dull day at Burton Mere as you will see in the photos. Despite the issues with the camera, I had a lovely day and saw many birds I had not seen before. I managed to finish the film and handed the camera back to the owner.
Though, I had issues using this unfamiliar camera, why I don’t know, I did enjoy using it. The lightness reminded me of the Nikon EM and Pentax ME super which are of the same era. This model is the successor to the EM and was Nikon’s first camera with programmed auto-exposure and TTL flash capabilities through a hot shoe. I am not tempted to buy one, as the original Nikon I took the film and lens from worked fine and has more capabilities as you will soon see.
Here are some of my results.
The short time I had the camera made this review tricky, it really is more of a memory of the day for me rather than any help for others.
These two reviews are much more detailed and the owners really enjoyed using the camera. I recommend reading them rather than this post 😉
https://casualphotophile.com/2016/08/10/nikon-fg-camera-review/
https://photothinking.com/2022-09-24-nikon-fg-bite-size/
Peggy, I always enjoy reading your reviews as they bring back memories of when I worked at a camera store. The FG was a model we used to sell but I wasn’t too keen on it as it felt flimsy for a Nikon which was my brand and liked the heavier and sturdier Nikons and Nikkormats. It do have some nice features but wasn’t my cup of tea.
I wasn’t immediately draw to it. I kept thinking of the other one I had with me, which isn’t a good sign really.
Thanks for the FG review. We have two of them — one with a 50mm 1.8 which my wife bought me for graduation in 1984, and a second body we bought second hand a decade later during our camera club days. We picked up a few other used Nikon lenses along the way. Both are in great shape, though we haven’t used them much lately.
Well, you are added to the people who love it. There are quite a few of you. I might grow to like it if I tried it for a bit longer.