Tag Archives: nikon

Nikon FM10

Expired Film, home processing, Swaps and searched for, , , ,

Let’s just start with the premise…I LOVE THIS CAMERA. Love it. I don’t care that it is not made by Nikon. I don’t care that it does not have automatic focusing. I don’t care that it is plastic.

It is extremely light, small in size, takes multiple exposures, has a shutter lock built into the winder mechanism, a split screen, a brightish viewfinder, has speeds up to 1/2000th, and accepts films from 25 to 3200asa. The plastic doesn’t feel plastic, it feels very nice to hold. Plus it works without batteries but takes LR44 for the light meter. What more could you need? Here are more technical details if you need them. Best of all my example was bought for less than £35, barely has a scratch and it works. Bargain.

I took it for a walk near the Paddock Viaduct in Huddersfield. I put in some expired E6 Film and set the asa a stop lower. It was a lovely walk, quite surprising to me as it wasn’t something that I expect to find in that area.

Then I developed the film when I got home. Here are the results.

Holy moly, they are just wild. I don’t have much experience developing E6 film, but I know I followed the instructions to a T!

I checked the cartridge and it was definitely E6, I didn’t cross process it or anything. The scanning process enhanced the colour shift. So as Bob Ross would say, it is a happy accident.

Of course it did mean I should try the camera again 🙂 To avoid the same colour issue I tried a Fomapan 100 black and white film in my local area. I also tried a few basic double exposures which were achieved with the black slider next to the film advance lever. I usually forget to try this feature, but I think I will try a few more in the future as this camera makes it easy to do them.

I am going to have to smile a bit more…but I like the moody look, it seems to suit mono film more.

Well, the results from both films only make me love the camera more. The exposures are spot on. The kit lens that came with the camera is pretty good too. For a couple of shots I switched to a sigma 35-70mm auto focus lens which also worked well, though of course I manually focus it. I did try a vintage f1.4 50mm lens, but the aperture ring would not move and I didn’t want to break either the lens or the camera. I also tried a Yongnou flash that I use on my digital Nikon, but though it fired, the negatives are blank. I think that means the sync was out. I will try it again on the next film, plus a regular old flash for comparison.

If you can find a cheap FM10 then buy it, but the price of this camera varies a lot. They can be quite expensive. Here is another post raving about the camera. As for me, this camera is going to go on my top ten list, though at the time of writing I am not sure where.

Nikon F-401s (N4004s)

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I was strangely attracted by this camera even though it was far too heavy for me to keep forever. I have already tried a few similar Nikons recently, so this didn’t really seem like anything special. Plus it didn’t even have a lens, and I hate having a body without a lens, but buy it I did. I took this 1987ish camera to Yokohama and a new-to-me shop.

I think I was attracted to this camera by the dials, they look kind of funky. The plate on the top of the dials needs to be pushed down to in order to turn them. I think there used to be a button there instead of pushing the plate, but it is not there now.

The lens you can see is the one I bought in the junk section of the shop I mentioned. I attached it after buying. Before that point, I had another lens attached of course. You can see a photo of the shop front. That is the point where I changed the lenses. I don’t see any discernable difference, well-done junk lens.

Another feature I liked was the extra little window on the back. This had a barber shop like pole inside that turned when the film moved. Handy to see everything was moving correctly. Back to the dials, you can keep the top one on A (aperture) and the bottom on S (speed) for the camera to be fully automatic. Move one dial away from those mentioned and the camera becomes semi-automatic. Take them both away and the camera is fully manual. Easy peasy. By far the best feature is the battery choice, AA batteries. That means no matter where you are, you will probably find batteries for it.

And that is that. It is DX coded only, no exposure compensation unless you use the manual mode, nothing special really. You can read a great review here.

The only other thing I can mention is the weight. Oh, it is heavy, especially with the new lens. I think you really have to use two hands to keep it very steady. The shutter release is a bit sensitive, so you might accidentally take a shot while focusing. I did that on a couple of shots, can you see which ones?

Is the weight worth is? Are the shots exposed well enough that you will put up with the weight? Yes, I think so, look.

 

Not bad at all.

Keep or Sell: I have already said I have no intention of keeping it. In fact, I have already promised it to a friend, if she wants it. She might actually choose another, lighter, but not as good camera.

Nikon F90x (N90s)

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I have written about this camera before, but the example I tried didn’t work. Well, now I have an example that does work. So I deleted the original post as it didn’t really say anything other than…well, now that’s disappointing. And here we have a new post.

 

Holy moly this camera is heavy. I honestly think it might be the heaviest SLR I have ever tried. I didn’t even put on a big lens, just a Sigma 35-70mm, which I have to say is not wide enough or zoomy enough.

As you can see by the photo of the film door, there are a number of program settings. You can find all the technical details you might ever need here. There are some other reviews here and one reviewer compared the camera to a boat anchor. Basically, if you are in the middle of a forest taking nature shots and a bear decides to have a go…you have a perfect weapon of defense.

Introduced in 1994, it uses 4 AA batteries which is very handy…if you are in the middle of nowhere, you might not see a bear, but you might see a small shop and it might just have some of those. This reviewer also agrees with the excessive weight and the handiness of the batteries.

I took this camera and one film to Shibamata in Tokyo. You can read all about that place here. I finished off the film with a few shots of Koinobori near my house and an old wisteria tree at Ashikaga that had just finished blooming.

 

Wow, I think I might forgive this camera for the heaviness. The exposure choices are awesome. Plus the cheap, junk lens is super sharp. I love this setup. I will definitely use it again, once I get a back brace that is. The result of this coupling makes me remember why I love film. The colours are so vibrant, perfect for the koinobori of Children’s Day.

Keep or Sell: I want to keep it, but it is very heavy. Still, it is super.

Nikon Nuvis S – aps

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This is the first of a few posts using aps film. I want to finish the rolls I have in my fridge at this location. I have a very, very similar camera to this already. But, with the cool metallic finish and sliding action, I bought it anyway.

 

I need to get myself one of those lightbox studio thingies. Anyway, this camera was originally produced around the turn of the century, gosh I feel old writing that. It seems like it was advertised and priced as a top end APS camera, but it received terrible reviews. Most complaining about the grain, focusing and poor flash abilities. You can find more technical details here.

I found it very easy to use and with the sliding door, I could keep it in my pocket. The ultimate point and shoot. So for a week, that is what I did. I left it in my pocket and whipped it out as and when I felt the urge. Here are the results, taken around Mount Fuji and Tokyo…and my car. Look what you can fit in my tiny car. You may count 39 photos, I was kind to my sister and did not post one of them. It was an awesome photo, but I want to live a bit more.

 

As aps film is all expired I am always surprised if it comes out at all. On these shots I can see the grain, same as the Minolta I linked to before. The focusing was not a problem for me, but I can see the issues with the flash and exposure when there was low light. But I liked it. I liked how robust it was. There is no need for an extra case, with the camera closed it felt perfectly safe.

As I have the Minolta and RVX, I have no need for this one.

 

Keep or sell: sold

Nikon EM

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I really liked this camera…until I started researching. What a sexist pile of crap!!!!

I did think the small body was kind of cute, convenient. I didn’t mind that it only had aperture priority mode, it still gave enough control.

BUT, then I found out this 1979 camera was designed for female photographers and of course female photographers cannot possibly understand manual mode or any other feature. Just give them aperture priority and make it small, because those itty bitty women fingers can’t possibly handle anything else grrrrrrrrrr.

Anyway, here are some photos of the smallest Nikon SLR ever made.

You can find some more technical details here. The lens attached to my other Nikon in my current location did not seem to fit this one. So I used an automatic 28-85mm lens that can be manual focused and has f-stops. It seems massive compared to the body.

So basically I put in some batteries and a film and started shooting because that is all I am capable of according to Nikon…double grrrrr.

Here is my test roll which I took while on a walk for another blog.

Goddamnit, it worked perfectly. It is also lighter than the Pentax ME Super. BUT I just can’t get over why it came into being. Nikon were condescending a***holes, and maybe still are as the link above about being a woman’s camera is current.

Keep or sell: Sell, sell, sell….and I have figured out how to sell it right here on the page…And sold.

 

Nikon F60 (N60)

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This camera was not one I ever intended on buying. I tried the Nikon U before this and they are very similar. Then I bought a faulty F90X with a faulty lens that I wanted to try on another body. Low-end Nikon SLRs are very easy to get cheaply in Japan, so I got this one as it looked fairly clean. The lens gave a communication error message every time I tried it other Nikon cameras that I owned, but for some reason, while on this camera it didn’t…unless it was in manual mode. So basically this lens seemed to work with this camera only while in aperture or speed mode.

Today was a snow day, no school – even for teachers. So I took the opportunity to get a film developed. I tried this camera while on a walk for another blog. While using it the noises I heard didn’t seem to make sense. It was a lovely day and I know the shutter speed was really high, but the camera sounded slow. I took a roll of film but didn’t have any confidence the shots would come out.

Well, blow me down if the scans I got back were fine.

There are a couple of repeat shots as I was confused by the sounds and took another shot at a different setting. The only issue with this camera from 1998, the flash did not work. This site has all the technical information your little heart could desire.

I didn’t have a problem with the camera, though some people seem to hate it. Then again, I didn’t love it. I found it a ‘meh’ camera. If you can find it cheap and have no other camera or like collect them, then it is fine. It is not suitable if you want to learn about apertures and stuff, there are much better cameras for that. Especially better than this example as the manual setting didn’t work.

Keep or Sell: Given away.

Nikon TW Zoom

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I have just tried a couple of similar cameras to this. I just hoped this one would be as good and that it worked. It seemed clean enough, but you never know. Well, worth the risk.

 

This camera is stated as having Nikon’s first true zoom and was produced in 1988. To be honest I found it a little bulky and heavy. I also found the focusing switch on the top confusing. It lets you choose between portrait, groups, and landscapes…does it have autofocus or is it zoned? Make your mind up Nikon. I did like the zoom display on the LCD. It’s just a bit superfluous but funky at the same time.

Here are my test photos. I took the camera to some very different places, from the nightlife of Ikebukuro, Tokyo to the autumn trees of Doho Park, Ibaraki. I used an expired film again.

 

I also took a photo of the fluorescent light on this review. This camera got a much sharper shot. I really liked the autumn leaves shots, great colours and contrast. I would recommend this camera despite the size. This example works really well and I feel like adding it to the other version of this series I have, but I probably won’t use it again…too many cameras. So….

Keep or sell: Sold

 

 

Nikon Pronea S

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With my new found liking of APS films and Nikons, the perfect fit seemed to be the Pronea S. Released in 1998 it was the last APS SLR Nikon made. I managed to get one with a 30-60mm lens.

I thought, even if I didn’t like the camera, the lens would be useful. Unfortunately, the  IX-Nikkor lenses are not compatible with any other camera. Oh well, at least I can play with this camera.

I took it to Leeds, but straight away I was having issues. The camera was shutting down or locking up. I thought it was a battery issue so went to Dragon Photos and got a new one. If you want film or developing in Leeds this is the best place to go.  When I got home I sent the film off to Hippo Photos, if you have more specific needs and are not in Leeds then this company is awesome. They develop anything and will even do sprocket scans. You can receive a cd or a download link. If I could post film to them from Japan I would. In no time at all, I got these photos back.

 

The camera was a bit of a disappointment. It was slow to focus and had that weird battery issue. I thought I would give it another chance, especially as I seemed to have gone nuts buying aps film over the summer. So I popped in an expired Konica  Centuria 200 and went to Scammonden Reservoir.

..all the same issues continued. The camera locked up, the new battery died before the end of the film, and was slower than a snail having a lazy day when focusing…if it could decide what to focus on that is. It really is a crappy camera. Here is the second test roll that I eventually managed to get the camera to rewind and release.

Keeps or sell: Dumped in the bin with lens and some of my Nikon love.