Nikon FM2n

<p> I bought this camera on a Craigs List advertisement. The guy that sold it to me was very nice and the camera looked like a new camera in the box. Since it was 15 yrs old I thought I would send it in for a CLA and decided to send it to Advance Camera in Beaverton. After they checked it out they said that the camera had no deficits and that the light meter, shutter speeds and seals were all in great shape. So now it's headed back to me from Beaverton and I just am paying a shipping charge. I guess my point is twofold and that is that the camera is perfect after 15yrs of sitting around and that Advance Camera could easily have serviced the camera and charged me the $120.00 fee. They did not do that and I appreciate it. I am looking forward to getting the camera back and hope to get some of the new Portra film to start wearing this little camera out with. It may take the rest of my life to wear the camera out but I will give it my best shot. </p>

<p>These are simple, great machines that are a pleasure to use. These were manufactured from 1984 to 2001,some are 25 years old, and some only 9 years old. At any age the foam can dry out, etc. Especially in a dry climate. So you only erred on caution's side. But I've never heard of anyone wearing out one of their shutters.</p>

<p>In the 1990's, I ran roll after roll at weddings through a pair of FM2n's, all without so much as a hiccup. One body I sold a few years ago saw over two thousand rolls. And it still worked fine.And that is 72,000 exposures!</p>

<p>At the rate of a roll a day it will take you over 5 years to shoot 2000 rolls, and the camera will likely still be working fine.</p>

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<p> I doubt I will be shooting anywhere near that much with the camera but I would certainly enjoy it if I could. It would be nice to shoot all the time. The guy that I bought it from said he bought it new but preferred his F100's. It should be 15yrs old or less I suppose. It is a late model FM2n with the aluminum shutter (not the titanium waffle type). Also of course it has the 1/250th flash sync shutter speed and the serial number is N857xxxx. I am sure I cannot wear out this camera but I do want to shoot it a lot for many years. I have some other camera's and plan on using them also of course. It is a silver model. I went with this type because I had a FE2 that had electronic problems and I sort of thought that electronics can just get so old. It's expensive to have camera's repaired.</p>

<p>Advance is a good, honest outfit to deal with.</p>

<p>Yes, Advanced Camera is superb. It is where I get all my Nikon, Canon, Hasselblad, Leica, classic, and LF gear serviced. They are extremely honest and fair, always. I had to say it in a public forum because I'd rather not jam them up with work, but they go to show you don't <em>have </em>to go to a "name brand" repair guy or gal. I was just out with my FM (older still) today, and it has never even been serviced.</p>

 

<p>This is the second camera I have sent them. I also stopped in the shop about a year ago when I was in Portland. One of my daughters was a student at the University of Portland and I would go up there at the beginning and end of each school year. The trips were always kind of hectic so I did not get to visit the area that much but I did make it to Tillamook, Multinoma Falls and the 5 story book store in the city. I send my film to Picture Preview which is in Portland. It's cheaper to send it two states away then to have it developed around here. Easier also as I just send it out from my mailbox and do not have to drive anywhere. </p>

<p>Steve: About wearing out FM2 shutters: I went through 5 of them on two cameras. I used to shoot portrait customers with that camera. I liked it because it was simple and had a 1/250 flash sync speed. What that meant was that if the subject was moving a little, the picture was not blurred at all. But it did kill shutters. I got about 35,000 shots from each shutter.</p>

<p>You didn't get much out of your FM2 shutters Bruce. We had them on the cruiseships I worked and they seemed very reliable. Many must have gone over 75,000 exposures and where still going strong. I know many of the guys were shooting the N90s bodies and it was often talked about how the shutters did not last like the FM2.</p>