rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Since things are slow on the Forum, I'll have a go at putting together an old-fashioned post, just to see if I can make it work. A couple of days ago I loaded up a new roll of Arista EDU Ultra 100 and, since the seems to be slight variations from batch to batch with this stock, I ran a test roll through a Yashica FR1 and was pleased with the results. So, I decided to try it out in another favourite camera, the Nikon FE. The FE has to be one of the greatest SLR cameras, in my humble opinion; it does exactly what I want it to do, reliably and with no fuss. I usually use it in auto made, as the Nikon center-weighted metering is just about the best of it's kind, and one takes it for granted that the result will be frame after perfectly-exposed frame when the film is developed. The FE is a very well-known camera, so I won't go into a lot of boring detail in this post, but for the uninitiated here's a picture of a couple, fitted with the MD-12 winders I usually use. <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Nikon FE <BR><BR> The lens I chose to use was the Tamron Adaptall 2 SP 35-80mm f/2.8-3.8 (Model 01A), a lens considered by many to be one of the sharpest short zoom lenses of it's era. While it doesn't perform very well against strong light, handled with this proviso in mind it's capable of producing excellent results, with a close-focus ability that can be very handy indeed. Anyway, I'll post some frames below, all being well; the Arista was developed in PMK Pyro and scanned on an Epson V700 Photo using Silverfast SE software. <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Brickwork 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 No.2 <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Courtyard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 No.3 <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Deco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 No.4 <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Wrought 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 No.5 <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Display 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 No.6 <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Villa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 No.7 <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Market 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 No.8 <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Hall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 No.9 <BR><BR> <BR><BR> Street Scene 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 Well, so far, so good. Let's see if it sticks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_morris3 Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 I bought an FE with a hung-up mirror for almost nothing along with other stuff this past summer. After searching the net I tried a couple of tricks and--presto--it worked. Here is one of the first flower photos I've ever taken, with Micro-Nikkor 55mm/3.5. I then sold it for a low price but with a decent profit. Since that spoiled me, I rolled the dice on two more FEs. Both work perfectly manually but the needle doesn't work. No info from the meter. That means the camera works fine in auto (can set the lens to 5.6 on a sunny day and trust the unknown shutter speeds; they will be fine) but I can't see which shutter speed the FE sets. That means no help from the meter for manual. I can--however--still use the handy exposure lock--blindly. I've tried every trick I can find to get the needle moving again but nada. Is there any market for such partially defective but totally usable cameras? Shame for them to sit in the spare parts bin. One chrome, one black and they looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_nixon2 Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Hi Rick, that post looked really good. Full size images and the text where you want it to be. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 MD-12 winders I usually use Noisy buggers. How did I ever have enough courage to use them in public? People got annoyed by the sound of my Nikon D300, can't imagine if I'd bring the F3 with MD-4 instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Nice work when you can do it. I think we're all struggling to master the new "ropes". Congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 27, 2017 Author Share Posted February 27, 2017 Thanks for the responses...I don't expect too many, given the current confusion. I'd imagine that you'd find a sale for the FE's, Stephen; it may be an easy fix for someone who has the knowledge and tools. You're right about the noisy winder, Dieter; I certainly wouldn't use one at a wedding or funeral, but out in the open they are quick and handy, and I like the weight and balance they impart to the camera. Thanks for the comments Greg and JDM; it's not quite "the good old days" but things seem to be improving, despite the constant re-surfacing of historic threads...<BR><BR> I attempted to post this response at about 7.30 pm yesterday (Forum time) and was treated to the following notice: "You have reached your daily limit for performing this action". Could our Moderator or perhaps some other informed member tell us just what this is all about? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwmcbroom Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I too am a big fan of the FE. I have both the FE and FE2. Actually I have two FEs -- one has a mirror that's stuck in the up position.<br> <br> Stephen, can you tell us please, what the trick was you did to unstick your mirror? Mine worked fine for a while, then suddenly it wouldn't. I have tools, and I've dismantled cameras before, but I don't know where to begin looking with this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_morris3 Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I too am a big fan of the FE. I have both the FE and FE2. Actually I have two FEs -- one has a mirror that's stuck in the up position.<br> <br> Stephen, can you tell us please, what the trick was you did to unstick your mirror? Mine worked fine for a while, then suddenly it wouldn't. I have tools, and I've dismantled cameras before, but I don't know where to begin looking with this one. I can't remember exactly. I did a search and tried different suggestions. It may have been when I pushed something related to the motor drive in a hole on the bottom plate. Or when I removed and cleaned parts of the lens-mounting area. Or when I jiggled the double-exposure lever. I just remember the mirror suddenly returning to position. I then shot a roll of film without problem and got good results. I sold the camera and never heard from the buyer. Wish I could find the magic touch to fix at least one of my FEs. I really like the black one I have. (Strange text formatting.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwmcbroom Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 (edited) Thanks, Stephen. Tried your suggestions. Alas, no joy. I guess I'll try googling the topic. Edited February 28, 2017 by mwmcbroom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_nixon2 Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Aha, further to my reply to Rick, I went back to the post again, and much to my dismay, all the pictures had changed to thumbnails. That's bizarre I thought, but then I recalled that on some other bulletin boards you have to be logged in to the board to see the full image and not just the thumb nails. I simply logged in here and all the pictures appeared at full size. Could be worth something to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argenticien Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Greg has it. You must be logged in to see full-size images, I've concluded. What's interesting is that there's no tickbox option on the login screen for "Stay logged in" as so many other sites have. Strictly speaking from an information security standpoint, that "stay logged in" thing is dangerous, especially for sites like e.g. Facebook, where someone who steals your stayed-logged-in device could widely post things that might permanently ruin your reputation. But I'd think it should be my choice whether to stay logged in or not. Most sites seem to encourage it actually, presumably because it improves their click-tracking of you, the better to sell you more washing powder or whatever the goal of life is... By the way, nice photos with that modest zoom, Rick. I'm Nikonless, but maybe I need to seek one of those lenses and an Adaptall thingie for M42, Pentax K, or Minolta SR... --Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc_bergman1 Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Rick, Very nice images. This lens is one Tamron I don't have. In this range I do have the 28-70mm and the 28-80mm. I do like them both but will have to give a 35-80mm a try. Here is a test of this lens from the February 1981 issue of Modern Photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Thanks, Marc, the test results are certainly pretty impressive. I find I use the similar Tamron 35-70mm f/3.5 CF Macro (17a) more than this lens; it's far less susceptible to flare and provides better contrast with no discernible difference in resolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Cloven Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 I too am a big fan of the FE. I have both the FE and FE2. Actually I have two FEs -- one has a mirror that's stuck in the up position.<br> <br> Stephen, can you tell us please, what the trick was you did to unstick your mirror? Mine worked fine for a while, then suddenly it wouldn't. I have tools, and I've dismantled cameras before, but I don't know where to begin looking with this one. I forget the trick required to get the mirror stuck up. But I do remeber the trick to un-stick: Set the shutter speed dial to "M90". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Cloven Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Well, so far, so good. Let's see if it sticks.... Can you do me a favor and time your FE's 8 second shutter speed against your cell phone clock timer please? I own 3, and two time at six seconds. Only One times correctly at eight seconds. Wondering if that is a common problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou_Meluso Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Nice results, Rick. One of your fabulous posts lends a sense of stability in this new format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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