mechanical shutter speed: M90 ; M250

[thomson_chan]

Dear all,

 

As you could have read from my previous post, I had fallen in love

with FE2, and was comparing with FM3a, in comparing the differences,

I also looked at the spec of FE, and came up with the following

question:

 

FE has mechanical shutter speed 1/90, FE2 has mechanical shutter

speed 1/250.

Which mechanical shutter speed would be more useful in the case

of 'ran out of battery'?

 

With M90, a higher f-stop could be use; with M250, lower f-stop has

to be used. Does it mean that when the battery ran out, the DOF is

lost because M90 is used?

 

Or what is the advantage having M250 over M90 or vice versa?

 

Cheers,

Thomson

 

p.s. I know my English is not very good, I will reword my question

for clarification if requested.

[Jerry_]

If you carried ISO 200 and ISO 400 film, both would work fine at 1/250th, and the ISO 200 would do right well at 1/90th shutter. It is most difficult to guess the weather each day you plan on shooting with either camera body....

[bruce_rubenstein___nyc]

There are so many advantages to the FE2 over the FE, that I wouldn't even concern myself with the difference in mechanical shutter speeds.

[richard_laepple]

This depends on your style of photography. For me the 1/90 would be more useful. If 1/90 is to slow in bright light or with fast film I can use a grey filter. If I'd only have 1/250 there is perhaps no chance to take a sharp pic in dim light. If someone needs a fast flash sync the 1/250 is an advantage.

[cgarrett]

I really have never had any trouble with the batteries dying on my FE, except when I

leave my motor drive on for a few days by accident.

[rustys pics]

Well, it depends upon if you are shooting indoors or outdoors. In that case, 90 is better

indoors, and 250 outdoors. Of course they both have mechanical "B" setting.

 

Here is what I did: Bought a clean FE2, and a cheap EM for backup. The meter readout is

similar on both, and both use the same batteries. The FE2 is my mainstay, but the EM can

do a lot in a pinch. I must confess that I have not needed the EM yet, but it's fun to shoot

with.

[Robert_Lai]

I don't know where you live Thomson, but in the Northeast USA, you can go to any grocery store or hardware store and pick up a couple of the silver button cells any time. Thus, I would consider this to be an academic question. If you plan to go into the jungle or desert hundreds of miles from civilization, then you may want the FM3a, or FM2n. Both of those will give you all the shutter speeds without a battery.<p>Having said that, I've occasionally run out of battery power on my F3 (1/80 M speed), and FG (1/90). You can usually make things work out until you get another set of batteries.