Which current Nikon camera would be the best replacement for my FE and FM?

[bobgeldart]

I currently use an FE and FM (and sometimes a F70 when using flash). The camera is often used on a set of PB4

bellows with a 55 mm lens. I have multiple SB22s flashguns and appropriate Nikon cables. What current Nikon Dslr

would be a good replacement for my film cameras? Mirror lock up would be nice to have. Is it true that shutter

speed can no longer be set using a simple, dedicated dial on the camera body? I have a few digi compact cameras

and hate setting shutter/apperture values via menus on LCD screens.

 

Many thanks

 

Bob

[Ian Rance]

No current digital camera has a dedicated shutter speed dial. Speeds are set by rotating a thumbwheel, which is not that bad, but I agree that a dial is nicer overall. D300, D700, D3 have MLU, whilst the D90 has exposure delay, giving a 1 second gap between the mirror rising and the exposure occuring. For what you are used to I would say that the D700, with it's 35mm film sized sensor is the best current option. Remember, the older flashguns are not fully compatable with any Nikon D-SLR, but you can use their built in thyristor or set the aperture to suit the distance (GN) on the camera. You really would need some newer flashes too I think.

 

Ian

[Matt Laur]

You sound like a perfect candidate for a D200 (if you're trying to keep the price down) or a D300. Just set the camera to M, and you've got a dedicated external control wheel for shutter speed, and a second one dedicated to aperture. Couldn't be simpler. Both have mirror lockup that you can turn on/off using an external control on the camera.

[lex_jenkins]

Bob, I used mostly manual everything SLRs for decades and had little trouble adapting to the D2H. I actually prefer the thumbwheel control to the top-mounted shutter speed dial. It's quick, intuitive and can be adjusted without shifting the camera away from the eye. And most Nikon dSLRs use reasonably consistent ergonomics.

 

Even my older N6006 35mm SLR, which I got a year *after* the D2H, is remarkably similar to the D2H interface, enough so that I rarely needed to refer to the instruction manual.

 

Adapting to the front mounted finger wheel for aperture changes took a bit more practice but is now also intuitive.

 

Unless you were accustomed to using your film Nikons with motor drives, you'll probably find the D2/D3 full sized bodies too bulky and heavy. Go for something like the D200 or D300 Ian and Matt suggested. Or, budget permitting, consider the D700 *if* its particular features offer anything of benefit to you (for example, use with ultra wide angle lenses).

[eric_hood]

I am REALLY happy with my D700. My film cameras are a pair of FEs.

 

All my lenses are manual focus at the moment and I find they are much easier to focus with the D700 as the viewfinder is

very bright.

 

My 80-200 f4 was a little dark on the FE split prism focusing screen and required support to use it, on the D700 the body is

heavy enough to counterbalance the lens weight for hand held use and I can focus it with ease.

[nolan_ross]

Probably the D200, D300, D700 would work out the best. These camera's will also funtion very well with the AIS lenses that you probably have. They all have mirror lock up. Using a wheel for shutter or aperture is easy to adjust to. It's different but you soon become used to it. I prefer to have the shutter speed on the rear wheel. You can switch them around if you want to. Terrific camera's. On a side note I am getting a FE next week. I still like the manual focus camera's a lot actually and I am looking forward to trying out Kodak's new 35mm film. I also own a D200 and it's amazing. The D300/D700 would be even more amazing.

[plattro]

BTW, you don't have to use the wheel to set the aperture as mentioned in earlier posts. On the F5, F6, D1, D2, D3, D200 and D700 (And a couple others) you can set a custom setting that lets you still use the aperture ring on the lens, except for the 'Gelded' lenses that have no aperture ring.

 

Shutter speed still needs to be set using the thumb wheel. Unlike the FM2, all require batteries to operate.

 

If you use bellows, you should seriously consider the D700 due to its better low light sensitivity, and it has a mechanism that cleans the sensor.

Using bellows on my D1 was not so great because the shutter times were long, the D1 had poor low light noise character, and the bellows suck in a lot of air and dust that get on the sensor, which is even more likely with the long shutter times. The D3 doesn't have the sensor cleaner.

 

The D700 also uses the same round screw in eyepieces as other cameras (There's an adapter for the 2 common eyepiece thread sizes)