Nikon FE2 (£150) vs FM3A (£210)

[hjoseph7]

<p>Although I love my FE2($150 off eBay Mint) it did come with some headaches, one was the AE(auto exposure) which was unreliable, the other was that it seemed to drain the battery fairly quickly. Cleaning the battery chamber solved the first problem, and purchasing a higher grade battery solved the second one somewhat ? but I still remove the battery when storing the camera. The FE2 is a beautiful camera, smaller and easier to handle than the FM2 and even if the battery runs out you can set the shutter speed to 1/250 where it works in full mechanical mode. As far as reliability and ruggedness the FM2/FM3A is the clear winner. </p>

[james_kennedy9]

<p>In real estate, the important factors are location, location, location. For classical cameras, at last for me, it is condition, condition, condition. The price of this FM3a seems very low to me, as this camera model seems to have achieved cult status. I always bring spare batteries when I photograph. Given that FM3a's now appear to be more costly than F100s in LN condition, I would go with the F100. I have two FM2n's and two FE2's, black and chrome for each and I will only get an FM3a, if ever, when reality brings its price down to sanity.</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>Nope, if the battery dies, I'll stick in a new one, and then a new one, and then a new one. You would have no problem carrying 10 batteries<br>

Ahh, but what if you are the rainforest and run out of batteries? ..or in Siberia and the batteries stop working? What if you forget to have them with you? What if the 10 batteries you buy have been sitting on the shelf or your bag for 5 years and don't work? Anyways, you are right, always carry spare batteries, but it is still better to have the full mechanical back-up. Also, the FE2 is very noisy for street photography. I haven't played with the other one yet. I have the FE2, it's a great camera indeed but, if I had the choice now, and it was just a few dollars difference, easy choice to take the FM3a. I wonder why the OP is getting such a good price?</p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>Ahh, but what if you are the rainforest and run out of batteries? ..or in Siberia and the batteries stop working? What if you forget to have them with you? What if the 10 batteries you buy have been sitting on the shelf or your bag for 5 years and don't work?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Barry, those are merely poor excuses to justify a mechanical shutter. We have seen many similar excuses to justify various purchases in this forum. So what happens if you run out of film? (Years ago before the FM3a was introduced, once we got into a similar discussion, and I was told that for exposures that last for hours in astrophotography, you are much better off with a mechanical shutter on an FM/FM2 that do not require batteries.)</p>

<p>The last time I ran out of battery on my camera was back in the 1970's when I was a teenager; that was 30+ years ago. I learned my lesson and have never run out of battery, film, or memory card ever since.</p>

<p>The main issue with the FE2 is that they are all quite old by now. Unless a specific FE2 is kept in excellent shape, you may have maintenance and repair issues. For that reason, the FM3a is a better choice, but unfortunately they tend to be very expensive in the used market ever since the FM3a was discontinued in early 2006. The low price for the FM3a the OP lists is in the "too good to be true" category (unless that camera is defective or damaged already).</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>If you say so Shun. But not everyone is as diligent as you are. In my naivete I didn't realize one had to justify getting a mechanical shutter.<br>

Also there's a reason that Nikon released it that way with the redundancy speeds. I believe Nikon at the time touted the redundancy. Maybe night shooting is one of them. In any event it's peace of mind and if it's not much more than the FE2, it's pretty much a no brainer. Though yes, the OP had better make sure it's in good shape given the seemingly low price. <br>

I have an FE2 and it works great and I like it. It is very noisy on the street, the only camera I've used that the shutter sound has made people turn around to see what the noise is about. Also, the needle meter on the FE2, which I really like, is one of the things that are prone to break down over time. The fix could almost match the price of getting a replacement.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Barry, without battery power, the FM, FM2, and FM3a cannot meter. Therefore, even though you can trip the shutter, your exposure is going to be hit and miss unless you have an external meter, but if you can bring another light meter, why can't you bring a few extra button batteries as well as a few extra rolls of film?</p>

<p>All in all, those are merely silly excuses to justify the purchase of another camera that isn't a whole lot different from the FE that I bought back in 1978. Now 32 years later, I still own that FE.</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>Shun, you would of course, have to use the sunny 16 rule. Most school'd photographers learned how to use that before they learned to use the meter. It's really very simple and in many situations works if you don't have a working meter. I don't like using it because you have a better chance of poor exposures, but I can do it should I have to in a pinch and get pictures. <br>

However I'm agreeing with you as to batteries, it's just a matter of keeping some batteries on hand at all times and buying new ones for those that have been sitting too long. But if something goes wrong, and you can have the benefit of the backup speeds at little extra cost, why wouldn't you want that? I don't see the point of not having that. I get what you say about the batteries. Also, I'm not trying to talk you into buying one, I'm responding to the OP. I have an FE2 bought before the FM3a came out and like you say, there wasn't enough benefit for me to get a very similar FM3a as my FE2 still works like a charm. However, if when I decided I wanted a FE2 and there was an FM3a available for near the same money, I would have gotten it in a snap if it was in good condition. You haven't really stated a cogent reason not to get it if one had a choice, other than to admonish one to never run out of needed essentials. Good advice, but not really germain to the OP's question.</p>

[vince-p]

<p>What is appealing to me about the FM (FM2n in my case) isn't that it will work without BATTERIES, which sometime, Shun, you just don't happen to have with you -- you took your camera and one lens and left the bag at home, you're just out and about, etc. -- working without batteries is certainly a benefit. But it will work without ELECTRONICS. On these old cameras that's often what goes -- capacitors and the like. No electricity = mirror lock. This will not happen to you with the FM line. So I like that.</p>

[alex_guzun]

<p>I had FE2 in Ex, sold it and bought FM3a in Ex+ for 275GBP (need to sell my mint fm2n to cover the diff)</p>