Which small manual Nikon?

[irvine.short]

<p>Hi All,</p>

<p>I am fortunate to have an F3 in good nick. The accompanying MD4 is dead, sadly.</p>

<p>I also have a D7000.</p>

<p>Now, I do not feel I really need the F3 and MD4 - it's a lovely camera but I would really like something smaller for travelling.</p>

<p>There are no FE's for sale in my neck of the woods.</p>

<p>There is an EM however, and someone is willing to swap the EM and a lens for for my F3. </p>

<p>I know the EM ain't half the camera that the F3 is in functionality but it sure is smaller and lighter.</p>

<p>What other options are there?</p>

<p>--Irvine</p>

 

[hans_janssen]

<p>For traveling light: Pana D(F)(H), Oly Pen</p>

[irvine.short]

<p>Ah, sorry, I should have said "film body" that takes my Nikon glass.</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>--Irvine</p>

 

[ian_gordon_bilson]

<p>Well -you'll likely get as many replies as there are small manual Nikons, but ,although the EM is cute,it aint reliable.<br>

The FG, or FG20 may do the trick for you though - see the post in Modern Film Cameras.<br>

The FM/FE/FE2 series are really the go-to cameras : check KEH's listings..</p>

[indraneel]

<p>FM2n (really, what else is there?)<br>

m4/3 digital takes Nikon glass (and sometimes gives better bokeh than Nikon digital or film)</p>

[jean_yves_mead]

If money is not too tight - and non-AI lenses aren't an issue - then it's hard to beat an FM3A. Small, light, tough, with a good finder and the availability of aperture-priority autoexposure as well as fully-manual operation with centre-weighted metering, it's an excellent camera all-round and makes a great little travel combo with the 45mm f/2.8P or late 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S. Think of it as an FM2N with benefits.

 

Having said that, an F3 on its own isn't all that big or heavy if one chooses the right lens.

[luis_g]

<p>I'm pleased with the performance of my FM2n bodies over the years. It's light, sturdy, reliable, works without batteries, decent synch speed and relatively cheap. Don't make that trade with your F3. Sell it straight out.</p>

[tony_defilippo1]

<p>I shot with a pair of EM's a bit last year, fun at first but I became tired of the Aperture Priortity only metering, or 'manual' with the x90 sec shutter speed. It is a pretty tiny camera though. I'm happier with my FG which I used on a trip to Spain accompanying my D300.</p>

<p>The FG gives you the chance for full manual control, is just about as small and light as the EM, all around its a great option. Mine is paired up with the 50/1.8 E Series and 75-150/3.5 E Series.</p>

<p>On my last trip I ended up taking my FM2/MD-12 vice the FG and was overall happier with the experience but I had a heavier kit and did more film shooting than on the first trip so I'm not sure its a fair comparison.</p>

<p>Not sure what the rules are on this but if you are interested in a trade FG & 50 for the F3 shoot me a message.</p>

[andylynn]

An EM isn't worth much on the market, but an F3 is. I got an EM a few months ago because I wanted a 100/2.8 E and

the lens was cheaper with an EM stuck to it than a back cap. The camera came in useful because I needed the mount

ring from it to repair an FE2. So unless the lens is a valuable one you'd be better off selling the F3 and buying an EM

and pocketing the difference, or shop around mail order for an FE or FM series.

[irvine.short]

<p>Thanks All,</p>

<p>The other part of the puzzle is that I am in South Africa and shipping between here and the US is likely to be at least $60.00 or so. I'm waiting on KEH to get back to me with a quote.</p>

<p>It's also looking like swapping the F3 is not such a brilliant idea.</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>--Irvine</p>

 

[jose_angel]

<p>Actually, FMs, FEs and FAs are not that small. If you want smaller go for the FG or EM. Sure they are not in the league, but they work, and quite good.</p>

[irvine.short]

<p>Hmm - I found an FG for $90 in a local shop, with a 90 day warranty.<br>

I was really fond of my Yashica GSN - the lens was ridiculously good, but it was stolen and would not tell me what shutter speed it was selecting.<br>

The FG seems like the one for me....</p>

<p> </p>

[jose_angel]

<p>After buying all the cameras that can be bought, I learnt something: The best camera is the one you <em>confortably</em> use, not the one always left on the shelve. It doesn`t need to be the state of the art, or the latest, or the most expensive.</p>

[akira]

<p>If you travel with a film body, you should carry fair amount of films, too. Then, the difference between F3 and FG (or any camera in that size) could be negligible. The reliability of F3 body should mean more. Leave the troubled MD-4 at home. :)</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>Hmmm... I don`t agree. Old Pentax users know it quite good... ;)</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>This might sound obvious but... the F3 will work perfectly well without the MD4 surely? And will be nearly half the size and half the weight of the combination. So why not just take the MD4 off and bin it, use the F3 as is, and be done with it? The F3 is probably the smallest and neatest out of all of Nikon's pro-quality film cameras and really not that much bigger than an FE or FM.</p>

<p>After checking the specs, the F3 is certainly the lightest of all the pro Nikons once a metering head has been attached to the F and F2. </p>

[jim_momary]

<p>For the posterity of this thread, some size & weight comparisons appear below.<br>

I chose the FM2n to be my over-the-shoulder-and-go 35mm body.<br>

Jim</p><div></div>

[irvine.short]

<p>OK, before I do anything rash I will jam the F3 in my laptop-bag for a few days and actually use the thing as a travel camera. Then I will go and see if the FG is really that much smaller.</p>

<p>You guys have been great with all your suggestions! </p>

<p> </p>

[gib]

<p>FM or FM2 are great manual, small bodies, the FM will even both mount old non-AI or AI or AIS Nikkor lenses</p>

<p>Back in '02 I got some good shots toting an FM2 in the San Francisco area. It was a good weight to haul around.</p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>I vote for the n80/75 since you probably have AF lenses for the your d7000. Manual focusing AF lenses isn't optimal imo. </p>

[irvine.short]

<p>Hmm - I see myself carrying the D7000 and 35mm f1.8G lens most of the time.</p>

<p>Possibly a film SLR as well, hence this query, just for a change.</p>

<p>For pocketable I have an Olumpus XA, and maybe my Zorki. The Industar 50 is surprisingly good and somehow I have gotten used to the unwieldly handling.</p>

<p>Final consideration is I want the D7000 to be the only expensive piece of kit to worry about. I'll be in hostels and what have you. It's insured, but it cost me dearly and the 35mm lens is my only AF lens currently.</p>

<p>I dunno - I do need to keep stuff to a minimum.</p>

[Michael R Freeman]

<blockquote>

<p><em>I vote for the n80/75 since you probably have AF lenses for the your d7000. Manual focusing AF lenses isn't optimal...</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>And using manual focus lenses (which I assume the OP owns) is essentially a no-go on a N80/N75, since neither body will meter with an Ai/AiS lens. Manually focusing AF lenses certainly isn't optimal, but I would guess using a non-metering manual lens on an AF film body is even less so for 99.9% of amateur photographers. :-)</p>

<p>The FG is a nice little body (albeit with a few "quirks"), and it is noticeably smaller and lighter in-hand than an F3. The F3 is of course a far superior body, but the FG is quite capable with M, A and P exposure modes, with a true exposure compensation control.</p>

<p>Reliability issues aside, the EM is a "point and pray" type of camera intended for limited knowledge snapshooters, and I'm sure any F3 user would find the aperture-priority only exposure system with essentially no manual over-ride very frustrating in very short order.</p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>Nevermind the n80/75 since you are using a dx lens. In that case why bother with a film nikon? Dx lenses won't do on film cams anyway.</p>

[starvy]

<p>I think you need to look away from Nikon as the smaller EM series is not quite the Nikon F series. You need to get yourself an Olympus OM series camera. The size, capability and the lenses would be on par with anything Nikon had in that era.</p>

[irvine.short]

<p>OK, this is my thinking:</p>

<p>I usually travel for work and sometimes add on an extra day to explore wherever I am.</p>

<p>In the past I had carried 3 cameras:<br>

DSLR with 18-55 kit lens (used to be Pentax) for Digital.<br>

My over-quirky Lomo LC-A for colour film.<br>

My Yashica Electro 35 for B&W film.</p>

<p>Occasional companions: Zorki IIC and Rolleicord.</p>

<p>My DSLR is now a D7000 - the fact that it shoots at ISO1600 better than my Pentax shot at ISO400 has me over the moon. It is also a real treat to use with, for example, my Nikon 100mm f/2.8 as well.</p>

<p>My Lomo, as much as I love what it does, is a flimsy thing and if it breaks again my repair guy will disown me. He gave me an Olympus XA2 for free rather than face having to work on the Lomo again. So there's that for the cheapo colour film snapshot effect. The Lomo gets babied now, rather than chucked in my laptop bag.</p>

<p>The Yashica Electro 35 was stolen. I have belatedly come to realise why SLRs proved to be more popular than rangefinders so as much as I loved the Yashica it's going to be replaced by a manual SLR, but at first guess the F3 is too bulky even compared to the Yashica which was enormous.<br>

Apart from the 100mm F2.8 I also have the 50mm F1.8 manual Nikon lens.</p>

<p>So all I really need is a small manual Nikon body, and possibly the 35mm F2.8 AI as well to carry around.<br>

I just had a look at how much Nikon 35TI's cost. It took a while to clean up the coffee sprayed across the desk.</p>

<p> </p>