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| Shiny and Black |
s/n 8416448 - s/n 8585876 - s/n 8528344
MD-E
s/n 2219934
Note: The Nikon FE has replaced the FG as my primary manual focus film camera. Although the FG is a great camera and has served its purpose, at this time, the FE is a far better choice for me and what I want from a manual focus camera.
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I started to look at which Nikon camera I wanted to use every day. Already owning a F3 and a FE2, I knew Nikon made a more compact camera, the EM, FG and the FG-20.
I want simple, compact, inexpensive and durable.
I read about the EM and purchased one and started carrying it. In short, it’s like Ken Rockwell says, Nikon’s first crappy camera. Mass produced and inexpensive, on my third one, servicing each with light seals replaced, cleaning, ugh, they all broke. I had purchased the flash and motor drive for the EM. I read that the FG and the FG-20 would mount these accessories. So I started to research the difference between the FG and FG-20.
The FG had nearly everything I wanted in a camera. At the time, I was going to carry it every day. P mode or Program mode, the camera does everything for you, aperture and shutter speed settings. It had A mode or Aperture control, you set the aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed. It has an M mode or manual mode where you set everything. The meter indicator in the viewfinder is a series of red LEDs that displays shutter speeds. It also has a little beep that sounds if you are about to take a picture out of proper exposure.
I now have shot about a dozen rolls of film through my FG. It’s a nice camera that has a lot under the hood but it doesn’t have an exposure lock. That can be a little tricky with difficult lighting but I seem to manage without it. It has a +2 EV compensation button that can be used for backlighting or any other momentary situation where you might want to hold the button down to lighten the exposure.
On my FG, I use the MD-E motor winder and I choose a Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AI-S Japanese pancake version. I used to use the ill spoken Ed Series E 28mm f2.8 AI-S but I finally bought my copy of the Nikkor 20mm f4 AI. I am excited to put this wide angle lens to good use. I have a feeling that this will be my primary lens attached to the FG.
My FG kit consist of the Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AI-S, the new to me Nikkor 20mm f4 AI, and the Nikkor 35-200 f3.5-4.5 AIS. The MD-E motor winder is always used and I’m going to figure out what speedlight (flash) I want to use. Either the SB-E, SB-18, 19, 20. 22 (22s) or the 23. I like to geek out and study, each one has a different look and will work in different modes. I had a SB-15 that worked fine but I kind of want to try something else. Right now it looks like the SB-19. I’m not in a hurry and each are relatively inexpensive. I’ll decide after further consideration.
Edit: The Nikon Speedlight SB-800 that I own will work on all of my cameras. Perhaps at a later date I will dedicate a flash to the FG.
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Resources
Nikon FG Review and How To. Nikon’s Smallest SLR?
David Hancock: Nikon FG Beginner Tutorial Walkthrough and Review - part 2
Below are a few photographs that I took with my FG cameras.
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