Camera Review: Nikon FE2

I wanted a camera in the Nikon FM/FE/FA family as something lighter than my trusty workhorse F3. I found this at my favorite camera store in practically new condition for a mere $80. It was the deal of the century.
It's manual focus only. Focusing is easy with a combination split image and microprism focusing screen. It has manual exposure plus an aperture-priority auto setting. The meter reading inside the viewfinder is an easy to understand match-needle system. The FE2 is a little bit more advanced than the F3, shutter speeds are 8sec to 1/4000 sec. Flash sync is a handy 1/250 sec. There is a 1/250 dead battery speed. Two 3.5 volt batteries or one 3 volt battery available at any pharmacy last for months and months.
It's looks are stupendous. The FE2 and it's close kin in the Nikon lineup are pieces of photographic jewelry. Especially in silver, the looks of this precision Japanese-made machine are up their with any classic Leica. Hate me all you want, I stand by this statement.
The FE2 is an ergonomically superior camera. It feels very well constructed, solid and confidence-inspiring. Weighed on my kitchen scale, the FE2 is 559g or 1lb 3 1/4 oz, body only. With a Nikkor 50mm 1.8ais, the weight is very comfortable to carry around. It's perfectly sized for a pair of average hands. Controls are located where your hands expect them to be.  Everything moves like a well-made machine. The FE2 begs you to handle it and photograph with it. Simplicity is the word with the FE2. There are no gizmos other than what you really need. It gets out of your way to let you be creative.

If it seems like I am singing this camera's praises without mentioning anything bad about it, it's because I really can't think of anything bad about it. I only have two small critiques, neither of which bother me personally. To see everything including the meter reading, your eye has to be right up against the viewfinder, so, if you must shoot with glasses, you should try one of there cameras out before purchasing one. The camera turns on by pulling the film advance lever part way, so, if you are left-eyed, you will find yourself poking your right eye out when you try to shoot.

The following photos were taken with a Nikon FE2, 50mm Nikon Series E lens and Fuji Pro 400 H.

Photography Book: Georgia O'Keefe, a portrait by Alfred Stieglitz

An edition of this book appears to still be in publication. Mine was printed in 1978. According to O'Keefe, she first wandered into the gallery "291" in 1908. Over the years a rapport blossomed with the proprietor, Mr. Steiglitz until, in 1917, he made his first photograph of her. Stieglitz's idea of a "portrait" was not that it should be a single image, but a study over a long period of time showing multiple aspects of his subject. This is a book of fifty photographs made between 1917 and 1933 chosen by Georgia O'Keefe for a showing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.. This collection shows the evolution of Stieglitz's photographic style and is a study of the decades-long relationship between Stieglitz and O'Keefe, two great artistic talents.

Photography Book: Alfred Stieglitz - Camera Work - The Complete Photographs 1903-1917

I geek out over photography books as much as I geek out over gear. What better way to learn and be inspired than by appreciating the work of great photographers and other visual artists? Alfred Stieglitz knew this. Not only was he a pioneering photographer, himself, but he shared with the world his massive collection of other photographers' work.

Alfred Stieglitz was an important photographer, curator, and publisher. He championed the acceptance of photography as an art form, a movement know as the Photo-Secession. His gallery at 291 5th ave. in Manhattan (named "The Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession" and later simply known as "291" displayed the works of early 20th century photography pioneers. The 291 gallery coincided roughly with Stieglitz's magazine known as "Camera Work" which ran quarterly from 1903 to 1917. Each edition was an extravagant production on fine paper and featuring some of the most beautiful photographs known.
The aesthetic of the Photo-Secession period was "pictoralism", which held that instead of photography being a mere scientific process of recording reality, the photographer, with a little creative experimenting with focus and darkroom chemicals, could produce true works of art.

This little book has 545 glorious pages with every photograph that was featured in Camera Work. It is a beautiful collection of pictoralist photography. In it you see gauzy, romantic portraiture by Edward Stiechen, nymphs frolicking in wispy landscapes by Alice Boughton, Stieglitz's own smoke and soot filled turn of the century urban landscapes, and so much more. The book, like the life of the magazine and of 291, ends as Stieglitz gets bored with pictoralism, and shows us the sharp, contrast-y modernism of Paul Strand, This is a must-have for the library of any fan of photography.

A new 35mm SLR?

So, here is an idea. The world's first manual 35mm SLR film camera design in 25 years combining the spirit of manual film cameras of the past with 21st century technology. This is what a new company has envisioned and they have a Kickstarter page and it is quite interesting.

Here is a link to the Kickstarter if you want to take a look at it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reflexcamera/reflex-bringing-back-the-analogue-slr-camera

According to the company, the Reflex will have a magnesium alloy body weighing in at less that 500 grams, making it a featherweight. The design language used in the body hearkens back to SLRs of the 1960s.

Relfex means to develop this camera with a bluetooth application that will send metadata to your smartphone. That would mean, if you are a student or just someone who likes to track their exposure data, then no more carrying around a little notebook. The Reflex will have both a flash and a continuous LED light built into the camera body, two things that seem unnecessary to me. Powering the new electronics will be a L-ion battery rechargeable via USB.

Aesthetically, this thing is very blocky and Frankenstein-ish. I find the built-in lights and the Bluetooth to be unnecessary. I applaud this startup, though and like the direction that they are going. I like the idea of a brand-new film package for using cool vintage glass, but, only if it is ergonomically superior and will still be functionable after older cameras have finally bitten the dust.

Where this camera gets really interesting is the modular design. You can swap out lens mounts for M42, Nikon F, Canon FD, Olympus OM, and Pentax PK. So, this single camera will be able to work with a shelf full of classic glass. The Relfex will ship with the M42 standard screw mount, so, out of the box you can take advantage of a wide range of vintage Japanese, German and Russian lenses. The Reflex will have removable film backs. If you didn't finish the roll of black and white that you were shooting last night, and wanted to get some fall colors in the morning, you would normally need two camera bodies. With the Reflex, you just swap out the film backs mid roll. The camera design is meant to be open source to encourage third party mods and people with the wherewithal to create their own DIY modifications. Ideally, no two of these cameras will be the same.

Camera Review: The Mighty Nikon F3

A note about my camera reviews, my write-ups tend to be very short, and I go light on the specs. There are good places online that give extensive lists of features for all sorts of cameras. I don't try to repeat any of that. I prefer to stick to personal impressions and maybe a little history.

According to the serial number, this camera left the factory in Japan in 1985. I bought it at a used camera store 10 years later. This is the camera that I grew into. It's the one that I really learned how to take a decent photo with. It's 32 years old now, and as solid a machine as the day I bought it.

The F3 was introduced in 1980 as the third in Nikon's professional "F" series. Nikon kept it in production for a ridiculous 16 years, even as they were churning out the F4 and  F5 cameras which superseded it technologically. It was the first of Nikon's professional line to have an electronic controlled shutter allowing aperture-priority autoexposure. It is a gorgeous piece of industrial design. It's shape came from the mind of a fellow named Gioretto Giuiaro, who was responsible for designing famed automobiles such as the DeLorean. It was also tough and insanely over-engineered. 

The manual film advance lever is silky smooth. Every control is a perfectly positioned physical button, knob, ring, or lever. No menus, just the way I like it! The only thing that seems even remotely capable of breaking off is the tiny multiple exposure film release which I hardly ever use. If you are already familiar with Nikon's F2 or F4, then you will find that all the good stuff is where it is supposed to be on the F3. If not, I recommend purchasing or downloading a copy of the very short user's manual.

If you use power-thirsty digital equipment, then you are used to carrying around special batteries that need constant recharging. Manual cameras made roughly from the early 1970s to the late 1980s typically use the same basic button-style batteries that are still used today in low-power household electronics such as calculators and kitchen timers. For the Nikon F2, F3, and FM/FE series cameras, you will need a pair of 1.5-volt SR-44 type batteries or a single 2L76 3-volt battery. These are easily found at any pharmacy, and will last you for months or even years depending on how often you shoot. If you are traveling, and you are still unsure, you can just buy some spare batteries and keep the package in your shirt pocket.

The F3 was a system camera with a plethora of available viewfinders and focusing screens, most of which were made for very specific professional applications and are completely useless to general photographers. The most common DE-3 finder and the standard "K" focusing screen are all that you will ever need. The view through the camera is big and bright and viewfinder coverage is near 100% making the framing of your shot accurately a breeze. Looking into the viewfinder, you can see everything without having to press the camera violently into your face.

There was a blistering fast motordrive called the MD-4 available which you can still find. Forget the MD-4, though. Let's face it, if you are a pro who needs high frames per second today, you are using a DSLR. People who shoot film today do it for the simple joy of taking their time. The MD-4 needs eight AA size batteries and turns the F3 into one heavy beast. The extra weight on the back of your neck will send you to the chiropractor every time you go out shooting.

The F3 is awesome, but, not perfect. In order to have an interchangeable viewfinder, the camera had to get a weird flash shoe located at the rewind crank. Nikon finally figured out how to wire the electronics through removable prisms with the F4. If you are going to do flash photography with an F3, your best bet is to get the specially designed Nikon SB-12 flash. Looking into the viewfinder, you will see a little LCD that shows you your shutter speed and a +/- exposure reading. The brighter the available light, the easier it is to read the LCD. There is a little electric backlight for the LCD, but it's almost useless.

The F3 was the professional choice thirty years ago, but what does the old workhorse have to offer us today? A powerful creative tool in the world of analog photography. The F3 makes you the master. Personal control of everything important (framing, focus, depth of field, and exposure) are as intuitive as you'll find with any camera at any price.