In I had just entered my 20s and my pockets were not very deep. Entering a store in my home town that was of a type that was pretty common in the US back then, I walked past the stereo equipment, the large and small appliances on the showroom floor and headed over to the counter that sold cameras. They had a number of SLRs and lenses for sale from multiple manufacturers, including a handful of Nikons. Most were out of my price range, but one, the FG, fit my budget and was just what I was looking for, a fully manual camera body with just a hint of automation.
After about a month of using it, I was so pleased with it that I decided to buy another. I went back to the same store and I still remember the sneer the salesman gave me when I told him this was my second FG He asked why I would want two of the same camera? I informed him that it would allow me to have two different lenses ready to go in an instant, or shoot two different types of film and be able to move between the two cameras seamlessly.
The contempt he had for the young man in front of him buying the cheapest Nikon for a second time is still palpable to this day. I ran many hundreds of rolls of film through them both and as long as I put fresh batteries in them, they just kept going. It accepted any Nikon F mount lens, could be fitted with a motor drive that allowed a blazing 3.
Finally, it had that exciting new way to meter the scene through the lens, center-weighted Metering! One of the most intriguing features it did have was that when set to aperture priority mode, the shutter speed was stepless.
I stored them away, every so often thinking that I should sell them or give them to someone who could use them, but I never could bring myself to that. They always got put away. This time it was different. This time they got a general cleaning, fresh batteries, new light seals, and fresh rolls of film. I find that the compact size and light weight are great for shooting around town or when I simply want to be free of the size, heft and complexity of those more sophisticated SLR and DSLRs.
I can wield the FG one-handed as it hangs from a hand strap without it becoming a bother or getting in the way. It was often looked down on by many photographers when it was new because they lacked many of the latest and greatest features that were just becoming available at the time.
Sadly even today they continue to be overlooked and ignored. You can add your support by contributing your thoughts, work, experiences and ideas to inspire the hundreds of thousands of people who read these pages each month.
Check out the submission guide here. There's also print and apparel over at Society 6 , currently showcasing over two dozen t-shirt designs and over a dozen unique photographs available for purchase. Richard A. Nikon has historically demonstrated an above average understanding of market forces, unfortunately good quality cameras can not be conceived, designed, prototyped and produced in less than several years, even if they are to be bottom end, indeed having to build to a low budget can prove to be the hardest task of all.
Nikon FG Photographic Hardware Cookie Policy. Photographic Hardware Privacy Statement. Production period later availability via stock. Lens meter coupling type. AI Automatic maximum aperture Indexing. Aperture coupling range.
ASA film speed range. ISO 25 to EV range at ASA EV 1 to Meter sensor type if applicable. Shutter type and curtain material. Vertical focalplane metal curtained electronic. Shutter speed range. Exposure modes available. Aperture priority and Manual. Flash exposure type and maximum sync speed.
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