Choose a body: FE2 or FM2

"Jeremy" writes:

I absolutely hate the autofocus procedure on my digicam and my 2 P&S
film cams. That bit about first aiming at the main subject, then
holding the button halfway down to hold focus lock, then recomposing
the shot is a pain. Worst is the feeling that the camera is the one
in control, not me.

That seems so weird to me. That's essentially the procedure I used
for 25 years before I ever had an auto-focus camera. I used it with
35mm SLRs and Leica Rangefinders and even a Yashicamat 124G. Okay,
there wasn't a button to hold half-pushed as I recomposed; but I
nearly always moved the camera to put the focusing aid over the
primary subject before I focused.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, , http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/
RKBA: http://noguns-nomoney.com/ http://www.dd-b.net/carry/
Pics: http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/ http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/
Dragaera/Steven Brust: http://dragaera.info/

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 14:06:59 -0600, David Dyer-Bennet wrote:

"Jeremy" writes:

I absolutely hate the autofocus procedure on my digicam and my 2 P&S
film cams. That bit about first aiming at the main subject, then
holding the button halfway down to hold focus lock, then recomposing
the shot is a pain. Worst is the feeling that the camera is the one
in control, not me.

That seems so weird to me. That's essentially the procedure I used
for 25 years before I ever had an auto-focus camera. I used it with
35mm SLRs and Leica Rangefinders and even a Yashicamat 124G. Okay,
there wasn't a button to hold half-pushed as I recomposed; but I
nearly always moved the camera to put the focusing aid over the
primary subject before I focused.

This is the way I do my focussing too, whether its AF or MF. I seldom use
the multiple focus points on my D70 and I hardly ever use the AF-L button.

Happy New Year,

Roxy Durban wrote:

Which would you chose?

Ideally, both of them. I find the FE and FM series of cameras to be more
complementary in use. The FM3A might be an exception, since it is
somewhat like both types of predecessor. The greatest difference of the
older cameras is in usage, rather than details.



And why?

As a few others noted, the FM series uses LEDs for the light meter
display. Those are actually a great help in low light conditions, and
can make an FM slightly easier to use than an FE. On the other hand, an
FE set to Aperture Priority is somewhat automatic ease of use, though it
can be tough to tell when the shutter speed drops really low. Under low
light conditions, the light meter in the FE series of cameras works very
well, but reading the match needle display can be nearly impossible.

If you find that you want to set the shutter speed more often than you
want the camera to choose one, then an FM2 is the way to go. I would
state an earlier FM, though the lack of changeable viewing screen is one
downside of the oldest version.

With the FE2, the biggest feature many note is TTL flash control. Unless
you do much fill flash photography, that is something that might not get
used often. Even if you use that flash control, you might find in
practice that TTL flash does not always give you the results you
expected. Not that it is prone to error, but as with many things of
automation, what the engineers decided was good could be further off
than you wanted. The FM3A improves on this slightly by offering TTL
flash compensation on a separate lever; so if you envision lots of TTL
flash, get the FM3A over the older cameras.

All the FM and FE series, except the early FM, offer changeable view
screens (I exclude the FM10 and FE10 from all these discussions, since
the build quality sucks). Most people find that the all matte, or the
matte with grid screens work a little better in some situations.
Regardless of which camera you get, it is a good idea to get at least
one of the extra screens.

The MD-11 and MD-12 motor drives work on all these. They are heavy and
bulky, and somewhat loud. I find little benefit using these, other than
the extra weight can be a little steadier for slow shutter shots. There
was also a dedicated flash for most of these models, though I have found
that more modern flash units seem to work better. The SB-25 and SB-26
are excellent choices for the money, and the SB-27 is a nice compact
modern choice; all of these being better than earlier Speedlights.

The single Lithium battery seems to last slightly longer than using the
double cells. The earlier FE and FM have an AI tab on the lens mount
that can be moved out of the way. That can be useful for the PC Shift
lenses, or some early non-AI lenses. An even earlier camera called the
EL2 uses the same light meter exposure control system as the FE. While
the EL2 does not have a changeable view screen, it does have mirror lock
up; a feature not found on any of the other cameras in this series.

The FM and FE are slightly more rugged in construction than the later
FM2 and FE2, and are somewhat comparable to the Nikon F2. However, the
FE2 and FM2 have arguably better shutters, and more available speeds.
Overall, these are some of the most rugged and reliable cameras to ever
come out of Japan. There are still some well known professionals that
continue to use these cameras, with some cameras seeing well over twenty
years of continuous usage. I think it would be tough to make a bad
choice amongst these.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com

Happy New Year,

Roxy Durban wrote:

Which would you chose?

Ideally, both of them. I find the FE and FM series of cameras to be more
complementary in use. The FM3A might be an exception, since it is
somewhat like both types of predecessor. The greatest difference of the
older cameras is in usage, rather than details.



And why?

As a few others noted, the FM series uses LEDs for the light meter
display. Those are actually a great help in low light conditions, and
can make an FM slightly easier to use than an FE. On the other hand, an
FE set to Aperture Priority is somewhat automatic ease of use, though it
can be tough to tell when the shutter speed drops really low. Under low
light conditions, the light meter in the FE series of cameras works very
well, but reading the match needle display can be nearly impossible.

If you find that you want to set the shutter speed more often than you
want the camera to choose one, then an FM2 is the way to go. I would
state an earlier FM, though the lack of changeable viewing screen is one
downside of the oldest version.

With the FE2, the biggest feature many note is TTL flash control. Unless
you do much fill flash photography, that is something that might not get
used often. Even if you use that flash control, you might find in
practice that TTL flash does not always give you the results you
expected. Not that it is prone to error, but as with many things of
automation, what the engineers decided was good could be further off
than you wanted. The FM3A improves on this slightly by offering TTL
flash compensation on a separate lever; so if you envision lots of TTL
flash, get the FM3A over the older cameras.

All the FM and FE series, except the early FM, offer changeable view
screens (I exclude the FM10 and FE10 from all these discussions, since
the build quality sucks). Most people find that the all matte, or the
matte with grid screens work a little better in some situations.
Regardless of which camera you get, it is a good idea to get at least
one of the extra screens.

The MD-11 and MD-12 motor drives work on all these. They are heavy and
bulky, and somewhat loud. I find little benefit using these, other than
the extra weight can be a little steadier for slow shutter shots. There
was also a dedicated flash for most of these models, though I have found
that more modern flash units seem to work better. The SB-25 and SB-26
are excellent choices for the money, and the SB-27 is a nice compact
modern choice; all of these being better than earlier Speedlights.

The single Lithium battery seems to last slightly longer than using the
double cells. The earlier FE and FM have an AI tab on the lens mount
that can be moved out of the way. That can be useful for the PC Shift
lenses, or some early non-AI lenses. An even earlier camera called the
EL2 uses the same light meter exposure control system as the FE. While
the EL2 does not have a changeable view screen, it does have mirror lock
up; a feature not found on any of the other cameras in this series.

The FM and FE are slightly more rugged in construction than the later
FM2 and FE2, and are somewhat comparable to the Nikon F2. However, the
FE2 and FM2 have arguably better shutters, and more available speeds.
Overall, these are some of the most rugged and reliable cameras to ever
come out of Japan. There are still some well known professionals that
continue to use these cameras, with some cameras seeing well over twenty
years of continuous usage. I think it would be tough to make a bad
choice amongst these.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com