To paraphrase an old quote, "some cameras are show horses and some are work horses." But what if you could have both horses in one package? Enter the Nikon FM.
Introduced in 1977 as a consumer/hobbyist option to the Nikon F2 and Nikkormat lines of cameras, the Nikon FM sought to retain the use of Nikon's F-mount lenses in a more technologically advanced camera body. The FM used top-of-the-line machining and manufacturing to create a camera that works every bit as well as it looks. The mechanical shutter is as solid as anything produced of its generation, while the design of the camera is so simple that almost nothing comes between you and your shot.
With the use of the metal auto-indexing tab, any Nikon (or third-party) AI F-mount lens with an external aperture ring will fit on the FM. Have an old non-Auto Indexing lens that you love? No worries. Just flip the metal tab up and out of the way and you're off and shooting again. Older, non-AI lenses require stop-down metering in this mode, but that's a small price to pay for your old Nikkor-H 50mm f2 lens.
Whether your style leans more work horse or show horse, the Nikon FM is a breed that belongs in everyone's stable.
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A Nikon FM with a Non-AI Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 Lens
A Nikon FM with a non-AI Nikkor 50mm f1.4 lens... what a solid combo. The AI/Non-AI distinction throws off a lot of photographers shopping for legacy Nikon lenses. AI, stands for "Auto Indexing." The early Nikon cameras had to be indexed when mounting a Non-AI lens; thereby, telling the camera's meter of the maximum aperture of the lens in use. Beyond metering capabilities, and despite the fact that both AI and Non-AI are still the Nikon F mount and can (essentially) be mounted on any Nikon SLR, care must be taken. Non-AI lens have a smooth, unbroken surface at the base of the lens barrel near the mount. Later AI lenses have tabs cut into the base of the barrel in this same area. The problem arises because later AI cameras had sister tabs on the mount of the camera that coupled with these tabs at the base of AI lens, positioning in a way to automatically communicate aperture info to the camera. If one tries to mount a Non-AI lens to these cameras, there is nowhere for the camera's tab to recess into; instead, being impacted by the lens barrel itself, which means the metering table will be in an off position and accurate metering won't work, or worse, this can damage the tab on the camera. The "bridge" cameras, such as the Nikon FM, FE and F3 allowed this tab to be swung out of the way, making it safe to mount a Non-AI lens.⠀
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For more information about this important distinction, follow this link over to our Codex, where we wrote a pair of articles going into much greater depth on this topic.⠀
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