A New Bit of Kit

I am fortunate in that there are still four camera shops within an hour drive of where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I rarely make a special trip to visit them, but if I have business nearby, I try to make time to stop in and browse. When I do, I like to support local retail and pick up a roll of film or two. I also attempt to resist the temptation to buy any more old cameras, but sometimes gear acquisition syndrome gets the best of me and I give in. Such was the case recently when I saw this nice black body Nikon FM fitted with a 28mm f/2.8 Ai-s Nikkor lens. I admit to mostly being a 50mm guy, but this particular eight-element wide angle is considered one of Nikon’s sharpest lenses. As much as I tried to walk away, this kit called my name and resulted in a thinner wallet that day…although I got a very nice deal.

I had a Nikon FM a few years ago and sold it to finance another camera purchase. I had forgotten what a delightfully simple camera it is. Compact, light, fully mechanical with Nikon’s dependable center-weighted TTL metering. Everything you need to know about the photograph you are about to make is clearly displayed in the viewfinder. But make no mistake, this camera requires you to drive. No automation here.

The Nikon FM: Everything you need, nothing you don’t.

I took the FM with me over a long weekend spent out at the Marin County coast where I finished off my last roll of Ferrania P33 film. I fear this may be my last roll ever as this wonderful film is sold out everywhere and I have heard that Film Ferrania has wound down production. I hope that is not true.

We stayed in a tiny house beach cottage. The 28mm focal length allowed me to get some inside shots in tight quarters.

I have not shot with a wide angle lens in years. My 35mm Summicron on a Leica M6TTL was the last wide lens I used extensively and as I look back, I made some very satisfying photographs with it. It will take me a few rolls to get comfortable with this focal length. And I need to play more with taking advantage of this Nikkor’s close focus ability—down to 7 inches.

I enjoyed using the Nikon FM. This body and a few good Nikkor primes and you could shoot for the rest of your life and be happy. For a nearly 50-year old camera, my FM performed pretty much as designed. I think the meter or the shutter might be slightly off and it needed new seals so I sent it off for a CLA after I shot this roll. As I write this, USPS tells me it’ll be back on my doorstep from the camera tech today.