Nikon FR User manual

NOMENCLATURE

Sh

Irr.er-';np",n

dial

lock

Lens

re

direct

readout

window

Shutter

release

button

Meter

coupling

lever

Shutter

release

fi

Meter

co

lever release

N

et

Depth-of-field

preview

lever

Lens

mounting

in

Self-timer/memory

lock

Reflex

mirror

Focusing

screen

holder

rei

Lens

mounti

Motor

drive

shutter

coupling

Motor

drive

coupli

Film

rewind

button

Memo

holde

•

2

Distance

scale

Aperture/distance

scale

index

Focusing

ring

Meter

coupli

shoe

Aperture

ri

Depth-of-field

ind

icators

Meter

coupling

ridge

Aperture-direct-readout

sca

le

Exposure

compensation

index

Exposure

compensation

scale

Hot-shoe

contact

Film rewind

crank

Shutter-speed

ind

ex

Film

rewind

knob

Shutter-speed

scale

Safety

lock

Frame

counter

Film-speed

scale

inde

x

Multi-exposure

lever

ASA

film-speed

scale/dial

Fil

m-advance

lever

Exposure

compensation

ring

Meter

ON

index

Power

check

lever/lamp

Film-plane

indic

ator

ASA film-speed dial

lock

Viewfinder

eyepiece

(w

/ready-I

ig

ht)

Accessory

shoe

Ready-light

contact

CONTENTS

Foreword

....

..

...............

.....

..

5

Exposure

measurement

.

.................

24

Preparation

for

use

.....................

6

Automatic

shutter

speed selection

........

24

Installing

the

batteries

.................

6 Manual

shutter

speed selection

...........

26

Checking

battery

power

................

6

Exposure

control

....................

27

Loading

film

........................

7 Metering range

................

.....

28

Prior

to

shooting

..........

...

....

.. ..

8 High-contrast lighting

situations

......

...

.

28

Setting

thefilm

speed

....

......

.....

...

9

Stop

-

down

exposure

measurement

....

..

....

30

Memo

holder

....................

.

..

9

Exposure

compensation

adjustments

.........

32

Operation

of

camera

controls

...

.

......

..

. .

10

EV range

of

the

camera

..

. .

.............

33

Setting

the

shutter

speed

...............

10

Multiple

exposures

.....................

36

Film-advance lever

...................

12

Flash

synchronization

..................

37

Frame

cou

nter

.....................

12

Ready-light

.......................

38

Self-timer

.........................

13

Tips

on

camera

care

....................

39

Memory

lock

...........

...

........

14

Mounting

and

removing lenses

.............

40

Unloading film

.......................

15

Changing focusing screens

....

..

.

..

...

.. ..

41

Holding

the

camera

....................

16

Focusing screen

selector

guide

..........

.42

Shutter

release

operation

...

.

......

17

Lens/screen

compatibility

chart

.......

..

.43

Operation

with cable release

............

17

Accessories

.........................

.44

Focusing

.............

....

..

......

. .

18

Features/specifications

...........

....

..

.46

I

nfrared

photography

.................

20

Film-plane

indicator

..

.........

......

.

20

Depth

of

field

........................

21

Depth-of-field preview lever

...

.

.........

21

Depth-of-field

indicators

...............

22

4

FOREWORD

The

Nikon FE

is

a

compact

35mm

single-lens reflex

camera with a

host

of

outstanding

features. It offers

aperture-priority

automatic

exposure

control

with shut-

ter speeds from

1/1000

second down

to

8 seconds, has

interchangeable focusing screens, and accepts

the

option-

al

MD-12 for motor-driven exposures up

to

3.5 frames

per second. In addition,

the

FE incorporates

automatic

flash speed setting when used

in

conjunction

with

the

accessory Speedlight Unit S8-1O. When

the

S8

-

1O

is

mounted

on

the

camera's

hot

shoe and

turned

on,

the

shutter

speed

is

automatically

set

to

the

proper

synchro-

nization speed

of

1/90

second when

the

camera

is

set

to

"automatic."

The

FE will also

accept

virtually every

accessory

in

the

Nikon System-

the

most

comprehensive

ever created for

photography.

To

get

the

most

out

of

this camera,

study

the

instructions

in

this manual care-

fully, and practice using

the

controls

before loading

the

camera

with film. Keep

the

manual

on

hand

for

ready

reference until you have mastered

operation.

The

few

minutes you spend familiarizing

yourself

with

the

camera

will

guarantee

you

the

best results and increase

your

pleasure

in

taking pictures

many

times over.

5

PREPARATION FOR

USE

Installing

the

Batteries

The

Nikon

FE's

built-in

exposure

meter

and

the

elec-

tronic

shutter

control

circuits

are

powered

by

two

button-cell

type

1.55V

silver-oxide

batteries

or

one

3V

lithium

battery.

These are

mounted

in

the

battery

clip,

which

forms

a single

unit

with

the

battery

chamber's

coin-slotted

lid,

in

the

camera's

baseplate.

To

install

the

battery

or

batteries, first unscrew

the

lid by

turning

it

counterclockwise,

with a

coin

or

something

similar, until

it

can

be freely removed by

hand.

Then,

seat

the

battery,

or

the

two

batteries

one

on

top

of

the

other,

in

the

bat-

tery

clip,

making

sure

that

the

respective plus

(+)

and

minus

(- ) signs

correspond

with similar

marks

provided

in

the

clip.

After

seating

the

batteries

correctly,

replace

the

lid,

and

secure

the

connection

by

turning

it clock-

wise with

the

coin

as far as it will go. It

is

advisable

to

remove

the

batteries,

when

the

camera

is

not

to

be used

for

a long

period,

to

prevent

battery

leakage

within

the

camera;

for

additional

information,

refer

to

"Tips

on

Camera

Care"

on

page

39.

6

Checking

Battery

Power

To

check

battery

power,

simply

turn

the

power check

lever

downward

and

watch

the

power

check

lamp. If

the

lamp fails

to

glow,

check

the

battery

seating and make

any

necessary

adjustments.

Should

the

lamp still fail

to

light up, install new

batteries

.

Caution

:

1) When

the

camera

is

not

in

use,

make

sure

that

the

film-ad-

vance

lever

is

positioned

flush

with

the

camera

body.

As

the

lever

doubles

as

the

meter

on-off

switch, leaving

it

in

the

stand-off

position

will result in

the

camera's

battery

being

completely

drained

in

just

a few days.

2) When

the

camera

is

attached

to

the

MD-12

motor

drive, make

sure

the

motor

drive

is

switched

off

when

it

is

not

in use

to

prevent

drain

of

both

the

camera

and

the

motor

drive's

batteries.

3) When

the

batteries

are dead

or

there

are

none

installed

in

the

camera,

the

only

two

settings

which can

be

used are

"M90

"

and

"B

." If

you

trip

the

shutter

with

the

camera

set

to

any

other

speed,

the

shutter

won

't

open

or

the

reflex

mirror

may

remain

in

the

"up"

position.

If

the

mirror

locks

up,

simply

turn

the

shutter

speed dial

to

"M90"

and

the

mirror

will

return

to

its normal viewing

position

.

Then

you

can

install new

batteries.

To

avoid

wasting

a

frame,

stro

ke

the

winding

lever

while

holding

in

the

multiple

-

exposure

lever.

Loading Film

First, open the camera back by

sl

iding its safety lock to .

the rear and lifting the film rewind knob

as

far

as

it

will

go. Position the film cartridge or cassette

in

the film

chamber, which

is

located on the left-hand side, with the

film leader aligned along the film guide rails; then, push

the rewind knob down to hold the cartridge

in

place.

Pull

the film leader

out

sufficiently for feeding into the film

take-up spool, and insert its end into any

of

the spool's

slots. Rotate the take-up spool

as

shown

in

the illustration

so

that the film passes under the spool with its emulsion

side (dull side) facing out. Make sure

that

the perfo-

rations along the edges

of

the film mesh with the

sprockets. If necessary, release the shutter by pushing

the shutter release button, and stroke the film-advance

lever slowly to make sure

that

the leader winds smoothly

on the spool and

that

the film edge perforations engage

the film sprocket roller.

When

you are certain

that

the

film

is

being fed properly

onto

the spool and traveling

correctly along the film guide rails, close the camera

back by pressing it until it snaps into place.

.,

PREPARATION

FOR

USE-continued

Prior to Shooting

Fold

out

the

film rewind

crank,

and

turn

it

gently

in

the

direction

of

the

engraved

arrow

until

you

feel a

sl

ight

resistance; this will

indicate

that

any

slack

in

the

film

cartridge has been

taken

up.

Then,

fold

the

rewind

crank

into

place.

Advance

the

film (refer

to

page

12

for

fil

m advance

oper-

ation),

and

make

two

blank

exposures;

this

will dispose

of

the

initial

portion

of

the

film

exposed

during

loading.

As

you

advance

the

film,

confirm

that

the

rewind

crank

turns

in

the

direction

opposite

the

arrow.

This

indicates

that

the

film has been loaded

properly

and

is

being

advanced.

After

advancing

the

film

two

frames,

check

that

the

frame

counter

is

at

"0";

then,

advance

the

film

one

more

frame

to

prepare

the

camera

for

taking

the

first picture.

Note:

Setting

the

shutter-speed

dial

to

a

manual

position

(rather

than

"AUTO")

will speed

up

film loading by

preventing

the

camera

from

selecting

a slow

speed,

as

might

be

the

case

when

the

lens

cap

is

in place.

However,

be

sure

to

reset

the

dial

to

"AUTO"

if

automatic

operation

is

desired.

~s

Wh

en l

oad·

~in

gf

ilm

~

1st

bl

ank

~

exposure

~

2nd

bl

ank

~

ex

po

sure

~

3

rd

bla

nk

expo-

•'2. o. sure ; now ready

for 1st

sho

t

Setting the Film

Speed

As film sensitivity

to

light (called

"film

speed") varies '

with film

type,

adjustment

of

the

camera's

metering

circuit

is

essential

to

ensure

uniform

exposures

under

all

conditions

. Thus, a film-speed dial

is

provided

for

th

is

purpose, with a

safety

lock mechanism

built

in

to

prevent accidental shifting

of

the

dial during

shooting.

To

set

the

film speed, hold

in

the

film-speed dial lock

and

turn

the

ASA film-speed dial until

the

ASA

number

is

aligned with

the

red index.

After

setting

the

dial,

release

the

lock

and

test

the

dial

to

ensure

that

it

is

set

firmly

at

the

desired ASA value.

The

meter

is

sensitive

from ASA

12

to

ASA

4000.

The

film-speed dial has

two

graduations between each pair

of

numbers

for

inter-

mediate settings such as

64,

80,

125,

etc.

The

illustration

below indicates all

intermediate

settings.

Memo Holder

A special

holder

is

provided on

the

camera

back

for

con-

venient

storage

of

any

relevant

information.

You can use

it,

for

instance,

to

hold

the

end flap

of

a film

carton

to

remind

you

of

the

type

of

film loaded

in

the

camera,

the

ASA film speed

and

the

total

number

of

exposures

available.

CJ

OPERATION OF CAMERA CONTROLS

Setting the Shutter Speed

The

Nikon FE

is

set

for

automatic

or

manual

shutter

speed ·selection via

the

shutter-speed dial positioned

to

the

right

of

the

finder, with setting

operation

possible

at

any time

either

before

or

after

the

shutter

is

wound.

The

dial

is

provided with positions for

automatic

(AUTO),

and manual speeds from 8 seconds

to

1/1000

second.

To

set

the

dial for

automatic

shutter

speed selection, simply

rotate

the

dial clockwise until

the

green AUTO (auto-

matic) setting clicks and locks into place aligned with

the

shutter-speed scale index

at

the

base

of

the

dial;

the

built-in locking mechanism ensures

that

the

dial

cannot

be accidently shifted from

the

automatic

position during

shooting.

To

set

the

dial for manual

shutter

speed selection used

during

"match-needle"

exposure

measurement, simply

hold

in

the

shutter-speed dial lock and

rotate

the

dial

counterclockwise

off

the

"AUTO"

position; when

the

dial

is

aligned with white settings from 2

to

1000,

the

actual

shutter

speed

is

a fractional value from

1/2

second

to

1/1000

second, while

the

remaining settings indicate

the

actual valuesfrom 8 seconds

to

1 second.

The

"M90"

setting indicates a mechanical

shutter

speed

of

1

/90

sec-

ond

which

operates

independently

of

battery

power

. This

is

the

only

setting

(except

"B")

which can be used when

10

Nikon FR User manual

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