Jason.Chan's Full Review: Nikon FM10 35mm Film Camera
A low-budget camera,Nikon F10,may not as feature-rich as the top-of-the-line camera such as Canon EOS-1N or a Leica.It is a blessing in disguise.The dearth of features does not put the photographer at a disadvantage.He may make the best use of the features available for photography and builds up a system which is more appropriate to his needs.
Recently,a weathered Nikon F10 with a tripod stuck to its base-plate was passed over to me for finding a way to unscrew it.The fault may not due to damaged threads of the tripod hole.It may be because the threads of the tripod head might have damaged due to rough handling.As there was no way to unscrew the tripod without damaging the camera,the puzzle remains a mystery.
The camera comes equipped with a 35-70mm f3.5/4.2 Nikkor zoom lens.Despite improving technology,the quality of a zoom lens which used many elements in its construction leave much to be desired.Its quality is not on par with that of a fixed focal-length prime lens which has few elements.In fact,the 50mm standard lens offers the best quality: a fast f1.8 and crisp.At US$60,it is the cheapest lens because of cost-reduction in mass-production.But a lens starts at f3.5 is not at a disadvantage because the most frequent f-stops used are f5.6,f8 and f11 for portrait and landscape photography.
The maximum shutter speed of 1/2000 is more than sufficient for daily use.Photographers only use 1/125 and 1/250 for most occasions.For long exposure,they can use the bulb exposure mode.So, the problem only lies in the accuracy of the exposure.But for print film,this is not a problem.Print film tolerates 2 or 3 stops under- or overexposure.Accurate exposure is not so critical.
The depth-of-field preview is useful for calculating the extent of sharpness in front of and behind the subject.It is often used by serious photographers to get the pictures they want.Some expensive cameras are without the depth-of-field preview.It is a matter of opinion of how important it is.
Of course,center-weighted metering is too basic because most scenes are not even-toned or 18% grey.Metering from a white or dark background will render the subject grossly underexposed or overexposed.But the purchase of a cheap but accurate hand-held meter such as the Leningrad or the Gossen Bisix 2 will solve the problem.However,it must be bear in mind that even meters in expensive cameras don't measure incident light ,the source of light,but reflected light.So,the purchase of a hand-held meter is necessary.
It has a sensitive shutter button.This can minimize camera shake.It is a plus point.
No autoexposure or autofocus is not a handicap.With practice and training. a photographer can focus very fast and accurate.Think of the time when autofocus and autoexposure were not invented.
Despite its lack of features,I have seen beautiful,sharp pictures taken with the camera.
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