Avis sur le produitNikon FA 35mm SLR Camera - Silver (Body Only)

Still takes great pictures

Just developed my first roll of Ilford b/w film with this superb camera. Trusted the meter throughout, and not one bad picture. Shot mostly in New York's Coney Island, and developed glossy with a border, the pictures came back beautifully with a true nostalgic theme. Hung nine of them in my office and they never fail to garner a compliment from visitors. The camera was Nikon's top pick automatic camera in its day, and while features and digital may have advanced, it remains superbly made with a great feel. Passers-by often give a nice smile and thumbs up when see a film camera, especially a Nikon.Lire l'avis complet...

The best Nikon of the 80s

I got my first FA as a hand-me-down from my Dad. I was 15 at the time, and this is the camera I learned 90% of what I know about photography using. That said, and sentimental attachments aside, this is an excellent camera.
This is not going to be an extremely technical review, so if you are looking for pure numbers, I would suggest doing a google search.

The FA is a solidly built, manual focus camera with an extremely good light meter, full manual, full automatic, and aperture and shutter priority mode. It accepts all AIs lenses (even auto focus if you want to use them in manual mode). The body is solid metal, and has some heft to it. No plastic parts.
It is smaller than most digital SLRs are now, but weighs about the same.

The camera does what all manual focus cameras do, but in general it just does them better. I have shot many manual focus cameras, including Nikon, Canon, Pentax and Minolta, and this is by far my favorite. Camera layout is Nikon standard with buttons where you would expect, and everything within easy reach. I cannot stress enough that of all the cameras I have used, this one feels the most natural and well balanced. Perhaps that is because it was my first, but judging from other reviews I've read, there are a lot of people who feel the same way.

This is an excellent 2nd or 3rd camera. It is great for taking into rougher areas where a more expensive camera might attract more attention. My current FA is pretty beat up looking, and not much of an enticement for a thief. Also, because of Nikon's attention to making their equipment backward compatible as well as forwards, you can use the camera as a back up to a more expensive digital or film camera. I shoot with a F100, a D200 and the FA. The majority of my lenses work on all three cameras.

For the money, you cannot buy a better manual focus camera. Most people prefer the black body over the silver and black, but I don't have a preference. They are both the same camera, so choose on taste; there is no difference between them.

Also, invest in either a Nikon 50mm F 1.8 or 50mm F 2.0 as the main working lens of the camera. If you don't have a good prime (fixed focal length) manual focus lens, and you are considering buying this camera, get one at the same time. You cannot beat the quality of images that you get using that combo.Lire l'avis complet...

FA versus FE2

This camera has been overlooked by many Nikon users. It came to the market at a time when most of the SLR users were still attached to all manual cameras. It was too advanced for many. So later, Nikon stepped back a little and marketed the FE2, which is bit more manual than FA (FE2 had aperture priority automation only). The FA enjoyed a better success than FA.

Both have much overlap in their specs, such as viewfinder percentage, same shutter assembly, same TTL flash, etc. The screen of both can be interchanged. I have used both, and FA's exposure system is more accurate than FE2. While FE2 allows exposure lock, FA uses matrix metering. I found FA has better accuracy on exposure. Given the two has the same shutter mechanism, I believe FA has better metering. Which was proven in latter models, such as F-801, F4 and so on. Of course, exposure lock will be nicer. Other than that, I find FA is more versatile. More exposure modes, and with MD-15, you also get higher speed than FE2.Lire l'avis complet...

Advanced film camera

This film camera is an excellent balance of features, performance, and usability.
It features matrix metering, which was a new development at the time this camera was on the market (1980s). Full manual operation is available as well as program, aperture-priority, or shutter-priority. It offers shutter speeds up to 1/4000. It also has TTL flash metering with compatible flash units.

All this in a package smaller and lighter than most digital SLRs. It fits nicely in the hand and is fun to use with real buttons and knobs rather than annoying LCD submenus that you find in DSLRs.

This camera was ahead of its time when new and is still a great choice for anyone who loves film photography.Lire l'avis complet...

The Amazing FA

I only recently discovered the FA, which isn't as well known as some of the other Nikon models from that era. This is apparently due to traditional mechanical Nikon users having apprehension about it's electronically controlled modes, as it was the first Nikon to have all of those features. It also had it's own niche; not built to total professional Nikon bullet stopping standards, but a level above the more basic FE. My previous experience with the Nikkormat EL, another groundbreaking camera, suggested to me that by the time Nikon introduced a new product, they were 100% sure that it was going to be reliable. Embarrassment is not something that Nikon would have tolerated.

I was looking for a 35mm Nikon with some automatic features so I could try to keep up with my girlfriend's grand daughter in changing light so when I read about the FA I decided to give it a try because it wasn't much more than an FE.

Another thing I like about it is that when a motor drive is attached, the camera runs from the motor batteries, so one less thing to think about. It will do very long, accurate, exposures in automatic mode, and has fast 1/250 flash sync, which are also good reasons to own one.

The FA is not nail pounding strong like the professional F series cameras, and has a plastic top deck, so a person probably would want to avoid dropping it (something I try to avoid anyway), but it was made during an era when products were intended to last a lifetime or two and overall it is a very well made, precision device. The shutter/mirror are quiet, the advance lever is incredibly smooth, and mine works perfectly even after 25-30 years. All I needed to do was replace the foam seals and put batteries in the motor.

I've had one photo session with the grand daughter so far and it did exactly what I had hoped it would, metering accurately in program mode in a wide variety of lighting conditions as she ran around in and out of a barn with a flock of sheep, then out into a strawberry patch to sample the berries.Lire l'avis complet...

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : barryandangy

Nikon FA 35mm Film Camera

I began my journey in 35mm photography with this camera in the mid 80's. When I discovered that my old FA had a problem in the Program mode I was told to just get a newer Nikon film camera - that the old FA was pretty obsolete. Maybe I'm just sentimental, but I loved my old FA and found that it could do things in photography that the much newer F100 could not do. The screen on the FA can be locked up for long exposures - this is not possible with newer film cameras. It's also a workhorse of a camera. I did get another old FA in very good condition and am very happy I did. I still love this old manual camera and use my newer lenses in manual mode with it. I feel it's not a 35mm film camera to be overlooked for amateur photographers. It gets a solid 5 star rating from me with a full recommendation.Lire l'avis complet...

Nikon FA Camera Body

It's the last of it's breed. A Nikon that does it all. Fully automatic when set at Program mode, Aperature Priority, shutter priority or fully manual! A Manual focus body 35mm camera that's not made of plastic, has a titanium shutter, TTL, 250th synch speed. I am a professional photographer and I do use the more modern cameras with autofocus too but sometimes autofocus hinders and I want to fall back on an old rugged manual focus workhorse F series camera. I personally don't care about the auto exposure features but it's nice to have them. What sold me on the FA over the FE and FM series is that when coupled with an MD-15 motor drive, the camera runs off the AA batteries in the motordrive, meter and all. At this stage in the game with everything gone digital, face it, We are not using film all that often and really don't want to keep batteries in these old film bodies to corrode. So being able to just pop freshly charged batteries in the motordrive and go, is a blessing. You can do the same with an F3 HP and an MD-12 drive but the FA has the advantage still of faster synch speed of 250th vs 1/60th, twice the top shutter speed at 1/4000th, compatibility with modern iso speedlights vs the oddball special foot specific of the F3, and they generally cost significantly less. The FM, FM2(n) also functions without the battery. The only loss is the meter but the FA with an MD-15 doesn't even lose the meter! The FA is the clear choice for manual focus Nikon bodies.Lire l'avis complet...

Good Camera & Motor Drive

The camera is fine, but I would not have graded it as "near mint" as advertised...it is more like "8+" or "9" on a scale similar to B&H Photo, New York. To me, "near mint" meant "10-". The baseplate has obvious brassing around the tripod screw-tread. There are obvious signs of wear on the MD15 and parts of the body. In addition, the mirror foam broke apart after one roll of film. A screw was missing but was quickly replaced by the seller. To bring it up to expectations, I installed a new mirror foam ($9), and replaced the baseplate with a nicer looking used one (est. $30). The back cover had a scratch but that doesn't matter since all my cameras have their back covers replaced by a data back. As advertised, it worked perfectly without issues. Light meter and shutter speeds appear accurate. No problem with shutter blades. The focus screen is very clean. This camera should serve me well over the next 10-20 years (I hope)...can't wait to take it on an African safari.Lire l'avis complet...

Best 35mm film camera, hands down!

Excellent camera. I have had mine since 1986. It really has everything from fully manual to full program. There was one review on here from bobdec I believe that is completely wrong. Don't know where he got his info but I get very long life out of the batteries when shooting a 6-8 hour day, 4 to 5 days a week. Inside meter info is backlit, just barely press the shutter button about halfway. Meter is very accurate if you know how to use it or I should say take the time to use it. It matched my handheld meter 95% of the time. I will say that it may poke a left eyed person but that is the only fault I could see with the camera. It is a great film camera, my favorite. I have the FA, FM2 and F3. I now mainly shoot digital but I will always keep my FA and still shoot with it when I want to shoot film. It is a little more on the pro end than some other Nikons but that is the operator, not the camera. EXCELLENT CAMERA!!!Lire l'avis complet...

The brilliant Nikon FA

The Nikon FA was the first Nikon of many that I bought many years ago. During the process of becoming a better photographer and wanting to expand my skills I unfortunately sold my lovely FA to move on to the first of my Nikon Pro cameras the Nikon F3. It was a decision that I have always regretted - selling the FA that is, not buying the F3. When I saw this FA I had the opportunity, with today's fascination with digital cameras, to once again own an FA in excellent condition for very little money. This camera is a joy to use for those of you who still like the magic of film. Don't kid yourself there are very few digital cameras available today in the affordable range that provide the image quality of a good camera and lens combo such as the Nikon FA with good quality film. The results that this camera provides with a good fast Nikkor lens is awesome. It is fast, has excellent balance and is light to carry without the motor drive. Vision is excellent and the controls are beautifully placed for that sensation of being in full control of what you are capturing on film. If you are feeling a bit lazy the auto exposure system is simple and virtually foolproof. For my money this is an excellent camera that will continue to be a classic.Lire l'avis complet...