Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best-selling in Film Cameras
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Film Cameras
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.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Spouse started out with this camera twenty years ago and after F100, F3 and F5 which are long gone except for the F3., she has always said that she liked the FA the best. She currently owns the D7100 but has yet to get her head around the various functions and info screens. I got this for a Christmas gift and seems fully functional with the grip. Have yet to shoot a roll yet and I will leave that up to her.. Camera came as described and I am happy with the purchase. See you in early 2018 with some additional remarks. Chris
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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.Read full review
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.Read full review
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.