Nikon FM2 & Nikon FE2 Review

Mechanical Marvel meets Electric Enticement. In today’s episode, Jules and I do a comparative review of the Nikon FM2 and FE2. The FM2 is a fully mechanical 35mm single lens reflex camera with an unusual maximum shutter speed of 1/4000s and a built-in electronic light meter. The camera was introduced in 1982 and built until 2001. The FM2 was directed at professionals and ambitious consumers, it also often served as spare body for professional photographers who typically used F3, F4 or later F5 models in that era. The FE2 was introduced a year later in 1983 and only built until 1987. It is very similar to the FM2 except that it features an electronically controlled, quartz oscillator timed shutter with the same maximum speed of 1/4000th second. The improved shutter comes with eight honeycomb-patterned blades instead of nine which reduces the shutter curtain travel time from 3.6 milliseconds to 3.3 milliseconds. The FE2 also introduced a feature to minimize mirror shock vibration effects using a unique rotat