I have looked over this site and found a couple of threads that the FM2n has "psuedo" MLU or "pre-fire" MLU, where the mirror will lock up a couple of seconds before the shutter fires, when using the self-timer. Can anyone verify this for sure? The specs for the FM2n that I have found on the web do not indicate either way.

-- Jim Meyer (jim_meyer@compusa.com), June 08, 1999

Answers

When using the self-timer, my FM2n locks the shutter right when I press the shutter release. In other words, I can verify this for sure.

-- Steve Daniels (s.daniels@hill.com), June 08, 1999.

Jim,

This seems to be one of the best kept secrets about the Fm2n. It's never mentioned in any of the Nikon literature. And it's one of the very best reasons to have one of these great little cameras.

Whenever you set the self timer lever, and then press the shutter release, the following things take place:

(1) the mirror instantly flips up out of the way. (2) The lens stops down to your chosen, pre-set taking aperture. (3) A few seconds later, when the self timer lever winds down, the shutter itself is released. (4) Then, only after the shutter is released and closes fully, ending the exposure, will the mirror instantly return to its regular position, and the lens return to its wide open viewing aperture.

This is, for all practical purposes, a mirror lock up feature. It accomplishes what most mirror lock up features are meant to accomplish.....it eliminates any possible image-degrading movement/vibration when the mirror moves upwards and the lens is stopped down to its taking aperture, immediately before and while the shutter is being released and subsequently closes. This vibration can degrade the sharpness of your image.

The FM2n's modern, vertically traveling shutter blades are quite sophisticated, smooth and vibration free. I've found that it does make a substantial difference in image sharpness at certain shutter speeds, between 1/30 second down to about 1/2 second.

The only limitation of the FM2n system is that you cannot simply lock up the mirror (as you can with a F3, for example) and then release the shutter at your convenience. This "real" mirror lock up function, found on all of Nikon's "real" cameras (we all know which ones these are!) is really handy with Macro work. You can lock up the mirror beforehand, and then release the shutter at will, when the breeze stops blowing your flower, or the bug stops moving.

With the FM2n's system the shutter is released by the camera when the self timer completes its cycle. You can roughly adjust the self timer's cycle by moving the lever only part way through its 90 degree arc. The full 90 degrees will give a ten second delay, about 45 degrees will give about a five second delay, and so forth. Its not very accurate, but it's something.

I hope this answers your question. Good luck, Sergio.

-- Sergio Ortega (s.ortega@worldnet.att.net), June 10, 1999.

Hello, I just saw this posting (I'm late, I know) I'm owning an F3, an FM-2n and an FG-20. I just looked at the FG-20, because I remembered, that that camera is doing the same than the FM- 2n. Yes, it is true. Mirrows looks up, aperture is closed to the setting, stop for a few seconds and ths shutter fires. Regards and good luck, Ralf.

-- Ralf Grambrock (101.51955@germanynet.de), October 12, 1999.