After getting back in photography after many years, I 've decided the Nikon FM2n is the camera I want. The main question I have is, can I bracket in 1/3 EV for slide film.

-- Wally Klimek (wk101@mindspring.com), October 08, 2000

Answers

Wally,

I have used the FM2 for 16 years... it is a fine camera. As far as bracketing, as you know, the FM2 is fully mechanical. The exposure is determined with the standard f-stop ring and shutter speed dial. After you "zero" you exposure, according to the meter, you can open or close the f-stop in full or partial increments. The shutterspeed dial would not be the way to go here because it is in full steps, i.e. 1/250th to 1/500th of a second. The Nikon lenses have click stops on the aperture ring, but you can stop at any point... such as an estimated 1/3rd stop. I usually bracket in 1/2 stops with Fuji Slide film and feel it gives me more variation, a more noticable shift.

Don't bother with the ISO dial... just "zero" the exposure and THEN rotate the f-stop ring for over or under exposure. This is the advantage of a mechanical camera... YOU are in control, not some micro chip.

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), October 08, 2000.

Unless things have changed drastically, your film speed dial is calibrated in 1/3 stop increments.To underexpose 100ISO film by 1/3, set the film speed dial to 125, by 2/3 set at 160.Likewise, to over expose by 1/3, set the film speed dial to ISO 80, by 2/3 set at 64.If you're methodical(as I suspect you are), this works better than fiddling with a guesstimated position of the aperture ring.Just remember to reset the film speed dial to the base ISO(e.g., 64, 100, 400, etc.)after a run of bracketed shots.

-- Gary Watson (cg.watson@sympatico.ca), October 10, 2000.

Gary, If you adjust the film speed (ISO), you still need to "fiddle" with the aperture ring... It won't be a full or half stop, which is clicked into position. It will be a short rotation to open or closed a third of a stop. It will be faster and less of a memory problem to just keep the exposer meter set correctly for the film, and after shooting that reading... just chose whether you want under or over exposure, move the ring and shoot. I do this all of the time, it takes about 5 seconds to do a three shot bracket... and no fear of forgeting about the ISO dial. Setting the ISO might be better if the camera was auto with stepless shutterspeeds, but the aperture is manual, so it needs to be adjusted manually... to non-click stoped 1/3rd positions. It is just not that hard to do.

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), October 10, 2000.

Maybe, Al, but it's far easier to fool yourself about hitting 1/3 stop settings on lenses with full-stop only detents.Adjusting the ISO to revise the meter, then setting the aperture to match, is simply more precise.BTW, none of my MF Nikkors seem to have 1/2 stop settings.

-- Gary Watson (cg.watson@sympatico.ca), October 11, 2000.