5 Frames with a Nikon FE

In an earlier article I described getting a Nikon FE and how the lens supplied with it fell apart. I recently took the FE to Seaside, Oregon to see how it would do with the new/used Nikkor 35/2 that I picked up from eBay. The camera was loaded with FujiFilm 400 and was set to EC +1. At the time I didn’t realize that a film camera of this vintage was equipped with this capability but: live and learn.

The FE was released in 1978 (approximately 19 years after the original Nikon F) and it was replaced by an FE2 in 1983. The FE was a hybrid of the fully mechanical FM of 1977 and the electronically controlled EL-2. It supported interchangeable focus screens and included an extended film speed range up to ISO4000 (which I’m assuming is the next click after the 3200 shown in the above image). While the FE includes a top shutter speed of 1/1000 second, the shutter dial can also be set to AUTO making the FE function in an automatic aperture-priority mode.

I have to say that shooting the FE is a dream. Manually setting the shutter speed and f-stop is a one-handed operation with a very logical twist of the aperture ring at the rear of the lens or the shutter dial up top to match the meter needles within the viewfinder.

We’ve had a typically wet winter but there was a three-day window of sun predicted so my wife and I headed west some 100 miles or so and checked into a favorite beachside hotel located at the south end of Seaside (Oregon’s original beach town escape for Portlanders in the early 1900’s).

I grew up on the east coast and the beaches on the Pacific differ in that the sand runs maybe 100 yards after which you have dunes then mountainous landscape. This allows for some aeronautical thrill seeking in the form of parasailing. You rig yourself into a harness and jump off a cliff.

This time around I did better with the Cinestill Cs41 simplified 2-part chemistry and the Film Lab inversion s/w. I realize that there are many parameters that you can tweak to get the shot to look more like you remember it. Film Lab includes a number of filmstock selections that (in theory) allow you to start with what they think it ought to look like. Sometimes it does, sometimes you need to work it.

And, what would a trip to the beach be without a fantastic sunset?

Moments after I took this shot, my wife saw the green flash (which I’ve still never seen).

To make up my 5th shot, this bronze Great Blue Heron is located in the small downtown area of the town of Gresham, OR. There is a great Lebanese restaurant located a half-block north of this statue.

The Nikon FE is a joy to use and I suspect my next outing with it will be loaded with Tri-X.

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