Howard_Creech's Full Review: Nikon FM10 35mm Camera Kit 35mm Film Camera
A few years back Nikon Corporation entered into an agreement with Cosina to produce a camera that Nikon would market in the third world. Cosina was the right choice, since they had been manufacturing just the camera that Nikon wanted, for many years. The manual focus camera had appeared under several names and had over a decade of R&D, user feedback, and model improvements. What Nikon wanted was a first rate manual focus camera that could be offered cheaply to the emerging middle class in countries like Brazil, Argentina, China, and Indonesia. Nikon had the name recognition that would sell cameras (and lenses) in these countries, what they didn't have was a camera that the emerging third world middle class could afford to buy. Enter the Cosina Manufactured Nikon FM10.
The plan was a rousing success, and Nikon was able to gain a large share of the emerging third world market. Imagine Nikon's surprise when (just a couple of years later) the FM10 started showing up in the USA, Europe, and Japan. Nikon had never planned to offer the FM10 in Japan and the Western Industrial Nations. Entrepreneurs had circumvented Nikon and purchased the camera in large quantities in Brazil and imported them into the United States. The demand for the camera amazed the executives at Nikon, who assumed that the American, European, and Japanese camera buyers were only interested in the latest auto exposure/auto focus products.
Nikon re-thought their philosophy and started importing the FM10 (with a one year USA warranty) in quantity. The camera, which by this time, had a word of mouth reputation as a "bargain" Nikon, sold well...and still does. The FM10 costs about $250 and comes complete with a 35-70/f3.5-4.8 Nikkor Zoom (manufactured at Nikon's new lens plant in Thailand) and an ever-ready case.
What do you get for your $250 bucks? A tough, lightweight, manual focusing camera with a top shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second. Centerwighted TTL meter, a Depth of Field preview (a feature missing from most consumer level auto focus cameras), bulb setting, threaded cable release socket, double exposure capability, and a very good (if a bit slow) zoom lens that covers the most needed focal length range. In addition to the 35-70 zoom, Nikon also offers a "bargain" 70-210/f4.5-5.6 zoom lens (about $150) for a two lens and camera body total of less than $400 (about the cost of a new Nikon N70 body) a pretty inexpensive way to gain entry to the Nikon system.
What don't you get? A sophisticated flash program...hot shoe mounted units with manual flash calculation or non TTL auto operation only. No Motor drive or automatic film advance, strictly thumb power. No program modes, no auto focus, no auto exposure, no automatic film loading, and no hassles.
The FM10 is a perfect first camera, being in many ways similar to the old Pentax K1000, it is much loved by photography instructors. New photographers learn to "make" pictures, rather than "take" pictures. The relationship between f-stop and shutter speed becomes amazingly apparent when you get back your first roll of processed film. This camera (unlike many of the entry level auto exposure/auto focus cameras available today) doesn't prevent you from making mistakes, and learning from your mistakes is the fastest and most direct path to mastering the technical aspects of photography. Once you are able to master the technical aspects of photography you can begin to concentrate on mastering the artistic aspects, which are a lot tougher. Is the FM10 a good deal? If you want to learn photography from the ground up, or if you want an inexpensive back up body for your N60 or N70 (or F3) then the answer is yes.
If you would like to read more about 35mm cameras, please see my reviews:
If you want total manual control, the FM10 is a great choice. Select shutter speed and aperture. Use manual film advance and rewind manually. The Cent...More at Adorama
Nikon's FM10 is a 35mm SLR camera that allows you to have the maximum control *In this kit the FM10 body is fitted with Nikon's 35mm to 70mm lens *Fu...More at Abe's Of Maine
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