11-24-14 Why I returned my Nikon FE 35mm Camera

 

The last time I wrote about the Nikon FE 35mm film camera, I said I’d blog about why I decided to return it.

 

It was disappointing, because I really liked the idea of shooting on real 35mm film and had researched this particular model on Ken Rockwell’s excellent camera website. However, I had a hard time focusing the shots and they came out too soft for my liking. I know some of that had to do with getting used to the camera. But I felt like I needed a camera that gave me better clarity of image. And perhaps I really needed to try the Nikon F3.

That said, I was happy with the way the FE worked and the internal light meter easy to use.

I just realized after my second trip to the local photo developer that the photos I was getting back, didn’t justify the effort or compare to my Canon 5D MarkII. And it wasn’t mobile enough to carry everywhere. So I decided it would be better to keep looking for a film camera that really delivers on the clarity for which I’m looking.

Here are some test shots from my Nikon FE before I ended up returning it: