Nikon FE - treat of the (birth)day

[Airy]

A Nikon FE in crocodile livery. Near mint condition. The exposure meter seems to work properly.
Purchased in Brussels, PCH shop, rue du midi, a recommended place.
I'll soon load it with a HP5+ and see what happens. The lens is a 50/1.8 AI.

Sorry for the bad image quality (iPhone with low light...)

[Airy]

Now, the unusual part - it came with the grip...

[John Geerts]

Wow looks great Airy

[Airy]

And while we are at it - the nice thing with the FE is, it can be mounted with non-AI lenses. Same as Df thirty years later, it has an AI sensing tab that can be folded down to accommodate older lenses.

[Airy]

However the MD-12 grip does not appear to work. Should the small red light on the back of the grip get lit on switching on? it is never the case although the batteries are brand new.

[ColinM]

A Nikon FE in crocodile livery.
Near mint condition.

Near mint? I should say so Airy.
When does this date back to?

[Airy]

1983, no later…

[David H. Hartman]

However the MD-12 grip does not appear to work. Should the small red light on the back of the grip get lit on switching on? it is never the case although the batteries are brand new.

My father gave me an MD-12. When I tried it, it did nothing. I opened it and identified the main circuit board and asked a camera repairmen friend to order the part for me. He said, "Did you clean the contacts?" I said, "Yes, but I'll try it again." I scrubbed the contacts with a soft cotton swab and methyl alcohol. Now alcohol is not a solvent of wax but that's what I had." Care must be taken not to remove the gold platting. After a second thorough cleaning the MD-12 worked fine. I suspect a wax lip balm was on the contacts. Clean the battery contacts inside the MD-12 also.

Good luck

Dave

[David H. Hartman]

However the MD-12 grip does not appear to work. Should the small red light on the back of the grip get lit on switching on? it is never the case although the batteries are brand new.

If memory serves me the red LED comes on when the drive is actually transporting the film.

[Airy]

Thanks, I’ll try that.

[Akira]

Nice dandy version of FE!  Hope you enjoy it!

If memory serves me the red LED comes on when the drive is actually transporting the film.

According to the official Nikon website, Dave is right.  The LED will lit during the film is advanced.

https://www.nikon-image.com/products/other/other_product/md-12/

[Hugh_3170]

A wonderful find Airy - well done! 

Sadly the FE2 and FM2 do not have the folding aperture follower tab. 

I have not seen one in crocodile skin before - was this a factory special or was it done by a previous owner?  Anyone know re the factory option?

And while we are at it - the nice thing with the FE is, it can be mounted with non-AI lenses. Same as Df thirty years later, it has an AI sensing tab that can be folded down to accommodate older lenses.

[David H. Hartman]

Sadly the FE2 and FM2 do not have the folding aperture follower tab. 

The FM and FE had a retractable meter coupling lever. The FM2 and FE2 did not. It's been a long time. I believe the FM and FE were "stop-down metering" capable. I never owned an FE but I gave one to my mother for Christmas so I had some experience with it. 

Best

[Airy]

I believe the FM and FE were "stop-down metering" capable. I never owned an FE but I gave one to my mother for Christmas so I had some experience with it.

A model son you are.
Yes, stop-down metering is the rule with non-AI lenses. It requires to push the DOF lever. Using the auto mode is a bit awkward then Df and Zf offer more options.

[senecaman]

Airy

What a fabulous find, and a trip down memory lane for me.

I bought an FE back in 1980 to accompany an FM - my first Nikon (purchased in 1979). Both cameras were indestructible and served me well for more than 15 years. I sold the FE in 1995 to get an F4s but could not bear to part with the FM. Only last week I was researching B&W developing chemicals with a view to running a film through it again.