My original Nikon FG-20 35mm SLR purchase has gone back on eBay and been replaced with the older but better spec’d FG. Why Nikon reverted to swinging needle meter with the later FG-20 is unknown, possibly the cost of electronics at the time, but the FG comes with LEDs in the viewfinder displaying the recommended and actual shutter speeds, as well as a few more features that make it a better camera all round. Although after appearing to work OK, the one I bought started to exhibit what appears to be a common issue, where after loading a film, the LEDs are stuck on 125 & 250.
Trawl around the internet and a few people show you how to resolve this, but it involves a bit of disassembly and soldering! Lucky for me I’ve been able to solder for more years than I care to think, but needed smaller screwdrivers than I had and a spanner wrench to remove a couple of ring type screws that hold the shutter speed and ISO setting wheels in place. New tools and careful work, results in the photo below.
Now when I put a new film roll in, it’s good to go and no stuck LEDs. You actually gain a couple of extra frames to your 36 frame roll of film if you’re lucky as the counter wheel resets as soon as the camera back is closed. Mileage may vary as they say, so I’d still wind on until the counter is set to 1.
Meanwhile, the roll of very (ten years maybe!) old Fuji Velvia 100 slide film that I put through the Nikon EM I mentioned last time, has returned from developing and thankfully, age has not affected it one bit. Much like their APC-C sensors used across their current range of digital cameras, Fujica’s film has a wonderful ability with natural scenes and making greens and browns come alive! Using the standard E Series 50mm f1.8 and 28mm f2.8 Nikkor lenses, a couple of walks with the dog showed me why I loved using Velvia and Fujicolour film back in the day.
