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S h u t t e rs p e e d / A S As e l e c t o r i n g L e n sa p e r t u r ed i r e c tr e a d o u tw i n d o w

Shutterreleasebutton M e t e rc o u p l i n gl e v e r
Shu tte r releas ef inger gu a rd /
mode selector
M e t e rc o u p l i n gl e v e rr e l e a s e

Neckstrapeyelet Sync terminal (coverprovided)

D ep th -o f-f ield pr ev iew l e v e r

L e n sm o u n t i n gi n d e x

Self-timerlever Lensreleasebutton

L e n sm o u n t i n gf l a n g e
R e f l e xm i r r o r

Mike Butkus
Digitally signed by Mike Butkus
DN: cn=Mike Butkus, o=Butkus camera manuals,
ou=butkus.org, email=mike@butkus.org, c=US
Date: 2023.01.09 22:44:01 -05'00'

Tripod socket

M o t o r d r i v es h u t t e rc o u p l i n g
B a t t e r yc h a m b e rl i d

M o t o r d r i v ec o u p l i n g Motor dr ive elect r ical cont act s

F i l m r e w i n db u t t o n Memo holder
 d i s t a n c es c a l e
Focusing Aperture/distancescaleindex

ring
Focusing Meter couplingshoe

, A p e r t u r er i n g Depth-of-fieldindicators

Metercouplingridge Aperture-direct-read
out scale

F i l m r e w i n dc r a n k S h u t t e r s p e e ds e l e c t o r

F i l m r e w i n dk n o b F r a m ecounter

Safe ty l o c k V.J A S A f i l m s p e e dw i n d o w
,iit
1|l
F i l m p l a n ei n d i c a t o r 'i{r
I S h u t t e ro p e r a t i o nm o d e i n d e x
l!l

H o t - s y n cs h o e F i l m - a dv a n c e l e v e r

H o t - s h o ec o n t a c t M e t e rO N i n d e x

Viewfinder eyepiece A S A f i l m s p e e di n d e x

S h u t t e r s p e e di n d e x M u l t i - e x p o s u rbeu t t o n
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CONTENTS
Foreword. 5 Focusi ng ...16
Preparation for use. 6 l nfraredphotography.. . ...18
I n sta llingt he bat t er ie s 6 F i l m - p l a nien d i c a t o r . ...18
Ch e ckingbat t er ypow e r 6 Depth of field ...19
L o a d i ngf ilm . . 7 D epth-of-fi elprevi d ewl ever. ...19
Prior to shooting .8 D epth-of-fi elidndi cators.. ...20
Memo holder .9 E xposuremeasurement. . ...22
S e t t i n gt h e f i l m s p e e d . .9 D etermi ni ng degreeof exposure . ...22
Operation of camera controls. .10 E xposurecontrol . . .24
Settingthe shutter speed. .10 Meteri ngrange ...24
S e t t i n g t h e a p e r t u r e. . .10 H i g h - c o n t r alsi gt h t i n g . . . ...25
Film-advance lever .11 Stop-downexposuremeasurement . . .26
F r a m ec o u n t e r .11 Exposurecompensation adjustment. . . ...21
Shutter operation mode selector. .12 Mul ti pl eexposures ...28
Self-timer .12 Ffashsynchronization . . .29
U n l o a d i n gf i l m . .13 Tips on cameracare. ...30
H o fd i n g t h e c a m e r a . . . .14 Mountingand removinglenses ...31
Shutter releaseoperation .15 Accessories. . . .32
Operationby cablerelease. .15 Features/Specification s. ...34

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The N i kon FM i s a compact 35mm si ngl e-l ens refl ex

camerathat offers a host of advancedfeaturesamateur
photographers and professionals alike will appreciate.lt
is designedto accept virtually every accessoryof the
Nikon System-the most comprehensive evercreatedfor
photography-soit can do virtually everythingthe top-
r a t e dS L R ' sc a nd o . . . w i t h t h a t u n i q u ep r e c i s i oann d
rel i abi l i tyw hi chyou havecometo associ ate w i th N i kon.
To get the mostout of this camera,studythe instructions
i n thi s manual careful l y,as w el l as those i n rel ated
manual s,and practi ceusi ngthe control s-beforel oadi ng
the camerawith film. Keep the manual on hand for
ready referenceuntil you havemasteredoperation.The
few minutes you spend familiarizingyourself with the
camerawill guaranteeyou the best resultsand increase
your pl easure i n taki ngpi cturesmany ti mesover.
PREPARATION
FOR USE
I n s t a l l i n gt h e B a t t e r i e s C h e c k i n gB a t t e r yP o w e r
The N i ko n F M ' s built - inex p o s u rem e te r i s p o w e re db y To checkbatterypower,movethe camera'sfilm advance
tw o b u tto n- c ellt y pe 1. 5V s i l v e r-o x i d e b a tte ri e sT. h e s e leverfrom the flush to the stand-offpositionby pulling
a rem o u n te din t he bat t er yc l i p ,w h i c hfo rm sa s i n g l eu n i t i t j ust far enoughto uncoverthe red i ndexon top of the
w it h th e bat t er y c ham be r' sc o i n -s l o tte dl i d , i n th e camera.Then,l ook throughthe vi ew fi nder.l f any of the
camera'sbaseplate. To installthe batteries,first unscrew L E D ( l i g h t e m i t t i n gd i o d e ) e x p o s u r ei n d i c a t o r si s o n ,
the l i d b y tur ning it c oun te rc l o c k w i s e w,i th a c o i n o r battery power is sufficientfor proper operation.Other-
s ome th i n gs im ilar ,unt il it c a n b e fre e l y re m o v e db y w i se, check battery seati ngand make adj ustments,i f
h and .Th e n , s eatt he t wo b a tte ri e si n th e b a tte ryc l i p , necessary. S houl d the LE D di spl aysti l l fai l to l i ght up,
o ne o n to p of t he ot her ,m ak i n gs u reth a t th e i r re s p e c ti v e changebatteries.
p l u s ( * ) a n d m i n u s ( - ) i n d i c a t i o n sc o r r e s p o n dw i t h l m p o r t a n t : W h e n t h e c a m e r a i s n o t i n u s e , m a k e s u r e t h a t t h e
s imi l a rma rk spr ov idedin t h e c l i p . A fte r s e a ti n gth e b a t- f i l m a d v a n c e l e v e r i s p o s i t i o n e d f l u s h w i t h t h e c a m e r a b o d y . A s
ter ies co rrec t ly , r eplac et h e l i d , a n d s e c u reth e c o n - t h e l e v e r d o u b l e s a s t h e m e t e r o n / o f f s w i t c h , l e a v i n g i t i n t h e
s t a n d - o f f p o s i t i o n w i l l r e s u l t i n t h e c a m e r a ' sb a t t e r y b e i n g c o m -
n ec ti o nb y tur ningit c loc k w i s ew i th th e c o i n a sfa r a si t p l e t e l y d r a i n e di n j u s t a f e w d a y s .
w ill g o . l t i s adv is able t o r e m o v eth e b a tte ri e sw, h e nth e
camerais not to be used for a long period,to prevent
bat te ry l e a k agewit hin t he ca me raf;o r a d d i ti o n a il n fo r-
mation on this, refer to "Tips on CameraCare"on page
30.

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L o a d i n gF i l m s i de (autt si de) faci ng out. Make sure that the perfo-
F ir st ,o p e n the c am er abac k b y s l i d i n gi ts s a fe tyl o c k to rati ons al ong the edgesof the fi l m mesh w i th the
t he r e a ra n d l i f t ing t he f ilm r e w i n d k n o b a s fa r a si t w i l l s prockets.l f necessary, rel easethe shutterby cocki ng
go. Positionthe film cartridgeor cassettein the film th e shutterrel easebutton, and strokethe fi l m advance
c h am b e r, wh i c his loc at edon th e l e ft-h a n ds i d e ,w i th th e l eversl ow l yto makesurethat the l eaderw i ndssmoothl y
f ilm lea d e ra l i gnedalongt he fi l m g u i d era i l s ;th e n ,p u s h on the spool and that the film edgeperforationsengage
t he re w i n dknob t o hold t he c a rtri d g ei n p l a c e .Pu l lth e the fi l m sprocketrol l er. W henyou are certai nthat the
f ilm le a d e ro ut s uf f ic ient lyfo r fe e d i n gi n to th e fi l m fi l m i s bei ngfed properl yonto the spooland - travel i ng
t ak e-u psp o o l,and ins er tit s e n d i n to a n y o f th e s p o o l ' s c o rrectl y al ong the fi l m gui de rai l s, cl ose the camera
slots.Rotatethe take-upspoolasshownin the illustration b a ckby pressi ng i t unti l i t snapsi nto pl ace.
s o t ha t th e fi l m pas s es underth e s p o o lw i th i ts e m u l s i o n
PREPARATION
FORUSE- continued
Prior to Shooting loadi ng.A s you advancethe fi l m, confi rm that the
Fold o u t th e f ilm r ewindc ra n k ,a n d tu rn i t g e n tl yi n th e rew i nd crank turns i n the di recti onopposi tethe arrow .
dire cti o no f t he engr av eda rro w u n ti l y o u fe e l a s l i g h t that the fi l m hasbeenl oadedproperl yand
Thi s i ndi cates
res i sta n ce; this will indic ateth a t a n y s l a c ki n th e fi l rn is bei ngadvanced.
c art ri d g eh a sbeent ak enup. T h e n ,fo l d th e re w i n dc ra n k After advancingthe film two frames,check that the
int o p l a ce . framecounteri s at " 0" ; then,advance the fi l m one more
Advancethe film (refer to page 11 for film advance frame to preparethe camerafor takingthe first picture.
opera ti o n ),and m ak e t wo b l a n k e x p o s u re sth ; is will
disp o seo f th e init ial por t io n o f th e fi l m e x p o s e dd u ri n g
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Memo Holder Setting the Film Speed

A sp e ci ahl o lderis pr ov idedo n th e c a m e rab a c kfo r c o n - The camera'sexposuremeter must be adjustedto the
venientstorageof any relevantinformation.You can use speedof the fi l m i n useto ensurecorrectmeasurement.
it, for instance,to hold the end flap of a film cartonto Accordingly,the camerais provided with an ASA film
rem i n dyo u o f t he t y pe of f il m l o a d e di n th e c a me rath
, e speedscale.To make the necessary adjustment,lift the
ASA fi l m speed and t he t o ta l n u mb e r o f e x p o s u re s knurl edA S A fi l m speedri ng, and turn i t unti l the tri -
av ail a b l e . a ngul arred i ndex i s al i gnedw i th the A S A val ueof the
fil m l oadedi n the camera.The meteri s sensi ti ve across
the full rangeof from ASA 12 to ASA 3200; there are
two dots betweeneach number for intermediateASA
setti ngs,i .e.,64, 80, 125, etc.
 OPERATION
OF CAMERACONTROLS
Settingthe Shutter Speed graphy.)A l so, at the " B " setti ng,the shutter remai ns
The N i ko n F M ' s s hut t er s p e e ds e l e c to ri s k n u rl e dfo r open for as l ong as the shutterrel easebutton i s kept
s lip -fre ee, a s ierm anipulati o nth ; e fa c eo f th e d i a l i s e n - depressed.
grave dw i th t he 11 s hut t ersp e e ds e tti n g sa v a i l a b l e1: fo r
o n e s e c o n da, n d 2 , 4 , 8 , 1 5 , 3 0 , 6 0 , 1 2 5 , 2 5 0 , 5 0 0a n d Setting the APerture
1000 fo r frac t ionalv alueso f fro m 1 1 2to 1 /1 0 0 0 tho f a The N i kon FM w orks best w i th N i kkor l enses.The
s ec o n d .A " 8" s et t ing,al s o e n g ra v e di,s p ro v i d e dfo r apertureri ngsof thesel ensesare knurl edfor sl i p-free,
long e rti me ex pos ur es . e a s i em
r anipulation.
T o s e t th e shut t ers peed,t u rn th e s h u tte rs p e e ds e l e c to r To set the l ensaperture,turn the l ensapertureri ng unti l
unt il th e d e s ir eds peedis al i g n e dw i th th e s h u tte rs p e e d the desi redf/numbersetti ngon the l ensaperturescal ei s
i n d e xT. h e s p e e ds e l e c t e(di n c l u d i n"gB " ) i s s h o w no n t h e al i gnedw i th the i ndex mark on the l ens;i ntermedi ate
left-handside of the viewfinder,too, for instantrefer- setti ngs areal sousabl e,w henrequi red.
enc e . provi dedw i th an aperture-
N ote that, w i th N i kkor l enses
Noteth a t th e125s et t ingis e n g ra v eidn re d ;th i s i n d i c a te s di rect-readout (A D R ) secondaryl ensaperturescal e,the
1112 5se c.,t he f as t es ts hu tte rs p e e da v a i l a b l e fo r fl a s h f/number for the apertureselectedappearson the upper
s yn ch ro n i zat ion wit h electro n i cfl a s h u n i ts . (R e fe rto portion of the viewfinderfor convenientreferencewhen
page 29 for additional information on flash photo- shooti ng.

ffi
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Thefi l m-a d v anclev e ers im u l ta n e o u sal yd v a n c eth s e fi l m, Each ti me the fi l m i s advancedone frame by a ful l
coc ksth e shut t erand oper a te th s e fra mec o u n te r.l t a l s o stroke of the film advancelever, the frame counter
dou b l e as sthe Nik on F M ' sm e te ro n /o ff s w i tc h . operatesto show how many frameshave beenexposed.
T o ad va n c et he f ilm , s t r ok e th e l e v e rw i th y o u r ri g h t It is automaticallyresetto S (start),two framesbefore
t humb a s far as it will go . T h i s w i l l fre e th e l o c k i n g 0, w hen the cameraback i s openedto removean ex-
devi ceb u i l t int o t he s hut t e r,c a u s i n gth e s h u tte rto b e posedfi l m cartri dgeand/or l oad a new rol l of fi l m. The
rele a seadn d t he f ilm t o be a d v a n c e d a fu l l fra m e .T h e f ramecounterdi al has i ndi cati ons for up to a maxi mum
leve ra u to m at ic ally r et ur nsto i ts 3 0 " s ta n d -o ffp o s i ti o n o f 36 frames,w i th al l odd numberscal i bratedi n dots
w he nre l e a s ed
upon t he c om p l e ti o no f fi l m a d v a n c e . a nd al l evennumbersi n fi gures.The fi guresare i n w hi te,
T he fi l m-a d v anc elev er s w i tc h e sth e me te r o n w h e n e x c e p tf o r 1 2 , 2 0 a n d3 6 w h i c ha p p e airn r e d t o i n d i c a t e
move dto i ts s t and- ofpos f iti o n i; t s w i tc h e sth e me te ro ff t he maxi mumnumberof exposures avai l abl e, respecti ve-
w he nmo ve dbac kf lus hwit h th e c a m e rab o d y . ly, w i th standardfi l m cartri dges.
 - continued
OF CAMERACONTROLS
OPERATION
Shutter Operation Mode Selector S el f-T i me r
The sh u tter r eleas ebut t on o f th e N i k o n F M i s fi tte d The bui l t-i n sel f-ti merprovi desan approxi matel y8 to I
with a fingerguardthat servesas the camera'sshutter 1 4 seconddel ay betw eenthe ti me the shutterrel ease
opera ti o nm ode s elec t orT. h e b l a c k l i n e o n th e fi n g e r- b utton i s depressed and the ti me the shutteri s actual l y
guard ,w h i c his k nur ledf or e a s yma n i p u l a ti o ns,h o u l db e f i red. l t can be usedw i th any of the markedshutter
a lig n e dw i th t he blac k line (w h i te fo r b l a c k F M c a m e ra speedsbetw een1/1000and 1 sec.A voi d usi ngthe sel f-
b odi e s)o n t op of t he c am e rab o d y fo r n o rma ls h u tte r t i mer w i th the shutterspeeddi al set to " B " as,on thi s
relea seo p e r at ion.T he r ed l i n e o n th e fi n g e rg u a rdi s setti ng,the shutter w i l l onl y open momentari l yand
a lig n e dw i th t he s am eline w h e n mo to r d ri v e o p e ra ti o n incorrect exposurew i l l i nvari abl yresul t. To take a
l o t o r d r i v eu n i t i s r e q u i r e d( s e e
w i t h t h e F M ' so p t i o n a m p i cture usi ng the sel f-ti mer,fi rst set the apertureand
the i n stru c t ionm anualf or t h e MD -11 Mo to r D ri v eU n i t s hutterspeedcontrol s,advancethe fi l m, and cock the
for de ta i l s).Not e t hat t he f i n g e rg u a rd d o u b l e sa sa s h u t- s el f-ti merby turni ng the sel f-ti merl ever dow nw ards.
ler releaselock when set for motor drive operation Then, depressthe shutterrel easebutton and the ti mer
w it ho u ta mot or dr iv ebeingmo u n te do n th e c a me ra . w i l l start.A uni quefeatureof the FM' ssel f-ti merl everi s
In other w ords,shoul d
t hat i ts setti ngi s " cancel l abl e."
you decidenot to usethe self-timeraftersettingit, you
si mpl yturn i t back upw ardsand resumenormalshutter
t ri ppi ng operati on.For cri ti cal cl ose-upphotography,
t he sel f-ti mer,i n combi nati onw i th a tri pod, i s parti -
cul arl yusefuli n preventi ng vi brati on.
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UNLOADINGFILM
As s o o na s t he f r am ec oun te ri n d i c a te sth a t th e l a s te x - pulling up the rewind knob as far as it will go;then, re-
posu reh a s been m ade,or w h e n th e fi l m a d v a n c el e v e r m o v e t h e f i l m c a r t r i d g e .N o t e t h a t w h e n t h e f i l m a d v a n c e
cann o l o n g erbe s t r ok ed,th e ro l l o f fi l m h a sb e e nfu l l y l e v e r i s s t r o k e d f o r t h e n e x t e x p o s u r e( w i t h t h e n e x t r o l l
ex p o se ad n dc an now be r em o v e d . o f f i l m ) , t h e r e w i n d b u t t o n w i l l b e r e l e a s e dt o e n g a g et h e
T o u n l o a dthe r oll of f ilm , fi rs t p re s sth e re w i n db u tto n f i l m - a d v a n c em e c h a n i s mo n c e a g a i n .
on th e ca mer a' sbas eplat eth; e n , u n fo l d th e fi l m re w i n d You should not push the rewind button during film
cra n ka n d tur n it in t he dire c ti o no f th e e n g ra v eadrro w advance operation; otherwise, film advance will tem-
w it h smo o t h,ev enpr es s ur eR. e w i n dte n s i o nw i l l c e a s eto p o r a r i l y s t o p a n d f r a m e - o v e r l a pm a y r e s u l t . N o t e , t o o ,
ind i ca teth a t t he f ilm lead e rh a s l e ft th e ta k e -u ps p o o l . t h a t t h e c a m e r a b a c k c a n b e r e m o v e df r o m t h e b o d y b y
N ow ,o p e nt he c am er abackb y s l i d i n gi ts s a fe tyl o c k a n d d e p r e s s i n gt h e l o c k i n g c a t c h o n t h e h i n g e .
Camerashakeis one of the most commoncauses of blur-
red, unsharppictures,especially at slow shutterspeeds.
To preventthis, study how to hold the cameracorrectly
and practicesteadyshuttersqueezing.
Wrap the fingersof the right hand around the camera
body so that the index finger of your right hand rests
comfortably on the shutter releasebutton and the
thumb fits betweenthe camerabody and the film ad-
vancelever.Positionthe camerain sucha way that the
eye looks through the centerof the viewfinder.Cradle
the camerawith your left hand for additionalsupport,
u s i n gt h e t h u m b a n d m i d d l ef i n g e rt o g r a s pt h e f o c u s i n g
ring.This way, the camera is properlysupportedand can
easilybe switchedfrom horizontalto verticalshooting.

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Correctshutterrelease operationis just as importantto
o b t a i n i n gs h a r pp i c t u r e sa s h o l d i n gt h e c a m e r ap r o p e r l y . The shutterreleasebutton canalsobe tripped with the
To release the shuttercorrectly,hold the camerasteadily use of a cable release(ot some similaraccessory). To
and depress the shutterrelease button with smooth,even attachthe cablereleaseto the camera,screwthe thread-
pressu re. Relaxevenwhenyou're in a hurry-a quick jab e d c a b l ec o n n e c t o ro n t o t h e m o un t p r o v i d e dw i t h t h e
of the index finger at the shutter releasebutton will b u t t o n . T h e s h u t t e r i s t h e n t r i p p e d b y d e p r e s s i ntgh e
c a u s ec a m e r as h a k ea n d r e s u l ti n a n u n i n t e n t i o n a l lbyl u r - cablereleaseplunger.Cablerelease operationis especial-
red photograph. l y r e c o m m e n d efdo r c r i t i c a ls h o o t i n gs i t u a t i o n ss,u c ha s
photomicrographyor time exposure, where vibration-
free shutter releaseis of prime importance.
lmportant: lf you mount the Nikon FM
on a tripod wi'th a large head, con tact
between the lens body and the head
m a y m a k e i t i m p o s s i b l et o t u r n t h e l e n s
aperture ring. lf this happens, use the
special tripod adapter (tupplied with the
camera) between the tripod head and
c a m e r ab o d y .
*!
,il:

hl ikmn j,
W h e n t h e F M i s u s e dw i t h a N i k k o r l e n sf i t t e d w i t h a n T o f o c u s , u s i n g t h e s pI i t - i m a g e r a n g e f n i d er s p o t , t u r n t h e
automatic diaphragm,focusingis done at full aperture. f o c u s i n gr i n g o f t h e l e n s u n t i l t h e t w o h a l v e so f t h e . r a n g e -
T h i s m a k e sf o r t h e b r i g h t e s tp o s s i b l ei m a g e so n t h e f i n d e r s p o t p e r f e c t l y c o i n c i d e , f o r m i n g a s i n g l e ,c r i s p
f o c u s i n gs c r e e ne, n a b l i n ge a s yf o c u s i n ga n d c o m p o s i n g . i m a g e .T o f o c u s w i t h t h e m i c r o p r i s m g r i d , t u r n t h e f o c u s -
The focusingscreenitself givesyou a choiceof three i n g r i n g u n t i l t h e i m a g es e e nt h r o u g h t h e m i c r o p r i s m p a t -
f o c u s i n ga i d s : a c e n t r a ls p l i t - i m a grea n g e f i n d esrp o t ,a n t e r n a p p e a r ss h a r p a n d c r i s p . W i t h t h e m a t t e o u t f i e l d ,
a n n ul a r m i c r o p r i s mg r i d a n d a f i n e m a t t e o u t f i e l d . t u r n t h e r i n g u n t i l t h e i m a g ev i e w e d i n t h e f i e l d a p p e a r s
s ha r p .
T h e s p l i t - i m a g er a n g e f i n d e rs p o t i s c o n s i d e r e dt h e m o s t
s u i t a b l e f o r p r e c i s e ,p i n p o i n t f o c u s i n g ,a n d t h e m i c r o -
prism grid for rapid focusing in sports or action-type
p h o t o g r a p h y .T h e f i n e m a t t e o u t f i e l d , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d ,
i s i d e a l f o r u s e w i t h t e l e p h o t o l e n s e so r i n c l o s e - u pa n d
m a c r o p ho t o g r a p h y .
Y o u c a n a l s o p r e f o c u st h e l e n s w i t h t h e u s e o f t h e d i s -
t a n c e s c a l ee n g r a v e di n b o t h m e t e r s a n d f e e t o n , t h e l e n s
b a r r e l .S i m p l y t u r n t h e f o c u s i n gr i n g u n t i l t h e m e a s u r e d
o r e s t i m a t e dc a m e r a - t o - sbuj e c t d i s t a n c ei s l i n e d u p w i t h
the distance scaleindex on the lens barrel.This tech-
n i q u e i s u s e f u l f o r p i c t u r e - t a k i n gs i t u a t i o n sw h e r e e i t h e r
t h e s u b j e c t i s e l u s i v eo r t i m e d o e s n o t p e r m i t t h r o u g h -
t h e - l e n sf o c u s i n g .
 www.butkus.us

Out of focus ln focus

 - continued
FOCUSING
Infrared Photography F i l m - P l a n eI n d i c a t o r
The p l a n eo f s har pesftoc usfo r i n fra re dl i g h t i s s l i g h tl y To ensure the best results in critical picture-taking
f ar t h e ra wa y t han it s c ount e rp a rtfo r v i s i b l el i g h t a ss e e n si tuati ons,such as cl ose-upor copy photography,i t i s
throug hth e c am er a'vsiewf in d e r. T o c o m p e n s a te fo r th i s , necessary to determi nethe exact subj ect-to-fi l m-pl ane
f ir st fo cu s the im ages harp l yth ro u g h th e v i e w fi n d e r.
Then, tu i n the f oc us ingr ing c o u n te rc l o c k w i suen ti l th e
di stance.The N i kon FM i s thus provi dedw i th a fi l m
I
p l a n e i n d i c a t o r( * ) ; t h i s i s p o s i t i o n e de x a c t l yi n t h e
point fo cu s edis alignedwith th e re d d o t (o r l i n e ) p ro - fi l m pl ane,w hi ch i s 46.5mmfrom the front surfaceof
v i d e d o n t h e l e n s b a r r e l .F o r e x a m p l e i,n t h e p i c t u r e the l ensmounti ngfl ange.
b elow,th e l e nshasbeenf oc u s e dfo r i n fi n i ty (-) i n fra re d
shoo ti n g N . ot e t hat when le n s e sw i th a fo c a l l e n g tho f
50mm or lessare used stopped-downto f/8 or below,
compensation is not necessary due to the largedepth of
fielda va i l a ble.
Therea reso meNik k or lens e th s a t d o n o t re q u i rere fo c u s -
ing f o r i n frar edphot ogr ap h yre ; fe r to th e i r i n s tru c ti o n
manu a l fo s r det ails .

11
\.

!1
v

l8
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Whenyou focus on your subiect,you will find that not T o e x a m i n et h e d e p t h o f f i e l d b e f o r et a k i n ga p i c t u r e , i t

lr only is the subjectitselfin focusbut that obiectsboth in is necessary to stop down the lensmanually.You can do
llu front of and behindit appearto be in focus.This "zone" t h i s b y e x e r t i n gs l i g h tf i n g e rp r e s s u r oe n t h e F M ' s c o n -
o f f o c u si s c a l l e d" d e p t ho f f i e l d . " venientlysituateddepth-of-field previewlever.Assuming
Depthof field is not a fixed quantity. lt variesby lens, that the lens is set to an apertureother than its maxi-
''f l dependingon both the subject's distancefrom the mum, gentlepressureon the lever will stop down the

iH:i:;?',iT,;ffill'"l'?;.'['Ji:
apparend
.:nJ
:i,Ji #ii;,.1 ;: lens to that aperture.You will then be able to seethe
elementsin front of and behind the main subject that
t e p t h o f f i e l d , i . e . , t h e l o n g e rt h e l e n s ,t h e will appearin sharp focus in the actual photograph-
shallowerthe depth of field appears to be,and viceversa. althoughsomeof them may haveappearednot to be in
l n t h e s a m em a n n e r t, h e w i d e r t h e t a k i n ga p e r t ur e ( i . . . , focus prior to pressingthe lever.A side effect of this
the lowerthe f/stop number),the shallowerthe depthof picture-taking processis the "darkening"of the imagein
field, andvice versa.Also, the closeryou approachyour the viewfinder(the higherthe f lnumber,the "darker"
subject,the shallowerthe depth of field becomes, and t h e i m a g ea p p e a r s; )t h i s i s n o r m a l a n d s h o u l d b e n o
vice versa.I n all cases, you will find that the depth of causefor concern.
field behindthe subjectis largerthan that in front; this
e l u r r i n go f t h e b a c k g r o u nedl e m e n t os f
e n a b l es e l e c t i vb
the picture,a techniquemost often usedby the creative
photographer.

M o s t o f t h e N i k k o r l e n s e sy o u w i l l f i n d y o u r s e l fu s i n g
! with the N ikon FM are "automatic.
the aperturediaphragmof the lens is kept open at its
" This meansthat

widestsettingwhileyou areviewing,focusingand meter-

[l i n g . W h e n y o u p r e s st h e s h u t t e rr e l e a s eb u t t o n , t h e
c a m e r a ' sm e c h a n i s ma u t o m a t i c a l l y" s t o p s d o w n" ( i . e . ,
ctosesthe lens aperture) the lens to the apertureat
whichit is set.
DEPTHOF FIELD-continued
D ep th -o f-F ield I ndic at ors
T he N i kko r lens ' dept h- of-fi e l di n d i c a to rsc o m e i n th e
form of the three scalesfitted on the lens barrel.The
fir st i s th e l ensaper t ur es c a l ew, i th th e f/n u m b e rsc o l o r-
coded.The secondconsistsof two setsof coloredlines,
the colorscorresponding to the colorsof the f/numbers.
T he th i rd i s t he f oc us ings c a l ew h i c h i s c a l i b ra te di n
metersand feet.
To determinedepth of field, note the color of the f/
n umb e ri n u s e.T he dept h o f fi e l d a t th e ta k i n ga p e rtu re
is indicatedby the numberson the focusingscalewhich
are adjacentto the coloredlinesthat correspondto the
color of the f/numberset.
Example
Takingaperture:f 116
C o l o r :B l u e
L e n ss e t a t f l 4 : S h a l l o w
Foc u si n d g i st anc e:5m d e p t h o f f i e l d c e n t e r e do n
ln the exampleabove,the farthestpoint of sharpfocus the main subject.
b ehi n dth e s ubjec is t inf init y(-);th i s i s th e fi g u reo n th e
focu si n gscalewhic h is adja c e n to t th e b l u e l i n e o n th e
sec o n dsca l ewhic , hin t ur n c o rre s p o n dto
s th e b l u ec o l o r
of t he f/1 6 s et t ing.T he c lo s e s tp o i n t o f s h a rpfo c u s i s
2. 7m, a l th o ugh t his num b e r d o e s n o t a p p e a ri n th e
focusingscale.
Note that for exact depth-of-fielddetermination,you
should refer to the depth-of-fieldtables in the instruc-
tion ma n u a for l t he Nik k or le n si n u s e .

20
 www.butkus.us

I
lE

L e n sa t f / 8 : D e p t h o f f i e l d L e n s a t f / 1 6 : S h a r pf o c u s
e x t e n d e di n f r o n t o f / b e h i n d i s e x t e n d e dt o e n c o m p a s s
the main subiect. t h e e n t i r e f o r e g r o u n da n d
b a c k g r o un d .
 MEASUREMENT
EXPOSURE
T he Ni ko n FM ' s built - inex p o s u reme te ru ti l i z e sN i k o n ' s Determi ni ng D egree of E xposure
proven center-weightedthrough-the-lens metering sys- The vi ew fi nderhas three exposurei ndi catorsvi si bl e
tem which is cross-coupled with both the shutterspeed w i thi n the vi ew fi el d:+ for overexposure, o for correct
control of the cameraand the aperturecontrol of the exposureand for underexposure. These i ndi cators
lens mo u n te d on t he c am e ra T . h e me te r re a d sth e i n - h a v ec o r r e s p o n d i nLgE D ' sw h i c h l i g h t u p w h e nt h e f i l m
t ensi ty o f the light c om in gth ro u g h th e l e n s o v e r th e advancelever is moved to its 30" stand-offposition;as
entire focusing screenat full aperture but favors the you can seein the chart on the left, there are five com-
central 12mm-diameterarea outlined on the screen- bi nati onspossi bl e. A l so i ncl udedi nsi dethe vi ew fi nderas
allow i n g you t o m ak e pre c i s ere a d i n g sa n d ma k i n g ai ds to exposuredetermi nati onare the shutter speed
for overallbalancedexposures. sel ected and the l ensaperturesetti ng.W i th non-A l type
lenses,the l ens aperturei s not vi si bl e.To determi ne
*o correct exposure,first switch the meter on by moving
o O v e r e x p o s u r eb y m o r e t h a n 1 s t o p the film advancelever to its stand-offposition.One or
tw o of the LE D ' s w i l l l i ght up opposi tethe correspond-
fa
ing exposurei ndi catorf s to show you the preci sedegree
of exposure.l f the + i ndi catorLE D l i ghtsuP , i ncrease
Oo O v er ex pos urbey 1 /5 to 1 s to p
the shutterspeedor decrease the aperture-orviceversa-
u n t i l t h e o i n d i c a t o rL E D l i g h t su p a n d t h e + i n d i c a t o r
+
LE D turns off; the procedurei s the samei f the - i ndi ca-
Oo Cor r ec tex pos u re t o r L E D l i g h t su p a l o n eo r w i t h t h e o i n d i c a t o L
r ED.
I t i s n o r m a l l yi m p o s s i b lfeo r a l l t h r e eL E D ' st o l i g h tu p
a t the sameti me, or for the + i ndi catorLE D and - i ndi -
-r

Oo b v 1 /5 to 1 s to p
Under ex pos u re catorLE D to l i ght up si mul taneouslThe y. excepti onto
-a
t hi s i s w henphotographi ng a tel evi si on screen. The rapi d-
+ l y scanni ngspot patternthat producesthe TV pi cture
o U n d e r e x p o s r r r eb y m o r e t h a n 1 s t o p resul tsi n a cycl i c effect that causesal l three LE D ' s to
-a
li ghtup w henthe exposuresetti ngi s correct.
www.butkus.us
EXPOSURE - continued
MEASUREMENT
Exposu re C ont r ol M eteri ng R ange
T he a mo u n tof lightr eac hin th g efi l m p l a n ei s d e te rm i n e d l f the centralexposurei ndi catorLE D (o) fai l s to l i ght
by a co mb i n at ionof t he s hu tte rs p e e da n d th e l e n sa p e r- up, evenafteral l possi bl e l ensapertureand shutterspeed
ture. Since the two are interrelated,different combi- combi nati ons havebeentri ed, then the avai l abl el i ght i s
nat i o n sw i l l giv et he s am ed e g re eo f e x p o s u reA. 1 -s te p e i thertoo bri ghtor too di m for the meter' srange.l n thi s
chan g ei n sh ut t ers peed,or a 1 -s to pc h a n g ei n a p e rtu re case,you can either useartificial light (suchas an elec-
set t in g ,wi l l eit her halv e or d o u b l e th e d e g re eo f e x - t roni c fl ash uni t) to i ncreasesubj ecti l l umi nati onor
p os u re .Fo r ex am ple,a s hu tte rs p e e do f 1 1 1 2 5s e c .l e ts mount a neutraldensi tyfi l ter on the l ensto decrease the
i n t wi ce a s m uc h light as a s e tti n go f 1 1 2 5 0s e c .,a n d a mountof l i ght reachi ng the fi l m.
only h a l f a s m uc h light at a s p e e do f 1 1 6 0s e c .;fo r a n R emember,too, that the l ens i n use i s an equal l y
apertu rese tt ingof f 111,t wic ea sm u c h l i g h t a sf 1 1 6 ,a n d i mportant factor to consi der.For exampl e,a 50mm
half a s mu chasf 18,is let in.T h u s ,i f th e c o rre c te x p o s u re f 1 1 . 4l e n s( w i t h A S A 1 0 0 f i l m ) c o u p l e fsr o m E V 1 ( f 1 1 . 4
f or a p a rti cularpic t ur e- t ak i nsgi tu a ti o ni s 1 1 1 2 5a tf 1 1 1 , a t 1 s e c . )r o E V 1 8 ( f 1 1 6a t 1 1 1 0 0 0s e c . ) ,m a k i n gi t
t hen 1l 6 O a t f 116or 11250a tf 1 8 w i l l b e e q u a l l ya c c e p t- s ui tabl efor l ow -l i ght-l evel pi cture-taki ng si tuati ons;on
a ble . Th e following t able i l i u s tra te sth e i n te rre l a ti o n - t h e o t h e rh a n d ,a 1 3 5 m mf 1 2 . 8 l e n sp r o v e sm o r es u i t a b l e
ship betweenshutter speedand aperturewe have just f or bri ght-l i ghtshooti ng,coupl i ng(w i th A S A 100 fi l m)
descri b e d . f rom E V 3 (f12.8at 1 sec.)to E V 20 (f132 at 111000).
S h u t t e rs p e e d Thus, choosethe l ens careful l yto match the exi sti ng
(second)
1/10oo 1 i s 0 0 l l2so 1 1 1 2 s 1 1 6 0 l i g h t i n gc o n d i t i o n s .

Aperture fl4 f ls.6 fl8 f 111 f 116

T he "b e st" c om binat ionwil l d e p e n do n th e re s u l tsy o u
want. Use fast shutter speedsto "freeze" motion; use
slow sp e e dst o pr oduc ea d e l i b e ra teb l u r. A l s o , s m a l l
aperturesgive greaterdepth of field, while largeaper-
tures restrictsharpfocusto the main subject.Makeyour
c hoicea cco r dingly .

24
 www.butkus.us
Hi g h - C o n t r a sLti g h t i n g makeyour fi nal pi cture
A fter compl eti ngthi s procedure,
Whenthere is a substantial difference shutter
in brightnesscomposi ti onand shodt w i thout readj usti ngei ther
bet w e e n th e m ain s ubjec ta n d th e b a c k g ro u n ds,e e mi n g - speedor l ens aperture.W hen shooti ngl andscapes, for
ly un i mp o r t antbr ight s potso r d a rk s p o tsc a n a d v e rs e l y exampl e,i t i s often advi sablto e ai m your camerasl i ghtl y
inf l u e n ceth e f inder r eadin ga n d th u s a ffe c t th e a c tu a l dow nw ardsw hi l e meteri ngto el i mi natethe effectsof a
exposu re. bri ght expanse(i .e., the sky); w i thout such compen-
T o co mp e ns atfeor an ex c e s s i v e lbyri g h t (o r d a rk )b a c k - sati on,the l andscape may appearunderexposed i n the
ground, target the main subject in the center of the fi nal pri nt. A l so,for backl i tsubj ects,i tmaybe necessary
f oc u si n gscreen,t hen per f o rmme te ri n g(i .e .,d e te rmi n e to move closerto ensureproperexposuremeasurement.
t he de g re eo f ex pos ur ey ou w a n t) b y m a k i n gth e n e c e s -
sary shutter speed andlor lens aperture adjustments.
E

o M e te ri ngwit h a br ight a re a i n th e c e n te rw i l l cause . For correctexposure,fi rst measurethe mai n subj ect;
u n d e re x pos urofe t he m a i n s u b j e c t. then,recomposeand shoot.
25
STOP.DOWNEXPOSURE
MEASUREMENT
T he va st se lec t ionof lens e sa v a i l a b l e fo r u s ew i th y o u r
N iko n FM i nc ludess om e w h i c h a re fi tte d n e i th e rw i th
an au to ma t icdiaphr agmn o r a m e te r c o u p l i n g ri d g e ,
b ot h o f whic h ar e es s enti ato l fu l l -a p e rtu ree x p o s u re
measu re mentT.he F M wo rk s e v e n w i th s u c h l e n s e s ,
thro u g h a n alt er nat iv eme th o d c a l l e d " s to p -d o w n "
ex posu reme as ur em entNo . te th a t w h e n th i s ty p e o f
lens i s u se dwit h t he c am e ra ,th e me te r c o u p l i n gl e v e r
shou l db e rais edand loc k edu p o u t o f w a y ma n u a l l yb y
depre ssi nagn d holdingt he c o u p l i n gl e v e rre l e a s b e u tto n ;
t o avo i d a cc ident aldam age m , a k e s u rey o u d o n o t u s e
ex ce ssi ve fo r c ewhen r ais ingu p th e l e v e r.
This i s h o w s t op- downex p o s u reme a s u re m e ni ts p e r-
f or me d .After y ou' v ec om po s e dy o u r p i c tu re ,mo v eth e
film advanceleverto its stand-offpositionand pressthe
'*j
cam e ra 'sd e pt h- of - f ieldpr e v i e w l e v e r. Ke e p th e l e v e r $r''
pr esse da, n d adjus teit her t h e s h u tte rs p e e dd i a l o r th e
lensa p e rtu rer ing ( or bot h) -u n ti l th e c o rre c te x p o s u re
indica to r(o ) LE D light sup. T h e n , re l e a s th e e l e v e ra n d
shoot.
It is a d vi sable, at all t im es ,to re fe r to th e i n s tru c ti o n
manu a lo f the lens in us ' e -e s p e c i a l li yf i t i s a fi x e d -
apertu rel e ns ( e. g. ,Ref lex -N i k k o r)o r o n e re q u i ri n ga
f o c u s i n gu n i t ( e . g . ,N i k k o r 1 2 0 0 m m f / 1 1 ) - w h e n p e r -
f ormi n g sto p- downex pos u reme a s u re m e n T t.h e s a m e
a ppli e sw h e n bellowsunit s , e x te n s i o nri n g s ,p re s e tl e n s
( e. g.,PC -N i k k or )et , c .ar eus e dw i th th e F M .

26
 www.butkus.us
ADIUSTMENT
COMPENSATION
EXPOSURE
"Correctexposure"is not an absoJute value.lt depends For very specializedapplication, consult both the
on the characteristics of the metering system,the film instruction manual of the accessoryin use and the
. hus ,a l l fi l m a n d c a m e rama n u - technicalliteratureprovided by the film manufacturer.
in us ea n d th e s ubjec t T
facturerscalibratetheir meters,usingthe correct rendi- Also, you will find the special18% reflectivegray card
tion of skin tonesasthe standardor most representative avai l abl efrom N i kon and maj or fi l m compani esespe-
of the vastmajority of shootingsubjects. c i al l yusefulfor copyi ngandgeneralstudi ow ork.
F or so me s pec ializ eds ub j e c t-a n d -fi l m c o m b i n a ti o n s ,
however,these meter calibrationsrequire some com-
pensationto be made in order to ensurecorrect ex-
posu reTh. e f ollowingt ablel i s tsth e c o rre c ti o n res q u i re d
for these combinations.Note that the correctionsare
listedin termsof exposurevalue,or EV. A changeof +1
EV, for instance,can be achievedby moving the lens
aperturering by one stop, or the shutterspeeddial by
one shutter speedindication(i.e.,a changefrom f 12 to
f12.8 representsa changeof +1 EV, and a changeof
shutterspeedsfrom 1l60 to 1/30 represents a changeof
-1 EV).

X
Repro-copying & sl ide-copying
Photo-
Letters or figures Letters or figures
B&W on on
m icrography
colorphoto light background dark background

Panchromatic No
film compensation +"1/2 stops -/2 stop I stop
for general use neceSsary

r#
 I n t e n t i o n a lm u l t i p l ee x p o s u r e( t w o o r m o r e e x p o s u r e s
on the sameframe) for creativeeffectsare easywith the
F M . F i r s t , m a k e t h e i n i t i a l e x p o s u r eT . h e n , s l i d et h e
m u l t i - e x p o s u rbeu t t o n a s f a r a s i t w i l l g o , a n d h o l d i t
while you stroke the film-advance lever;repeatth is p ro-
cedurefor eachadditionalexposureon the sameframe.
when you have achievedthe desirednumber of ex-
posures on the sameframe,release the button and stroke
t h e f i l m a d v a n c el e v e r o n c e m o r e . N o t e t h a t d u r i n g
m u l t i p l ee x p o s u r eo p e r a t i o n b, oth the camera'shutter
speedand the lensaperturecanbe freelychangedto any
settinga ; l s o ,t h e f r a m ec o u n t e rw i l l r e m a i na t t h e s a m e
s e t t i n gu n t i l t h e m u l t i - e x p o s u rbeu t t o n i s r e l e a s e d - a
c o n v e n i e nw t a y o f c o n f i r m i n gt h a t m u l t i p l ee x p o s u r e
o p e r a t i o ni s p r o c e eidn g p r o p e r l y .

28
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Flashphotographywith the FM is easy.The camerais
designed to synchronize with electronicflash at speeds
up to 11125sec.You canuseits hot-syncshoeto mount
a n yI S O - t y p ee l e c t r o n i cf l a s hu n i t o r s p e e d l i g hdti r e c t l y
onto the camera.For off-cameraflash photography', or
w h e nu s i n ga n o n - l S O - t y p sep e e d l i g h ty,o u w i l l n e e da
synccord to connectthe unit to the camera'sthreaded
syncterminal.

Shutter speed (sec.)

F l a s hb u l b
1 / 1 o olo1 / s o ol 1 l 2 s o t l 1 2 s l 1 l 6 0 l t l 3 o1 1 1 s 1 1 8 1 1 4 112 1 B

S p e e dl i g h t
TIPSON CAMERACARE
Tough and durable though your Nikon FM is, it is a precision I t i s b e s t t o s t o r e t h e c a m e r a i n a c a s eo r s o m e t h i n gs i m i l a r
o p t i c a l i n s t r u m e n t , a n d c a r e l e s so r r o u g h h a n d l i n g c a n c a u s e w h e n y o u ' r e n o t u s i n gi t . I n t h i s c a s e ,m a k e s u r e t h e c a m e r a ' s
i r r e p a r a b l ed a m a g e . O b s e r v e t h e f o l l o w i n g t i p s , a n d t h e c a m e r a s h u t t e r o r s e l f - t i m e r i s n o t c o c k e d ; a l s o , d o n ' t l e a v ef i l m i n
will alwayswork as perfectly as the day you bought it. t h e c a m e r ai f i t i s t o b e s t o r e d f o r a l o n g p e r i o d o f t i m e .
* R e m e m b e r t h a t t h e c a m e r a ' sc o n t r o l s a r e d e s i g n e dt o o p e r a t e Do not lubricate any part of the camera yourself; all such
w i t h a m i n i m u m o f p r e s s u r e .l f y o u f i n d y o u r s e l f e x e r t i n g w o r k s h o u l d b e l e f t t o a n a u t h o r i z e d N i k o n d e a l e ro r s e r v i c e
extra force, take it as a warning that you're doing something facility.
wrong. I t i s g o o d p r a c t i c e t o t e s t y o u r c a m e r af o r p r o p e r o p e r a t i o n
o K e e p a l l l e n s a n d p r i s m s u r f a c e sf r e e f r o m d u s t , d i r t a n d f i n - b e f o r e p r o c e d i n gt o y o u r s h o o t i n g a s s i g n m e n t .
g e r p r i n t s .T h e s e n o t o n l y i m p a i r v i e w i n g - t h e y a l s og e n e r a l l y O b s e r v e n o r m a l b a t t e r y h a n d l i n g p r o c e d u r e st o e n s u r e y o u r
result in a deterioration of optical performance.Clean such c a m e r a d e l i v e r sm a x i m u m p e r f o r m a n c ea t a l l t i m e s : ( 1 ) I n -
s u r f a c e se i t h e r w i t h a b l o w e r - t y p e b r u s h o r w i t h l e n s t i s s u e s t a l l b a t t e r i e sc o r r e c t l y ;( 2 ) c l e a nt h e m p e r i o d i c a l l yw i t h a d r y
m o i s t e n e d w i t h a b s o l u t e a l c o h o l . N e v e r u s e l e n s t i s s u ed r y - i t cloth; (3) remove batteries when the camera is stored for a
w i l l s c r a t c h t h e l e n s . I n g e n e r a l ,a v o i d u s i n g c l e a n i n gf l u i d s long period of time; (4) store unused batteriesin a cool, dry
a n d l e n s t i s s u ec o n t a i n i n gs i l i c o n e( i . e . , e y e g l a s st i s s u e ) . p l a c e ; ( 5 ) c h a n g e w e a k b a t t e r i e sp r o m p t l y t o p r e v e n t l e a k a g e
o W h e n l o a d i n g o r u n l o a d i n g f i l m , e n s u r et h a t t h e i n t e r i o r o f within the camera. Also, disposeof used batteriesproperly
the camerabody is free of dust, grit or chipsof film. Usea ( i . e . ,t h e y s h o u l d n e v e r b e b u r n t ) , a n d k e e p t h e m o u t o f t h e
blower brush to remove such foreign articles.Avoid touch- reach of children. For details on battery performance by
ing all internal surfaces,particularly the shutter mechanism b r a n d , r e f e r t o t h e l i t e r a t u r e a v a i l a b l ef r o m t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r .
a n d f i l m p r e s s u r ep l a t e .
o W h e n m o u n t i n g o r r e m o v i n g l e n s e s ,p r e v e n t t h e e n t r y o f f o r -
eign matter, and take extra care not to damage the rear por-
t i o n o f t h e l e n s . U s ea b l o w e r - t y p e b r u s h t o d o y o u r c l e a n i n g .
o U s e t h e c l e a n i n g c l o t h t o c l e a n t h e e x t e r n a l s u r f a c e so f t h e
c a m e r ab o d y .
o l f c o n d e n s a t i o ns h o u l d f o r m o n t h e l e n s s u r f a c e s( i . e . , w h e n
t h e c a m e r a i s e x p o s e d t o s u d d e n t e m p e r a t u r e c h a n g e so r t o
high humidity), dry the camera thoroughly at room tem-
perature without using anything before storing it in a cool,
dry place.
r S h o u l d y o u d r o p t h e c a m e r aa c c i d e n t a l l yo n t h e f l o o r o r i n
w a t e r ,t a k e i t t o a n a u t h o r i z e dN i k o n d e a l e ro r s e r v i c ef a c i l i t y
f o r s e r v i c i n gi m m e d i a t e l y .

30
 www.butkus.us
MOUNTINGAND REMOVINGLENSES
To mount a lensfitted with a metercouplingridge,first To mount a lensnot fitted with a metercouplingridge,
makesu re th at t he c am er a ' sm e te r c o u p l i n gl e v e ri s i n fi rst make surethat the camera' smetercoupl i ngl everi s
t he no rma lpos it ion( i. e. ,it p ro tru d e sfro m th e c a m e ra ' s l ockedup out of the w ay by pushi ngthe coupl i ngl ever
lensmo u n ti ngf lange) .P os i ti o nth e l e n si n th e fl a n g es o r el easeand manual l y l i fti ng the l ever up. Mounti ng
t hat th e mo unt ingindex on th e l e n si s a l i g n e dw i th th e procedurei s the sameasdescri bed previ ousl y. R emember
moun ti n gi n dex on t he c am e rab o d y . T h e n , tw i s t th e t hat stop-dow nexposuremeasurement i s requi redfor
e il it c l i c k sa n d l o c k si n to p l a c e .
lensco u n te r c loc k wisunt lensesof this type (seepage26).
T he l e n s'max im umaper t urei s a u to ma ti c a l liyn d e x e dto To removethe l ensfrom the camerabody, pressthe l ens
t heca me ra 'ms et erass oonas i t i s mo u n te d . r el easebutton and keepi t depressed w hi l e tw i sti ngthe
l enscl ockw i seas far as i t w i l l go. Li ft the l ensout w hen
i t comesl oose.
N o t e : T h e N i k o n F i s h e y e6 m m f / 5 . 6 a n d O P 1 0 m m f / 5 . 6 c a n n o t
b e u s e d w i t h t h e N i k o n F M , b e c a u s et h e c a m e r ad o e s n o t h a v e a
p r o v i s i o nf o r l o c k i n g t h e m i r r o r i n t h e " u p " p o s i t i o n .
 T h e N i k o n F M ' s o w n c o m p a c t m o t o r d r i v e .H a n d s o m e l y
f i n i s h e d i n b l a c k a n d d u r a b l y c o n s t r u c t e d ,t h e M D - 11
a t t a c h e st o t h e F M i n s e c o n d s ,r e q u i r i n ga b s o l u t e l yn o
m o d i f i c a t i o n o r s p e c i a la d j u s t m e n t o f t h e c a m e r ab o d y .
C o n t i n u o u sa n d s i n g l ef r a m e o p e r a t i o na v a i l a b l e w
, ith a
m a x i m u m s h o o t i n g s p e e do f 3 . 5 f r a m e s p e r s e c o n df r o m
11125 sec. to 1/.1000sec. Firing speed automatically
adjusted as shutter speed is adjusted. Built-in battery
pack contributes to overall reduced size and weight.
Fitted with remote control socket for use with Nikon
remote control accessories uch as the MT-l Intervalo-
meter and the MW-1 Radio RemoteControl Set.

)l
 www.butkus.us
tlCameraCases
R e c o m m e n d e d for storing camera body and lenses.
mo s t N i k k o r
Differentsizesav ailablet o a c c o m m o d a te
lenses.

n sH o o d s
mme n d edt o pr ev entex tra n e o ulsi g h tfro m s tri k i n g
t he le n s a n d c aus ingf lar e a n d g h o s t; a l s o u s e fu l fo r
pr ot ecti n gth e lens . A ll k in d s o f mo d e l sto ma tc h a l l
k i n d so f N i k k o rl e n s e s .

Filters
A wide selectionof sizesand typesto meet the needsof
color o r b l ac k - and- whit e
p h o to g ra p h y .T h e s e fi l te rs
w ork b e stwi th Nik k or lens e sa,n d v i c ev e rs aA
. l s o u s e fu l
for protectingthe front portion of the lens.

33
FEATURES/SPECIFICATION S
Type of camera:35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) tl32; meter poweredby two 1.5 silver-oxide batteries
Pictureformat: 24mm x 36mm (35mm film) S hutter: V erti cal -travel focal -pl ane shutterw i th speeds
Lensmount: Nikon F mount (bayonettype) from 1 to 111000sec.,pl us" B "
Len se sa va ilable: Nik k or 50 m mf 1 1 .4 ,f1 2 o r 5 5 m m tl l .Z R efl exmi rror: A utomati ci nstant-return type
as standard;more than 50 interchangeable Nikkor S eff-ti mer:C an be set for approx.8 - 14 sec.del ay;
le n se isn all setti ng" cancel l abl e"
Viewing system: Fixed eye-levelpentaprismviewfinder Film advancelever: Single-stroketype; 30" stand-off
with approx. 93% frame coverage;shutter speed posi ti on sw i tchesmeter on (fl ush posi ti onsw i tches
selectedindicatedin the viewfinder;lensapertureset- m e t e ro f f ) ; 1 3 5 " w i n d i n ga n g l e
ti n g i n d i c at edin t he v ie w fi n d e rw h e n l e n s i n u s ei s Frar,,- Lounter: A ddi ti ve type; automati cal l yresetsto
fitted with a meter coupling ridge and an aperture- " S ," tw o frames before " 0," w hen cameraback i s
direct-readoutlens aperture scale; matte Fresnel opened
focusingscreenwith central split-imagerangefinder Ffash synchronization: Built-in ISO-type hot-shoe
sp o t a n d m ic r opr is mr in g (s i mi l a rto N i k o n T y p e K contact with safety switch for synchronizationwith
screen) el ectroni cfl ashuni ts at speeds up to 11125sec.;sync
ExpostlIu., metering: Through-the-lens, center-weighted, termi nalprovi ded
f u l l a p e r t ur e ex pos urem e a s u re me nw t i th N i k k o r F i l n l r r ' , , , . , . iM
" a n u acl r a n k - t y p e
lensesfitted with metercouplingridge;stop-downex- C amera back: H i nged, sw i ng-opentype; removabl e;
po su re m eas ur em entap p l i e sfo r o th e r l e n s e s ;e x - m e m oh o l d e rp r o v i d e d
posurecorrectlyset by adjustingshutterspeedandlor D i m e n s i o n sA:p p r o x .1 4 2 m mx 8 9 . 5 m mx 6 0 . 5 m m
le n s a p e r t ur eunt il c or r e c t e x p o s u rei n d i c a to rL ED W e i g h t :A p p r o x .5 9 0 9( b o d yo n l y ) :
I
li g h ts u p; m et er c r os s -c o u p l ew d i th b o th l e n s d i a - l

p h ra g mand s hut t er s pe e dc o n tro l s ;me te ri n gra n g e :

I
-
E V 1 t o E V 1 8 ( i . e . , f1 1 . 4 , 1s e c . f 1 1 6 , 1 1 1 0 0s0e c . )
w i t h 5 0 m m f 1 1 . 4l e n s a t A S A 1 0 0 ; b u i l t - i nm e t e r
co u p l i n glev er c an be lo c k e d u p , e n a b l i n gu s e w i th
b o th Al -t y pe and non-A l -ty p eN i k k o r l e n s e sAS ; A
ra n g e1 2 - 3200; apertu rec o u p l i n gra n g ef 1 1 .2-
34
 www.butkus.us
riffi weisung. Vergleichen Sie auch die Ab-
bildungen auf der Riickseite.
A I t-tt)t 9la v > /tt E & = a h ). . * 74
(:R t)2fi6 t t CJ.'Y,t h )/ z fr7< a> TRES IMPORTANT
gH =tigm v zt- (*ffi8 nR) a +FL -L-fft- Ne manquez pas de verrouiller le levier
tr;t[qtB t/ = ti a ( ta u'" ;=$fiE(l{Fffi iH,FJ* de couplage photomdtrique en haut,
&:EFR( 11AL\O comme illustrd au verso, avant de
monter l'objectif ou accessoire sans
IMPORTANT index de couplage photom6trique in-
B e s u r e t o l o c k u p t h e c a m e r a ' sb u i l t - i n
m e t e r c o u p l i n g l e v e r ( s e ei l l u s t r a t i o n sa t terne. Reportez-vousau mode d'emploi
p o u r p l u 9 d. e d 6 t a i l s .
the back) before you mount a lens or
accessory not fitted with a meter cou- IMPORTANTE
PRECAUCION
pling ridge on it. Refer to the camera's Aseg0resede fijar arriba la palanca de
i n s t r u c t i o nm a n u a l f o r d e t a i l s . acoplamiento al exposimetro (vdaselas
i l u s t r a c i o n e sa t r d s ) a n t e s d e m o n t a r e l
ACHTUNG objetivo o accesorio que no tienen pro-
Vor Aufsetzen des Objecktivs oder
t u b e r a n c i ad e a c o p l a m i e n t o .C o n s u l t e e l
Zubehors ohne Blendenmitnehmer fi.ir
manual de instrucciones para mayores
A l , z u n i c h s t B l e n d e n m i t n e h m e(rk a m e r a -
detalles.
seitig) sperren. Fiir Einzelheiten ver-
weisen wir Sie auf die Gebrauchsan-
Nikorl

P r i n t e d i n J a p a n ( 8 0 . 2 . J O l&
' -12
IMPORTANT! www.butkus.us
Nikon
The camerabody you have purchasedis packaged
separatelyfrom the lens. Beforemountingthe lens,
checkif it is capableof AutomaticMaximumAper-
ture Indexing(Al) operationwith your camerabody
by verifyingthat the lens'apertureringis fitted with
a metercouplingridgeasillustrated to the right.Note
(tAi"
that the mark on the coverof the instruction
sheetprovidedwith Al Nikkor lensesis your assur-
ancethat the lensoffersthe Al feature.
lf the lensis fitted with the metercouplingridge,it is
fully capableof full-aperture exposuremeasurement
and automaticmaximumapertureindexing;to attach
it to the camera, follow the directions providedin the
fensmountingsectionof the camerabody instruction
manual.
lf the lensis.non-Al, stop-downexposuremeasure-
ment is requiredwith the camerabody'smetercou-
plingleverlockedup; to lock up the lever,follow the
directionsin the stop-downexposuremeasurement
sectionof the camerabody instructign manual.Then
attachthe lensaccordingto the instructions pro'i,ided
i n t h e l e n sm o u n t i n gs e c t i o n .
N o te : The m odif ic at io na t re a s o n a b l ec o s t o f mo s t non-A l
N i k k o r l e n s e sh a v i n g b o t h a n a u t o m a t i c d i a p h r a g ma n d
m e t e r c o u p l i n g p r o n g i s a v a i l a b l ef o r t h e c o n v e n i e n c e of
N i k k o r l e n s u s e r s .F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o nc o n c e r n i n gl e n s
m o d i f i c a t i o n ,p l e a s ec o n t a c t y o u r l o c a l a u t h o r i z e dN i k o n
dea l e r. P r i n t e di n J a p a n( 7 9 . 1 . E O )