I've always like the EM. My dad bought one when it first came out, and I used it a lot. I don't think it looks cheap; in fact I think it looks quite sharp. Especially when compared to its contemporaries like the Pentax K1000. It's small, light, and satisfying to use. I was thinking of getting one for old times sake. In general, I think cameras have gotten far too large. Modern cameras are very capable, but no one seems to be making SLR's like the OM2 or similar. Everything's heavy and enormous. The EM was the smallest Nikon SLR ever made.
Nice video - I like the placement of the new logo. I bought a used EM last year from the original owner who said it only had one roll of film through it. And like yours, it was surprisingly in like new condition. Even the foam seals were decent. I shot a roll of ColorPlus 200 during a day trip last summer and it worked out great using the Series E 50mm (which made for a nice compact system). Overall it worked great but it's not my favorite camera since I prefer to tweak the settings and not rely on electronics to do the exposure settings. It was a fun thing to try though.
I agree with you in not liking the EM. I do not have a problem with plastic bodies as it reduces weight, but the plastic rewind post that commonly breaks is unforgivable. I have three FA's and two FG's. I love them. I prefer the FA, but I like the simple pleasures of the FG. But then, I know I am odd, because I am one of the few people who likes the F70. Nobody is perfect :)
These days we tend to think of SLRs as being high quality cameras aimed at pros or advanced amateurs. But from the 70s through to the digital age there was a huge market for low end SLRs and the EM is typical of cameras aimed at that market. Yes, it's very basic and with mediocre build quality but was entirely adequate for it's intended users.
Absolutely. It was built cheaply for enthusiasts/first timers, not war photographers. I enjoyed using mine very much. Good ones aren't even cheap any more either.
WD40 on a rag works better than alcohol at taking off that sticky goo. I bought a used old space mouse (indepensable for CAD) that was covered in that schmoo. It takes a while, but the wd40 helps keep it from sticking back to itself. Wd40 is an underused solvent.
EM is the last camera I added to the collection... I was not disappointed, the camera was mint and it does what it is supposed to do but it was a completely unnecessary, underwhelming purchase. I wanted to say that everything about it is mediocre, but it's not, it's actually subpar. Nikon did a great job giving us a decent camera but not a bit above that. I would call Pentax P30 a mediocre camera and P30 is better in almost every way than EM. The only thing I like is that it looks nice on the shelf as a pair next to the F3. So I decided to make EM a camera for situations where equipment could be damaged... I found no other reason to use it. I look forward to your review of Pentax 17, all the best!
I couldn’t agree more. I picked one up 20 years ago and was immediately disappointed. Want the EM even worse? Slap a Series E lens on it.. and that ugly plastic beige colored case.. Out of the dozen or so that I have, maybe half of them are working. That being said, it is a cheap way to get into the big bad N.
In my film only days, I used the Nikon EM as a low-cost disposable backup to my Nikon F2, F3, and F4 cameras. It served me well; except for the time when I used it to photograph a football game in the rain and discovered that it did not perform well when wet.
No doubt, some insect repellents can melt some plastics over time. Think about that when you put it on your skin (and probably ingest some from your not-completely-clean hands).
Mainly plastic components, floppy advance lever, hollow sounding shutter, the entire ASA assembly perpetually moments away from sheering off. I have a lot of issues with it from a repair perspective but after just shooting with it I enjoyed the experience and will be making a follow up video when I have the results back from the lab
@@RompingBronco fair, these perspectives are very different indeed! And the cost/availability of EM makes it pretty much disposable. What are your thoughts on FG then?
I'd say while limiting in its features it offers a cheap way into using HQ Nikkor glass so that you don't have to shell out hundreds of USD before you test out the Nikon waters. It also allows novice users to join in on the film photography train without having to learn all of the manual features. I've seen kids burn trough several rolls of film before getting a single usable photo with old rangefinders. Overall, I like cameras like Nikon EM, Pentax ME, Konica TC or Yashica FX-D because they can be really fun to take out for day to day casual photography and get you some great results along the way. You can bring out the big guns for special occasions.
I've always like the EM. My dad bought one when it first came out, and I used it a lot. I don't think it looks cheap; in fact I think it looks quite sharp. Especially when compared to its contemporaries like the Pentax K1000. It's small, light, and satisfying to use. I was thinking of getting one for old times sake. In general, I think cameras have gotten far too large. Modern cameras are very capable, but no one seems to be making SLR's like the OM2 or similar. Everything's heavy and enormous. The EM was the smallest Nikon SLR ever made.
Nice video - I like the placement of the new logo. I bought a used EM last year from the original owner who said it only had one roll of film through it. And like yours, it was surprisingly in like new condition. Even the foam seals were decent. I shot a roll of ColorPlus 200 during a day trip last summer and it worked out great using the Series E 50mm (which made for a nice compact system). Overall it worked great but it's not my favorite camera since I prefer to tweak the settings and not rely on electronics to do the exposure settings. It was a fun thing to try though.
I agree with you in not liking the EM. I do not have a problem with plastic bodies as it reduces weight, but the plastic rewind post that commonly breaks is unforgivable.
I have three FA's and two FG's. I love them. I prefer the FA, but I like the simple pleasures of the FG.
But then, I know I am odd, because I am one of the few people who likes the F70. Nobody is perfect :)
RIP Yotes 😥
These days we tend to think of SLRs as being high quality cameras aimed at pros or advanced amateurs. But from the 70s through to the digital age there was a huge market for low end SLRs and the EM is typical of cameras aimed at that market.
Yes, it's very basic and with mediocre build quality but was entirely adequate for it's intended users.
Absolutely. It was built cheaply for enthusiasts/first timers, not war photographers. I enjoyed using mine very much. Good ones aren't even cheap any more either.
Ive used hand sanitizer to remove the sticky goop from a nikon n80 and brought it back to a non sticky state again.
Brave man!
What do you think of the sunny 16 method?
WD40 on a rag works better than alcohol at taking off that sticky goo. I bought a used old space mouse (indepensable for CAD) that was covered in that schmoo. It takes a while, but the wd40 helps keep it from sticking back to itself. Wd40 is an underused solvent.
EM is the last camera I added to the collection... I was not disappointed, the camera was mint and it does what it is supposed to do but it was a completely unnecessary, underwhelming purchase. I wanted to say that everything about it is mediocre, but it's not, it's actually subpar. Nikon did a great job giving us a decent camera but not a bit above that. I would call Pentax P30 a mediocre camera and P30 is better in almost every way than EM.
The only thing I like is that it looks nice on the shelf as a pair next to the F3. So I decided to make EM a camera for situations where equipment could be damaged... I found no other reason to use it.
I look forward to your review of Pentax 17, all the best!
I also have a working one - it does feel rather cheap, but if you are just shooting AP auto its not a bad camera if you have Nikkor lenses I guess.
I couldn’t agree more. I picked one up 20 years ago and was immediately disappointed. Want the EM even worse? Slap a Series E lens on it.. and that ugly plastic beige colored case.. Out of the dozen or so that I have, maybe half of them are working. That being said, it is a cheap way to get into the big bad N.
In my film only days, I used the Nikon EM as a low-cost disposable backup to my Nikon F2, F3, and F4 cameras. It served me well; except for the time when I used it to photograph a football game in the rain and discovered that it did not perform well when wet.
No doubt, some insect repellents can melt some plastics over time. Think about that when you put it on your skin (and probably ingest some from your not-completely-clean hands).
Enjoy your course of camera aversion therapy. Looking forward to the results!
So hating it before using and and the only listed flaw is “they rarely work” 👌
Mainly plastic components, floppy advance lever, hollow sounding shutter, the entire ASA assembly perpetually moments away from sheering off. I have a lot of issues with it from a repair perspective but after just shooting with it I enjoyed the experience and will be making a follow up video when I have the results back from the lab
@@RompingBronco fair, these perspectives are very different indeed! And the cost/availability of EM makes it pretty much disposable. What are your thoughts on FG then?
I'd say while limiting in its features it offers a cheap way into using HQ Nikkor glass so that you don't have to shell out hundreds of USD before you test out the Nikon waters.
It also allows novice users to join in on the film photography train without having to learn all of the manual features. I've seen kids burn trough several rolls of film before getting a single usable photo with old rangefinders.
Overall, I like cameras like Nikon EM, Pentax ME, Konica TC or Yashica FX-D because they can be really fun to take out for day to day casual photography and get you some great results along the way. You can bring out the big guns for special occasions.