Nikon EM Camera

A Sketch of the Nikon EM


Nikon EM





















Nikon EM



This view of the Nikon EM shows the button that increases the exposure by two stops for shooting backlit subjects. It is on the front of the top plate to the right of the lens as you look at the front of the camera. Beneath the rewind knob, at the top right, is the ISO (ASA) setting knob. The small silver button on top of the camera to the right of the shutter release button is for testing the battery. Behind it, unseen in this photo, is the battery test light.

Note that the shutter release button is in the center of the advance lever hub. It is threaded for a cable release. To the left of the shutter release button, on the deck of the top plate, is a window that shows the film counter and the switch for setting "AUTO" (aperture priority exposure control), M90 (mechanical 1/90 second), and "B" (bulb).


Nikon EM





















Nikon EM



This view shows the hard, plastic Nikon EM carrying case, FB-E, containing an EM with a 50mm f 1.8 Series E lens and an MD-E motor drive mounted; an SB-E flash in the center; and two lenses, a 100mm Series E and a 35mm Series E in the bay on the right. The camera and flash are held in place by pressure from the foam rubber in the lid. Missing in this case is the original Styrofoam insert which provided compartments for each of the lenses. Without the insert, the two lenses should be packed in leather bags to keep them from hitting each other when the case is carried.

To the right of the hard case is the soft body case for the EM. It can't be stored inside the hard case. In the bottom right of the photo is the case for the SB-E flash. Between it and the other EM are an MD-E motor drive (top) and an SB-E flash (bottom).

The MD-E motor drive uses a nylon drive gear on the motor shaft that is similar to that used on the AW-1 auto-winder used with the Nikkormat ELW and EL2. The gears on the MD-E drives seem to be more reliable than those on the AW-1 which often split. However, I have found an MD-E motor drive that had a split Nylon drive gear. I replaced it with a brass replacement gear for the AW-1 motor winder, and it works fine (see the web page about the Nikkormat ELW and EL2).



The Nikon EM was introduced in 1979, one year after its big brother, the Nikon FE, came out. Some say that the EM functionality is remarkably similar to that of the FE, and that it was designed to be an entry-level version of the FE.


Nikon FE





















Nikon FE, 1978 - 1984



While the FE has become a valued classic, the EM has been nearly forgotten: a stepchild in a family of great photographic machines. A look at the used market tells the story. EM bodies can be purchased for US$40 to US$100 while the FE is more valuable. One way to compare these cameras and, at the same time, illustrate the capabilities of the EM is to highlight the similarities and the differences between the two.




Similarities between the EM and FE


  • Light emitting diode (LED) indicator for testing the battery. Depressing a switch brightly illuminates the led if the battery is good. As the battery's energy dissipates, the led dims.
  • Rapid film advance lever
  • Manual rewind knob
  • Flash foot atop the prism housing
  • Dial to set the film ASA
  • Pocket on the back to hold a flap from the film box to identify the film in the camera
  • Sprocket drive clutch button on the bottom to rewind the film
  • Accommodations for a motor drive (although the cameras do not use the same model motor drive)
  • Self-timer
  • Aperture Index (AI) tab to couple the lens aperture to the body for metering
  • Vertical shutter
  • Aperture Priority exposure capability
  • Meter indication in the viewfinder on the left side, represented by a black needle that points to the shutter speed
  • 1/1000th of a second shutter
  • No mirror up-lock (however, in both cameras, using the self-timer to initiate the exposure effectively locks the mirror in the "up" position to lessen mirror-induced vibration)
  • The famed metal Nikon lens mount (some camera manufacturers place plastic lens mounts on their less expensive models)
  • The internal body is made of brass.




Differences between the EM and FE



  • The EM outer body is plastic while the FE's is metal
  • The EM body is smaller than the FE's
  • The EM does not have a depth of field preview capability while the FE does
  • The EM focusing screen cannot be changed while the FE's can be swapped
  • The EM metering is automatic, using aperture priority, while the FE can be operated in manual as well as aperture priority modes
  • To accommodate setting the shutter speed manually, the FE has a dial on the top while the EM has no such dial
  • The EM has a button that increases the exposure by two stops to allow photographing back-lit subjects
  • The EM does not allow for double exposures while the FE does
  • Flash synchronization speed for the EM is 1/90th of a second while that of the FE is 1/125th
  • The EM shutter speed indicator in the viewfinder shows a low speed of 1 second while the FE's is 8 seconds
  • The EM lacks the external flash sync connector that the FE has
  • The EM can only mount Aperture Indexed (AI) lenses, but the FE AI tab can be raised so that it can mount non-AI lenses
  • The EM accepts the MD-E motor drive while the FE takes the MD-11 or MD-12 motor drives




Conclusions

The above differences show that the EM has a narrower envelope of operational capability than the FE.  It can't take as lengthy exposures as the FE, nor can it be run in manual exposure mode.

However, within its operational parameters, in aperture priority mode, the EM works as well as the FE. The EM is definitely no "point-and-shoot" camera. Probably, the biggest factor in defense of the EM is that it can mount any Nikon-mount AI lens, with the exception of some super-wide lenses that require mirror lock-up.

In theory, in average situations, a professional photographer could grab an EM body, mount a US$4,000 high-performance Nikkor lens, and produce the same results he would have using a professional Nikon body such as an F2, F3, F4, F5, or F100. However, for special applications, such as sports photography, the fast film advance, autofocus, and a vast array of other capabilities of the professional Nikons is necessary.

Does this mean that professionals sometimes carry an EM as a back-up body? Not likely, but there may be an obscure story or two out there about a professional photographer who gets into a bind where his number-one F4 or F5 is unavailable at the moment (perhaps out of film or mounted with a lens of a different focal length), and he grabs an EM from somewhere (an amateur hands it to him?), quickly mounts a lens on it and takes successful, award-winning exposures. (Well, it doesn't hurt to imagine!)

But we're not done yet. The plastic outer body parts of the EM are nearly bullet-proof. If the EM was a market test for the durability of plastic bodies, it was a success, and the result has been Nikon's use of plastic in bodies for many of their cameras. An EM body is very tough. Although the body will scratch and abrade, it doesn't "brass" (there is no black paint or chromium plating to wear off as there is on metal bodies), and it doesn't dent. If you make a "reasonable" drop of an EM (the body doesn't crack), it will bounce. Under similar conditions, a metal body will dent.

Let's talk reliability. This isn't an easy subject to analyze because the hardest use to which a camera can be subjected is being worked, full-time by a professional in the field. Professionals treat their cameras hard, like they were oil well drilling tools, not like the delicate, precision electro-mechanical instruments they are. They get banged around. They get banged on doorways, rocks, car doors and trunks, not to mention that two cameras, carried together, often bang into each other. This isn't to say pros disregard their equipment. To the contrary, they know how much their cameras can take, and they really don't care what they look like as long as they work. As a result, a pro's Nikon may look beat up on the outside, but on the inside, it is still a perfectly working machine. On the job, the pro isn't a camera collector; he or she is a camera user.

Few EMs ever experience this kind of torture. However, most used EMs seem to work once the batteries are replaced and the battery contacts cleaned. Is this because they fell out of favor and weren't heavily used by their owners? Or that when they broke they were tossed out? That is difficult to determine, but the fact remains that there are many EMs on the market, and most of them work. That doesn't mean you can't run across one that is inoperable, but, if you do, it is probably not economical to have it repaired.

In summary, the EM is a quality camera that has limited capabilities, yet, when operated within its operating parameters, it performs very well. It is a durable camera that will accept many Nikkor lenses.