Nikon FA Film Camera

I got my first FA as a hand-me-down from my Dad. I was 15 at the time, and this is the camera I learned 90% of what I know about photography using. That said, and sentimental attachments aside, this is an excellent camera.
This is not going to be an extremely technical review, so if you are looking for pure numbers, I would suggest doing a google search.

The FA is a solidly built, manual focus camera with an extremely good light meter, full manual, full automatic, and aperture and shutter priority mode. It accepts all AIs lenses (even auto focus if you want to use them in manual mode). The body is solid metal, and has some heft to it. No plastic parts.
It is smaller than most digital SLRs are now, but weighs about the same.


The camera does what all manual focus cameras do, but in general it just does them better. I have shot many manual focus cameras, including Nikon, Canon, Pentax and Minolta, and this is by far my favorite. Camera layout is Nikon standard with buttons where you would expect, and everything within easy reach. I cannot stress enough that of all the cameras I have used, this one feels the most natural and well balanced. Perhaps that is because it was my first, but judging from other reviews I've read, there are a lot of people who feel the same way.

This is an excellent 2nd or 3rd camera. It is great for taking into rougher areas where a more expensive camera might attract more attention. My current FA is pretty beat up looking, and not much of an enticement for a thief. Also, because of Nikon's attention to making their equipment backward compatible as well as forwards, you can use the camera as a back up to a more expensive digital or film camera. I shoot with a F100, a D200 and the FA. The majority of my lenses work on all three cameras.

For the money, you cannot buy a better manual focus camera. Most people prefer the black body over the silver and black, but I don't have a preference. They are both the same camera, so choose on taste; there is no difference between them.

Also, invest in either a Nikon 50mm F 1.8 or 50mm F 2.0 as the main working lens of the camera. If you don't have a good prime (fixed focal length) manual focus lens, and you are considering buying this camera, get one at the same time. You cannot beat the quality of images that you get using that combo.

This camera has been overlooked by many Nikon users. It came to the market at a time when most of the SLR users were still attached to all manual cameras. It was too advanced for many. So later, Nikon stepped back a little and marketed the FE2, which is bit more manual than FA (FE2 had aperture priority automation only). The FA enjoyed a better success than FA.

Both have much overlap in their specs, such as viewfinder percentage, same shutter assembly, same TTL flash, etc. The screen of both can be interchanged. I have used both, and FA's exposure system is more accurate than FE2. While FE2 allows exposure lock, FA uses matrix metering. I found FA has better accuracy on exposure. Given the two has the same shutter mechanism, I believe FA has better metering. Which was proven in latter models, such as F-801, F4 and so on. Of course, exposure lock will be nicer. Other than that, I find FA is more versatile. More exposure modes, and with MD-15, you also get higher speed than FE2.

This is an excellent camera. Very well designed for manual and automatic use. A pleasure to use with a very wide range of Nikon lenses available on Ebay. If you like film photography this is a great all around camera to use.

I it because it's a classic camera. It has a lot of features like Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual. It also has View Finder Information like LCD exporsure display. ADR f-number, shutter speed indication, and flash ready-light.

The camera is fine, but I would not have graded it as "near mint" as advertised...it is more like "8+" or "9" on a scale similar to B&H Photo, New York. To me, "near mint" meant "10-". The baseplate has obvious brassing around the tripod screw-tread. There are obvious signs of wear on the MD15 and parts of the body. In addition, the mirror foam broke apart after one roll of film. A screw was missing but was quickly replaced by the seller. To bring it up to expectations, I installed a new mirror foam ($9), and replaced the baseplate with a nicer looking used one (est. $30). The back cover had a scratch but that doesn't matter since all my cameras have their back covers replaced by a data back. As advertised, it worked perfectly without issues. Light meter and shutter speeds appear accurate. No problem with shutter blades. The focus screen is very clean. This camera should serve me well over the next 10-20 years (I hope)...can't wait to take it on an African safari.

good seller!!

fast shipping..^^

the condition of item is as same as discrived.

i'm very impressed by this seller!!

a great camera with classic Nikon 'F' series look and modern camera functions. an ables you to use the familar 'P', 'S', 'A' and 'M' modes. fantastic built and easy to use. a great buy!