The Nikon FG is an interchangeable lens,

35 mm film 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on f ...

single-lens reflex A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex" from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin le ...

(SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Nippon Kogaku K. K. (

Nikon Corporation (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, camera ...

since 1988) in Japan from 1982 to 1986. The FG was the successor to the

Nikon EM The Nikon EM is a beginner's level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Nippon Kogaku K. K. (today Nikon Corporation) in Japan from 1979 to 1982 (available new from dealer stock until circ ...

camera of 1979 and the predecessor of the Nikon FG-20 of 1984. These three cameras composed Nikon's first family of ultra compact 35mm SLR camera bodies. Although the FG had a much less advanced shutter than the more expensive Nikons of the day, it had a very sophisticated electronic design compared to earlier electromechanical Nikons.

Features

* First Nikon SLR with programmed auto-exposure (AE). * First Nikon SLR with TTL (through the lens) flash exposure control from a standard ISO-type hot shoe. * Electronically controlled focal plane shutter. * Exposure compensation dial (−2 EV to +2 EV). * Audio warning system – advises of under or over exposure. * Back-up mechanical M90 shutter setting enables use of the camera when batteries are drained.

Body and Design

Body Construction

*Copper silumin aluminum alloy body *Polycarbonate exterior *Leatherette (synthetic) covering *Metal lens mount

Exposure Control and Metering

The FG's metering system is controlled by a micro-computer which measures center-weighted brightness, using a sensitive silicon photodiode (SPD) sensor. The metering system performs 'instant stop down metering', where the meter reading is taken after the lens is stopped down but before the mirror flips up and the shutter opens. In 'P' (Programmed AE) mode, the micro-computer calculates stepless aperture (f/stop) and stepless shutter speed using pre-programmed values. In 'A' (Aperture Priority AE) mode, the micro-computer calculates a stepless shutter speed for a given user-selected aperture value. In 'M' (Manual Exposure Control) mode, the user selects both aperture and shutter speed, and the metering system provides a suggested shutter speed (indicated in the viewfinder) for the selected aperture.

Viewfinder

The viewfinder consists of a fixed, eye-level pentaprism providing a magnification of 0.84x, with a 50 mm lens set at infinity and approximately 92% frame coverage. The focusing screen is a standard Nikon 'K-type' screen with: * clear-matte/Fresnel field * central split-image rangefinder spot * microprism collar and 12 mm-diameter reference circle (indicates center-weighted metering area). Displayed on the right side of the viewfinder are: * A vertical shutter speed scale with LEDs to indicate both the user selected and camera suggested shutter speed (in 'M' mode) and the value selected ('P' and 'A' modes) by the camera's metering system. * Triangular warning LEDs at the top and bottom of the shutter speed scale, to indicate over- or under-exposure. * A flash ready-light opposite a thunderbolt symbol at the bottom of the shutter speed.

Flash Exposure Control

The FG was also Nippon Kogaku’s first amateur level SLR to have through-the-lens

TTL TTL may refer to: Photography * Through-the-lens metering, a camera feature * Zenit TTL, an SLR film camera named for its TTL metering capability Technology * Time to live, a computer data lifespan-limiting mechanism * Transistor–transistor lo ...

off-the-film (OTF) electronic flash automation. However this technology was first introduced with the

Olympus OM-2 The Olympus OM-2 is a single-lens reflex film system camera produced by Olympus of Japan. Main features The Olympus OM-2 is an aperture-priority automatic-exposure camera (with full manual operation selected via switch), based on the earlier, su ...

in 1976.http://www.olympus-global.com/en/corc/history/camera/om.cfm Olympus Official Historical Site and was also used previously in the

Nikon F3 The Nikon F3 was Nikon's third professional single-lens reflex camera body, preceded by the F and F2. Introduced in 1980, it had manual and semi-automatic exposure control whereby the camera would select the correct shutter speed (aperture pri ...

introduced in 1980. TTL OTF flash exposure control is more precise than previous methods as it measures the flash exposure at the film plane rather than at the flash itself. Correct flash exposure is achieved via a SPD cell at the base of the mirror box, which measures light reflected back from the film plane. The FG can only connect to flashes via the hot shoe connection, as it lacks a PC sync socket. Flashes which do not have a hot shoe can be used with a hot shoe-sync cord adapter.

Lens Compatibility

* The FG requires Automatic Indexing (AI) Nikkor lenses for P and A modes to function. Lenses with AI capability include AI and AI-s type Nikkor lenses and Nikon Series E Lenses. * The following Non-AI and AI-converted lenses are not usable with the Nikon FG: ** Non-AI (requires AI modification) ** AI-converted 55mm/1.2 ser.# 184711-400000 ** AI-converted 28mm/3.5 ser.# 625611-999999 ** AI-converted 35mm/1.4 ser.# 385001-400000 ** Fisheye 6mm/5.6 (requires mirror lock-up) ** Fisheye 10mm/5.6 OP (requires mirror lock-up) ** PC Nikkor 28mm/4 below ser.# 180900 ** PC Nikkor 35mm/2.8 ser.# 851001-906200 ** Reflex Nikkor 1000mm/11 ser. # below 1430000 ** Reflex Nikkor 2000mm/11 ser. # below 200311 ** Zoom Nikkor 200-600mm/9.5 ser. # below 301922 ** Zoom Nikkor ED 180-600mm/8 ser. # below 174180 ** Zoom Nikkor ED 360-1200mm/11 ser. # below 17412 ** Focusing unit AU-1 * G-type lenses lack an aperture ring and do not couple with the indexing ring on the FG. The P mode does not function. The A mode will suggest a shutter speed for the available light. The aperture can be stopped down by slightly unscrewing the lens. * Autofocus Nikkor lenses will mount correctly but autofocus does not function.

Vibration reduction Image stabilization (IS) is a family of techniques that reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera or other imaging device during exposure. Generally, it compensates for pan and tilt (angular movement, equivalent to yaw and pit ...

(if fitted) does not function. * DX Nikkor lenses will mount correctly, but the reduced

image circle The image circle is the cross section of the cone of light transmitted by a lens or series of lenses onto the image plane. When this light strikes a perpendicular target such as photographic film or a digital camera sensor, it forms a circle of ...

does not cover the full 35mm film frame, so there will be more or less strong vignetting, depending on the model. All DX lenses are G-type or E-type lenses, so P and A modes will not be available. * IX ( APS format) lenses extend too far into the camera and may cause damage. The reduced image circle does not cover the full 35mm film frame

Accessories

Motor Drives

MF-15 databack

* Sequential frame count. * Sequential frame numbering. * Time or date stamping on the film.

Nikon Speedlights

The FG can be used with any dedicated Nikon speedlights (flashes) which support TTL flash exposure, and any non-dedicated flash units in either automatic or manual modes. Dedicated, hot shoe mounted Nikon speedlights available during the time the FG was manufactured were the SB-E, SB-15, SB-16B, SB-18 and SB-19.

Background and design history

The 1970s and 1980s were an era of intense competition between the major SLR brands:

Nikon (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, camera ...

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Minolta was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It made the first integrated autofocu ...

Pentax is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for DSLR cameras, lenses, sport optics (including binoculars and rifle scopes), and CCTV optics. The Pentax brand is also used by Hoya Corporation ...

and Olympus. This was in part a result of rapid advances in electronics at the time, which allowed new cameras to be released more frequently and with more automated features than had been possible previously. Between c. 1975 to 1985, there was a dramatic shift away from heavy all-metal manual mechanical camera bodies to much more compact bodies with

integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

(IC) electronic automation. As a result of the manufacturing climate of the time, the EM and subsequent FG and FG-20 were released with much lower price points, and more compact and user-friendly bodies than previous Nikons, to appeal to the amateur photographer market. The FG was intended to improve on the short-comings of the EM (which had no manual override) and to compete with other programmed SLRs of the time, such as the

Canon AE-1 Program The Canon AE-1 Program is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera that uses Canon's FD mount lenses. It was introduced in April 1981 as the successor to the Canon AE-1, five years after that camera's introduction. The major difference was the ...

(released 1981) the

Minolta X-700 The Minolta X-700 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex film camera introduced by Minolta in 1981. It was the top model of their final manual-focus SLR series before the introduction of the auto-focus Minolta Maxxum 7000. Features The X-700 used ...

(released 1981) or the

Pentax Super Program is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for DSLR cameras, lenses, sport optics (including binoculars and Telescopic sight, rifle scopes), and Closed-circuit television, CCTV optics. The ...

(in the USA/Canada; Super A, rest of the world; 1983).

Market Reception

The FG was well received by many amateur photographers, but was criticised by others due to the lower build-quality and reliability when compared to other Nikons of the same era. The FG has known reliability issues, particularly with its shutter components and ICs.

Compared to Nikon EM and FG-20

The major improvements of the FG compared to the EM were improved exterior cosmetics, internal printed circuit electronics, the addition of the manual exposure and programmed autoexposure modes, and provision for TTL flash automation. The FG-20 is a simplified version of the Nikon FG, with no Programmed AE mode, no TTL OTF flash, and no exposure control, but retaining Aperture Priority AE, and manual and auto flash exposure control.

References

External links

Nikon FG information page
at mir.com.my

from Nikon Corp online archives

{{Nikon 35mm Film SLR Cameras FG FG