Past lives: The stories about Nikon Z fc and Nikon FM2 cameras.

Nikon officially launched the first retro micro-single Zfc in Z series in June, 20021. Nikon Zfc is both familiar and unfamiliar to Nikon's old users, because the appearance of Nikon Zfc is a tribute to FM2 introduced by Nikon 1982. There are not many players who still insist on taking photos with FM2, but many people collect FM2. I also borrowed this classic Nikon FM2 from a friend, so I will share with you some secrets that I discovered from these two machines.

Nikon Zfc and Nikon FM2 are products with a difference of 39 years, and there is no comparability in performance. One is a digital micro-camera and the other is a film camera, which are completely different in nature. However, it should be noted that Nikon FM2 is the world's first 35mm SLR camera with a shutter of 1/4000 seconds, which was a great test for the technology at that time, but Nikon also did it.

39 years ago, Nikon FM2 had a strong sense of industrial design, and it was made of metal from top to bottom, so it was very durable. At that time, its powerful performance was that the synchronization speed of flash reached 1/200 seconds, which was a great test for technology and materials. From today's point of view, this retro taste of the old times is particularly pleasing, so today's Z fc has come into being.

Nikon Z fc and Nikon FM2 are very similar at first glance, but if you look closely, you will find more and more differences. The better the taste, the better. The first is the Warship Department. Nikon FM2' s warship department is pyramid-shaped. The sculpture of "Nikon" adopts the LOGO of Nikon's manual SLR era. Looking closely, it is different from the current D series SLR and Z series micro-single, very chic and full of retro feeling.

Model identification, FM2 is on the left side of the front and Zfc is on the right side of the front. In terms of bayonet, FM2 uses F bayonet and Zfc uses Z bayonet with larger caliber.

Times have created advanced optical technology. Nikon Zfc and Nikon FM2 have different lenses because of different bayonet sizes. Nikon Zfc is an APS-C format camera, but it can directly use the Quan Huafu lens Nikel Z28mmf/2.8(SE), or it can also transfer the 50mmF 1.4 lens on FM2 through the bayonet adapter. During the span of decades, it can consistently maintain compatibility, which is definitely the best gift for old users.

The top design including the position of the turntable is very similar. It is inevitable that Nikon Zfc does not have an overwinding wrench, and it is replaced by an exposure compensation turntable. What I like best is that the turntable is also designed with white characters on a black background, which is very old-fashioned

One thing is that Nikon Zfc still keeps a small aperture window, which is very surprising. To meet the needs of the times, as a digital camera, I think it is necessary to have an independent video button. By the way, the turntable is carefully carved by aluminum alloy, and the high-light design at the corners is very spiritual.

On the other side of the turntable, Nikon Zfc can realize shooting mode conversion and ISO quick setting with only one turntable.

As the essence of Nikon for many years, both Nikon Zfc and Nikon FM2 have adopted a circular viewfinder design. But the nature is completely different. Nikon FM2 is a common optical viewfinder for SLR cameras, and Nikon Zfc is a 2.36 million-point electronic viewfinder for micro-cameras. As far as I know, many old Nikon users like this design very much. It is very comfortable to shoot in a wide, bright and horizontal direction, and it is very large.

Meanwhile, the back is the biggest difference between the two cameras.

There are no operation buttons on the back of Nikon FM2, and no operation buttons are needed. Because for the film camera, the whole back is used to open the film and load it, naturally there is no electronic menu choice. Nikon Zfc is different. The layout of buttons on the back of the fuselage follows the design of Z50, including direction keys, zoom-in keys and exposure locks. Play and delete, etc. , very intuitive and easy to use. And in all Nikon cameras, it is the first to join the design of flip screen, which is very convenient to use whether taking pictures or videos.

Let's look at the bottom. When the manual knob at the bottom is turned on, the battery can be installed for metering. Nikon Zfc uses an EN-EL25 lithium battery. After all, it is a new generation camera. It adopts a single SD card slot design and is installed at the bottom together with the battery.

As a retro Zfc that focuses on the young market, of course, there is a killer, that is, the multi-color body is optional.

In addition to the optional multi-color fuselage, Nikon also pioneered the paid replacement of the fuselage skin. You don't have to worry about buying one color, but consider another color. Nikon officially supports color change, and your personality should not be restricted.

Summary:

Even today, there are still many friends who like to play with film SLR and take photos with FM2. The unique texture of film is difficult to completely copy, but the ease of use of digital is beyond the film's reach. Nikon Zfc and Nikon FM2 seem to be different products of two eras, but they are actually the same source. They are all important products in the history of Nikon optics, and they are all confirmed by Nikon technology. Friends who are obsessed with the appearance of FM2 can see its shadow on Zfc in the future, and can also record every beautiful moment in life with Nikon's advanced optical technology. So Nikon Zfc is traditional, but it is also innovative. What remains unchanged is Nikon's spirit of "images come from the heart".