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Tech · Nikon · 1983

Nikon FE2

The FM2's sibling with aperture priority. Easier to shoot, but it needs a battery for everything except 1/250.

35mm film SLRs still worth buying used — #2

Overall

8.2

out of 10

Axis scores

Strongest on Performance (8.8), weakest on Value (7.2), a 1.6-point spread. The 8.2 overall is the plain average of all 5 Tech axes, with no weighting.

Nikon FE2 — axis scores out of 10Horizontal bar chart of editorial scores out of 10 across 5 axes. Bars run from a shared zero baseline; longer is better. Nikon FE2: Performance 8.8, Value 7.2, Durability 8.4, Ease of use 8.6, Design 8.2.PerformanceNikon FE2 — Performance 8.8 out of 108.8ValueNikon FE2 — Value 7.2 out of 107.2DurabilityNikon FE2 — Durability 8.4 out of 108.4Ease of useNikon FE2 — Ease of use 8.6 out of 108.6DesignNikon FE2 — Design 8.2 out of 108.2Editorial score out of 10 — higher is better
  • Performance — How well it does the core job
  • Value — What the same money buys elsewhere
  • Durability — Failure and fade reports past the one-year mark
  • Ease of use — Setup, daily operation, cleaning, maintenance
  • Design — Build quality and how it sits in a room

Specs

Shutter
Electronic, 8 s to 1/4000 s; mechanical 1/250 s and B
Modes
Aperture priority, manual
Flash sync
1/250 s
Metering
Center-weighted, needle readout
Power
Two SR44 cells
Mount
Nikon F (AI)

As published by the manufacturer. We didn't measure these ourselves.

Is it for you

Buy it if

  • You want to set the aperture and let the camera pick the shutter speed
  • Long exposures, since the automatic mode runs as long as 8 seconds
  • You'd like the FM2's lens mount and shutter range with less thinking per frame

Skip it if

  • You'll shoot in deep cold, where weak batteries leave only 1/250 and B
  • You want the fully mechanical body, which is the FM2

The FE2 shares the FM2’s body shell, top shutter speed, and lens mount, but its shutter is electronically timed. Set the dial to A and it chooses the shutter speed from the meter, which suits street photography and fast-changing light. Without power you still get a mechanical 1/250 and B, enough to finish a roll.

The needle meter shows the actual shutter speed the camera picked. Many owners find that easier to learn from than the FM2’s LEDs.

It sits just behind the FM2 here because electronics are what fail first on a 40-year-old camera, and the FE2 depends on them. In practice repair shops report it as a dependable body. It just isn’t as indestructible as its mechanical sibling.

When you shop, ask the seller to show the needle moving in A mode with a battery in. A dead meter on an FE2 also means a dead auto mode, so it costs you more than it would on an FM2.

Last updated . The scoring method is on how we rank.