Michael Tomaszewski 4/1/24 Michael Tomaszewski 4/1/24

Single Roll Review: Nikon FE2, Back From the Dead

shooitn ann arbor on a broken nikon fe2

I’ve mentioned before I’m a big fan of Nikon film cameras and have at some point owned almost every model of SLR they’ve made. When I had my film renaissance, the Nikon FM2 and Nikkor 105mm AIS lens were number one on my bucket list of gear I wanted to own some day. Thankfully I was able to get that camera a handful of years ago in a box of gear from a retiring photographer. It’s, in my opinion, the finest mechanical camera made outside of Germany. As I have used it more, I keep reading that it’s electronic sister is just as good and in some ways maybe a little better. They both use the same lenses, the same shutter capable of shooting 1/4000 second but the FE2 is a little quieter and has a nicer light meter.

I watched online and looked at garage sales the past few years and pretty much gave up ever finding one at a reasonable price. I do not like paying $200 for a piece of a kit I already have almost the exact same thing of, but I was willing to pay $50 or so if one popped up. Then just before Christmas last year I found a facebook marketplace deal I thought was too good to be true. The terrible picture definitely had the FE2 I wanted along with 4 lenses and another camera I figured I could sell for half of what the package was going to cost me. I was so excited to finally get the camera I completely forgot to check the internals and was just distracted by how weird the guy I was buying it from seemed. It was a hard lesson learned, but about halfway home I stopped for gas and checked it out…the titanium shutter was totally destroyed. Long story short, I know there are lots of damaged bodies out there and most of them are super cheap. I just needed an ebay special with a shutter I could swap out. I ended up finding what I needed, combined all the best parts and now have what looks and feels like a brand new camera.

For its first outing, I took it to Ann Arbor to shoot a few photos of the parts most people don’t look for. Here are the fruits of my labor. Now after shooting the roll in some of the greyest days Michigan has to offer, the FE2 might very well be my body of choice. Not enough to take as my main vacation body this year, but maybe enough to take out as my daily driver.

Michael Tomaszewski 1/15/24 Michael Tomaszewski 1/15/24

Single Roll Review: Pentax SF10

Pentax SF10 and Pentax af 50mm f2.8 macro lens review

As I’ve grown in my photography my preferences have stayed pretty much the same since I started. Autofocus cameras are not typically the style I use, but I’ve found it’s sometimes good to mix up my choices just to spark a little different creativity. This is the case for today.

Pentax SF10, Pentax SMC F 50mm f2.8 Macro

Way back when I started shooting film, one of the most vocal encouragers was my friend Colleen. I could count on hers being one of the first comments on every post I made regardless of subject or time of day. I got my very first film scanner from her (a Canoscan 5600f) and one day I got a text from her asking if I was interested in her old camera. When she said it was an old Pentax, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. I don’t usually shoot the brand, but Pentax people always seem to have stories and a connection to their old cameras that I haven’t found when I buy other cameras. When I picked up this SF10 along with a few nice lenses, the unassuming body didn’t look nearly as capable as the professional Nikon bodies I had been collecting. Looks can be deceiving as this body hit focus at a rate I haven’t gotten with any other system.

While it doesn’t offer any real control over ISO and the creative priority functions are slightly cumbersome to set up, it is fully capable of doing everything I want. From what I have read it was intended to be used in program mode by those that wanted more than a point and shoot can offer, but didn’t want to take full control over every aspect of the photo the way a professional body can. Once paired with the only macro Pentax lens I currently have I was able to get closer and more detailed images than I have with any of my other cameras. This may have more to do with my skill than the equipment, but it was a joy to use. It worked really well with the architecture I shot at Michigan Stadium too, and was so sharp even with my mediocre scanning technique I think I could print it at poster size and it would look fantastic.

Overall, the Pentax SF10 may be one of the older autofocus cameras built (1988), but for film use I would recommend it thoroughly if you either have or want Pentax lenses to use. It can use almost every K-Mount lens made whether manual or auto focus. After spending a few weeks shooting with it, the only negative thing I have to say about it is the battery is a little expensive but does last a long time. If you want to shoot a chunky camera with an 80’s or 90’s vibe you can’t get much better value than this.