Thank you! The double exposure guide was a subscriber request for the video outline some years ago.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you! And that's a fantastic find, too. Lightly used FE2 bodies are very uncommon.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Fantastic! It's a great camera.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

I'm glad you like my comment. I do buy a high-end digital Nikon every 3 years or so and sell the old one. Always from Nikon's refurbished camera listings on their website. I only own one digital camera at a time. Most recently, I bought a Z-7, so I have a lot to explore there. But for my high school graduation I got a Nikon FG that I still have. I shoot more film than digital still. I have 3 Nikon FG's and even the one I've used a whole lot since '84 is still in great shape. I've never had one fail. I also have a real nice FE2. It's a better camera. It has a more sturdy body, I like the double exposure feature and the high shutter speed. I also have a Nikon FG-20. Those are my 5 film cameras and all I want. I don't have any AF film cameras and often shoot manual focus with digital cameras. I have the 24mm Nikon f2.8 lens (they still make this one and sell it new to this day, the 50mm Nikon/Nikor f1.2, the 85mm f1.4 Nikon/Nikor 85mm, a couple fog-free E series 50mm f1.8 lenses, and the Nikon/Nikor 28mm-85mm w/largest aperture 3.5 (for versatility, no bokah with this) and a Tameron wonderall 70-210m zoom, 3.5 max f, up to f32 fitted to an AIS mount. All in great shape and all I need. I often carry as many as 3 bodies for film shooting so I can use different ISO film and b/w. Sometimes 4 bodies. I think the FG is way underrated for what it delivers..... but I've had this gear set for a while and I know them well, so your GREAT review of the FE2 was very interesting to me. I like the exposure comp button on these cameras (except the FG-20 lacks it) for backlit situations. It works. A lot of people think it's useless. Anyway, I enjoyed watching both parts of your FE review. Thanks! By the way, that FG-20 delivers on sunny days. You can't step up or down, no exposure comp, no TTL, but in normal outside conditions, cloudy or sunny.... it delivers the same quality images as the FE.

Just get it attached to the film take-up spool and then, if you're having problems with it popping out, gently rest your thumb over the film tension sprocket (not the shutter) with no pressure -- just hold the film there so the sprockets and sprocket holes engage. That can help with the film loading.

Thank you!

If it works, you lucked out. Definitely don't force the film advance again, though. That can't strip the advance gears.

Hmm. Do you have batteries in the camera? Does the shutter and film advance mechanism work properly if you use it in M250?

@@DavidHancock Both seem to work properly in M250! I put in fresh batteries earlier today, before encountering the problem. I wonder if I didn't tighten the battery cover enough, or if my batteries (Amazon-brand LR44 batteries fresh from a pack) are duds.

I removed the battery cover, looked at the batteries to make sure they were in correctly, and put the batteries/battery cover back on. Now, I am able to use the film advance lever, and the mirror behaves properly, even when set to a different speed (not just M250), and even when set to A. However, the black needle does not move, it's just hanging out down in the red area at the very bottom on the left. Edited: I advanced the film again and now the black needle seems to work properly. I guess the film wasn't advanced enough before. Thanks for your help!

IIRC, that happens when you half-depress the shutter button and as long as you hold it down before taking a photo then the exposure settings are held.

I can help troubleshoot. Do you have batteries installed, are they new, and are they installed correctly?

I had just replaced the batteries and made sure I had them in there correctly as I was watching your video. The shutter will release when I change the shutter speed to M250 but when I put it back to the automatic setting it locks up again. I read another post that you had suggested changing the shutter speed but it still locks up when I put it on automatic.

That was just me fiddling with the ISO dial. When I say match the needles, I'm talking about the two needles in the viewfinder.

May likely be an issue with the needle, only, which is the best case. Does it do this if you're outside in full sun?

Thank you! For a good first prime, check out the Nikon 50mm f/1.8. Either the Nikkor or Series E will be a-okay. Both are great lenses.

I don't think so.

Is there film in the camera? If so, try rewinding it and then seeing if it will work. If there's no film, make sure that the shutter has been triggered as the film advance won't work until the shutter is triggered. If there is no film and the shutter is triggered (try firing it on M250), let me know and we'll take it from there.

That probably will require professional service.

Could be a couple things. If the shutter is working in "A" mode and the speeds are different (for instance if outside it's very fast and inside with your hand in front of the lens it's much slower, then the automatic mode is working) the issue is probably in the needle readout. If the shutter speed in "A" mode is the same regardless of lighting then either the batteries are in upside-down or there's an issue with the electronics. The needle would only tell you your shutter speed before the photo and isn't required for a proper exposure.

The aperture will only stop down when you take a photo or use the DoF preview. Try setting the shutter speed to one second and aperture to f/16. Then look at the lens when you take a photo. The aperture should stop down.

Just to check, does the camera have batteries and did you for the shutter before advancing the film? If you don't have batteries, try using them camera on them mechanical shutter seeing and see if the mechanism works. Let me know how that goes.

@@DavidHancock It worked before, and the batteries are new. I was also able to take a few Photos with it. I suppose i must have locked the mechanism somehow. Also i cant see through the lense since the lever was not moving. Sadly none of your suggestions worked

@@yourfavmma If the shutter isn't working in the manual shutter speed setting, it will need a professional repair.

@@DavidHancock Ok, thank you!

Thank you! Do you mean that the film advance lever does not automatically return?

Unfortunately no. The lens does not communicate aperture to the camera so if you do that the camera will always meter at f/1.4 and then expose at your selected aperture. So almost all of your photos will be severely underexposed.

So testing the light meter is pretty straight forward. This has to be done outside as indoors lighting may not have enough light to activate the shutter. Set your ISO to 400 and your lens aperture to 16. Point the lens at an object in full (NOT the sun itself, and don't have the sun in the frame) and the meter reading should indicate a shutter speed around 1/400 (from 1/250 th 1/500 is a-okay.) What do you mean that the blend isn't working?

If I recall, that lens had been factory modified.

In terms of interpreting what you see when you stop down the DoF lever? When you stop down the DoF lever, you'll see what is in focus increase, so it should just give you a rough idea of what will be in focus when shooting.

Good question and I don't know the answer to that. It certainly won't hurt.

I totally get it. Manual is used to override the camera. So let's day that you have a really bright sky and a subject under a tree or awning. The bright sky will cause your camera to expose for the sky and underexpose your subject. So you can use manual to adjust the exposure upward (more light) to expose for the shaded area. You can also intentionally underexpose images to create low-key or dramatic looks. Or overexpose images for high-key or washed-out looks. Also, shooting manual can be very rewarding as it's harder to take a great photo and succeeding at a manual exposure is really a sign that you've started to understand how film works.

@@DavidHancock ​ thanks so much for the insight! I understand all of that, as it is similar to digital. I guess my question is more...if you are in that situation you described with the sun or a backlit situation, do you want to position the needle at a lower shutter speed (so as to let in more light) than what the camera is suggesting? Around 9:00 in this video, you suggest matching the needle to what the camera is suggesting. That is what prompted my initial question. I hope this makes sense :)

I think in that scenario I intended to indicate you would meter off the pavement in the shaded area to find out the proper exposure for that lighting. That would be the easiest way to do it.

@@DavidHancock thanks so much David!

That should be covered within the first few minutes. There's an index in the video description that might help you find that.