 Alex R. Williamson |
Light Meter Trouble Recently the light meter on my Nikon FM10 began to act funny. There's a concert coming up that I was planning on taking pictures at and since they're always so dark, I figured I'd use the highest speed ISO film I could find. Sure, I hear it turns out really grainy but oh well. Anyways I bought black & white slide film speed 3200. The man at the store said it was really 800 but can be bumped up to 3200 in 2 steps. I tested out my camera by setting its ISO to 3200 and reading the light meter. Wow, 3200 is really sensitive. Soon it began to tell me that there wasn't enough light which confused me. It said there was just enough a second ago. Anyway after I knew there was a problem, I took it to a camera place and asked if all it needed was a new battery. He said that in most situations, a new battery is the best answer. I bought the batteries and inserted them. Ta-da! My light meter was back to normal. Soon enough it tells me that there isn't enough light. This is beginning to frustrate me. Plus it tells me there's isn't enough light when my aperture is 3.5 and my shutter speed is 1 second but then it tells me that there's too much light when my shutter speed is at 1/15 second. PLEASE HELP BECAUSE TIME IS RUNNING OUT.
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Bob Cammarata |
According to the specs on your camera, ASA 3200 is within the FM10's metering range, so it sounds like you may have a mechanical problem. (Just out of curiosity...did you try lower settings to see if you could get an accurate reading?) I had a similar problem with a manual exposure Nikon a few years back.
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Alex R. Williamson |
Well I have lowered the ISO back down to about 200 and that didn't work at all either. And yes it has gotten snowed on a tiny bit but that was long ago and worked fine in the next week. Do you think that I need to get this fixed by professionals?
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Bob Cammarata |
You should probably get it checked out. Hopefully, you have a competant Nikon repair facility near where you live and wont need to ship it out.
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doug Nelson |
A Canon T-60 I had is very similar in design and made by Cosina, the same company that makes the FM10. I had the same problem you describe in damp conditions while backpacking. It seems that moisture was working its way into the battery contacts around the cheap plastic battery cover. As Bob C says, this corrects itself. You can help this out by taking out the batteries and letting the compartment dry out completely, in a dry environment. It helps to live in Arizona. When you replace the battery(ies), put a piece of electrical repair tape over the battery cover. Maybe you could put a thin bead of clear caulk around the battery cover after a battery change. It's amazing that Cosina has failed to correct this problem that it's had for 20 years. If you have an investment in Nikon lenses, consider a good used FM-series body.
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Alex R. Williamson |
Well I'll try airing out the battery compartment and replacing the batteries. If that doesn't work I'll try to get this thing fixed. Thanks for your help, everyone.
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