Nikon FE10 Review

A very short review of the Nikon FE10 which I recently purchased for a bargain price. The FE10 is a lightweight, modern, aperture priority/manual SLR made by Cosina for Nikon in the early 2000s. I've owned one of these before but never really liked it, however I'd only used it with the zoom lens that it was supplied with. With a 50mm Series E lens it completely changes the camera. Because it's so light and the Series E lens is pretty much a pancake lens, it will fit into a reasonably sized jacket pocket, meaning you can take it with you.

FE10 front

FE10 back

FE10 and the original FE for comparison

Compared to the FE the FE10 is much lighter. The viewfinder is not as large but it's perfectly usable. The back on the copy I had was badly scuffed - from new the FE10 has some thin rubber like material over a metal film door. However the scuffed material can be easily removed with isopropanol, leaving a nice silky metal finish. It suits a relatively large aperture prime - when I put a zoom lens on it again the viewfinder felt dark.

The FE10 is considerably cheaper than a FE, and is around 20 years newer, meaning that the seals will probably be OK, along with the rest of the camera. As it requires a battery to operate make sure that the meter is working, but this also means that it tends to be cheaper than the fully manual FM!0

The following photos were taken on Ektar 100

Cosina did a decent job manufacturing this for Nikon. It was a sad time when this was discontinued along with the F6.

Hmmm, I learned on the FM10, all-manual but for light meter. Dunno where OP is, but in the US it was the FM10 that went almost as long as the F6. Never saw an FE10. I started learning photography late, in the first half of the 2000's--learned on FM10 and shot it for about a decade, published magazine work using it. Well into the 2000's, art school photography teaching and labs were still film-based and the FM10 pak with that not-very-inspiring zoom was a beloved learning pak that I bought into. These cameras scratched/chipped easily but are very hardy if handled with care. They're lightweight with a nice little prime, they're stylish, and they make images as lovely as any analogue Nikon.

In the last four years or so I've been acquiring FM-series and FE series Nikons I drooled over when learning but couldn't swing, along with some of my automated dream cameras such as F100. I love having them, but still adore the FM10. OP photos look great!

It’s a pity Nikon didn’t develop the F6 into a F7, but I’m not sure that there have been that many developments in digital cameras since the F6 was introduced that would translate into film anyway. Possibly better auto focus, but it’s pretty good on the F6 to start with. Plus there were ~40,000 F6’s made, so it wouldn’t have been a massive market.

Thanks. The FE10 was discontinued along with almost all the other Nikon film SLRs in 2006. The FM10 (not FE10) was one of the longest made film camera models (1995 - 2020), longer that the F3 and the Pentax K1000, although quite when the last FM10s were made is anyone’s guess. FM10s where I live (UK) tend to go for more than the FE10 secondhand. After a not very inspiring time with a previous FE10 and the kit zoom, I’m finding this one quite refreshing. It’s a nice camera for street work as it’s so small and light, plus with Aperture Priority it’s pretty quick to use too.

I read something about a year back that said they were only making about 40 F6 bodies a month the last couple years of production. I still think about pulling the trigger on purchasing an F6 to add to my two F5 bodies…but then I also am considering the 50th anniversary F5 body as well.

Yes, I’ve heard those sorts of figures. When they had a recall a few years ago it was for ~40 cameras. I have a F5 and bought a F6. You can tell the F6 is a “professional” camera, but also that it’s selling to different people than the F5 (I.e. mostly people who won’t use it professionally). It just doesn't feel quite so industrial as the F5, although I suspect it’s just as tough. It is the best film camera I’ve used, it just gets out of the way and does everything right.

My bad…I typed 40…but the number I read was 50. Small difference…but just wanted to clarify. Yes, the F6 does indeed feel different. I like the heavy monster that is the F5.