Great for manual control of photographs. The Depth of field preview comes in handy.
The 35-70mm zoom is a bonus since it comes with the camera.

The lens is almost too dark. It gets really hard to focus in low light situations.

A fine SLR for a biginner who wants to control what he/she exposes, but, expect to upgrade when you really get the hang of photography and want a little more from your photographs.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax K1000

None

This camera is not compatible with lens from Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, etc.
When turning the film advance lever, the shutter will release by itself. Therefore you can only use Nikon lens with this camera.

Bad Camera, don't buy it.

Customer Service

The technician at Nikon (Thailand) said that this camera (FM10) is not compatible with lens from other manufacturer, and they can do nothing to fix it.

Similar Products Used:

None

I've actually used FE-10. not FM10 (FE-10 has aperture priority)
*full manual controls
*value camera
*nice that it comes with the camera case

*a bit dark viewfinder
*cheap flimsy feel

Great camera for students. Not for pros or other serious photographers.
FM10/FE10 are not made by Nikon. Nikon authorized retailer told me that they are made by Konica..(or something like that).
I saw a used FE10 for $220 Cdn. Used FM/FE is way more $$$ than FE10. GET IT?! Buy a used realiable camera.

Customer Service

never used it

Similar Products Used:

nikon FG (amazing)
buy this in used instead of FM10/FE10

Light weight, total manual operation

None that I have found so far.

I have used this camera to take pictures of everything from landscapes to flowers to animals in motion. I use the 35-70mm that came with the camera for most of the landscape and macro shots of flowers. I also use a Vivitar 70-210mm with a 2x teleconverter to shoot birds, deer, and other wildlife. I have shown my pictures at art shows and most cannot tell the difference between mine and shots taken with cameras costing 4 or 5 times the price. The light weight that many are putting down as a weakness is the biggest plus in my book. Try to carry one of those heavy cameras, tripod, lenses, and film throught the woods for 6 or 7 hours and you will see what I mean.

Customer Service

None

Similar Products Used:

Ricoh Single X TLS(about 30 years ago)

1.Easy to operate
2.Total manual control
3.Multiple exposure
4.Depth of Field preview
5.Great results
6.The price

The plastic body. Gets scratches easily while opening the back cover or even while looking through the viewfinder.

I started off with a Pentax 738 compact and then graduated to Canon EOS 5000, which although being an SLR, does not perform any better than my point and shoot compact. I was frustrated with the limitations and decided on buying a complete manual one. The price was my bottomline and I spent a few months on researching and ultimately decided on the FM10. This camera from Nikon is absolutely brilliant at this price range. It offers you features like multiple exposure and dof preview which are normally available in high-priced cameras. The metering system uses center-weighted metering, so you may be fooled by it in tricky light situations. But I think that's the plus point, because it lets you judge the correct exposure with little electronic help and makes you experienced. If you are an avid photographer, you will soon be taking perfectly exposed pictures in all light conditions. The 35-70 lens is a bit dark, so taking pictures in dimly lit ambience becomes difficult. But I have used PL and other dark color filters in daytime with no difficulty. In my opinion, this is the best camera for those who want to learn the techniques of better photography. It's the ideal stuff to begin with if you are attempting to be a serious photographer. You have to spend many hours with it before you can take superb shots.

Customer Service

Never required.

Similar Products Used:

1.Canon EOS 5000
2.Pentax 738

Value...Kit comes with 35-70mm Nikkor lens and camera case.
Full manual control.
Light weight.
Great for beginners.

Questionable durability.
Plastic parts.
Lack of spot metering.
Cheap looking metering display in viewfinder.
Dark viewfinder difficult to see clearly in low light.

This camera is a great value for serious beginners. It has a full set of features such as depth of field preview, multiple exposures, center weighted metering, and full manual control. The "green for go, red for stop" metering display is easy to understand but a little cheap looking for Nikon standards, as is the plasticky feel of the camera body. I have not broken anything on this camera yet but am concerned about the quality of some of the plastic parts. Over all this camera is great for beginners or even as an inexpensive backup camera. The only thing I wish this camera had was spot metering, although the center-weighted metering has given fairly accurate results given you compensate properly. I would probably opt for the Olympus OM-2000 which is almost identical in features and price but is more solidly constructed. Since I have already invested in 2 other Nikon bodies and a full set of Nikon lenses this was not an option for me.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus OM-2000

1. Lightweight.
2. Perfect exposure.
3. Ease in handling.

A little extra care is required as far as the body is concerned.

Got the FM 10 recently and just now got the first results. EXCELLENT is the only word I can think of. All pictures have come out exactly the way I wanted. I do not understand those people who have given pretty bad reviews to this camera. The 35-70 mm lens works perfectly at all ranges. The body requires a little extra care, which anyway anyone would do, even if the body was heavy.
OVERALL VERY GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax ME,
Vivitar 3800N

its a NIKON!
DOF preview
TTL metering
multiple exposure
light
great value for money!

wish the lens was a 28-70/28-80 instead of a 35-70

This is one great / inexpensive camera, that I would recommend for beginners, specially students. The 'made in Japan' model does NOT feel plastic at all. It has withstood a fair amount of hiking/biking/rock climbing. Some say 1/2000 is slow, I disagree. I have never felt the requirement of 1/4000 of a sec. Its got TTL metering, multiple exposure, DOF preview, sel-timer, its amazingly light. What more can you ask for at this price?!!!

Customer Service

what?
for a Nikon?!!!

Similar Products Used:

FM2,FM,N80,N60

Lightweight, Good grip for hand-held position, Looks good with the chrome top, Multi-exposure control, and plenty on used and new lenses available.

May not as durable as the older models - may not survive well for rough usage.

This is my first SLR camera I bought myself. Over the years - I have used several different SLR cameras of others mostly for taking pictures in family get-together, picnics, parties, and outdoor shooting. In those situations, there are not much things to do with compositions - so, I had learned the basic physics of aperture and shutter speed control over the years. Since last year - I spent good amount of time to practice the skills for better composition and lighting situation. My partner was an older Minolta SRT and few photography books. Then few months ago, I decided to get a new camera and was looking for a lightweight and very simple-functioning manual SLR. I got three models of SLR with my price range: Nikon FM10, Olympus 2000, and Minolta X-370. With several hours of shopping I decided to go with Nikon for its brand name and lens availability. I skipped Olympus since the lenses are not easily available and Minolta for not mirror lock-position.
I went with several rolls of Kodak Royal Gold 100, and Fuji SuperHQ 100 film. I spent next couple days taking outdoor pictures and especially by the lakes. I had purchased a Tokina 28mm/2.8F lens with the camera. To my delight - all the pictures came out good and some of are outstanding. I can fully trust on the light meter and very dependable - I had 100 speed film and I had taken photos in low light and viewfinder is pretty visible.
One thing I should add is about the 35-70MM lens that comes with the camera. I think this lens is good enough to carry around or taking general photos in outdoor lighting condition. But, to me the Tokina 28MM lens got me sharp photos in same situation and looked sharp and lively. I am planning to get a normal lens (50~55MM) lens later. I heard Nikon E series lenses are good enough for money - ANY SUGGESTIONS!
I will suggest FM10 to others who are budget minded and looking for a full manual SLR, especially with Nikon – there are plenty of lenses available.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Older model Minolta's and Yashica's.

1) Light
2) Price
3) Multiple exposure

1) Too plastic
2) Look venerable
3) Scratch easily

Bought this camera 2nd hand via the internet for collection purposes. Use it for 1 time and find it does not deserve to be use for the 2nd time. It will be good for beginner photography who need to learn to control everything, but the metering system fail at most time. A 2nd hand FM and FM2 or even the aperture priority capable FE and FE2 will be a better choice, considering the more solid body and function.

Similar Products Used:

1) Nikon FM2n