1 Each of the five metering segments
measures the light in its area and
converts the information to digital values.
2 Information on the lens in use – type,
number of apertures, focal length – is
gathered and fed into the camera’s computer.
3 More data – degree of contrast, brightness
composition patterns, percentage of extra-
bright areas, percentage of extra-dark areas,
general light intensity – are also fed into the
camera’s computer.
4 An initial exposure is analysed and selected.
5 The parameters from phase 4 are compared
to stored simulated scene patterns from
tens of thousands of picture types in the
computer’s memory, and the exposure is
readjusted accordingly.
6 Scene data from phase 3 is compared with
scene data from phase 5 and a final decision
on exposure is computed.
7 The shutter fires.
All this happens as the lens is stopped down
to its shooting aperture, so if the aperture
doesn’t shut down to precisely its correct
setting, or if the light changes in the last
split-second, the exposure is still measured
and set correctly. A dual program mode
ensures that if a lens of 135mm or longer focal
length is in place, the automation switches to
higher shutter speeds automatically. In shutter
priority, if the chosen speed means over or
underexposure because the lens has run
out of apertures for correct exposure, the
automation overrides the setting and sets
a faster or slower speed.Testbench
The lenses
True to Nikon’s philosophy, the FA uses the same
lens mount as the 1959 Nikon F. Although the
mount has remained much the same, certain
modifications have been made over the years.
From the start, Nikkor lenses used a small fork-like
appendage on the aperture ring that linked with
a pin in the camera body to keep the camera’s
meter informed about the aperture setting.In 1977 Nikon introduced Automatic
Maximum Aperture Indexing (AI) Nikkor lenses
with small ridges in their mounts that matched
to a feeler on the body mount, so that the
maximum aperture of the lens in use was
automatically indexed to the meter in the
body. In 1981, in preparation for the launch
of the FA, Nikkor AI lenses were modified
and called AI-S Nikkors. The modification gave
links to the lens’s aperture control, making
shutter priority and program modes practical
for the first time.
To make the most of the metering modes on
the FA it should be used with an AI-S Nikkor
lens, or one of the Nikon E-series lenses
launched in 1978 for the EM camera which
have similar capabilities. Because of the
universality of the Nikon F mount, AI-S lenses
can be mounted on older cameras, but it is
inadvisable to mount a non-AI-S lens on
the FA as the slight differences in the mount
of older lenses can damage the integral
connections in the body.
Because the subtle differences to the lens
mount on AI-S lenses aren’t always easy to
spot, the easiest way to identify an AI-S lens
is to look at the aperture scale ring. On an
AI-S lens, the minimum aperture is always
etched in orange.
The Nikon FA stands at the centre of a
huge system of lenses from 6mm fisheye to
2,000mm telephoto, plus motor drives for
3.2 frames per second, close-up equipment,
speedlights with through-the-lens (TTL) flash
metering that read the light off the film being
exposed, interchangeable focusing screens,
data back and a host of smaller accessories
too numerous to mention.
For the film enthusiast, it’s still a great
camera to use. For the collector, it’s an
amazing example of 1980s technology,
and for those with feet in both camps,
it’s irresistible.The orange colour on the smallest aperture setting is an
easy way to identify lens compatibility with the FA, here on
50mm Nikkor AI-S (left) and 50mm Nikon E-series lensesBelow: When it was launched, the FA stood at the centre of Nikon’s huge system of lenses and accessoriesFROM NIKON FA BROCHURE PUBLISHED IN 1983 © NIKON CORPORATION
A white horse against a
predominantly black
background is the kind of
subject that AMP metering
takes in its stride