After 5 years of use, I replaced my then beloved FE-2 with an FA (as my
secondary camera to an N90s) and I'm very glad that I did.
Both cameras support 4 features that I find to be very important in a
compact MF Nikon.
1. TTL flash (to me, a greater and more useful technological advance than
auto-focus)
2. 1/250 flash sync
3. A fast and rugged motor drive, considering the price.
4. Small, light, and better balanced with the MD attached than without,
especially with a flash on top.
However, I don't just give the edge to the FA just because of the extra
metering modes, but rather how it performs (power use wise) with the MD-15
attached compared to the FE-2 with the MD-12 attached.
With the FE-2/MD-12 combo, when the meter battery(ies) die(s), the camera
stops dead mid-shot. Sure, you can switch to M250 on your shutter speed
dial and limp by until you have a break in the action long enough to remove
the motor drive to get to the little battery hole with a coin and change
your meter battery. In the mean time you lose your TTL flash and can only
use that one mechanical shutter speed. Then there you are, in the field,
juggling a small but now top-heavy camera body with lens and flash
attached, a detached MD-12 motor drive, a tiny battery cover, 2 tiny
batteries (or 1 tiny battery if you use the lithium that counts as two
alkalines) and a coin, not to mention the dead battery(ies) and any
packaging materials. Not the kind of thing I enjoy during a 20-second time
out.
In contrast, the FA with MD-15 is much easier to deal with in the above
situation. Most importantly, with the MD-15 attached, the camera's
electronics run off of the 8 AA batteries in the motor drive. These AA
batteries die much slower and give much more advance notice that they are
dying. You can change them at a more opportune time, and you don't have to
remove the MD-15 from the FA to do so. I leave the MD-15 on the body at
all times, AND NEVER EVEN PUT A BATTERY IN THE METER BATTERY HOLE, saving
the need for concern about corrosion from a battery that's not in use
anyway.
Granted, this only discusses the two cameras with motor drives attached,
but I think that the MD-12 and MD-15 are both too good not to have if you
have either of these cameras, or an FE, FM or FM2. The MD-15 only works
with the FA, and the MD-12 works with all of them, but the FA will not use
the MD-12's batteries for power, therefore if you have an FA, get an MD-15.
Both are rugged and comfortable to hold (to me the cameras feel puny and
unbalanced without them), and 3.5 fps is a decent speed for most action. I
shoot 95% one-frame-at-a-time, but it's nice to be able to keep your eye to
the viewfinder as the camera does the winding.
Just my $.02 as an owner/former owner of both cameras.
-
===================================================
Jon Cunningham
Freelance Photographer
Aurora, IL
Online Portfolio: http://pwp.starnetinc.com/jonc29
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
===================================================
