Hi Jon and fellow Nikon users,
>The FA, on the other hand is not really usable in any mode BUT "M" with a
>speedlight attached. When a flash is turned on, the shutter speed
Well, the fast sync speed is generally not a problem for me. I somtimes
shoot "dinner & dance" or party shots with the Aperture mode, using ISO 400
film. The only nuisance I see using this fast sync speed is that it tends
to freeze everything in the frame (and the background tends to be
dark....but that's okay as the main subjects are perfectly lit).
>automatically jumps to 1/250 (regardless of where the shutter speed dial is
>set) in any mode but "M," and the meter is switched off in ALL modes. If
Is that so? But it is written here in my copy of the Nikon Compendium
that the "X-position of the FE-2 was a slight mishap because the metering
system is switched off in this position. This was a handicap especially in
fill-in flash situations when a fast sync-speed is really necessary.
Luckily this shortcoming was eliminated in the FM-2n". Is this true?
I don't know if the above is also true of the FA, but I do know that there
is TTL flash metering even at 1/250 sync on the FA. I tested this with a
flash/light meter with a SB-26 and set at Aperture mode. Although you're
limited to 1/250 sec. (at all aperture settings), the power of the flash is
not the same at different light levels (holding aperture and all else
settings unchanged). Would this not suggest that the TTL flash meter does
operate in Aperture mode (of which shutter speed is set at 1/250 sec)? Oh,
forgot to tell you I am in AMP metering mode. So, the meter is not really
switched off but not as apparant (it controls the flash instead of the
shutter) as in the FE-2.
Cheers!
******
Just Updated my picture gallery at: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/1283/
Regards,
Deric Soh.
