*** SOLD ***
Nikon EM s/n 7353946
Nikon E-series 50mm/1.8 s/n 1173763
Motor Drive MD-14
The Nikon EM is a beginner’s level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Nippon Kogaku K. K. (today Nikon Corporation) in Japan from 1979 to 1982 (available new from dealer stock until circa 1984). The camera was originally designed and marketed to the growing market of new women photographers then entering the SLR buyer's market. The EM uses a Seiko MFC-E focal plane shutter with a speed range of 1 to 1/1000 second plus Bulb and flash X-sync of 1/90 second. It is 86 mm (3.4 in) high, 135 mm (5.3 in) wide, 54 mm (2.1 in) deep and weighed 460 grams (16 oz). Unlike most Nikons of the time, it was available only in black. The EM has no full manual exposure mode capability, but instead was intended to be used by inexperienced photographers who could not easily master the intricacies of shutter speeds and f-stops. There were also significant changes over previous cameras in the internal mechanics and electronics of the EM, designed to lower costs. Gone were the tight tolerances, ball bearing film advance, and high-quality titanium shutter. The introductory US list price for the body plus normal lens was only $231 – note that SLRs usually sold for 30 to 40 percent below list price.
The Nikon EM formed the base of the new line. It was the smallest and cheapest SLR ever made by Nippon Kogaku. It was a battery-powered (two S76 or A76, or one 1/3N) electromechanically controlled manual focus SLR. The EM featured a lightweight and compact hybrid copper aluminum alloy body and fiberglass reinforced polycarbonate plastic top and bottom covers, plus aperture priority semiautomatic exposure control governed by a built-in 60/40 percent centerweighted, silicon photodiode light meter. A left side viewfinder galvanometer needle pointer indicated the exposure on a shutter speed scale. The viewfinder also had Nikon’s standard 3 mm split image rangefinder and 1 mm microprism collar focusing aids, but the focus screen was fixed. The viewfinder is dimmer than those in the semi-professional Nikons since the expensive prisms of the latter were not used. The camera is also fitted with a low-light exposure warning in the form of an audible 'beep'.
The EM also had one very rare feature for an electronically controlled camera. Nippon Kogaku’s philosophy that a camera must always work when called upon resulted in the EM’s backup ability to operate without batteries – albeit in a limited fashion: completely manual mechanical control with limited shutter speeds (1/90 second, marked M90, or Bulb) and without the light meter. (A little-known feature of the EM is that when the battery is removed, the "Auto" setting produces a shutter speed of approximately 1/1000 sec. This is documented in the factory repair manual.)
The EM and its attendant E-system accessories were Nippon Kogaku’s first attempt to reach the low end of the SLR market. Called internally “the Nikon for women”, the EM was designed to provide style (exterior contours sculpted by Italian automobile stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro), convenience (a system of dedicated accessories), ease of use (as much automation as possible in 1979), low cost (simplified manufacturing process) and the prestige of the Nikon name (prominently displayed on the pentaprism housing) for initiates to SLR-dom.
Unfortunately, the Nikon EM and its later offshoots (FG, FG-20) proved to be a sales and marketing failure for Nikon. Older Nikon owners refused to countenance the cheap internal construction and lack of manual mode flexibility of the EM. The expected female beginner photography market also failed to appear, as tyro photographers (including women) rejected the implicit condescension of an aperture-priority only EM, and voted with their wallets in favor of higher-priced Nikons or the extra features of less-expensive Canon and Minolta cameras.
Despite its cheaper construction quality, the EM has proved to be as reliable over the years as its more expensive Nikon counterparts of the era. A set of less expensive lenses marketed with the camera's introduction (Series E) also came in for heavy criticism, and Nikon soon dropped the entire line. Although the Series E lenses were unpopular with Nikon buyers, several of the Series E lenses exhibited excellent performance, particularly the 50 mm f/1.8 (pancake), the 100 mm f/2.8, and the 75–150 mm constant f/3.5 zoom. The relatively low prices of the EM/FG family and the Series E lenses in the used equipment market make them good bargains in terms of price/performance.
