Nikon FG-20 User manual

NOMENCLATURE
CD Shutter speed/mode index Meter coupling lever @
®Shutter speed/mode selector dial Film rewind crank ®
®Frame counter Film rewind knob @
®Neckstrap eyelet
®Lens mounting flange
@Reflex mirror
<D Self-timer lever
@Aperture '
® Focusing ring
@Distance scale
([j) Aperture-direct-readout (ADR) scale
@Depth-of-field indicators
2

@Contact for the Speeclight SB - 19
@ Hot -s hoe contact
® Ready -light contact
@ ASA / ISO film speec ring
@
ASA / ISO film speec index
@Film rewind fork
®
ASA / ISO film speec scale
@Film cartridge chamber
@Film plane indicator
@Shutter curtains
®Viewfinder eyepiece
@Film
re wind button
® Motor drive coupling
@Motor drive positioning hole •
Shutter release button@
Shutter speec/mode selector dial
lock release button@
Film advance lever
Accessory shoe@
Film take-up spool @
Film pressure plate@
Film sprockel@
Memo holde
r@
Film
Tripod/motor drive coupling socket @
Motor drive electrical contacts®
Battery clip®
3

CONTENTS---------------------------------
NOMENCLATURE ........... . ... 2- 3
FOREWORD
.. ... ..... .. .... . ........ 5
BASIC OPERATION . . .. . . . .. 6-19
CONTROLS IN DETAIL. . ....... 20-31
Shutter Relea se Button . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 20
Film Advance Lever . . ...... 20
Frame Counter ............... . ........ . ........... 21
Memo Holder. . . 21
Shutter Speed/Mode Selector Dial . . ... 22-23
Focusing Screen ............................. 24-25
Exposure Viewfinder Information . ......... . 26-27
Exposure Compensation Button. . ........ 28
Self-Timer Lever. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 29
Film Plane Indicator. . . . . . . . . . . . ... 30
Infrared Focu si ng Index. . . 30
Meter Coupling Le ver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ 31
For lenses or accessories without
automatic diaphragms.
For fixed
-a perture lenses. photomicrography.
or astrophotography.
. ..... 31
TECHNICAL INFORMATioN . .
... 31
32-42
Relationship Between Shu Iter Speed
and Aperture
... . .......... . ............... .. 32-33
Depth of Field. . . 34-35
EV Range of the Camera. . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 36
What is EV ? . .. ... ... .... .. . ...... 36
EV range. . . . ... ... •. .. . . ......... 36
Exposure Compensation. . .. 37-39
In the manual mode. . ..... 37
Duplication work and photomicrography . 38-39
4
Fl ash Ph otography.
Re ady-light indication in the viewfinder.
Relation
shi p between the camera 's meter,
. 40-42
.... 41
ready-light indication and shutter speed. . ...... 41
Nikon FG -20/Speedlight combination chart. ........ 42
ACCESSORIES. . .... 43 -48
Ele ctronic Fl ash. . ....... . , , .. . ... , . . , . . ..... 43
Nikon Speedlight SB-19 . . ........ , ..... 43
Motor Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Nikon Motor Drive MD- 14 and MD-E. . .... 44
Close-Up Eq uipment. ................. 45
Filter s. . . . ... . . . . . . . 46
Len s Hoods . . .... , , , , . . . . . . 46
Eyepiece Correction Lenses ...... . .... , ... _ ........ 47
Rubber Eyecup . . . . . . . . . . . .... 47
Eyepiece Adapter . .
... 47
Anti-Cold Battery Pack DB -2 ..... ,'. ... . .... 47
Cable Relea se AR-3 . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . .. . ..... 47
Semi-Soft Camera Cases. . . . . . . . . . . . ... 48
Neckstraps. . ..... . ................. , .. . ........ 48
TIPS ON BATTERY USE. . ..... .... .......... 49
TIPS ON CAMERA CARE . . ............. 50-5 1
SPECIFICATIONS . . ....... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-5 3
USABLE LENSES. .
...... 54
WHAT IS
AI? .......... . . . .. 55

FOREWORD-----------
Welcome to Nikon's worldof picture-taking ease. With
your new
FG-20 it's easy to take the type of high-
quality photographs which have become synonymous
with the Nikon name.
The FG-20 features automatic exposure control. Just
set the camera to
A, select a shooting aperture on the
lens,
and fire away. The FG-20 then instantaneously
sets the proper shutter speed for.correct exposure
steplessly over the range of 1 to 1/1000sec.
If you
desire, you can set the shutter speed dial to the ((~ .
mark. Then an audible warning is provided to let you
know when the scene is too bright to get correct e x-
posure or when the shutter speed is around 1/30sec.
br slower, indicating that you should use a tripod.
Moreover, the FG-20 offers full manual control of
all
shutter speeds for creative experimentation; in addi-
tion there are two mechanical
settings-M90 (1 /90
sec.) and B (bulb)-which do not require batter y'
power.
Before using your camera, please read this instruc-
tion manual from cover to cover. A few minutes
in -
vested now will
payoff in years of rewarding picture-
taking experiences.
5

BASIC OPERATION-------------
1 Remove the battery
• clip ® .
Use a coin to unscrew it in a
'counterclockwise direction.
6
2 Insert batteries.
• Wipe the battery terminals
clean
and insert the batteries.
making sure that the + signs
are
up.
Usable batteries for the Nikon
FG-20 are:
-
One 3V lithium battery (CR-1/3N)
-
Two 1.55V silver-oxide batteries
(SR44)
-
Two 1.5V alkaline-manganese
batteries (LR44)
3 Reattach the
• battery clip.
•
•
Slip the clip back into the camera
body
and screw it tightly into place.

4 Depress the shutter release
• button @ halfway to activate
the exposure meter.
Make sure to remove the camera body cap.
,000
500
250
125
60
30
15
,
4
2
Sufficient
battery power
,000
500
250
'25
60
30
15
,
4
2
] Insufficient
battery power
5 Check the meter needle in
•
the viewfinder.
Make sure the needle is above the bottom red
zone. This indicates that battery installation is correct
and power is sufficient. If the needle is in the red zone,
recheck battery orientation
or , if necessary, replace ,
with a new set.
With sufficient battery power, the needle remains
above the
red zone for approx. 20sec. after you take
your finger off the button.
If the batteries are almost
depleted, the needle will drop back into the
red zone
immediately after
you take your finger off the but-
ton.
In this case, replace the batteries as soon as
possible.
• To check batterypower, set the shutterspeed/mode selector
dial ®
at anysetting except M90and B.
7

-BASIC OPERATION-continued---------- -----;:
6 Mount the lens onto the camera.
• Lenses which are usable with the Nikon FG-20
are AI-S Nikkor, Nikon Series
E, AI-Nikkor, most AI-
modified Nikkor, and certain special lenses. (For
details about usable lenses, refer to page 54,)
To mount a lens, first line up the aperture/distance
index ®
on the lens with the lens mounting index @
on the camera body. Then twist the lens mounting ring
® counterclockwise until the lens clicks into place.
Check to see that the aperture/distance index
is
exactly at the top.
8
To remove :While pushing the lens release button @ ,
turn the lens mounting ring clockwise until the lens
comes off.
• With film loaded in the camera, be careful not to expose th e
mirror box to direct sunlight while you are changing lenses.

7. Open the camera
back @.
Pull up the film rewind knob @ until
the camera back pops open .
8. Install the film
cartridge.
Position the cartridge in the film
cartridge chamber @ with the
leader pointing towards the takeup
spool
@; then push the rewind
knob back down to hold the car-
tridge
in place.
The FG-20 accepts any type of
35 mm film on the market. During
film loading,
it is advisable to
handle the film
in the shade to
avoid direct exposure to sunlight.
9 Insert the film
• leader into the
takeup spool.
Pull the leader and in sert it into
anyone of the slots in the takeup
spool.
9

-BASIC OPERATION-continued---------------,
10 Engage the film
• perforations with
the sprocket teeth @ •
rurn the takeup spool slightly with
your thumb,
so that a perforation
at the bottom edge of the film is
engaged with the small tooth at
the bottom of the slot
in the takeup
spool,
and the top and bottom per-
forations mesh securely with the
sprockets.
10
11. Advance the film with the film
advance lever @ •
Wind the film advance lever and depress the shutter
release button until the film sprockets engage the
perforations
on the edges of the film. Confirm
that the film
is properly seated between both film
guide rails @ and there
is no film slack. Then close
the camera back until it snaps shut.