Nikon FG-20

My first visit searching for a manual film camera at the local photography shop, I didn’t find the Nikon I was looking for. There were none. I ended up picking up a Minolta XG-M. Primarily a Nikon shooter, I felt a manual edition would a nice final piece to a collection. The new total would be 4. a dslr, mirrorless, auto film plus the manual.

I didn’t use the Minolta for over a year. A little intimidated of the manual aspect, it got tucked away in a camera bag and didn’t see the light of day until my film obsession boiled over. The manual experience proved to be quite enjoyable and the itch to complete the collection came back. The itch was made harder to avoid scratching as the lens on the XG-M was faulty, aperture stuck wide open at f/2 and unable to remove from body.

Financing the new camera would be tricky. Disposable income is not really a thing now, but having a fully functioning manual film camera was now paramount. Cue in fantasy football. My yearly sport game obsession yielded some of my best results to date. Three of the 4 teams medaled, earning cash prizes. The sting of not winning a championship of the two finals achieved was alleviated once I ordered the Nikon FG-20 from Etsy.

Photo: Zion National Park Ilford XP2 400