attn: ANDY.....i have a question and i know you know the answer....

[Gato Moteado]

andy,

back around 1979 or 1980, when i bought my first SLR, a nikon FE, the all black body cost $15 or $25 more than buying the body that was part chrome. was there any purpose other than aesthetics of the camera body that made the all black body better? and why was the price $25 higher: did it cost nikon more to produce the all black body? did the other manufacturers do this also?

this is something i wondered a lot about back then (i bought the chrome body even though i wanted the all black body, but didn't want to shell out the extra cash because $25 was a lot of dough in 1979 for a high school kid) and only remembered just now to ask in here.

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. That was a great camera. I owned the FM2.

I "believe" it was just because the black was more popular.

[AndyS]

2. Thanks for the shout out!

The painted camera body dates back to the earliest 35mm cameras. The exterior parts were stamped from brass and had to be protected from oxidation so they got painted. Later the advent of chrome plating came along and was a step up from paint as it was more wear proof. It was a more expensive process than the simple paint (they didn't even have powder coating back then). Then the war started and chromium was at a premium so the cameras went back to being painted. Be thankful that it wasn't battle ship grey or OD green as those were the two most available colors at the time!

The black finish became synonymous with 'professional' and 'durable' as all the war photographers, the professionals, had black cameras.

The chrome actually cost more than the black to produce but because of perception and the pnache of a bit of brass showing on a well used camera body it was seen as desirable. Camera makers were all over it because it increased the bottom line AND they could charge more for it!

Now all cameras are either high quality plastic or aluminum/magnesium with plastic coatings to protect the metal bodies. Both chrome and black are plastic coatings and now it's the chrome that shows wear. In fact camera bodies and lenses can be any color and some brands offer designer colors.

So there you have it. My recollection of how black became an extra cost option. I have absolutely nothing to back this up so don't ask for links. It's all folklore.

[Walleye]

3. I seem to remember Leicas with black bodies and the enamel worn off to show brass underneath

[Gato Moteado]

7. amazing....cheaper to produce....

...and they charged us an extra $25.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

4. I had two Canon AE-1 bodies,

One black and one chrome so I could tell them apart. (I still have them). Supposedly the black ones were considered more professional, although that was really a lot of bunk.

[usonian]

5. Not Andy here!

Ken Rockwell suggests that it was really aesthetics.
All Black looks more "pro".

https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/fe.htm
Colors
Chromed brass and black. Black was always $25 extra when new.

https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/fm3a.htm
Silver or Black?

Like most great cameras, the FM3a comes in your choice of black or chrome.

The covers are drawn brass.

I predict that chrome will hold up longer, since it's all metal.

The black finish is enamel over brass, and enamel (paint) is softer than chrome (metal). Brass also shows more obviously under black, and is fairly invisible as chrome wears away.


-------------------
I had/have an F2 and need new seals. Though, all my old lenses ( even "non-AI" ) work just great with the Z series and FTZ.


Looks like these days, black all around is standard and you opt for the "retro" models with the chrome.
Good to hear from you. Best of luck with your project!

[AndyS]

6. Oh how well I remember those electronic vs manual arguments!

I took a quick scan over the Ken Rockwell articles and it brought such memories. As a salesrep I did 'battle' with my fellow reps at demos during major sales--then we'd all go to the local bar and talk about everything but cameras.

The move from full mechanical product to electronic battery dependent product was as great as the move from DSLR to Mirrorless! Every advance meets some resistance from the status quo I suppose.

I overcame the whole 'battery dependent' objection by asking if the prospect drove here in a car. Then I'd ask what s/he paid for that car. Does it have a battery? Will it run without one? Did you even consider that it might not work because it has battery when you put the key in the ignition? So if you trust a $$$$ car to operate without even thinking about it why is a $ camera a big conecern for you? Now lets talk about making pictures!

For me those were the days of wine and roses . . .

[Gato Moteado]

9. but even the mechanical shutter bodies had batteries for the light meter

....but, yeah, if the battery was dead, the shutter still worked.

i think even my FE, which had an electronic shutter, had one mechanical shutter speed....i think it was 1/90 or something like that

[Gato Moteado]

8. all the pros used black bodies...

...i had the lowly chrome body FE

[usonian]

10. And now Nikon and Fuji make "cool" retro chrome models!

Maybe others do.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

11. I remember those "manual vs. auto" arguments too.

I thought about it a lot when I bought my first AE-1. Then I realized that ninety percent of the time I was just looking through the viewfinder and matching the needle anyway, so why not let the camera do the work for me. An added plus was automated TTL flash, although we kind of had that already with thyristor flash units.

[Old Crank]

12. Just sold off my FM2

Went with most of my gear to a new photo student. No idea how many frames of film were run through it. My favorite set up was the motordrive balancing out to 80-200 f2.8 lens. I really got used to having the drive as I have large hands.

[Gato Moteado]

13. cool....i have my old FE and an FM2 i bought a few years later....

...how much did you get for the FM2?

[Old Crank]

14. Wanted to sell it quick

Got rid of the whole kit for $250. Might have been low but I didn't have the time to try to get max dollar.

[Gato Moteado]

15. also, getting top dollar isn't really the point...i was just curious what people are paying....

...what's more important is that someone who really wants to learn and experience film photography was able to get pro grade gear and something you'd probably never use again went to good use instead of gathering dust.

i have all my old gear in storage in austin....next time i'm up there i'll need to go thru it and see if it's all ok.....hopefully i took the battery out of the FE and FM2 and that decades of non-use hasn't caused moving parts to freeze.

i also have an old kowa medium format camera and some nice lenses but it had some sort of a light leak and i don't remember what the issue was....it's probably just a museum piece for my house down here in CR, at this point.

[Old Crank]

16. That is where the FM2 was headed

It was a great camera for me over the years. But moving to Germany and closing down my darkroom numbered its days of use. The same with my Zone VI 4×5. I was thinking of shooting B+W then scanning the negatives to print them on clear stock to make large negatives for alternative process work.

I can probably start with digital now if I want to go with P+P or brown tone.

But I've heard there is a filter for that.