20 Most Recent Nikon FG 35mm SLR Camera Questions & Answers

Remove the lens and look inside it. Do you see the mirror? If not, your mirror is stuck in the up position. Its flat up against the focusing screen. If the mirror is down, the problem is in the lens, or you still have the lens cap in place.
Check your manual under troubleshooting.
Try setting the shutter speed dial to the M90 position.
Also be sure the batteries are inserted correctly!!!!

If no change yet, you can try to put the mirror back down yourself. With the lens removed, set the camera on its back. You can use your fingers, but I suggest a toothpick cuz they won't leave fingerprints on the mirror and the toothpick should break before you exert enough pressure to really break something. So just try to return the mirror to the 45 degree angle within the mirror box. Be careful not to damage anything in there, like the shutter or the arms that raise and lower the mirror. Depending on where you live, there may be some corrosion or rust on the mirror linkage. It should move easily. If you feel any roughness when you move the miror, that may be the reason it did not return on its own. Then turn it on, off again. At some point, you may want to have this camera cleaned, lubricated and Adjusted(CLA) - after all, its over 25 yrs old.
If all that did not work, you'll need to send it in. Here are some good choices for repair places...
Garry Airapetov in Niles, ILL
Camera Repairs in Avon, IN.
BTW here's a website with several pages about FG...http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/emfgfg20/fg/index.htm
copy and paste it into your browser.

A few things to try, based on my FG's operation: - The most obvious- are your batteries good? Correct type? If they are: - When all is well the red LED metering lights will appear in the viewfinder window on the right side, in the range of shutter speed numbers. - The red LED metering lights are only activated when you press the shutter release button (halfway). The lights go out after a few seconds if the shutter button is not held down. Just tap the shutter button to reactivate them. - The shutter speed setting dial must NOT be on B (Bulb) or M90 (non-electronic Manual mode) if you want to see the red LED metering lights. The lights do not operate on these two settings because metering is irrelevant here (you'd be doing the metering, not the camera). - If you're in P (Program mode) the lens aperture must be set all the way to the smallest setting (usually f22 or f16, depending on the lens). If not, you'll only see blinking lights at the top and bottom of the shutter speed range on the right in the viewfinder. That's a reminder to set the lens to the smallest (highest numeric) aperture.
Hope these help. The FG is a great little camera.

vermont camera works is who I use

needs repairing at a qualified shop, if you thnk its worth it

sounds like the film advance motor died

needs repairing at a qualified shop

Light meter only works with the back door shut and the film counter is at frame 1 or more !!, Also if the camera is set at M90 or bulb (B) mode, Meter will not work there ether,

Like most SLR's your camera has a latch mechanism that can be engaged to lock the mirror in the up position. The purpose of the mirror lock is to allow you to use some older lenses with short focal lengths that require the rear element to be so close to the film plane that they cannot be used with the mirror in a down position. I would start by identifying that "switch" and disengaging it. I do not have the manual for your camera, so I cannot tell you the exact location.

Looking at the front of the camera, there is a button next to the lens on the right side. Push and hold that button in while you twist the lens clockwise.

The F50 is called the N50 in some parts of the world. The film loading instructions are on pages 10-11 of the N50 manual available from http://butkus.org/chinon/nikon/nikon_n50/nikon_n50.htm

The N65 uses two CR2 batteries. If you need a manual, you may download a copy from http://www.butkus.org/chinon/nikon/nikon_n65/nikon_n65.htm

Sounds like you got dead batteries. Try putting in a fresh set.

This is often the result of little available light on the focus screen. The more ambient light (and more open the aperture is) the brighter and sharper the image is in the viewfinder. Less light effects the image in the view finder and makes it harder to see and focus. If your lens only opens to f3.5 or 4.0 and you\'re trying to shoot indoors with available light - your lens may not let enough light into the camera to see the scene as well as you can with the naked eye. An f1.4 aperture lets eight (8!) times as much light as an f4.0 does and is why they\'re so expensive.Try the same setup in a brightly lit (sunny day) scene to see if it goes away.Good luck!

Ah, I figured this out. It's not the battery, since the light isn't dimmed. I had the same problem with the light being stuck at 60/120, and it was just flashing. There's a certain mechanism in the camera that only allows the light meter to start working when the exposure count is at 1. So when you load your film, you have to take 2 or 3 exposures, and crank it, before the light meter kicks in.