Expired Plus-X in the Failing Nikon FE2

I adore Kodak’s discontinued Plus-X 125 black and white film. It was the film I cut my teeth on when I first started dabbling in photography in the early 1970s. Pleasant, creamy, dreamy images. Forgiving in exposure and home processing. I bought up a bunch of this film from the final lots and I use it sparingly.

One day, mid-pandemic, I decided to load a roll into my Nikon FE2, mask up and walk the nearly deserted streets of downtown Napa looking for interesting angles and shadows. I didn’t shoot a whole lot during the months of lock down and was really looking forward to a nice photo walk with one of my favorite cameras.

I got my first hint of trouble three or four shots into the roll when the mirror locked up on the Nikon. I was shooting in aperture priority mode and I knew from past experience that when the mirror locks up on the FE or FE2, shifting into one of the camera’s manual shutter speeds will free up the mirror. And that’s all it took. The mirror popped free after shuttling back and forth between automatic and manual modes.

The mirror gremlin didn't hide for a long. A few more shots into the roll and the mirror locked up again. This time, no amount of fiddling with the shutter speeds would free up the mirror. I was really disappointed. It had been too long since I had been out with one of my cameras. And here I was half way through a roll of my prized Plus-X and a very dependable camera poops out on me.

The FE2 is already on its way to Jim Holman at ICT Camera Repair. Jim specializes in cameras like the FE2, FM, FE and FA. He does fine work and his prices are reasonable. I guess I shouldn’t complain. My FE2 has served me well and was due for some spa time.