Nikon's first compact entry SLR — the EM, electronic aperture-priority auto, Nikon F mount, 1979.
The Nikon EM, introduced in 1979, was Nikon's first compact, low-cost 35mm SLR, aimed at newcomers and marketed alongside the affordable Series E lenses. It sat at the entry point of Nikon's range at the end of the 1970s and began the small-body line that led to the FG and FG-20. It used the Nikon F bayonet mount, part of the long-lived Nikon lens system.
This is an electronically controlled 35mm SLR on the Nikon F mount, with a vertical-travel focal-plane shutter that is electronically timed, offering an automatic range plus a mechanical backup speed and B. Metering is centre-weighted TTL; the EM is primarily an aperture-priority automatic camera, with only the backup mechanical speed available if the battery fails. As an electronic body it depends on battery power for normal exposure.
The EM suits beginners, students and travellers who want a small, simple, mostly automatic SLR with access to Nikon lenses at low cost. Its aperture-priority-only design keeps operation easy, letting the user set the aperture while the camera picks the shutter speed. It is light and compact, though it offers less manual control than larger Nikon bodies.
On the used market, being electronic and largely automatic, it needs a working battery to function normally, with only the mechanical backup speed otherwise. Test the meter and auto exposure, check the shutter, inspect the prism for haze, and look for perished light-seal and mirror-damper foam, which are common on this era. Try advance and rewind. It uses standard late-1970s cells rather than mercury batteries. AI and AI-S F-mount lenses meter; Series E lenses suit it well.