Nikon's budget manual-focus SLR — the FE10, aperture-priority TTL, electronic, Nikon F, 1996.
The Nikon FE10, introduced in 1996, was an entry-level manual-focus 35mm SLR built for Nikon by Cosina, sold as an affordable route into the Nikon F system. It sat at the base of Nikon's manual-focus range in the mid-1990s, aimed at students and beginners. It used the Nikon F bayonet mount, sharing lenses with the wider Nikon system and its long-lived F-mount.
This is an electronically controlled 35mm SLR on the Nikon F mount, with a vertical-travel focal-plane shutter offering speeds broadly to 1/2000 second plus B. Metering is centre-weighted TTL; exposure modes are aperture-priority automatic and manual. As an electronic body it relies on battery power to run the meter and automatic exposure. The FE10 was built to a budget, with a simpler construction than Nikon's earlier metal FE bodies.
The FE10 suits students, beginners and travellers who want a light, inexpensive manual-focus SLR with aperture-priority automation and access to Nikon lenses. Handling is straightforward, with a simple control layout. Being a lower-cost, Cosina-built body, it is less robust than the classic FE line but remains a usable entry point to the system.
On the used market, being electronic it needs a working battery for the meter and auto mode, so test exposure and metering. Check the shutter for accurate speeds, inspect the prism for haze, look for perished light-seal and mirror-damper foam, and try film advance and rewind. As a 1990s body it uses standard modern batteries rather than mercury cells. AI, AI-S and AF F-mount lenses fit and meter, though AF lenses focus manually here.