Nikon FG-20

The Nikon FG-20 was introduced in 1984. Its production run was less than a year. Compact and even lighter than the EM, it was aimed squarely at the consumer end of the market. Whilst it had a better specification than the EM, it was a reduced-spec variant of the FG which had been introduced two years earlier as an up-market variant of the EM. Sales of the FG appear to have been disappointing; perhaps it was too complex for potential buyers. Hence the pared-down (and short lived) FG-20.

In appearance and design its ancestry is clear with similarities to the FE, FM family. It was to be the last in this line. Its successors would have more rounded body styling with extensive use of polycarbonates, DX coding for film, built-in winders and flash, and automatic focus.


Thus the FG-20 is something of a scene-closer and for users of film is so compact that with a small-profile lens attached you won’t want a kit bag if you have a largish pocket. It is the sort of camera that gets taken places when others do not.

Photographed with an AF Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 on a Nikon D50.