March 1982 Nikon introduced a significantly improvement on the FM body. Its vertically traveling shutter traversed the opening in under 1/250 second (Nikon, early on specified it and set up the shutter speed dial to reflect X-sync at 1/200 but this conservative approach was later discarded with no apparent resign other that a reconfiguring of the originally obtusely laid out shutter speed dial.) The early production shutter blades had a honeycomb pattern stressed titanium fabrication method which was later eliminated in favor of a very rigid slightly lighter aluminum smooth blade design. The GaAs sensors of the FM were replace by more sensitive and much faster SPD (Silicon PhotoDiodes) extending the ASA range to 6400.

The first iteration of the FM2 had a design misstep.



This is not only an (unnecessary) unfortunate positioning since it turns off the cameras metering circuitry and its position is an awkward position for optimumal ease of use.

Though the display will blink when set to 1/250 with an electronic flash on the earlier models, exposures are executed flawlessly at this shutter speed.

The body has no obvious meter on/off switch function but the circuit is activated by partially depressing the shutter release button after moving the Film advance lever to its "stand off" release position. The circuitry remains active for 30 seconds thereafter. This conserves battery life if the lever is left offset. In use, this can be a very frequent event.