To unload film, simply..

press the Rewind Button on the baseplate of my Nikon FE2. Then turn the rewind crank in the direction of the arrow until you don't feel tension. That's it! That's all I had to do! Unfortunately, that's not at all what I did.

So, I'm very knew to film photography because I only shoot Mirrorless Cameras. I purchased a few film cameras on eBay and Etsy to experiment. I'll eventually keep one but sell the others. Last Saturday, I brought my Nikons FE2 & F2 with me to church. Mid-service I snuck out to go to the park to take pictures with this unfamiliar technology. After using up my 36 shots, it's finally time to rewind the film and remove it from the camera. Simple. But how do I do that? I had NO IDEA!

I've rewinded the film on my Nikon FM2 but I don't remember what exactly I did. Now here I am out in the cold attempting to rewind film but I feel so much tension. Too much tension! So, what do I do? I yank the rewind crank has hard as I could! The tension was finally gone. A little.. too gone. I do the unthinkable and open the camera back over exposing the film to the light. That's when the problem become obvious: film cameras are very different from digital cameras.

That's what I get for skipping out on church to take pictures!

Nikon FE2 is a great camera; if you know how to use it.

I also brought my Nikon F2 with me that day. However, I still didn't didn't use the rewind button and repeated the same problem. I took it home and removed the film while in a nearly pitch-black bathroom. I Manually rewinded the film back into the canister (I didn't even know that was possible) in an attempt to preserve what few good images I may have taken. Finally, I Googled the solution: Just press the rewind button befell rewinding your film (duh!)!

Want to read the instructions for the Nikon F2?:

Unloading Film

When the frame counter indicates that the last exposure has been made, or when the film-advance lever can no longer be stroked, the roll of film has been fully exposed and it should be removed.

To unload the camera, first press the rewind button on the camera baseplate; then, unfold the rewind crank and turn it in the direction of the engraved arrow, using a smooth, even pressure. When no more tension is felt andthe film advance indicator (the colored dot on the re­wind button) stops rotating, the film leader has left the take-up spool and the camera back may be opened.

After opening the camera back, pull the rewind knob up as far as it will go and remove the film cartridge. Note that as the film advance lever is stroked for the next ex­posure, the rewind button will be released to engage the film-advance mechanism.

Caution: Be careful not to push the rewind button during film-advance operation. Should this occur, the film transport will temporarily stop and double exposure may result. Note: The camera back can be removed from the body by de­pressing the locking catch on the hinge. Removal of the camera back is necessary when the camera is used with any accessory back such as the 250 Magazine Back MF-1 or the Camera Back MF-3, both for motorized photography.