The EM has no full manual exposure mode capability, but instead was intended to be used by inexperienced photographers who could not easily master the intricacies of shutter speeds and f-stops.

[citation needed] IX Nikkor lenses introduced in 1996 for Nikon's Advanced Photo System SLRs must not be mounted to an EM, as their rear elements will intrude far enough into the mirror box to cause damage.

[citation needed] Although Nikon cameras like the F2 of 1971 were highly regarded by professional photographers, the F2's bulk, expense, and intricacy made it a slow seller to most amateurs and beginners.

The EM featured a lightweight, compact copper-aluminum alloy body and fiberglass-reinforced polycarbonate plastic top and bottom covers, plus aperture priority semiautomatic exposure control governed by a built-in 60/40 percent centerweighted, silicon photodiode light meter.

Nippon Kogaku's philosophy that a camera must always work when called upon resulted in the EM's backup ability to operate without batteries, albeit in a limited fashion: mechanical control with one available fixed shutter speed (1/90 second, marked "M90") or fully-manual, operator-controlled open-shutter duration marked "B" for "Bulb", and without the light meter.

A little-known feature of the EM is that when the battery is removed, the "Auto" setting produces a shutter speed of approximately 1/1000 sec.

[citation needed] The EM and its E-system accessories were Nippon Kogaku's first attempt to reach the low end of the SLR market.

[3] Called internally “SLR Camera for Women”,[4] the EM was designed to provide style, with its exterior contours designed Italian automobile stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro); convenience with a system of dedicated accessories; as much ease of use and automation as was possible in 1979; low cost by dint of a simplified manufacturing process, and the prestige of the Nikon name prominently displayed on the pentaprism housing.

[citation needed] The less-expensive Series E lenses marketed with the camera also came in for heavy criticism, and Nikon soon dropped the entire line.