The Nikon F3H: The fastest analog Nikon
In 1980 Nikon brought forth the Nikon MD-4 Motor in conjunction with the release of the new Nikon F3. It has an integrated battery pack and grip for 8 AA batteries or two MN-2 batteries, and with fresh batteries it can achieve 6 fps, ringing through a 36-exposure roll in just 6 sec. Finally, in 1996 Nikon finally rose to the challenge, offering a High Speed Motor Drive for the Nikon F3H variant which can achieve a top speed of 13.5 fps using a Nicad battery pack! The Nikon F3 High Speed (sporting an F3H logo) was the last of the High Speed Nikons. The F3H was not a regular production camera (only 300 units were planned), it was never officially exported, and was intended for credentialed professional Japanese photographers covering the Nagano Olympics. Like its archrival, the 10 fps Canon EOS-1N RS, it has a fixed pellicle mirror, and like the standard Nikon F3, its MD4H motor is detachable but will not fit the F3. The MD4H motor works with standard 36-exposure cartridges only, so you’re out of film in 3 sec! The image of photographers having to change film at such a clip stands in sharp contrast to the those easily achieving 20 fps and 30 fps with today’s top digital mirrorless marvels who can record thousands of images at furious framing rates without so much as changing a memory card! If you hanker for a Nikon F3H of your very own, they’re available but pricey. The handful of units currently listed on the leading online auction sites will set you back from $5,500 to $8,000 without lens!
Nikon MD-4 Motor Drive has an integrated battery pack and grip for 8 AA batteries or two MN-2 batteries, and can achieve a 6 fps framing rate.
The Nikon F3 High Speed (here's sporting an F3H logo) was the last of the High Speed Nikons. It could achieve 13.5 fps!
Other Nikon motors include the Nikon MD-11 made for the Nikon FM/FE range. With fresh batteries it can achieve 3.5 fps, and it provides a remote- control connector on the front, and a red power on lamp on the back. The similar spec Nikon MD-12 motor fits the Nikon FM, FE, FM2, FM2/T, FE2, FM3a and FA. The MD-14 for the Nikon FG, FG-20, and Nikon EM looks like the MD-11 and MD-12, and shoots at 2 fps on low, and 3.3 fps on the high setting. The Nikon Motor Drive MD-15 for the Nikon FA provides a top framing rate of 3.2 fpsat shutter speeds of 1/125 sec and faster. When you attach the MD15 to the FA, the camera body's batteries are automatically turned off and MD-15'stake over the power supply for the camera. The shutter release button on the motor drive acts and behaves the same way as the camera's release; when slightly depressed it will automatically activate the meter,thenturn off after 16 sec of inactivity.
Nikon Motor MD-12, is similar to MD-11, and it fits the Nikon FM, FE, FM2, FM2/T, FE2, FM3a and FA, \making it a good choice for Nikon fans,
The Nikon F4 introduced in 1988 was a top pro autofocus SLR and the first of its kind with a built-in motor. In addition to many innovative features such as AF tracking, Matrix Metering, and a vertical metal blade shutter with a balancer to minimize noise and camera shake, its motor (which required one if 3 bottom mounted battery packs to operate) provided a top framing speed of 5.7 fps (with MB-21 or MB-23 battery pack). A large, heavy, complex camera with over 1700 parts, it nevertheless established a reputation for outstanding durability.
Nikon F4, the first Nikon with a built-in motor, provided a top framing rate of 5.7 fps (in F4S configuration) with MB-21 or MB-23 battery pack.
The Canon EOS-1 series: The final salvo in the Motor Drive Wars
Canon introduced the EOS-1 series of advanced professional EF-mount autofocus SLRs with built-in motors beginning in 1989, and it culminated in the EOS-1N RS in 1995 and the EOS-1V in 2000. All but the EOS-1N RS use conventional moving mirrors, The original EOS-1 of 1989 achieves a framing rate of 2.5 fps (the manual says 3 fps) with the standard built-in motor, and 5.5 fps with the Motor Booster. The EOS-1N shoots at 3fps and 6 fps without and with the booster respectively, and the EOS-1V gets up to 9fps with the Motor Booster, very impressive for an SLR with a conventional flipping mirror. The fastest firing EOS-1 was the EOS-1N RS, basically a fixed pellicle mirror version of the EOS-1N, that employs Canon’s state-of-the-art second-generation pellicle mirror and achieves a maximum framing rate of 10 fps.
Canon EOS-1N RS with second generation pellicle mirror achieves 10 fps, and is available used at surprisingly low prices.
The Canon EOS-1N RS has a fixed, hard-coated, semi-transparent pellicle mirror, and a vertical travel focal plane shutter with carbon and metal first and second curtains that are independently controlledand complete the shutter release sequence in 0.006 sec! All shutter speeds are electronically controlled, and the RS can attain 10 fps in CH mode, 3 fps in CL mode. In the One-Shot and manual modes, the continuous shooting speeds are 6 fps and 3 fps respectively. All other specs are identical to the EOS-1N’s. The camera is powered by eight 1.5-volt alkaline or lithium AA calls or Ni-CD Pack E-1, and the camera features automatic rewind at the end if the roll with a user selectable midroll rewind option. Perhaps the nicest thing about this outstanding landmark camera is that it’s readily available used at reasonable cost. A clean functional Canon EOS-1N RS can be yours for around $200 to $350 on the leading online auction sites and you can occasionally snag a nice one for less than that. These very low prices for the popular, easily found EOS-1N RS make it the “bestest for the moistest” HIGH SPEED 35mm camera ever produced.
Canon EOS-1V released in 2000 was the last of the EOS-1 series and can get top to 9 fps with Booster Motor despite its flipping mirror.
But wait, There’s MORE! The fabled “Nikon-1N RS!” The thin bodied EOS film cameras are easily improved by mounting Nikon Nikkor lenses, using a quality Nikkor to EOS lens adapter such as the one produced by Rayqual in Japan. Though not well known outside Japan, Rayqual is known in Japan as the best small independent Japanese lens adapter manufacturer. With this adapter you get infinity focus and aperture priority AE operation on the Canon EOS-1N RS. OK, you don’t get auto diaphragm operation, but that’s a small price to pay for using Nikkor on the best bang for the buck high speed film camera ever made.
If you want a more compact motorized top-tier Canon and will settle for a manual focus (FD mount) model mere 4.5 fps burst rate, consider the highly esteemed Canon T90 that debuted in 1986. It’s widely available used at prices around $100-$150.
As the Rolling Stones said (in Mother’s Little Helper), “Things are different today…” and the fierce Motor Drive Wars between Nikon and Canon seem like a quaint relic of the past. Two current top competitors from Nikon and Canon, the Nikon Z9 and the Canon EOS R3, can both achieve framing rates of 20 and 30 fps without breaking a sweat, and the Z9 can capture 11 MP images at 120 fps! That’s because they don’t have to drag film through the camera, so the only limiting factors are the capture time and refresh rate of the sensor and the algorithms built into that little bit of magic known as the Image Processor.
The physical challenges and monumental inconveniencefaced by a pro shooting sports or high-speed action back in the ’90s were daunting, not to mention the cost of film and processing (equivalent to thousands of dollars today). For those with inquiring minds who must know, imagine shooting two weeks at an Olympics using Nikon or Canon High Speed cameras. How many rolls of film and shots would you likely have shot over those two weeks? Now comes the hard part. Do the math. Calculate the cost of film and processing at those historic Olympics vs. the cost of same amount of film and processing in 2023 dollars--WOE to your film budget!
This is truly the golden age of the continuous burst. Indeed, any pro photographer working today who experienced the transition probably thinks they’ve died and gone to heaven—as I did when I made the transition from shooting weddings with a Crown Graphic 4x5 and switched to a Rolleiflex back in the ‘60s. Like many of the great transitions in photography the one from film to digital occurred with lighting speed leaving many with high-end equipment that was obsolete, not to mention a knowledge base sorely in need a major refresh. Still, shooting with “obsolete” motor drive cameras can be a lot of fun, but you’d better get on the stick quickly before soaring film prices dampen your enthusiasm.
In 1980 Nikon brought forth the Nikon MD-4 Motor in conjunction with the release of the new Nikon F3. It has an integrated battery pack and grip for 8 AA batteries or two MN-2 batteries, and with fresh batteries it can achieve 6 fps, ringing through a 36-exposure roll in just 6 sec. Finally, in 1996 Nikon finally rose to the challenge, offering a High Speed Motor Drive for the Nikon F3H variant which can achieve a top speed of 13.5 fps using a Nicad battery pack! The Nikon F3 High Speed (sporting an F3H logo) was the last of the High Speed Nikons. The F3H was not a regular production camera (only 300 units were planned), it was never officially exported, and was intended for credentialed professional Japanese photographers covering the Nagano Olympics. Like its archrival, the 10 fps Canon EOS-1N RS, it has a fixed pellicle mirror, and like the standard Nikon F3, its MD4H motor is detachable but will not fit the F3. The MD4H motor works with standard 36-exposure cartridges only, so you’re out of film in 3 sec! The image of photographers having to change film at such a clip stands in sharp contrast to the those easily achieving 20 fps and 30 fps with today’s top digital mirrorless marvels who can record thousands of images at furious framing rates without so much as changing a memory card! If you hanker for a Nikon F3H of your very own, they’re available but pricey. The handful of units currently listed on the leading online auction sites will set you back from $5,500 to $8,000 without lens!
Nikon MD-4 Motor Drive has an integrated battery pack and grip for 8 AA batteries or two MN-2 batteries, and can achieve a 6 fps framing rate.
The Nikon F3 High Speed (here's sporting an F3H logo) was the last of the High Speed Nikons. It could achieve 13.5 fps!
Other Nikon motors include the Nikon MD-11 made for the Nikon FM/FE range. With fresh batteries it can achieve 3.5 fps, and it provides a remote- control connector on the front, and a red power on lamp on the back. The similar spec Nikon MD-12 motor fits the Nikon FM, FE, FM2, FM2/T, FE2, FM3a and FA. The MD-14 for the Nikon FG, FG-20, and Nikon EM looks like the MD-11 and MD-12, and shoots at 2 fps on low, and 3.3 fps on the high setting. The Nikon Motor Drive MD-15 for the Nikon FA provides a top framing rate of 3.2 fpsat shutter speeds of 1/125 sec and faster. When you attach the MD15 to the FA, the camera body's batteries are automatically turned off and MD-15'stake over the power supply for the camera. The shutter release button on the motor drive acts and behaves the same way as the camera's release; when slightly depressed it will automatically activate the meter,thenturn off after 16 sec of inactivity.
Nikon Motor MD-12, is similar to MD-11, and it fits the Nikon FM, FE, FM2, FM2/T, FE2, FM3a and FA, \making it a good choice for Nikon fans,
The Nikon F4 introduced in 1988 was a top pro autofocus SLR and the first of its kind with a built-in motor. In addition to many innovative features such as AF tracking, Matrix Metering, and a vertical metal blade shutter with a balancer to minimize noise and camera shake, its motor (which required one if 3 bottom mounted battery packs to operate) provided a top framing speed of 5.7 fps (with MB-21 or MB-23 battery pack). A large, heavy, complex camera with over 1700 parts, it nevertheless established a reputation for outstanding durability.
Nikon F4, the first Nikon with a built-in motor, provided a top framing rate of 5.7 fps (in F4S configuration) with MB-21 or MB-23 battery pack.
The Canon EOS-1 series: The final salvo in the Motor Drive Wars
Canon introduced the EOS-1 series of advanced professional EF-mount autofocus SLRs with built-in motors beginning in 1989, and it culminated in the EOS-1N RS in 1995 and the EOS-1V in 2000. All but the EOS-1N RS use conventional moving mirrors, The original EOS-1 of 1989 achieves a framing rate of 2.5 fps (the manual says 3 fps) with the standard built-in motor, and 5.5 fps with the Motor Booster. The EOS-1N shoots at 3fps and 6 fps without and with the booster respectively, and the EOS-1V gets up to 9fps with the Motor Booster, very impressive for an SLR with a conventional flipping mirror. The fastest firing EOS-1 was the EOS-1N RS, basically a fixed pellicle mirror version of the EOS-1N, that employs Canon’s state-of-the-art second-generation pellicle mirror and achieves a maximum framing rate of 10 fps.
Canon EOS-1N RS with second generation pellicle mirror achieves 10 fps, and is available used at surprisingly low prices.
The Canon EOS-1N RS has a fixed, hard-coated, semi-transparent pellicle mirror, and a vertical travel focal plane shutter with carbon and metal first and second curtains that are independently controlledand complete the shutter release sequence in 0.006 sec! All shutter speeds are electronically controlled, and the RS can attain 10 fps in CH mode, 3 fps in CL mode. In the One-Shot and manual modes, the continuous shooting speeds are 6 fps and 3 fps respectively. All other specs are identical to the EOS-1N’s. The camera is powered by eight 1.5-volt alkaline or lithium AA calls or Ni-CD Pack E-1, and the camera features automatic rewind at the end if the roll with a user selectable midroll rewind option. Perhaps the nicest thing about this outstanding landmark camera is that it’s readily available used at reasonable cost. A clean functional Canon EOS-1N RS can be yours for around $200 to $350 on the leading online auction sites and you can occasionally snag a nice one for less than that. These very low prices for the popular, easily found EOS-1N RS make it the “bestest for the moistest” HIGH SPEED 35mm camera ever produced.
Canon EOS-1V released in 2000 was the last of the EOS-1 series and can get top to 9 fps with Booster Motor despite its flipping mirror.
But wait, There’s MORE! The fabled “Nikon-1N RS!” The thin bodied EOS film cameras are easily improved by mounting Nikon Nikkor lenses, using a quality Nikkor to EOS lens adapter such as the one produced by Rayqual in Japan. Though not well known outside Japan, Rayqual is known in Japan as the best small independent Japanese lens adapter manufacturer. With this adapter you get infinity focus and aperture priority AE operation on the Canon EOS-1N RS. OK, you don’t get auto diaphragm operation, but that’s a small price to pay for using Nikkor on the best bang for the buck high speed film camera ever made.
If you want a more compact motorized top-tier Canon and will settle for a manual focus (FD mount) model mere 4.5 fps burst rate, consider the highly esteemed Canon T90 that debuted in 1986. It’s widely available used at prices around $100-$150.
As the Rolling Stones said (in Mother’s Little Helper), “Things are different today…” and the fierce Motor Drive Wars between Nikon and Canon seem like a quaint relic of the past. Two current top competitors from Nikon and Canon, the Nikon Z9 and the Canon EOS R3, can both achieve framing rates of 20 and 30 fps without breaking a sweat, and the Z9 can capture 11 MP images at 120 fps! That’s because they don’t have to drag film through the camera, so the only limiting factors are the capture time and refresh rate of the sensor and the algorithms built into that little bit of magic known as the Image Processor.
The physical challenges and monumental inconveniencefaced by a pro shooting sports or high-speed action back in the ’90s were daunting, not to mention the cost of film and processing (equivalent to thousands of dollars today). For those with inquiring minds who must know, imagine shooting two weeks at an Olympics using Nikon or Canon High Speed cameras. How many rolls of film and shots would you likely have shot over those two weeks? Now comes the hard part. Do the math. Calculate the cost of film and processing at those historic Olympics vs. the cost of same amount of film and processing in 2023 dollars--WOE to your film budget!
This is truly the golden age of the continuous burst. Indeed, any pro photographer working today who experienced the transition probably thinks they’ve died and gone to heaven—as I did when I made the transition from shooting weddings with a Crown Graphic 4x5 and switched to a Rolleiflex back in the ‘60s. Like many of the great transitions in photography the one from film to digital occurred with lighting speed leaving many with high-end equipment that was obsolete, not to mention a knowledge base sorely in need a major refresh. Still, shooting with “obsolete” motor drive cameras can be a lot of fun, but you’d better get on the stick quickly before soaring film prices dampen your enthusiasm.
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