Nikon F3 Tribute

[amateriat]

Well, I haven't had one in a long time...this was the last time anyone saw me with one:

Me and motorized F3 (still have that Slik 505!), waitin' on a train, Waverly, Va., July 1983


- Barrett

 

[jonmanjiro]

First thing I did was replace the prism with the DE-2 (non-HP)

Yup.
If I were to ever get another F3, I'd go for one with a DE-2 prism for the smaller size (the higher magnification is nice too). To my eyes, the HP prism is too large for the F3 body. Looks odd. Damn fine camera though.

 

[amateriat]

Yup.
If I were to ever get another F3, I'd go for one with a DE-2 prism for the smaller size (the higher magnification is nice too). To my eyes, the HP prism is too large for the F3 body. Looks odd. Damn fine camera though.

The HP prism might look a tad less "integrated" to the F3 body, but to my bespectacled eyes it was a godsend. First SLR whose VF I seriously got on with.


- Barrett

 

[Calzone]

BTW for all you guys that perfer non "Pro" Nikon bodies, realize that the VF on all the pro Nikon cameras display 100% of what will be on the negative. What you see is what you get.

I had a FM2, but I sold it because it only displayed 90% of what got exposed on the negative. What is the point of having a SLR if you are not seeing what you get?

Cal

 

[Calzone]

My F3HP press edition's serial no. is P9022381. Any idea when it was made? Recently got it 2nd hand, but it looks virtually unused. It shares slr duty with an FE2, 2 F4s, and a brace of Canon A1s.

It really is a lovely camera, especially with the MD4 attached.

My S/N on my F3P is P9002780. I'm thinking that my F3P is an early one that required press credentials to obtain.

Oddly your S/N seems very high for a limited production camera. Nikon must of skipped around a lot. I don't believe Nikon made over 22 thousand F3P's.

Cal

 

[jonmanjiro]

Oddly your S/N seems very high for a limited production camera. Nikon must of skipped around a lot. I don't believe Nikon made over 22 thousand F3P's.

22,000 sounds about right to me. And its just a small percentage of the total number of F3 cameras that were manufactured. The Nikon website states that the total F3 sales volume from March 1982 to September 1992 exceeded 751,000 cameras, but of course that number doesn't include F3 cameras in the period from September 1992 to when the F3 was discontinued in 2000.

 

[Calzone]

22,000 sounds about right to me. And its just a small percentage of the total number of F3 cameras that were manufactured. The Nikon website states that the total F3 sales volume from March 1982 to September 1992 exceeded 751,000 cameras, but of course that number doesn't include F3 cameras in the period from September 1992 to when the F3 was discontinued in 2000.

Thanks for the information. I forgot that Nikon built many-many F3's.

Seems like I have a very early F3P and the other F3P on this thread is like a very late version.

Cal

 

[swatch]

bought F3 ( non-hp ) a few years ago ... replace the focus screen from F4 .... should not because of loud shutter I would not be using RF camera for street photography

F3 acutally is stronger in construction / durable than M camera

 

[Gary Sandhu]

Of course you won't find much about the F3 here, its a rangefinder forum and it and it's buddies (nikon F) basically "killed" the idea o a rangefinder for most working pros. 🙂
I like mine except for the dinky led button and odd flash shoe.

 

[nobbylon]

As nice as the F3's are, I prefer my F and F2's. Must be an old school thing. IMHO these are the classic Nikons. My favorite is my black F with Ftn head, weighs a ton, clunky and brick like but feels like it will last forever. As far as meters go, the F2AS is great. I always find the paddle and needle meters in my others difficult in low light much like any other needle type. It was the main reason I sold my OM's and lenses.

 

[ChrisPlatt]

The entire LCD is the weak point in the F3 ergonomics

In the 1980's I was a Nikon user but I never wanted an F3 because of that unfriendly meter display.

Chris

 

[not_in_good_order]

I love my F3 (though I only use the DW-3 viewfinder pictured here occasionally, I prefer the HP viewfinder):

 

[mw_uio]

Here is my F3/DW-3. [Waist level 😀 ]

Cheers [I need a DW-20 for my F4! ]

Mark
Quito, Ecuador

 

[hamradio]

I recently traded a beat up bronica ETR-C for an f3 with 50 1.8 series E and an md-4. I love it.

 

[icemendicant]

I have 3 Nikon F3/Ts and love them - two are fitted with MD4 drives and the third has a black Luigi half-case and fits into a small Artisan bag for portability. I managed to get these as new old stock a few years ago, along with some Ai-S lenses and they have been my main cameras for 35mm work.

I've been playing with an F4S recently, using a Beattie Intenscreen for manual focus with the Ai-S lenses, and that is lovely too, but doesn't quite beat the solid simplicity of the F3.

 

[FrankS]

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

... on a leasurly 500 mile 2 day motorcycle trip to see some fall colours. In my tank bag are 2 F3's. I have lots of different cameras to choose from, so that's a tribute to the F3. (My lenses are 20, 28, and 50mm.)

 

[samuelphoto]

Yes, the F3 is a great camera. I've been using a F3 and F3 HP for something like 20 years, preferring the HP finder. They are practically indestructible and incredibly reliable. If I had to pick the "best" manual slr ever made, this would be it for me. They are widely available on internet and you can pick up a pretty nice one for around $200 or less, have it CLA'd for $100 and "presto" you're set. Now, it is paired with a 105mm f1.8 AIS lens that never leaves the body. Stuff it all in a Domke F-6 and you've got quite the nice setup.

I use Leicas for all the shorter focal lengths, as I prefer rangefinders, have never been impressed with Nikon wide angle faster primes and the Zeiss lenses are just plain huge. But the F3 handles longer lenses much better than the Leicas and the 85/1.4, 105/1.8 and 180/2.8 prime lenses (among many others) produce great images.

 

[ampguy]

I have a 2nd F3 DE, and a WLF for it. However, this 2nd F3 is different from my first in that I can't really use it for test metering, etc. This one sticks to 1/80th pretty in most any mode until film is loaded.

I thought it was broken, but it's always spot on when film is loaded, and some folks said they were like this before a change occurred at some later build date for them.

 

[JayGannon]

I have a 2nd F3 DE, and a WLF for it. However, this 2nd F3 is different from my first in that I can't really use it for test metering, etc. This one sticks to 1/80th pretty in most any mode until film is loaded.

I thought it was broken, but it's always spot on when film is loaded, and some folks said they were like this before a change occurred at some later build date for them.

Mine does this too. Slightly annoying.

 

[Robert Lai]

I didn't know that they ever changed the 1/80 behavior on Auto until frame 1. The original purpose was so that you don't have to wait for many, many minutes if you are trying to get to frame 1 with the lens cap on, and the camera in AUTO mode. The F3 is a great night stalker. I've had it time out to 45 minutes on a tripod on AUTO. That could be very frustrating if it didn't have the default 1/80 feature.