Nikon F3

[Roughcollie]

I recently bought a near mint Nikon F3 which I plan to use mostly for landscape photography,also have two Voigtlander lens 20mm f/3.5 color- skopar and a 40mm f2 ultron SL-2 to go with my Nikon 28mm f/2.8 AI-s manual lens.
Few of questions I would like to ask are, firstly has anybody used there Nikon F3 for landscape photography?also is there any advantage in using the waist level finder (DW-3) on the camera ?
Lastly on the focusing screens which would be best for this type of photography.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Nigel

 

[mfogiel]

Nikon F3 is a fully blown pro camera. For example, you can use the MLU function when shooting landscapes on a tripod. I find the best VF to be the HP prism+DK17 magnifier. I have never used a WLF with this camera, but frankly, the viewing area is not big enough to easily judge the composition, as is the case with 6x6 cameras. In my opinion the 35mm SLR WLF's were mainly useful for shooting from the ground.
As to the screens, there are a couple of things to keep in mind: accuracy of focus relative to your lenses and presence of grid. The "E" screen has a nice grid which will make it easier to align the image, but has no focusing aids - the "K" screen has the aids but no grid, and is in practical use good enough. Here you have a bit of an overview:
http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/screens/index.htm.
If you mainly use short lenses and shoot at infinity, focus accuracy will not be a problem, but if you would like to use longer and fast glass for e.g. portraiture, you need to calibrate the lens to a specific screen.

 

[Robert Lai]

I like the P screen for such purposes. It has a ruled horizontal and vertical line, so that you can keep the horizon horizontal (and verticals vertical). Also, the split image rangefinder is at 45 degrees, which makes it universally useful at any angle.

 

[Dwig]

I agree with mfogiel about both the HP finder and the E screen. I always found the E screen to be a good fit for landscape and architectural work and used them regularly in my F, F2, & F3 bodies.

I've never used the DW-3 on an F3 but have used the equivalent on F2 and F bodies and never found it particularly useful except for low angle closeup work (flowers, bugs, ...) or copy work. Even then, the DW-4 ( http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/finders/finder3.htm ), which I have used both for the F3 and the equivalent for an F2, is a better performer though much more expensive.

 

[jim_jm]

Nigel -

I have an F3HP and F3, and they are my "go-to" bodies for all types of 35mm shooting, including landscapes. More so the F3 as I don't wear glasses and like the higher magnification finder. I also have the 28/2.8 AIS and it's a great lens.

I've used the WL finder only a few times for macro photography, where I needed to shoot close to the ground and it helped to be able to look down into the finder. Otherwise, I haven't found much use for it.

Both have the standard K screen, which is the matte/Fresnel field with a 3mm split rangefinder spot surrounded by a microprism ring. Works great for general shooting. For landscapes you may also find the type P screen helpful as it adds horizontal and vertical lines - which may help in keeping your horizons level. Here's some info: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/screens/index.htm

The meters in the F3 bodies are probably the best I've ever used. They're more heavily center-weighted than other cameras (80/20) and mine have always been very accurate. Especially when shooting slide film, I've always gotten good results.

Good Luck!

 

[BillBingham2]

I like the P screen for such purposes. It has a ruled horizontal and vertical line, so that you can keep the horizon horizontal (and verticals vertical). Also, the split image rangefinder is at 45 degrees, which makes it universally useful at any angle.

+1

The P screen my favorite general purpose screen.

B2 (;->

 

[GarageBoy]

I know a lot of people will chime in about how their F3P is awesome, or you must have the MD4 - but the F3HP - in regular form, is a sweet heart of a camera - gorgeous viewfinder, great feeling. LCD sucks, wish it had an F4 style display, but in AE, it's not bad

 

[taemo]

I know a lot of people will chime in about how their F3P is awesome, or you must have the MD4 - but the F3HP - in regular form, is a sweet heart of a camera - gorgeous viewfinder, great feeling. LCD sucks, wish it had an F4 style display, but in AE, it's not bad

unfortunately while the F3P is awesome, it's not as convenient for long-exposure photography than the F3 or F3HP as it doesnt have a cable-release thread.
I recommend the prism with gridlines (Type E IIRC)
love the F3HP, however I'm prefering the FM2 or FM3 more as I find the VF bigger.

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

Whatever you do, make sure you have a 'red dot' (newer version) screen in your camera. I'm new to the F3, and went through a few screens before finding a night and day difference in the clarity of the viewfinder image.

 

[mod2001]

Whatever you do, make sure you have a 'red dot' (newer version) screen in your camera. I'm new to the F3, and went through a few screens before finding a night and day difference in the clarity of the viewfinder image.

Are the 'red dot' easy to identify`? and if so how?

Edit: found it myself an checked, have a red dot K screen🙂.

Yogi

 

[GarageBoy]

unfortunately while the F3P is awesome, it's not as convenient for long-exposure photography than the F3 or F3HP as it doesnt have a cable-release thread.

Also really a pain to use without the motor drive without "butchering" it by removing the mf4b
I get it, it's cool and nostalgic to be using a tool that was "press exclusive" - but I'll take the F3 / F3/T

 

[rbsinto]

unfortunately while the F3P is awesome, it's not as convenient for long-exposure photography than the F3 or F3HP as it doesnt have a cable-release thread.
I recommend the prism with gridlines (Type E IIRC)
love the F3HP, however I'm prefering the FM2 or FM3 more as I find the VF bigger.

You can run a cable release through the motor drive by attaching a terminal shutter to it and getting a cable release with the correct female end to attach to it.

 

[taemo]

You can run a cable release through the motor drive by attaching a terminal shutter to it and getting a cable release with the correct female end to attach to it.

true but then it's not as light or small as without the MD, basically IMO not practical for landscape

 

[willie_901]

I owned a waist level finder and rarely used it. If my memory does not fail me, it was not so effective as a finder.

Perhaps these days the DW-3 is very inexpensive... so it won't hurt to try.

 

[giganova]

A grid focusing screen is the way to go for landscape and buildings!

 

[rbsinto]

true but then it's not as light or small as without the MD, basically IMO not practical for landscape

"Everyone does what they do."-RBSinTo's Law

I only shoot landscapes when dragged kicking and screaming into Nature's Splendor by my landscape shooting photobuds.
But on those rare occasions when I have, a motor driven F2 with the above mentioned cable through the motor, or alternately a motor driven FA fired via the self-timer, did very nicely.

 

[taemo]

"Everyone does what they do."-RBSinTo's Law

I only shoot landscapes when dragged kicking and screaming into Nature's Splendor by my landscape shooting photobuds.
But on those rare occasions when I have, a motor driven F2 with the above mentioned cable through the motor, or alternately a motor driven FA fired via the self-timer, did very nicely.

good point and I agree, everyone shoot at their own pace and style.
I've taken landscape shots with the F3P, some at 2-4s exposures, I'm not saying you can't use it but I'm just questioning its practicality.
Why use a F3P and MD when you can use a F3 or F3HP instead.