Nikon FM3a: The Dream Is Over

[italy74]

Look again, this is me in a very funny shot, and the little camera on my side is the FM3A with CV 40 F/2.. I wouldn't call it "big" at all, especially compared with the F6 + flash....

 

[Riverman]

I picked up an FM3a in 2009 and 18 months on I would say the pros (chiefly the light weight, rugged build and mechanical shutter to 1/4000) outweigh the minor negatives others have pointed to. Recently I took mine on a trip to Death Valley. Camera earned its stripes on this trip, getting dropped, kicked around and absolutely stuffed full of sand and grit. In serious need of a CLA now! I had thought about selling the camera but after the positive experience on this recent trip I will be hanging on to it. It's the perfect camera to take into the wilderness.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbk21/sets/72157626374632006/

 

[Nikon Bob]

I never said it was a bad camera, just that it's the wrong camera for me for the reasons I listed. Another reason that I forgot to mention is the cost. I don't think the going rate for them these days is in any way justified, except for maybe some level of rarity based on a limited production run. It simply doesn't offer enough to justify a $500+ price tag.

EDIT: I also understand the irony of this statement when one thinks about how much a Leica M costs. In comparison to an M, however, you don't really have substantially cheaper alternatives that also offer more. Even a CV Bessa is going to run you about $400-500 used, but you can get an OM-4 these days for less than $200, which is incredible for what you get.

Your comment on the current price of the FM3a is spot on IMHO. I do not think they are worth the price difference over an FM2n and I like my Nikons. I can understand your reasons for letting it go also. If it is not for you then it is not for you, as simple as that.

Bob

 

[mfunnell]

Your comment on the current price of the FM3a is spot on IMHO. I do not think they are worth the price difference over an FM2n and I like my Nikons.

That's a fair call. I do really love my FM3a (and Dino, above, has it also in my "perfect pairing" with the CV 40mm/f2). But I wouldn't have one without a bit of luck (good for me; bad for the seller) where unfortunate cosmetic damage (with no functional impact at all) meant I got a good deal (way under the $$ talked about above) and he couldn't sell at the over-the-top going rate on the big auction site.

Otherwise I'd have paired an FE2 with my FM2n and been almost as happy.

I'm still glad of the FM3a, though 😀 It is a very nice camera.

...Mike

 

[Nikon Bob]

Mike

Good for you to be able to find a reasonably priced user FM3a and I never did say that it was not a very nice camera. It is just that IMHO paying the going rate for one in EX+ condition does not make sense to me.

Bob

 

[maclaine]

I haven't chimed in here in a while, so I thought I would. I still haven't settled on what SLR I'm going to get since selling the FM3a. I really love my M6 and have so much invested in it, I can't justify the purchase of another expensive camera that will sit around 90% of the time. Right now I have two cheapies, and OM-10 that was my fathers which I will never get rid of, and a crappy Chinon CE-4 that works OK but could use a bit of cleaning. I got it with two primes, a zoom, and a flash for $25, so even with its dubious operating condition, it was a good deal. Despite my love for the OM-4 and the fact that I have another OM body as a backup/second type of film camera, I'm leaning towards a Pentax MX or some other K-mount body, maybe another cheap one like the Chinon, then just investing in Pentax lenses.

Out of all the old SLR systems, the price to performance ratio of used Pentax lenses seems to be in the buyer's favor. I'm really interested in the old SMC Takumars as well as the SMC-M lenses, and they are so cheap, it seems too good to be true. I'd love an LX, but they are just too expensive despite how nice they seem. I could probably find a K1000 for next to nothing locally, but they are a bit too big for me. So, if I get a proper Pentax body, it will probably be an MX, otherwise it will be Chinon, Vivitar, Ricoh, Cosina, or whatever is cheapest and "light tight".

Also, I go back on one of my earlier statements that the FM3a is "too big". It's not too big compared to many other SLRs, as others have pointed out. However, it is also not the smallest, and there are bodies that are closer to the M6 form factor and feature things that the FM3a doesn't, such as a bigger and brighter viewfinder. Again, it's all personal preference.