Which Nikon MF SLR? FM3a, F3, FA, FM2

[agoglanian]

I’ve tried a lot of Nikon film SLRs over the years and the one I always come back to is the F with the plain prism. It’s a classic and I love mine.

 

[Huss]

I’ve tried a lot of Nikon film SLRs over the years and the one I always come back to is the F with the plain prism. It’s a classic and I love mine.

That one gives me a crick in my finger cuz they put the shutter button in the wrong place. Which is why they fixed that w the F2.
F2 w/ plain prism > F w/ plain prism.

But the F is cooler looking if u want to impress peeps w/ ur Dennis Hoppery cred.

😀

 

[ChrisPlatt]

Nikon FM and FE are real bargains now.
I have owned both, along with FM2 and FE2. IMO quality feel is better in the earlier models.
Like most cameras already mentioned in this thread repair parts are getting harder to find.

Chris

 

[michaelwj]

The FE(2) is a real bargain, so much so that it's not really worth the effort to sell. I gave one away on the forum a few months ago.

The FM3A is relatively expensive for what it is compared to the FM2/FE2. But then you were contemplating an R system, so it's relatively cheap 😀

 

[Roel]

The way i see it now. The FM3a is from 2001 till 2006 so at least 13 years younger then all other FM/FE(/F3) cams. It also has the best of them combined. If this is supposed to be THE 'best' Nikon MF SLR i probably should choose this one and see how we will get along.

 

[x-ray]

Every repair tech I've ever known said the F2 is the best built 35 slr ever built. I'd agree. I had two with motors and put thousands of rolls through each under hard commercial use. The only repair was a rewind gear in one motor had to be replaced. It only effected the motorized rewind. I shipped it to NPS and had it back in 3 days including shipping. I still have and use one of them along with my F, FE and 4 M Leicas.

I had two F3 bodies later on and liked them but still preferred the F2's although the F3's were fine. I had a motor on one and the second body was an F3P. F3P bodies initially were sold through NPS to pro customers. That's how I got mine. The main difference was the titanium prism, raised shutter speed dial to make it easier to use with gloves and weather sealed better than the regular body. There may have been other differences but that all I remember.

 

[BillBingham2]

What sort of glass are you going to use on the Nikon? What are you going to shoot?

B2 (;->

 

[Roel]

Every repair tech I've ever known said the F2 is the best built 35 slr ever built. I'd agree. I had two with motors and put thousands of rolls through each under hard commercial use. The only repair was a rewind gear in one motor had to be replaced. It only effected the motorized rewind. I shipped it to NPS and had it back in 3 days including shipping. I still have and use one of them along with my F, FE and 4 M Leicas.

I had two F3 bodies later on and liked them but still preferred the F2's although the F3's were fine. I had a motor on one and the second body was an F3P. F3P bodies initially were sold through NPS to pro customers. That's how I got mine. The main difference was the titanium prism, raised shutter speed dial to make it easier to use with gloves and weather sealed better than the regular body. There may have been other differences but that all I remember.

The F2 looks great and i believe you that it is the toughest camera out there. Everybody loves it. For now i feel that it will be to heavy which means i would not take it with me.
The F3P is interesting but i don't want/need the HP prism. Taking the De-5 prism off and exchanging it with the De-2 could be a possibility. It will also be at least 150/200 grams heavier than the FE/FM. Flash will still be easier on the FE/FM series.

 

[Roel]

What sort of glass are you going to use on the Nikon? What are you going to shoot?

B2 (;->

I have a 17mm ais, 28mm f2.8 ais, 35mm f2 af-d, 50mm 1.8E, 50mm 1.4 af-d, 100mm f2.8e, 100mm f2.8 AF Macro Tokina, 135mm 3.5 ais.

As i see it now i will take the 28mm ais and maybe get a 55mm/60mm micro for allround and short tele Portrait shots next to the M6ttl with 35/50 summicron.

Two cameras in the bag, each with an extra lens. Shooting will almost always involve people.

Still thinking about getting the nikon 45mm f2.8P is a short walk around option with the Nikon as a single cam. I had one and loved the drawing of that lens.

 

[Rob-F]

I'm partial to the FE2 and FM3a. I prefer the analog meter-needle display to the LCD exposure readouts of the FA and F3. The FA does have the matrix exposure option, which was a very advanced thing for its time. But I feel that since exposure is continuously variable, rather than in steps, it is therefore intrinsically analog rather than digital; so it makes sense to use an analog meter needle to represent the exposure. But that's just me.

I wouldn't worry about the electronics. My two FE2s have ridden in my Jeep Cherokee while bouncing over rocky mountain trails in Colorado for many years! They go camping, get caught in the rain, whatever, and they are still fine. So I would say get the model that feels to you like an extension of your own hand, eye, and brain.

 

[Rob-F]

Three of your lenses are AF. You could throw in an N90s for those. It was an expensive camera new, and they practically give them away now!

 

[jpa66]

My vote goes for the FM3a. It's the greatest slr ever built 🙂
I absolutely adore mine, and will never give it up. Yes, it's (relatively) expensive, but I've never used a camera that was as easy and fun to use as the FM3a. And if the battery dies, you can still use it! Love the meter, the ergonomics and the fast shutter speeds (to name just a few things...).

Just my 2 cents' worth...

JP

 

[farlymac]

If you go with FM/FE series, Roel (which is your lightest option for a mostly mechanical Nikon body), be mindful that with the FM2 you lose the ability to use non-AI lenses as it does not have the flip-up aperture ring pusher like the original FM does. There is an FM2n version that has the higher flash sync speed (1/250), but that is the only difference, though folks seem willing to pay a premium for one.

If you choose the FA, and want to add a drive, it not only uses the MD-15 which will power the camera too, but it can also take the MD-11 or 12 (same as used on the FM/FE series), though you still have to have batteries in the camera.

PF

 

[BillBingham2]

Interesting mix of glass. I have to say the 28/2.8 AIs is a fun lens that kept sneaking into my camera bag for my SLR body, even though I use RF for 50 and wider. I could see match your 28 with a 105/2.8 Micro MF Nikkor. Use your leica for the 35 and 50, perhaps carry the 17 too. I had a CV 15 first gen LTM that was 50x it's weight in fun.

I don't think you will go that wrong with any of your choice. I'm more of a manual sort, had an FM for a bit some years back and it worked well. I'd rather have 100% framing so I moved elsewhere in the family.

Sounds like a fun approach.

B2 (;->

 

[bayernfan]

Body: F3
Lenses: 28/2.8, 35/2, 50/2, 105/2.5 (all AI or AIS)
Have fun!

 

[Contarama]

If you've never had the pleasure of using a 105/2.5 I highly recommend you try to do so. The 100 E is fairly close but the 105 is superior.

As for blocks you might check out the FM2T. A whole lot of camera for the money. The FM3a is the one that would match up best with the Leica. My opinion.

Yes the F2 is significantly heavier not to mention quite a bit larger as well.

 

[Roel]

Interesting mix of glass. I have to say the 28/2.8 AIs is a fun lens that kept sneaking into my camera bag for my SLR body, even though I use RF for 50 and wider. I could see match your 28 with a 105/2.8 Micro MF Nikkor. Use your leica for the 35 and 50, perhaps carry the 17 too. I had a CV 15 first gen LTM that was 50x it's weight in fun.

I don't think you will go that wrong with any of your choice. I'm more of a manual sort, had an FM for a bit some years back and it worked well. I'd rather have 100% framing so I moved elsewhere in the family.

Sounds like a fun approach.

B2 (;->

Yes the mix in glass is based on the use of my 2 D700s (mainly for weddings) I also have a modern Nikon 80-300 zoom G-lens. That Tokina 100mm is also a new lens but i think good to use all manual. Would love to have a nikkor 105mm f2.5

To be honest i rarely use anything longer than 50mm since i like to get close the action/people. The 100mm Tokina AF doubles as a macro/portrait lens but that magical nikon 105mm 2.8 or 2.5..

 

[Roel]

Any users of the nikon 45mm f2.8P little Tessar lens? I had it for a short while, shot one roll with it and it seemed to shoot people really nicely. I have a FM3a option to buy and the seller also has this lens.

 

[Archlich]

Can't agree that the FM3a is "basically the same as" a FE2. Like I said in another thread, the FM3a offers many subtle improvements over the FM2/FE2, for example the additional screw on the side of the rewind shaft, preventing the knob from falling off (if you've used a FM2 long enough you'd probably know what I mean). The placement of AE lock under your thumb makes it intuitive to use - who could possibly love the FE2's self timer lock anyway?

It is expensive, but it is also the best. Nikon still repairs it. Buy it like the M-A and the F6. Buy it while they still last.

 

[splitimageview]

The only thing I don’t like about the FM3a is the font style on the prism. 🙂 Prefer the original ‘Nikon’ on the FM.