Nikon F3 owners, speak up!

[AndrewG]

So, was this the last of the great 35mm SLR's? I've handled and used more modern, mainly AF, SLR's but, to my mind, the F3 is in a class of its own especially coupled with the superlative-and now inexpensive-Nikkor lenses.
Your views?

_______________

Nikon F3HP (x2), Nikon FM2N, Nikkors 28 f3.5, 50 f1.8, Micro-Nikkor 55 f2.8, 135 f3.5.
Yashica 635 TLR.

 

[compur]

I have owned F3s (I buy and sell a lot of stuff) and I think they are certainly
one of the top manual focus 35mm cameras of all time, for sure.

Other similar models that I also rate highly are the Canon F1n and the Pentax LX.

They just don't make 'em like that anymore.

 

[Helen B]

I think that the Leica R6.2 was the last of the great manual SLRs, though it is a close call between that and the earlier SL2 MOT. From the Nikon lineup the F2AS would get my vote, for Canon the F1n. In MF, the Rolleiflex SL 66SE. These all happen to be mechanical cameras, as well as being manual.

Best,
Helen

 

[jwkwd]

Tough call, I have a F3HP and F3, but also a F2 and F2s. To add to the mix I have a Canon F1, which is one of the first ones ( longthrow ) that I like to use. I think that if all of them were on a table and there was something outside that was a one time event, I think I would grab the F2 to get the shot.

 

[Kiron Kid]

Love my new F3. The F3 and FE-2 are my go-to rigs.

 

[Gary A.]

I’ve had F3’s ... a great camera, refined and sophisticated. But ... the big but, I vote for the F2 ... big and robust. It feels like it was craved out of a single block of metal. Working with an F2 was similar to the F ... you had confidence in the hardware knowing it wouldn’t fail. If you missed The Shot, it was due to your skill not the camera.

 

[Gary A.]

F2 is in the hand, the FM hangin' off the shoulder.

 

[Kiron Kid]

The FM, FE, FE-2 and the F3, all feel quite solid and robust in my hands. I’ve yet to have any of them fail on me yet.

 

[jcdeboever]

Yup, I have a FM, F, F2, F3. I use the banged up F the most because it's always closest to grab on the way out the door. My wife keeps telling me it's not part of our kitchen decor.

 

[Kiron Kid]

Yup, I have a FM, F, F2, F3. I use the banged up F the most because it's always closest to grab on the way out the door. My wife keeps telling me it's not part of our kitchen decor.

What? Dozens of NIKON SLR’s add to the decor of my abode.

 

[jcdeboever]

Yup, I have a FM, F, F2, F3. I use the banged up F the most because it's always closest to grab on the way out the door. My wife keeps telling me it's not part of our kitchen decor.

What? Dozens of NIKON SLR’s add to the decor of my abode.

Lol, my decor sense is non existent. My wife wouldn't even let me decorate my man cave.

 

[Kiron Kid]

Yup, I have a FM, F, F2, F3. I use the banged up F the most because it's always closest to grab on the way out the door. My wife keeps telling me it's not part of our kitchen decor.

What? Dozens of NIKON SLR’s add to the decor of my abode.

Lol, my decor sense is non existent. My wife wouldn't even let me decorate my man cave.

 

[bhop]

I have an F3, but I don't use it much. It's not my favorite Nikon, although, I enjoy using it more than I used to. I just hate the viewfinder/meter readout. It ruins it IMO. Also, I hate the lock on the shutter speed dial. If I turn it too far when i'm trying to shoot fully manual and it gets stuck in 'A', I have to push the button to unlock it again... nitpick, but annoying.

My favorite film Nikon is probably the FM2 at this point (opinion could change), but I also really like the F4 (with small grip)

 

[Derrel]

The F3HP, the model that has the HP or High Eyepoint viewfinder, was the easiest-to-frame-with Nikon ever for eyeglass wearers. The other models, F,F2,F2A,FE,FM,FE-2, all had viewfinders that were difficult to SEE through,at least seeing all the way to the corners, when wearing eyeglasses. The F3HP rectified that with a long eye relief optic system in the prism finder, and the eye could be as far away as 25mm from the rear eyepiece, and the shooter could still see all the way to the corners.

I loved the F3HP for the viewfinder....the ability to see the entire field of the lens, surrounding by a black area, was invaluable for me. it was also a 100% viewfinder, and did not crop off all the edges of the negative area...none of that 96 or 97 percent viewfinder coverage: 100 percent! I did not much care for the match-diode metering display however.

I shot the F3HP for close to twenty years, almost always,always,always with the MD-4 motor drive attached. With the motor drive attached, the camera's two button cell batteries no longer powered the light meter; instead, eight 1.5-volt AA cells powered the meter. The MD-4 offered motorized film rewind, if desired, and that was handy when speed was needed in reloading the camera.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

I've got a bunch of stuff in my collection and my F3HP is constantly my go to 35mm SLR (usually mated with the 50mm 1.2). Im not as old as some others and have not lived long enough to yet use a camera for more than a decade so its hard to make a call for me. Is it the best 35mm camera ever made? Hmmm not sure. Is it the best camera ever made? hmmm not sure. It was surely the first nikon SLR to shoot 1080p...

Ill say this, the F3 was both the last camera of a generation and the first of another, making it sit, at least historically, in a very interesting place. The cameras that came before it were (largely) all mechanical and built to the highest of standards. They are to this day serviceable and will remain that way long into the future. The cameras that came after it were chock full-o electronics, modern convinces we know and love and while built well were not the all metal bricks of those that came before them and are not nearly as easy to fix should something go wrong. For me the F3 sits in that perfect spot of build quality along with a reliable, accurate, built in meter and basic appeture priority just enough to be a little lazy when you want to be. This means that unlike my other film cameras, I dont need to carry a meter with me, I don't need any accessories I just need my trusty F3.