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Best viewfinder for NIkon MF

Melvin J Bramley

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Dec 27, 2021
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Location
Canada
Format
35mm
Which Nikon manual focus camera has the best viewfinder for viewing camera settings; F stop and shutter speed?
I have long enjoyed Nikons FE and FM cameras but these pale aside a F90 or F80 where settings are easily readable.
How good is the Nikon FA viewfinder?
 

The FA has a confusing viewfinder information. If the camera is also manual exposure then the F2 with photomic viewfinder has good exposure information in the viewfinder. However I have no problem with the information of the FE or FM. The only thing that the information protrudes into the image area on these cameras.
 
I am left eye dominant and as I age the metering of the FE and FM on the sides of the viewfinder are becoming awkward to see.
Perhaps a Nikon F3 HP would fit my needs?
 
Melvin J Bramley said:
I am left eye dominant and as I age the metering of the FE and FM on the sides of the viewfinder are becoming awkward to see.
Perhaps a Nikon F3 HP would fit my needs?
Click to expand...

The F3HP was one of my favourites....& pretty light without the motor drive. The 100% finder of the F,F2,F3 I always preferred over the FM/FE as sturdy and good as they are.
 
I'm left eyed
I like the +- of the fm2
But the wind lever pokes me in the right eye
 
My FM3a has the brightest viewfinder, being the last in the manual line Nikon threw everything they knew at it, but the F3 HP is a very nice viewfinder as well. I think the FM3a beats the F3 for clear information though. The FM2n is clear and simple to read, but none of my others stand out, the F100 is ok, F2's kind of ok, F a bit dull. I think a manual camera benefits from a bright viewfinder more than an AF camera because lets face it you don't need to focus it, so the priority is what types of lenses you have and whether they are fast or slow. But my overall recommendation is the FM3a which is almost on a par with my Leica R9.
 
I'm not sure what maybe the source of the problem. The presentation of the data or the eye-relief of the finder? Maybe the thread-opener can tell us a bit more about his reasoning?
Is it about the positioning of the data or the readability, maginifcation?
 
Melvin J Bramley said:
I am left eye dominant and as I age the metering of the FE and FM on the sides of the viewfinder are becoming awkward to see.
Perhaps a Nikon F3 HP would fit my needs?
Click to expand...

I like the F3 best but I am afraid you may not like it because you prefer the new all LCD information in the new AF cameras. The F3 when in Manual only has the + and - indication. It doesn't even have the o indication like the FM. However, all of the information is outside of the image area and at the same apparent distance to your eye. The F3 has the viewfinder illuminator that is almost impossible to use. It looks nice as a decorated red dot.
 
In my opinion the best viewfinder info is from F6, but almost as good is the F90. That is to say, these two cameras (and some others also), with nice viewfinder information, will meter with the AI non-Autofocus lenses.

Otherwise I agree with what Chan Tran mentions about the F3.
 
Me too..... the FM/FE/FA finders are all less than 100% coverage
 
The information display in the F3 is terribly dim - even with a contrasty fresh LCD. Not to speak of the poor usability if used in manual mode - certainly no match of the FE/FE2/FM3A.
The eye relief of the HP finder can be nice but it reduces the finder magnification. The original F3 finder has better magnification and is more compact (and still great with glasses).

I am wondering if the Nikon F601M could be an option. It is the manual focus version of F601 but I don’t recall the qualities of its finder.

The best and most informative finders remains those of the higher end later AF models F801(s) F90(x) F5 F6
 
My issue is that the information in the viewfinder is easily visible!
The Nikon F90X has a wonderful viewfinder but it is not a manual focus camera plus it is large.
 
Melvin J Bramley said:
Which Nikon manual focus camera has the best viewfinder for viewing camera settings; F stop and shutter speed?
Click to expand...

No doubt about it: The original Nikon F2 with Photomic finder. The one designed for pre-AI lenses.

The clearest, easiest way to see shutter speed and aperture.
 
Nitroplait said:
The information display in the F3 is terribly dim - even with a contrasty fresh LCD. Not to speak of the poor usability if used in manual mode - certainly no match of the FE/FE2/FM3A.
Click to expand...

Indeed, it sucks.

F3 is the proof you shoudln't let a car design studio (Giugaro) mess with a camera.
 
I would say it depends on if you want an lcd digital readout vs match needle. for needle, I love the fm3. my fav to shoot with. for digital/lcd I like the F5 but that camera is huge. I have the F4 with the small battery pack and of the nikon AF bodies, its my favorite to shoot MF lenses with. I put an F3 red dot split prism screen in it and it is great

john
 
flavio81 said:
Indeed, it sucks.
Click to expand...

Opinions differ on this one obviously, I never had a problem with the readout or the camera in general. On the body I find several points I prefer to the F2 I owned (less top-heavy prism, prisms and screens easier to change, simple winder-integration, open back via crank, love having AE) and the finder-readout, although I do not consider it being one of the F3's high-points in comparison, is nothing which bothered me in any way except the nagging fear it might start to deriorate at some point.
 
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My favorite is not a Nikon but the Pentax MX (not helpful I know) but I'm good with any of the generation of F2 meterd finders. The first gen had an over/under needle, and the last gen had LEDs but they both work fine. I also have no issue with the FA. What I really dislike is the swinging needle that sweeps an arc over a stacked list of shutter speeds (FE, FE2). I'm fine with over/under needles though.
 

I'm most familiar with looking through an fm2,
When i look through my fe2 it is a bit disorienting
 
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