Brassed Nikon F3 worthwhile?

[Christiaan Phleger]

As well, brassed F-3's are quite pretty, the paint gets a nice gloss before it brasses.

 

[CGW]

The best way to get a working vertical shutter release is with the MK-1 Firing Rate Converter, as seen on one of my F-3's HERE, fitted with a DA-2 Action Finder as well.
Using a DE-2 does shave a bit of weight off, and sometimes I do prefer the lower profile, lighter weight while only slightly altering the finder's image. I do use glasses, and the DE-3 is nice, the P body DE-5 is the same view.

MK-1s aren't exactly an affordable option. People rave about DE-3 finders, though I suspect few have ever compared them with a DE-2.

Brassing just means the camera's been beat to death. Holds no romance for me.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

yeah, I know, MK-1 are hard to find, I was lucky to grab 2 back in the 90's and rarely see any around. I did say the best, not the cheapest

 

[djacobox372]

I've owned just about every nikon film body made, and the f3 is my least favorite of thier pro or prosumer line--mostly due to their horrible LCD metering readout. I woud recommend an f100 or f2as instead.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

I've owned FE2, FM2 and F80 Nikons. Sold them all when I went Contax SLR years ago. Bought in again when I saw a great FM2 for $150 and then got me some older Q, M and P Nikkor glass which I love for B&W. The F3 was my fantasy camera back when I was 20 yrs old and the camera new was like $2k. So when I found a brassy but perfectly functioning one offered on APUG a few months ago I grabbed it. Gorgeous camera, a real tank, I love it. $200 is not bad.

 

[dugrant153]

The F3 is definitely a beautiful camera. Perhaps it's design works for some but not for others.

One of the surprises of the F801s is the high eyepoint viewfinder it comes with. It's fantastic!! Especially as a glasses wearer - I can see everything in the screen and it's nice and bright! Add the electronic rangefinder and I'm golden. If I go for the F3 in the future, it'll definitely be an "High Eyepoint" model.

Did any other Nikon semi-pro or pro cams come with High Eyepoint finders?

A word of advice about the rangefinder: I found it didn't work all the time, mainly in low light. Thats one advantage of a split prism.

Good to know So far, it seems pretty spot-on in most of my low-light shooting but we'll see how the film turns out when I get it back!

 

[zk-cessnaguy]

Did any other Nikon semi-pro or pro cams come with High Eyepoint finders?

I believe the F4 DP 20 finder is classed as high eyepoint, with 22mm relief.

 

[Bob-D659]

Nikon F had the action finder with 60mm of eye relief. See: http://www.mir.com.my/michaeliu/cameras/nikonf/ffinders/fviewfinders.htm#actin

 

[dugrant153]

Sorry to bump this thread

So with my f90x down, I decided to go for an F3 to compliment my very nice f801s. I found a type E screen and tried it. Wow. Its pretty awesome!

The one that I was eyeing this whole thread (with very slight brassing) has a serial no starting with 120xxxxx. From reading other threads, sounds like this model is very old.... Like from the early 80s.

What are your thoughts on a cam with this serial no?
And just to clarify, by investment I mean something that i can use for years (not a shelf queen)

 

[markbarendt]

Regardless of the calendar, if its working well now it will probably work well for years, so i say buy the darn thing and go shoot some film!

 

[Chan Tran]

I believe the F4 DP 20 finder is classed as high eyepoint, with 22mm relief.

all pro Nikon after the F3 have high eyepoint finder.

 

[PhotoJim]

So with my f90x down, I decided to go for an F3 to compliment my very nice f801s. I found a type E screen and tried it. Wow. Its pretty awesome!

You might like the F3's P screen, too. It features a grid down the centre, both horizontal and vertical, but keeps the manual focus aids that the E screens seem to lack.

 

[Kisatchie]

The one that I was eyeing this whole thread (with very slight brassing) has a serial no starting with 120xxxxx. From reading other threads, sounds like this model is very old.... Like from the early 80s.

What are your thoughts on a cam with this serial no?

I would try to get a serial # no lower than 157xxxx or so. Somewhere around SN 155xxxx, Nikon improved the exposure lock button. Earlier cameras had a button that loosens and pops out, never to be found again (Ask me how I know this!).

Also, later serial number camera bodies have other minor improvements that were added over time. For example, I bought an F3 when they first came out, and it had a much larger double exposure lever that tended to snag on the strap, etc. There were a few other issues that developed with the early F3, but that was so long ago, I've forgotten what they were.

 

[Rol_Lei Nut]

First, it won't be an "investment" in that shape. Second, you'd do way better for that kind of change in looking at a late AF model like an N90s or F100.

Except, unless you can upgrade the focusing screen, AF models are c**p when focusing manually....

 

[CGW]

Except, unless you can upgrade the focusing screen, AF models are c**p when focusing manually....

Your opinion, though not my experience with late model Nikon AF bodies.

 

[kiku]

...Finally, Nikons are very Hemingway. A mint Nikon is pretty. A brassed up Nikon is lovely.

Yes, yes, yes. You were the first in this thread to mention this long held conviction.
Howard Tanger

 

[fstop]

I've owned just about every nikon film body made, and the f3 is my least favorite of thier pro or prosumer line--mostly due to their horrible LCD metering readout. I woud recommend an f100 or f2as instead.

Shooting in aperture priority the read out is only for occasional reference.Its built in light for reading at night is tremedously helpful and is one of the reasons the F3 is my just about my favorite film SLR.
I like my F2 but it just doesn't quite make it for many applications, not to mention I got my F3 cheap cheap cheap some brassing from being in the neverready case don't bother me.
F2s with any finder are way over priced, its disgusting what people are paying on the bay for them.
REVOLT! don't pay more than 100 bucks for a F2!!! teach sellers a lesson!The F2 premium in price is because of the ability to use readily available batteries and the falsly held notion that mechanical cameras are some how superior to electronic release cameras. If you want to buy into that snobbery be my guest, want to use a great camera, get a F3.

 

[Chan Tran]

I had a Nikon F2AS. It was my very first camera and I got it back when it was just introduced in 1977. It had been stolen from me and I do miss it but the F3 is the camera that I would use when I need to take pictures. I also have an F5 and really I found the F5 is slow to use.

 

[Ihmemies]

In my opinion modern focusing screens don't show the full defocus of fast lenses like f/1.2, f/1.4 etc. The screens in F4, F5 and newer cameras are optimized for 2.8 or slower zooms. I find it hard to acquire accurate focus with such screens, and feel that older screens from F/F2/F3 era work better with me with fast glass.

Altough the viewfinder image with modern screens appears to be in focus, this is not often the case when I see the final result on film

Also the defocused area appears weird, and highlights have roughly hexagonal patterned shapes instead of smooth circular shapes. Sometimes you can see rainbow colors in your viewfinder. As a final insult, the modern screens don't appear to be any brighter than old screens when you use fast F1.4 glass.

I paid 150€ including shipping from my chrome F2AS in nice shape. Minimal brassing in viewfinder, otherwise very nice. F2 has better controls, better light meter and better readout than F3. F3 offers lesser resistance while advancing film, A mode and smaller and lighter camera compared to F2. I have both and I use both, so I don't need to spend time deciding which is best for me

 

[Nikon Collector]

We used to take new bodies and rub them with wet sand to give them that well used breassy look so other pros would not think we were rookies, now I hate every scratch, lol

 

[Leigh B]

The F3 is a superb machine.

I was a repair tech in a Nikon shop around the time the F4 was introduced, and we got one before they were released to the stores. I hated it. It just does not feel right.

The F3 will do anything you could want to do, and do it better than most other cameras. It was produced during the period when Nikon was totally committed to quality, and the products of that era reflect that dedication.

But like any product, it can be the victim of abuse. I would never touch one that showed significant signs of wear. These cameras were used by pros who thought of them only as tools to do a job, not as something to be cared for. Some pros take better care of their equipment than others, but I've repaired an awful lot of them that looked like they were run over by a freight train.

- Leigh

 

[sangetsu]

I had a couple F3 cameras back in the "bigger is better" days (big lenses, motor drives, accessories, etc.), and they never let me down. Rock-solid reliable, and wonderful performers, I regretted selling them. But I traded my art student life for a life in the Army.

Now my main (and only) Nikon is an old S3 rangefinder, which I love for its style and simplicity. Were I to buy another Nikon SLR, it would probably be an F2 with the eye-level finder, which has controls similar to my S3.

The best of the F3 models was the F3 Professional, which came with a titanium HP-type finder fitted with a flash hot shoe. Here in Japan these sell for $400 to $700. I have no idea what they go for elsewhere.

 

[dugrant153]

So after much searching and saving and selling, I have come upon a really decent condition Nikon F3HP! Little bits of brassing but overall close to excellent condition. And for not much more than the first one I was looking at at the beginning of this thread.

May need a foam adjustment soon though! Otherwise it's great.

Just saying thanks to all for the replies as it helped me pick out this good one! Serial is 130xxx

 

[coigach]

Buying a nice single malt is an investment in myself.

And there's no better way to treat yourself well. Make mine a Mortlach...

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Serial #13 is really quite early in the production run of F3. I had a #12 which is the starting point. It was heavily used by at least 3 other working photojournalists, so much so that one of the times I sent in to NPS it came back with a new top plate with a new serial number of #19 which would put it at the far end of the production run, so sometimes you never know what you are getting. Still functions perfectly.