Ever wonder why? (Japanese vs Germans)

darkosaric said:

I used in past almost all nikons (except F4, F5, F6 and FM3A) and F3 is the best.

Click to expand...

F3 the best? Seriously?

I'm ready for the classic "F2 versus F3" war at any time!

War... F3?

http://mitteleuropa.x10.mx/files/tech_foto_nikon_news_photographer_magazine_june_1989_AA_01_01a.jpg

miha said:

War... F3?

http://mitteleuropa.x10.mx/files/tech_foto_nikon_news_photographer_magazine_june_1989_AA_01_01a.jpg

Click to expand...

I had an F3, i bought it secondhand and looked just fine, and that machine was the only machine that gave me significant trouble (besides a russian Zenit): After some months of light usage, mirror mechanism sometimes got stuck, so the camera took like half a second until the mirror got up. Then one day the meter completely died after the F3 being stored for some months in my room, in the camera bag. It seems the F3 electronics don't like the humidity of my city. The LCD display and shutter speeds work correctly, but the meter does not.

So war-ready? Perhaps for a brand-new F3, but not for an aged F3. For war i'd take the Nikon F, F2, or Canon F-1 any day. Or a Nikon FE2, that one IMO has tougher electronics.

theart said:

As an aside, Germany and Japan are also home to the biggest players in the fountain pen industry, and pretty much across the board a Germain fine nib would be labeled medium or even bold coming out of Japan.

Click to expand...

That's OT, but perhaps you should redefine the list of the biggest players in the fountain pen industry:

http://www.aurorapen.it/english/azienda.php

http://www.omas.com/

http://www.visconti.it/en/catalogue/

http://www.montegrappa.com/

flavio81 said:

F3 the best? Seriously?

I'm ready for the classic "F2 versus F3" war at any time!

Click to expand...

miha said:

War... F3?

http://mitteleuropa.x10.mx/files/tech_foto_nikon_news_photographer_magazine_june_1989_AA_01_01a.jpg

Click to expand...

Guys, be good!!! Or I'll extract my motorised F2s and F1s to shoot you to silence...

Who uses fountain pens these days?, it's so long since I've seen one I had forgotten they existed.

benjiboy said:

Who uses fountain pens these days?, it's so long since I've seen one I had forgotten they existed.

Click to expand...

I do from time to time.
And I know there are many members here that use them.
I still like to use a nice Parker.

Ricardo Miranda said:

I do from time to time.
And I know there are many members here that use them.
I still like to use a nice Parker.

Click to expand...

I have seen these "pens", as you call them, but cannot connect them to the PC. Are they WiFi or Bluetooth?

Regarding the main topic: it has been my observation that the Japanese, as a culture, admire small precision crafted items. As a personal anecdote: in the late 1960's, when I was in Electronics class in High School, my Japanese friend made a capstan drive tape recorder no bigger than a pack of cigarettes. Witness the popularity of K-class and other small cars in Japan. For marketing to the U.S., however, the Japanese (and others) make their export products much larger to cater to (most) American tastes.