F3 shutter

CMoore · Aug 16, 2016

With the F3.....Why did Nikon only make the shutter "step-less" when it was in AE mode.?
Or did they have to do it Because Of the aperture mode.?
Thank You

Christiaan Phleger · Aug 16, 2016

Well you wouldn't be the first to consider the F2 a better tool for this very reason. Lots of slide shooting sports photographers lamented the Stepless shutter where you could fine tune that crucial exposure in fading light.
Nikon probably just figured that most would use the AE lock button and used with the MD-4 it is reasonably fast; the biggest hassle with this style is that there is no lock for the exposure other than finger pressure which I think is one of the biggest oversights in the Nikon F line.

CMoore · Aug 17, 2016

I am looking for it in the manual.....if you have the cameras set to 'A'... how can the shutter be step-less if it is locked on 'A'.
I am obviously missing some info.?
Thanks
Aahhhhh...OK. Th step-less shutter is Automatic in AE mode. The user cannot adjust it manually.

GRHazelton · Aug 17, 2016

RidingWaves said:
Well you wouldn't be the first to consider the F2 a better tool for this very reason. Lots of slide shooting sports photographers lamented the Stepless shutter where you could fine tune that crucial exposure in fading light.
Nikon probably just figured that most would use the AE lock button and used with the MD-4 it is reasonably fast; the biggest hassle with this style is that there is no lock for the exposure other than finger pressure which I think is one of the biggest oversights in the Nikon F line.

Hmmm.... The Pentax LX, directly comparable to the F3, also lacks an exposure lock in AE.

CMoore · Aug 17, 2016

I tend to:
be too quick to judge.
have a short fuse.
shoot my mouth off.
I can only say i am getting better (doing it less, not better at doing it) as i get older.
We often get accustom to well working tools, then when a new one comes along, we have a knee-jerk reaction when the new tool performs differently. I was bummed out about the F3... i considered shelving it.
What an idiot. In manual mode, the meter reads AE, but i can still change either the f/stop or the shutter independently of each other. You cannot do that when set to 'A'.
I may not like it as much as the F2, but it is a Very Fine camera. Circa 1985, i would have robbed a bank to own one.
Patience really IS a virtue.

benjiboy · Aug 17, 2016

CMoore said:
I am looking for it in the manual.....if you have the cameras set to 'A'... how can the shutter be step-less if it is locked on 'A'.
I am obviously missing some info.?
Thanks
Aahhhhh...OK. Th step-less shutter is Automatic in AE mode. The user cannot adjust it manually.

If the AE mode is aperture priority, the shutterr must be strapless.

Ap507b · Aug 17, 2016

benjiboy said:
If the AE mode is aperture priority, the shutterr must be strapless.

True but the F2's shutter is stepless in manual for quite a large chunk of its range. Between 1/90th to 1/2000th The F3's manual speeds are not.

benjiboy · Aug 17, 2016

Ap507b said:
True but the F2's shutter is stepless in manual for quite a large chunk of its range. Between 1/90th to 1/2000th The F3's manual speeds are not.

I know that, I used to have two Nikon F2's until about 25 years ago when a burgler relieved me of them while I was at work

MattKing · Aug 17, 2016

CMoore said:
I tend to:
be to quick to judge.
have a short fuse.
shoot my mouth off.

Sounds like you might be successful right now in US politics .

CMoore · Aug 17, 2016

.....what we need is a firm hand guiding this ship. Somebody that can act with Grace, yet with ferocity and courage.
If you elect me, I Promise there will be two film cameras in every cabinet, and more prisons to hold our digital offenders...!!

GRHazelton · Aug 17, 2016

CMoore said:
.....what we need is a firm hand guiding this ship. Somebody that can act with Grace, yet with ferocity and courage.
If you elect me, I Promise there will be two film cameras in every cabinet, and more prisons to hold our digital offenders...!!

And WHO is Grace, pray tell??

fstop · Aug 17, 2016

I think some of you should familiarize yourselves with the operation of the F-3 before saying foolish things. If the F-3 wasn't better than the F-2, Nikon would not have introduced it.
The EV adjustment can be used to compensate in Aperture priority mode. Stepless auto is the only way you can pan action shots with a motor drive from light areas into dark areas and have the exposure correct for all exposures, the F-2 sucked for motor sport photography in a LOT cases. The F-3 is far superior.

BrianShaw · Aug 17, 2016

!!!!!!

John Koehrer · Aug 17, 2016

Opinions are one thing humans share. Another is the ability to spew verbal diarrhea.

blockend · Aug 18, 2016

In professional photography, especially sports and photojournalism, anything that makes getting the shot easier equates to cash in the bank. An automatic exposure mode for pro SLRs was a no brainer, which lead directly to the multi frame, focus tracking monsters of today. This should not imply that such facilities are objectively superior for all photographers or all kinds of photography.

fstop · Aug 24, 2016

John Koehrer said:
Opinions are one thing humans share. Another is the ability to spew verbal diarrhea.

EV adjustment on the F-3 is a fact.
I would like to know how you can shoot 3 frames /sec and adjust the exposure manually for each shot.

F3 shutter

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