Comparing the FM3A to the XD-11 doesn't seem to be real fair, considering the difference in age between the two cameras and the difference in price. A quick check of eBay indicates that FM3As are going for somewhere north of $500 to over a thousand bucks, and nice looking XD-11s are around $100. The FM3A is a generation or three newer than the XD - of course there are going to be evolutionary changes in camera design. Heck, why not compare the XD (or the FM3A, for that matter) to an F6?
The XD is a fine camera, with a devoted following. They are of an age where just about any body you pick up is going to need a CLA, which solves most of the problems people have mentioned in this thread, including the shutter-lag issue. (As an aside, the shutter lag issue is caused by an air-damper incorporated into the shutter mechanism, which, when working properly, makes for a very quiet, very low vibration shutter actuation.)
Rokkor lenses are as good (some say better) as any of their contemporaries and, unless you go for the more exotic or cult-favorite ones, are a lot cheaper than comparable Nikkors, due to the cachet (and the F-mount) of the Nikon lenses. The Micro 4/3 crowd are now in the competition for Minolta lenses, so prices have gone up some. You can still get a nice kit of standard Rokkor primes between 28mm and 200mm for remarkably low prices, if you shop around some.
I have an SRT-102, an XE-7 and an XD-11, plus a modest kit of Rokkor primes, which will last me for as long as it matters. All of them are great cameras in their own way, they all are reliable and work great.
.You should get your hands on the XE-7. You could drive nails with it and it has such a smooth film advance and a quiet shutter.
You should get your hands on the XE-7. You could drive nails with it and it has such a smooth film advance and a quiet shutter.
When's the debut of your YouTube footage doing just that?
(As an aside, the shutter lag issue is caused by an air-damper incorporated into the shutter mechanism, which, when working properly, makes for a very quiet, very low vibration shutter actuation.)
I got sucked into the drive nails argument of Leica bodies years ago... they are all housed by thin alloys covering the gears... none of that is very true or even useful info. Puffery!!!
Take also into consideration that not all lenses will work on later model cameras from the same manufacturer except for Minolta. The single longest run for a lens mount system belongs to the SR mount. It did not change from 52 until the late 80's when the A mount for the auto focus cameras came out.
Anyone heard of this problem with the FM3A?
"Nikon supposedly admitted (and I confirmed with my lens and camera) that for lenses with F/1.4 aperture the metering does not work properly. When opening the lens from f2 to f1.4, the metering needle advances by 1/3 or 2/3 f-stop. The workaround is to manually overexpose by 1/3 to 2/3 f-stops when using this aperture.
I did an experiment in the Aperture priority mode and found that the problem actually does not exist in this mode."
Thanks
Hi all,
Sorry to drag up this old thread. I expect delivery of an FM3A soon, and have been idly reading on-line info. I came across this quote, but I never saw the question answered. Since I expect to use 85/f1.4 and 50/f1.4 lenses on the camera, I am quite interested in the answer.
Does anyone know or have you ever heard this elsewhere?
Cheers!
Tom
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