The Nikon F3 is the best 35mm ever!

[jon furer]

I've had an F3 since 1981. The only thing I've done (last year) is to replace the felt. It keeps on ticking....

Not sure it's the best every...I do love my M6's though...

 

[roteague]

I've had an F3 since 1981. The only thing I've done (last year) is to replace the felt. It keeps on ticking....

I think mine was a early model, I got it in 1979 or 1980. I've read that there were losts of problems with the early ones. Too bad, I really liked camera, the feel was great, it wasn't too loud.

 

[lkorell]

Mine is an F3T and is an excellent camera to use. I have often thought of it as a favorite because it is easy to work with, has lots of features, is very sturdy, and I've never been disappointed with the images I have been able to get with it.
It's too bad there have been some people who had problems, but with any piece of equipment there are bound to be a few bad ones out there.
Mine has been perfect. I'd never sell it. It seems to appreciate in value with time, even with all of the digital gear out there.

 

[mikebarger]

If I ever wear out my f and f36, I'll give one a try. Someone told me the backs are on hinges now???

Mike

 

[josephaustin]

Well Nikon is OK, but give me a Pentax MX any day of the week. Smaller all metal 5 led meter readout full range of lenses motor drive capability all in all a pro camera the is alot smaller and lighter then the F series Nikon. It is fully manual, but that is the way I like my cameras, I would also say that the Spotmatic is one of the best ever made, they were manufactured to a very high standered. THe fact that you can still find good working examples is a testament to there quality.

 

[Blighty]

Never owned an F3. I had an F4, which I thought was the best looking camera I've seen. Now have an F5. However, I think the cameras I enjoyed using most were the Olympus OM series. I bought an OM2n back in 1981 and used it constantly 'til '96. Sold it on to a mate of mine for £150 quid, and he's still using it (AFAIK without it ever having been serviced). BLIGHTY.

 

[brucepro]

perhaphs you're in the market for an outfit? F3HP W/ 28mm 2.8 & 105mm 2.5 plus other goodies.?????

 

[Stan. L-B]

I have very good reason to consider the F3 one of the worlds best 35mm cameras. I bought two in the early seventies, both have performed faultlessly over the years.
Although I have medium and large format cameras as well, the F3s will continue to earn their keep and be retained - whatever.

 

[gnashings]

I think the Canon New F1 is a superior purchase - it has the true spot meter capability, I have never heard any reliability complaints and you can definitely not go wrong with the FD lenses, especially the L's (which I can't afford). The only things that are AWESOME about the F3 is 100% viewfinder - big and bright, just a dream, and the film advance lever that feelslike it was contracted out to Rolex - its that solid and smooth.

On the down side, the New F1 has no MLU... but I think I know why the F3 does: every Nikon I have ever played with has mirror slap on par with the recoil of 300 Winchester Magnum...

Still, if I had the money, I'd buy one - simply because every time I hold one, I look through that big, bright viewfinder, I want to take a picture - and that to me is the most important thing!

 

[benjiboy]

I just thought I'd get everyone's attention by making a preposterous statement. What are people's thoughts on the F3? Who has one? Any website that you know of that are dedicated to the F3? State you cas personality

If I had to bet my life on coming home with pictures I would use a Nikon F or F2
the F3 is too battery dependant, and has too many electronics in it to have the reliability I need. I know some F3s have been reliable over a long period, But this was not the norm they were by no means the most dependable of the companys models, I used to work selling the F3 new in a shop, and a much too high percentage of them came back for repair under warranty especialy for a professional S.L.R

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Dear camera users,
Actually, it dous not mather what brand one uses, as long you can work with it and the pictures are good.
A camera is a tool no more no less. So pick the right one for each job, it might be allways the same one, but be shure it fits in your hands, mind and way of thinking. And if the camera lets you down, you got the wrong one.
That's why an 'system camera' is usefull, one can compose the combenation neded.

Philippe

 

[gregrudd]

Well Nikon is OK, but give me a Pentax MX any day of the week. Smaller all metal 5 led meter readout full range of lenses motor drive capability all in all a pro camera the is alot smaller and lighter then the F series Nikon. It is fully manual, but that is the way I like my cameras, I would also say that the Spotmatic is one of the best ever made, they were manufactured to a very high standered. THe fact that you can still find good working examples is a testament to there quality.

Also Dont forget the Pentax LX which was one of the more underated camera's of the early-mid 1980's

 

[Stuart Turnbull]

Hi there,

The Nikon is alright for a bit of target practice, or if you want to weight a digital diva to the bottom of the ocean with, but honestly, as far as 35mm goes, I bought a new Canon EOS 1VHS four years ago, have just loaded film no. 397 into it (all 36) and have never had a problem, (not with the camera anyway!). I have used it in extreme heat, cold, humidity etc-no problems. It has even been used as a back up for press work when my d*****l failed me, (sorry for swearing there, hope there aren't any young folks reading this).

 

[eatfrog]

I'll put my vote on the Pentax MX also. The LX is just great, but larger, heavier, and a hellofalot more expensive.

Both of my MX's have always worked like charms.
Rain and freezing -30C weather, still nothing.

 

[rduraoc]

I think that this is an example of how good marketing strategies work well. I've bought a Minolta Maxxum/Dynax 7 6 months ago, and must say, it is far superior to the Nikon N/F80. I've had a chance to take a F80 of a friend of mine for a spin, and to what features and ergonomics are concerned, it is far superior. Minolta doesn´t have a great marketing strategy for its products. I had a Pentax MZ-50 (trying to sell it) (I believe it's ZX-50 in the USA), and also think it was a great beginners camera, that gave me no problems in the 9 years I shot with it, other than breaking the spring that pops up the built-in flash. Bottom line is, I think we sometimes buy only what is more available/advertised, without really looking for the contenders. But the bottom-bottom line is, go shoot some pictures.

 

[janvanhove]

Me, I have the F4, which I think is the best brick around, sturdy, hard working, and matrix metering with AI lenses...
AF when I want, classic lenses when I don't...

And with a 50 f1.8, and the 4 battery pack, it's almost small !

I pretty much like the F3 as well, but having never used one, I can't say it's the best camera ever... It seems to be one hell of a workhorse, though...

PJ

 

[roteague]

I just bought an F5 a couple of weeks ago, to replace my N80. It's a great camera, but I think the N80 locks focus easier. I haven't had any of the film processed that I shot with it yet.

 

[Robert Kennedy]

Why are you guys buying camera bodies? You buy a lens. The body is an afterthought....

 

[roteague]

Why are you guys buying camera bodies? You buy a lens. The body is an afterthought....

Well, I just bought a Schneider SuperSymar XL 80mm F4.5 lens a couple of weeks ago - but it won't fit on my Nikon.

 

[gregrudd]

I'll put my vote on the Pentax MX also. The LX is just great, but larger, heavier, and a hellofalot more expensive.

Both of my MX's have always worked like charms.
Rain and freezing -30C weather, still nothing.

As I own both an MX and an LX I can say that both have their charms and strengths. When a friend from work and I went out in to the Australian Dessert his then new MZ50 got dust inside the cammera and caused a bit of dammage to the film and I suspect other parts as well but the MX/LX performed brilliantly in 43C temps. In the MZ50 I suspect that the dust sealing is not as good as what the MX/LX is. And of course the RB was/is unstopable.

 

[gregrudd]

I'll put my vote on the Pentax MX also. The LX is just great, but larger, heavier, and a hellofalot more expensive.

Both of my MX's have always worked like charms.
Rain and freezing -30C weather, still nothing.

As I own both an MX and an LX I can say that both have their charms and strengths. When a friend from work and I went out in to the Australian Dessert his then new MZ50 got dust inside the cammera and caused a bit of dammage to the film and I suspect other parts as well but the MX/LX performed brilliantly in 43C temps. In the MZ50 I suspect that the dust sealing is not as good as what the MX/LX is. And of course the RB was/is unstopable. With all that said for a Pentax 35 to really deliver one must use either SMC K,M or A series primes,

 

[snegron]

I just thought I'd get everyone's attention by making a preposterous statement. What are people's thoughts on the F3? Who has one? Any website that you know of that are dedicated to the F3? State you case.

I had an F3 back when they were popular in the 80's. I owned the first series model, before the HP. I never liked it. I could not figure out why Nikon didn't put a hotshoe on it (yes, I know, Nikon did put a "standard" hot shoe on their F3 press model, or F3P but it was next to impossible for the average Joe to get his hands on it). Also, I had trouble with the film advance mechanism. It was unusable after about 2 years, so I ended up giving it away.

 

[narsuitus]

At one time, I owned and used the F2 and the F3. Both are great cameras. However, I decided to sell the F3 and stick with the F2 for the following reasons:

1. I owned a large number of F2 accessories that were not compatible with the F3 and I refused to buy a second set of accessories just for the F3.

2. The F2 could function in remote locations for extended periods of time without the worry of dead batteries.

3. When it came to reliability, I had more confidence in the manual/mechanical F2 vs. the automatic/electronic battery-dependent F3.

In my opinion, the best 35mm SLR that Nikon ever made was the Titanium F2 with the standard viewfinder.

 

[Jan Cornelius]

There are lots of "35mm best camera's" according to the specs one needs for his or her style of photography, 35mm bodies are cheap and generally easy to replace, not a big issue....

I look for the best 35mm glass, according to my specs, and try to fit a good body to that. Personally I find CZ lenses the optimum in affordable 35mm lenses for my needs, a good camera with that would be an RTS II or III but, but the RTS is to bulky for me, I like to take my camera everywhere, and owning an RTS II I find this to heavy. Leica would be a good substitute, great lenses, relative light bodies but the thing that bug me is the 1/1000 speed and the shutter quality, this not thinking about the ridiculous price of both bodies and lenses. Having taken all this into account I have found my best 35mm body being a FM3a, it fits a series of great lenses isn't battery dependable, doesn't take changeable prisma, but I don't need that, not do I need mirror lockup functions. So the FM3a is my personal best 35mm camera, but not neccesarily the best 35mm .... but as said more than good enough for me

 

[Paul Howell]

I have owned and used the F, F2, F3P (or J) FA and FG. I really liked the way the F3 handled, but the F and F2 were, and are, rugged, reliable, neither the F or F2 ever gave me a problem or missed a shot. The F3 slow flash sync was a problem. The FG was underrated, with a motor drive, not the winder, it was a very fast and easy camera to use, but if the chip goes out good luck getting it repaired while a F or F2 or for that matter a Nikkormat will last for many years to come. When my F3 was stolden from my check baggage right after 9/11 I dither for several years then bought (on impulse) a Sigma SA 7 then a SA 9, for what little 35mm I do these days both are just fine. But after handling a F6, if I win the lottery its on my shopping list.