What should I replace my broken FM3A with (or is that by)?

[MFstooges]

I'll take the slightly contrarian position and suggest the FA. Why? Because while aperture priority is useful, so is shutter priority when shooting moving subjects, or dimly lit scenes. I bought mine years ago and it works beautifully.

The other reason, my brain is more numerate than spacial. I hate cameras like the FE2 that have a swinging needle that arcs through a list of shutter speeds, because my brain can't process the value indicated by a long needle nearly as fast or well as my brain can process a numeric readout of shutter or aperture values. But then that is the same as the FM3a, so you may like that setup.

The beauty of swinging needle will be appreciated when you shoot slide films.

 

[mshchem]

Another FM3a or an F6

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hello everybody

I recently dropped my FM3A and received wonderful help in this thread. It will cost quite a bit to repair it and as I'm therefore looking for a replacement Nikon, I thought I'd ask for your thoughts.

Truth be told I've pretty much only used the FM3A in Aperture priority, and it has always worked wonderfully well during the years I've had it. Before I bought it I eyed the FA but always liked the idea of a manual and electronic body. When a reasonably-priced FM3A appeared I therefore bought it.

But as now find myself in a situation to consider the issue with an open mind I'm not sure what I would choose. I'm not per se bothered by an electronic camera and actually have several. I know it might be difficult to impossible to have them repaired these days, but that is also true with respect to non-electronic film bodies in many cases.

So if the only "guiding principle" is that the replacement should have aperture priority, which would you choose and why? Unless I'm mistaken the options are pretty much the FE, FE2, FA and FM3A so I'd be very curious to know how you would approach this.

Thank you kindly in advance
Philip

I suggest trying a plain Nikon FE in good condition. Mine always gives perfect exposure, and all I'm missing is AF. probablt cheaper than repairing yours

 

[kaliuzhkin]

You missed the EM which only has aperture priority.

Correct. According to Wikipedia, "The EM has no full manual exposure mode capability, but instead was intended to be used by inexperienced photographers who could not easily master the intricacies of shutter speeds and f-stops."

Then there are Nikkormats -- EL, ELW, EL-2.

 

[Cholentpot]

I suggest trying a plain Nikon FE in good condition. Mine always gives perfect exposure, and all I'm missing is AF. probablt cheaper than repairing yours

Gonna agree. The FE2 was nerfed a little. I think Nikon overbuilt the original FE because it was the first electronically controlled camera. They made that thing bulletproof. It also has the AI non-AI tab that the F3 has. I've used my FE more than any other of my cameras this year.

 

[BrianShaw]

@Cholentpot me2. I picked up a FE as a F3 backup and I end up using it about 3x more than the F3 for some reason. It’s a really comfortable and productive camera.

 

[abruzzi]

The beauty of swinging needle will be appreciated when you shoot slide films.

how is that suppoed to work? I've shot plenty of slide film, and never wanted a swinging needle.

 

[Chan Tran]

how is that suppoed to work? I've shot plenty of slide film, and never wanted a swinging needle.

To each his own. I generally do not recommend camera for anyone because only the person that buy it knows which one is best. In this case since the OP chose to buy the FM3a and I based my recommendation on that. If one was willing to pay the high price (more than an FE2, F3HP, F5, F4 etc..) to get the FM3a then the FM3a must have features that attract that person. For me the hybrid shutter and the swinging needle are the 2 things people who bought the FM3a were paying for. In fact Nikon had a hard time procured the swinging needle because when they made the FM3a almost nobody used that any more. But Nikon knew that was on of the sellng point.

 

[Cholentpot]

@Cholentpot me2. I picked up a FE as a F3 backup and I end up using it about 3x more than the F3 for some reason. It’s a really comfortable and productive camera.

You get the MD with the handgrip and it's even better. The MDs are a bit glitchy though, sometimes it needs a firm rap to get it going again.

I've used the F3 for about 10 years, I find it to be oddly balanced sometimes. It likes to tilt forward.

 

[BrianShaw]

You get the MD with the handgrip and it's even better. The MDs are a bit glitchy though, sometimes it needs a firm rap to get it going again.

I've used the F3 for about 10 years, I find it to be oddly balanced sometimes. It likes to tilt forward.

Totally agree. Both of mine have MDs… worth their weight even if never using for continuous shooting. The MD 11/12 are a bit finicky to synchronize when attaching yet reliable in general. Glitches in the FE body wind mechanism is the only MD-related failure I’ve experienced. The real glitchy situation is with MD-11 as it will drain all batteries if left in the ON state. Apparently that was corrected in MD-12.

 

[Cholentpot]

Totally agree. Both of mine have MDs… worth their weight even if never using for continuous shooting. The MD 11/12 are a bit finicky to synchronize when attaching yet reliable in general. Glitches in the FE body wind mechanism is the only MD-related failure I’ve experienced. The real glitchy situation is with MD-11 as it will drain all batteries if left in the ON state. Apparently that was corrected in MD-12.

Adding a full metal grip and handle and 8 AA batteries does make it heavy but it's nicely balanced. For some reason my MD will power the meter, I don't think it's supposed to do that.

 

[BrianShaw]

Adding a full metal grip and handle and 8 AA batteries does make it heavy but it's nicely balanced. For some reason my MD will power the meter, I don't think it's supposed to do that.

The MD-4 definitely powers the F3 meter, by design. The MD-11/12 should not. But I don't recall ever trying the FE without a battery that so if that's what you mean I will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[bjorke]

Go for the F2 or even an F, Photomic head, crazy flash adapter. Maybe a waist-level finder for frmal occasions. Pair with a 35mm O-Nikkor for that Danny Lyon vibe. The F is particularly onerous when changing film. You can tell yourself that you are a very serious person on every roll.

Or an FM of any vintage & just shoot.

 

[MFstooges]

how is that suppoed to work? I've shot plenty of slide film, and never wanted a swinging needle.

That is why there is a camera for every shooter and you don't have to follow anyone. As for me I like the swinging needle when I shoot slides.

Here is the VF display of Nikon FA and FE2 side by side. With the swinging needle I already know exactly how many stops I am over/under when I aim the lens to the subject (i.e. half stop, third stop or even smaller than that because swinging needle is stepless). I can already tell which shutter speed I should use right at that moment VS where I have to scroll up/down the buttons to get that +and- together on FA display. And I would knot know how much I am over/under with that +/- sign. Using needle is even easier for me when I have to measure aggregate values in a high contrast situation.

Also the Nikon FA meter only works when film counter reaches '1' so you can't get more than 38 exposures. I prefer to shoot 39 exposures with slide film.

 

[Les Sarile]

One feature of the FM3A that I really appreciate is that Nikon reversed their overreach of disabling the meter until you have advanced the fresh roll you put in to counter position 1. All Nikons with aperture priority capability are afflicted by this. I understand this is possibly corrected in the F3P? Also, the FM3A has the K3 split image range finder microprism focusing screen that never blacks out. This can be used in the FM2 and FE2 as well if you pick one of those.

Agfa Ultra 100-21-29B by Les DMess, on Flickr

Bummer about your FM3A but it seems very fixable to me.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Yes, the F-3P fired at set speeds from 0 count.

The OP question is one I've well considered. When I was about to switch systems I gave everything a try. I had a photo editor that preferred the FE2, she was smaller in frame and preferred the smaller size and lighter overall weight. This was in the era where many news shooters hadn't switched to AF. I ended up getting an FM-2n for the 1/250 flash as a 2nd body to the F3 HP I mostly used. The FM2 size was the same as the FE2 and although I personally wasn't of the 'needle' persuasion I understood the older generations that liked the use of that type of exposure determination. For me, I was coming off the OM-3 and OM-4 and wanted a more 'digital' (HA) exposure consistency to go with the F3HP.

As a travel camera without the motor the FM2/FE2 models are an ideal size, On paper it doesn't seem like much difference to an F3 or F4 but in hand it does, and some will prefer that size. The original FM and FE are marginally smaller but a tiny amount. I've had better luck with the FM's rather than the FE's (original), I've had 5-7 FE's that were bricked for no apparent reason, I think and it's been my experience that the FE2 was much more durable.

To the OP, eventually getting another FM3a might be the only solution, and so maybe trying a few others in the same size range as a back up and 'opinion forming', there are some deals to be had and there are already some great suggestions. I know I recently very much appreciated traveling with an AF F100 with lightweight fast AF lenses.

 

[Cholentpot]

The MD-4 definitely powers the F3 meter, by design. The MD-11/12 should not. But I don't recall ever trying the FE without a battery that so if that's what you mean I will be pleasantly surprised.

Now I gotta check.

That is why there is a camera for every shooter and you don't have to follow anyone. As for me I like the swinging needle when I shoot slides.

Here is the VF display of Nikon FA and FE2 side by side. With the swinging needle I already know exactly how many stops I am over/under when I aim the lens to the subject (i.e. half stop, third stop or even smaller than that because swinging needle is stepless). I can already tell which shutter speed I should use right at that moment VS where I have to scroll up/down the buttons to get that +and- together on FA display. And I would knot know how much I am over/under with that +/- sign. Using needle is even easier for me when I have to measure aggregate values in a high contrast situation.

Also the Nikon FA meter only works when film counter reaches '1' so you can't get more than 38 exposures. I prefer to shoot 39 exposures with slide film.

View attachment 377105

I use both and have come to prefer a needle. It lets me know where I am.

 

[Melvin J Bramley]

The FE and FM can accommodate both AI and non AI lenses by virtue of a tab on the camera mount.

 

[Melvin J Bramley]

The FE and FM can accommodate both AI and non AI lenses by virtue of a tab on the camera lens mount.
The FE also meters from loading the film the FE2 requires wasting a couple of frames before the meter kicks in.
IMHO the FE is the most underestimated / undervalued camera Nikon made.

 

[Les Sarile]

Yes, the F-3P fired at set speeds from 0 count.

The OP question is one I've well considered. When I was about to switch systems I gave everything a try. I had a photo editor that preferred the FE2, she was smaller in frame and preferred the smaller size and lighter overall weight. This was in the era where many news shooters hadn't switched to AF. I ended up getting an FM-2n for the 1/250 flash as a 2nd body to the F3 HP I mostly used. The FM2 size was the same as the FE2 and although I personally wasn't of the 'needle' persuasion I understood the older generations that liked the use of that type of exposure determination. For me, I was coming off the OM-3 and OM-4 and wanted a more 'digital' (HA) exposure consistency to go with the F3HP.

As a travel camera without the motor the FM2/FE2 models are an ideal size, On paper it doesn't seem like much difference to an F3 or F4 but in hand it does, and some will prefer that size. The original FM and FE are marginally smaller but a tiny amount. I've had better luck with the FM's rather than the FE's (original), I've had 5-7 FE's that were bricked for no apparent reason, I think and it's been my experience that the FE2 was much more durable.

To the OP, eventually getting another FM3a might be the only solution, and so maybe trying a few others in the same size range as a back up and 'opinion forming', there are some deals to be had and there are already some great suggestions. I know I recently very much appreciated traveling with an AF F100 with lightweight fast AF lenses.

I dunno, there's much difference between the FM/FE series with the F3 both on paper and in hand . . .

Nikon FG-FM3A-F3 by Les DMess, on Flickr

I don't have an F4 but I believe that's even more massive than an F3.



Regarding the metering on both the OM-3 and OM-4, I don't believe they have an equal in the manual camera world . . .

OM1234 by Les DMess, on Flickr

 

[BillBaileyImages]

If you have AIS lens then why not a F4, many quip that it is the best manual focus camera Nikon made. If not the F3 which seem to holding. BTW I have a F4 which I use with AI and non AI lens, the focus confirmation features works well.

Also consider the F5. Mine is a workhorse, totally dependable, and takes all my F-mount lenses. Yes, it's heavy with all those batteries, but that's the only drawback I've encountered.

 

[Les12]

Hello everybody

I recently dropped my FM3A and received wonderful help in this thread. It will cost quite a bit to repair it and as I'm therefore looking for a replacement Nikon, I thought I'd ask for your thoughts.

Truth be told I've pretty much only used the FM3A in Aperture priority, and it has always worked wonderfully well during the years I've had it. Before I bought it I eyed the FA but always liked the idea of a manual and electronic body. When a reasonably-priced FM3A appeared I therefore bought it.

But as now find myself in a situation to consider the issue with an open mind I'm not sure what I would choose. I'm not per se bothered by an electronic camera and actually have several. I know it might be difficult to impossible to have them repaired these days, but that is also true with respect to non-electronic film bodies in many cases.

So if the only "guiding principle" is that the replacement should have aperture priority, which would you choose and why? Unless I'm mistaken the options are pretty much the FE, FE2, FA and FM3A so I'd be very curious to know how you would approach this.

Thank you kindly in advance
Philip

I suggest an FE2. It will feel the same and do apurture priority and cost a lot less

 

[Ai Print]

I bought my FM3A brand new for $550 in 2002, the mix of hybrid shutter, TTL flash comp button and AE lock in a small FM sized body made it a no brainer. I had the batteries go on a ski assignment and just kept right on clicking.

My FM3A is still crusing right along. If it ever quits and can not be fixed, I’ll just buy another one, but I will never be without one.

 

[Angarian]

Hello everybody

I recently dropped my FM3A and received wonderful help in this thread. It will cost quite a bit to repair it and as I'm therefore looking for a replacement Nikon, I thought I'd ask for your thoughts.

I think first you should try to get it repaired. The FM3A is such a nice camera, that it should be repaired. Advantage: It's your camera, you know the history. If you buy a camera on the used market, you never know its history, you never know about possible abuse in its life.

If a repair is impossible, get another FM3A on the used market. And keep the damaged FM3A for spare parts for the case that the new FM3A may need a repair in the future.

 

[Nitroplait]

All Nikons with aperture priority capability are afflicted by this. I understand this is possibly corrected in the F3P?

As I noted in an earlier reply, the 3 Nikon EL variations and the FE don't have this feature - partly why I prefer these over my FE2.

At the time of the F3 introduction, the local Nikon importer said the feature was specifically implemented for the sake of professionals who might load a film with the lens cap on - which in turn would result in a multi second long exposure delaying the film loading process and thereby causing lost precious time.
Before the introduction of the F3, the Nikon FE was widely used by pros as a secondary camera to the F2 - and the feedback given to Nikon was that the blockage of film advance during film loading was a problem, hence the birth of this feature - the customers asked for it

It would be kind of ironic if the F3P didn't also have this feature.