First Impressions: Nikon F3

Nikon F3 HP. Professional 135 SLR with High-Eyepoint Viewfinder.

The irony of having all these collectible cameras, many of which are working SLRs, is that not one of them has been a Nikon. Until now.

When a colleague of mine learned of my obsession, he told me about some items he was looking to sell, and the Nikon F3 was a bargain I just couldn’t pass up.

In choosing what would be my favorite Nikon manual focus SLR, I had finally nailed it down to an FE, or FE2, which had just the right combination of technology, classic all-metal construction, and good industrial design. These were to be the cameras to watch for. At the time these cameras were available, I was in the Canon camp, so it took some research to fully familiarize myself with the Nikon Line. Then along comes this F3.

The F3 is a professional camera. It’s two years newer than the FE, which is considered a “semi-professional” body. The F3 takes on a slightly different character with its Guigaro styling (the first of many, including current Nikon SLRs) and slightly different control placement. There is also slightly more plastic, but not in any areas that affect performance or durability. It’s one solid camera, highly advanced, and yet traditional enough to give you that classic manual-focus SLR feel.

The F3 is full-featured and incredibly smooth operating. This particular model (the HP or “High Eyepoint” version) features a wonderfully clear, full-information viewfinder. The use of a digital LCD shutter speed/exposure readout was highly advanced for its time, although not quite as chic and imminently usable as the match-needle system of the FE. However both the F3 and FE feature Nikon’s elegantly simple aperture readout via a second set of aperture numbers engraved right on the lens itself. In manual mode, you adjust the exposure until -+ appears just to the left of the shutter speed, above the “M” which indicates manual mode.

Being an electronic-shutter camera, the control layout is a little different from the traditional mechanical shutter SLR. Concentric with the rewind crank is the ISO and exposure compensation dial. Finally, there is a means to adjust exposure plus or minus up to two stops, just like modern DSLRs and other digital cameras. The shutter speed dial is in the traditional location, but lacks the mechanical means of setting the ISO by pulling up and turning. So far, all of this is pretty much standard for electronic shutter models. However the F3 attempts to simplify things by combining the shutter release, film advance lever, and power switch into one concentric assembly. This design harkens back to the Minolta SR-T series, which I tend to use as a benchmark of SLR design since it was the camera I learned on. My first serious camera, the Canon AE-1, took a similar approach by combining the film advance lever with the shutter speed dial, keeping the shutter release separate. Either design helps to cut down on the clutter.

User Interface: A clean top deck.

Another nice logical control placement is the self-timer, a lever concentric with the shutter speed dial. The depth-of-field preview and mirror lock-up (Yay! Finally!) are combined into one pushbutton/lever unit on the front of the body to the right of the lens. Below this is the AE lock button (again, Yay!) combined with another nice feature; a mechanical 1/60 second shutter release. This, just in case the batteries die, which is unlikely to happen due to the incredibly low drain of the LCD. It’s also unlikely that you won’t be able to find batteries for this camera, as it uses two A76 batteries, probably the most common button battery.

Being a professional camera, The finder assembly is removable, allowing you to swap out focus screens (much more easily than today’s DSLRs by the way) and features a built-in eyepiece shutter for time exposures.

So how does the camera feel in my hands compared to all the others I’ve used? Wonderful.

It’s not quite as heavy as my old Canon F1 (928g or 32.7 oz as opposed to the F1’s 1070g or 38.0 oz) but certainly as robust. All the controls are easy to access, although the concentric self-timer and power switch levers are quite stiff; no fingertip operation here. But, then it’s not necessary to turn the camera off to preserve battery life, as they are only activated momentarily with the shutter release is pressed halfway.

Like any professional camera, its weight is an asset promoting stability. But fatigue is abated by the implementation of a slight grip on the right side. Enough to lessen necessary grip pressure, but not too much as to be cumbersome as in modern “motor drive” style grips. (This is where the F4 makes a major departure from traditional design.)

The only downside that I can see is a rather low maximum flash-sync speed of 1/90 sec. This is because the F3 employs a titanium horizontal focal-place shutter, as opposed to the FE’s titanium vertical shutter. Still, the F3’s top speed is 1/2000 sec., no slouch compared with the FE’s 1/1000 sec. and much more reliable. The FE2 does improve upon this however with a blinding 1/4000 sec. top speed. I have yet to learn if modern FP flash technology can overcome this barrier.

So, my quest is sort of over. I think I’ve found my new favorite manual-focus Nikon body. And with full metering access to all but my G-series NIKKOR lenses, It’ll get plenty of use. There may still be an FE or FE2 in my future, but for now, the F3 is a daily shooter that happily fills the gap.