Best Current MF Nikon Body Available Today?

When I had a FE2, FM2n and F3 (all very good cameras) I chose to keep only the F3 (the best of them), now I have a F2 (also great) and soon a D200 :-)

F3 HP -- no competition. It's the best of the best IMHO!!<div></div>

Another vote for the F3HP. Although I don't shoot much film these day (my main body is now the D2x) it's nice to load up some Tmax or chromes for some casual shooting.

 

The only pitfall of the F3 / F3HP is the viewfinder illuminator. Not only is it hard to actcutate but not very effective either. Other than that, no complaints. It's built like a tank. My camera took several 5+ feet fall onto concrete and aside from some dents works just like new.

In an earlier post, I recommended the FM3a. I still do. But I have an almost new F3hp and it is a very nice camera. It is built like a tank. I still prefer my FM3a.

 

Conni

<b>I just gave my FM2n to my son for use in his photography class</b></p> Take it back, buy your son a second-hand FM10.

If you don't mind my saying so, the FM10 is really a piece of junk that Nikon should have never put its name on. Intended for use by students, it's the Nikon-branded body least likely to withstand the rigors of student handling. Giving your son the FM2N was the right thing to do.<p>

 

As for what you should get, I agree with those who suggest that you consider the F3 or, if you wear glasses, an F3HP (with the one caveat that your speedlight might not be of much use to you with this body). I also agree with the person who suggested that Nikon develop a digital version of the F3HP.<p>

 

In the contest with its rivals, Nikon should play to its history and strengths. Imagine what a digital F3HP might be like: perhaps they'd call it "D3HP", and feature a 10-12 MP DX sensor. It wouldn't necessarily have to offer matrix or spot metering, as center-weighted should be fine for a manual focus camera. If they could somehow get match-needle metering in there, a la the FM3A, that would just be the cat's meow.<p>

 

Imagine further that Nikon developed a new line of manual focus DX primes. If these primes were designed with the DX crop factor in mind, utilized aspherics, and were apochromatic, they'd sell by the ton. Especially if they could be offered at only a slight premium over Nikon's current lens lineup. <p>

 

But, anyway, consider picking up a late-model F3HP. Failing that, a used FM3A would be the way to go. You'll find some brief info from Nikon about the two cameras <a href="http://www.nikonusa.com/slr/information/nikon_F3HP_FM3A_slr.htm">here</a>.

<em> the FM10 is really a piece of junk that Nikon

should have never put its name on. Intended for use by students,

it's the Nikon-branded body least likely to withstand the rigors

of student handling. Giving your son the FM2N was the right thing

to do. --CD Thacker<br>

</em><br>

I agree completely. After he has learned the basics you might

give him your Canon 20D and buy a D200 for yourself. Ive

seen your Nikkor lens list in another question here at PHOTO.NET

and all of those lenses will work with the D200 and many will be

excellent. Once a person has the basics down a DSLR can be an

excellent way to learn. One can experiment and get the results

right away. I still think its better to get the image right

in the camera. When you are the poor sap in the darkroom who has

to save someones poorly shot negatives is the photographer

himself there is solid motivation to do it right in the camera in

the first place.<br>

<br>

<em>(with the one caveat that your speedlight might

not be of much use to you with this body). --CD Thacker<br>

</em><br>

Modern Nikon Speedlights such as the SB-24 up to and including

the SB-800 work just fine with the F3 and F3HP. The F3 does not

fully support these speedlight but these speedlights fully

support the F3 (with an AS-17 adapter and SC-17 TTL Cord). The

Modern Nikon speedlights are significantly smoother in use than

the SB-16A or SB-16B with AS-17.<br>

<br>

My preferred speedlight for the F3/F3HP, FE2, FM2n, etc. is the

SB-24 (or SB-25 and 26). I prefer the SB-24 for my Hasselblad 500CM

as compared to a Vivitar 285HV. Now that I own an SB-800 I use it

with my F5 and F100 as well as my D2H which didnt offer

much functionality with the SB-24.<br>

<br>

Regards,<br>

<br>

Dave Hartman.<br>

<br>

---<br>

<br>

<em>I also agree with the person who suggested that Nikon

develop a digital version of the F3HP. --CD Thacker<br>

</em><br>

Im sure it will never happen but if Nikon got rid of the

LCD + - meter display in favor of the older F2As/FM2n +0- LED

display or an bar graph LCD display such a camera would turn my

head. Id like to see a 22x34mm sensor. I dont think

Nikon could fit a FF sensor in the F3. A unit the size of an MD-4

with battery, electronics and motor drive below the camera would

not bother me. I like the handling of the F3/F3HP with and

without the MD-4. Id like to see the pack semi-permanently

attached. Nice to think about.

Thanks for the clarification, Dave. I've never used flash with my F3HP and hope I never have to, so I wasn't sure.

The FM10 is no FM2n, but its extreme simplicity and mechanical vertical shutter makes for a generally reliable camera. Nikon specifically designed it for sale in Asian markets and climates where limited service support and extreme climates were not friendly to consumer-level electronic 35mm cameras, and they appear to have been right. Certainly a lot of very recent and very fragile DSLRs out there haven't been that reliable by comparison.

Glen, have you ever actually handled one of these things? <i>Cheap</i> - in the worst sense. The camera is designed and produced by <i>Cosina</i>, and while Nikon may have had some input, the obvious intention - which even a cursory examination would reveal - was to squeeze the last ounce of margin out of its production. The FM10 may have been, as you say, "designed for Asia", but it's sold in North America. Throw one in a backpack with your textbooks, hop on a city bus , and by the time you arrive at school as likely as not the thing is broken. Not worth even a fraction of what they charge for it, the FM10 is no more reliable than, say, a Diana, or some other toy camera. The only thing lacking is the light leaks. And the charm. And the ultra low price. <p>

 

I'm sure some people manage to use one for a time without incident. But to do so you'd have to be pretty careful. And pretty lucky, too.

Well, I have to disagree. Not only have I owned and used FM-10s, I've also repaired them along with other 35mm SLRs, so I know a bit about them and how they're built. The FM-10 as made by Cosina is no worse than the Yashica FX-3 or several other Cosina made clones, some of which are quite popular as reliable backup cameras, others of which have used the basic chassis design and mechanics as the basis for some rather expensive cameras. Perhaps, coming from owning the FX-3 and other Cosina-derived cameras along with many Nikons, I'm not as averse to the idea of owning them.

 

The FM-10 has a reliable, mechanical metal shutter and is extremely simple, its saving grace. Moisture and rain that would destroy other, more complex cameras has no effect on this model. Its plastic over metal construction doesn't hold a camera to say, an FM2n, and it does have a rather jarring shutter and the prism mirror isn't as bright as it could be, but it's not a Holga.

 

In fact, a little Nikon history here - Nikon experienced some malfunction problems in the 1980s with inexpensive electronic SLRs like the EM, FG and FG-20. When it came time for a new, inexpensive manual focus camera, the FM-10 was introduced, intended originally for humid South Asia markets and has done quite well there, where electronic camera repair can be hard to come by. In the USA, it has also sold well. Being mechanical and simply built, there isn't much to go wrong with it, and if something breaks it's quite easy to fix. Compare that to your average low-end AF camera, which is usually binned for lack of parts and flex boards within a few years of sale. I would not hesitate to compare the FM-10's repair record to that of the Nikon N65, N70, Minolta 400si, Canon Rebel, etc. - compared to them (and to many consumer-level DSLRs, for that matter) the FM-10 starts to look like a very reliable camera.

Hmm, 2 years ago CD had quite a different opinion about the FM-10:

 

"I agree with those who have said that it looks like you're getting a good deal on what will doubtless be a good camera for you - the FM10. Yes, it's made for Nikon by Cosina - but so is the new 45mm f/2.8 pancake lens for the FM3A that everyone is so crazy about. Cosina makes a lot of stuff for a lot of companies, and they generally do a good-to-excellent job. They also make their own line of gear, under the name Voigtlander, that is highly regarded by rangefinder buffs.

No, the FM10 isn't an F5 - but that doesn't mean it won't serve you well - through high school and maybe college, too.."

I've had an FM10 since they came out. It's a really good camera for the money and several of the universities in this area recommend it as the camera for their entry-level photography calsses.

 

As noted, it was originally made to sell in Asia but got a big boost in the US when Galen Rowell started carrying one and wrote about it. He liked it because of its light weight and simplicity.

 

Conni

You're right, Glen, I did write those words two years ago. And came to regret them some months later, when I recommended this camera to two students I knew - only to find out subsequently, when they took me up on it, that each of their cameras had stopped working. And last year I met a photography teacher who told me that while he used to recommend the FM10 to his students, he no longer did so - because of the high incidence of breakage and unreliability among them.<p>

 

But I'll defer to your expertise, since I'm sure it trumps the experience of the teacher and his students, and of my two student friends.<p>

 

And Conni, I appreciate that you own and like the camera. But given that you appear, from past posts, to own at least one or two of virtually every Nikon camera made, I imagine you can't spend too much time shooting with yours. Still, I'm glad you're a fan.

Well, not quite the case, CD. There are big holes in the group and I only have duplicates of the F5, F70 and FE (ebay fluke). Both of those duplicates I bought as backups. The ones I don't have, I don't want.

 

And no, I haven't used my FM10 lately because I left it in Japan so I could bring something else home with me. Also, I have found that I need a camera to use when it's pouring rain. Last time I was out in a downpour with my FM3a, and I don't want to do that again but photographing in the rain is one of the things I really like to do both in Japan and at home.

 

I have not suggested that the FM10 is near the quality of the Nikons but it gets its job done and if something happens to it, I won't angst about it.

 

Sunday I was updating my camera and lens list because I've been remiss and the FM10 came up on my list and it wasn't in its place so I had thought about it lately.

 

I don't like risking my best cameras in bad weather or bad places so things like the FM10 have a place in the stable.

 

If you live alone and spend your own money, you can have what you want.

 

Conni

It's all a matter of context. No one would seriously argue that the FM-10 is a better camera than an FM2n, and I would never recommend trading for an FM-10 once the former is in hand. I often wonder why, though that the FM-10 is so passionately denigrated when other, less reliable Nikon models seem to get a pass, or are even recommended for use by beginners! Unlike the EM, N50, N55, N65, etc. the FM-10 at least had a justification for its existence beyond just low price competition with cheap Canon and Minolta consumer SLRs. Its very simple construction, lack of electronics, lack of AF, and no power winder to overstress its light-duty advance mechanism does make a difference. One has only to look at the internals of many digital cameras to see even worse construction. Many of them die within a few months, many more shortly past the expiration of the warranty period.

 

If the FM-10 is not being assembled as well today, that should be known and reported, but based on specific comparison of part or assembly inferiority, not generalities. Individual anecdotes have a value of '1'. A visit to a camera repair shop and quizzing the technicians can point out some very interesting trends in frequent camera repair, and the FM-10 is by no means at the head of the list.

FM3a for flash, F3HP for natural lighting

i bought my F3 Hp in 1985 and still shoot a lot with it. what flash problem? i never encountered any. ONE thing i don't like is the on/off button. i have missed a few important wedding shots because when i hold my flash, a potato masher metz i accidently turn the button off. i had to have it recircuited- the only nikon i had to repair. its a great camera- i like the choice of screens. my second is the F2 with standard prism. so light but strong. both are great.

 

nice suggestion - make a digital F3. enjoy yourself, enutron

interesting range of suggestions

 

what I have used/owned FG, FM, FM2, F2 Photomic, N8008, N8008s

 

One day with time on my hands I peered through the viewfinders and decided that the

Fm2 was best by a very, very slight margin.

 

One of my favourite combinations however, is the N8008s Nikkor AI 35mm f2.0 and the

SB80DX speedlight flash.

 

The viewfinder of the N8008s used with manual focus lenses is excellent.

 

As pointed out above, the F2 is great but flash is not very advanced with it.

 

The funny thing is all of the suggestions in this thread are perfectly fine and if you go with

any of them you should do just fine.

There have been reports on this forum, recently, of NOS (New Old Stock) F3HPs being available off the shelf, even now, in late 2005. But I'm not sure how you locate one...