F3 - Pitfalls

[coloursalive]

I've gone through the forums for a while now and all I hear is praise

for the F3, in whichever avatar it may be, the HP, H, Press,

whatever! I'm getting one tomorrow, but I'd like to see if anyone on

the forum has something to say about its flaws.

 

Regards,

 

Susheel

[ellis_vener_photography]

I was never wild about the F3 but I know lots of people who were. it just felt to "dry" to me.

I would definitely stick with an F3T, F3HP or F3 press (assuming it isn't abused out of

shape by now.

[michael_bradtke]

The one flaw I can think of (I own two of them)is the little red button to turn on the light in the view finder.

Have fun with your new camera.

 

Michael

[gerry b.]

You have to get used to the 80-20% light metering pattern if you are used to less weighted patterns.

[eric friedemann]

1. Viewfinder not particularly bright without HP finder.

 

 

2. 1/80th minimum flash sync speed at a time when the FE-2 had a 1/250th flash sync speed.

 

 

3. Same sort of badly-designed flash shoes that mount over the film rewind knob- just like the F and F2. You need to take the flash and shoe off the camera to remove and replace film cassette.

 

 

4. TTL flash metering nowehere near as accurate as current Nikon film bodies.

 

 

5. No vertical shutter release on motor drive.

 

 

This having been said, the F3 was the first Nikon flagship that had accurate enough ambient-light metering to shoot Kodachrome 64 without a handheld meter. The camera's motor drive was much lighter and better-designed than the two-piece battery/drives for the F2 variants. And, the deadly-accurate aperture-priority auto metering mode was, I felt, a blessing after years of using Fs and F2s with only full manual.

[joel_blacher]

I love the camera, but I don't care for the [+ -] style meter readout. It isn't intuitive for me...but that's me.

[kevin_jones2]

Ditto what Eric said. Some minor features that would be nice.. a peep hole to view what type of film is loaded and a alitte better grip.

The major weakness in the camera by today's standard is its flash capabilites. The HP version is great and a must if you wear glasses.

[Robert_Lai]

The only legitimately bad part of the F3 is the little red button. Otherwise, I've loved owning one for over 20 years. I use glasses too, and the non-HP finder works well for me - I can see the entire screen. We've been over this issue many times, but the DE-2 finder (non-HP) offers a more magnification than the DE-3 HP finder, and makes focusing a bit easier.<p>As far as the finder being dark, I've not noted it. I've accurately focussed in light that required 1/15 second at f/1.4 using ISO 100 film. It was pretty dim in the room, but I was able to get it focussed using the plain E (grid) screen.<p>The flash shoe takes some getting used to, but it is more solid mechanically than the usual ISO shoe. Once you turn the collar, that flash will not fall off your camera. True, the synch speed is only 1/80, but that's what slow ISO films and ND filters were made for weren't they.<p>I may sound like an apologist for the camera (and I am). However, remember that in 20 years time, today's latest and greatest cameras will also be found to have some flaws. The F3 is still a great camera to use.

[olivier_reichenbach]

My F3 HP is one of very few cameras I own that I will never trade or sell. In fact, I had it

CLAed recently. It's in perfect order. I simply love it. From the smoothness of the film

crank, to the unique shutter sound to the metering (I love this 80/20 quasi-spot) to the

ease with which I can focus on the E screen, it's a wonderful camera and it's a joy to shoot

with it. Mount a 50/2 AI on it, stuff a couple of rolls of Tri-X in your pockets, a yellow filter

if you insist, and you're off to a delightful moment.

 

The F3's qualities far outnumber its little quirks.

 

You will need the AS-17 hotshoe if you want to do TTL flash.

 

Enjoy.

[eric friedemann]

Over the years, I have found Vivitar's F3 TTL shoe to be as accurate as the Nikon AS-17 shoe, much smaller and way less expensive.<div></div>

[albert_smith]

I love my F3, but...

 

I use my N8008s a lot to use the 1/8000th top speed, so that I can shoot as close as I can to full aperture in good light. The 1/2000th top speed of the F3 limits me a bit when I want extreme selctive focus with moderate lenses.

 

Flash sync for fill-in flash outdoors with the F3 requires a more stopped down aperture than a lot of other Nikons with 1/250th sync speeds. Again, this limits control over DOF.

 

The viewfinder illumination light is a bit of a joke.

 

Lastly for me, manual exposure is harder to do with the small +/- display which comes on quickly and just as quickly is passed if you are too quick with the shutter speed or aperture dials. I like the FE2/FM3a type of display or the type in modern AF cameras... linier with the ability to see just how far away (in either direction) you are from "zero".

 

All of that said, it is still a great camera, even when you consider its age. And BTW... I posted my input from my experience without reading even one of the previous posts. This way, if there is any repetition, you will know that other have the same thoughts.

[asaf_tzadok]

Keep it close to you - it can break your floor :-)

I did not like the idea of not having standard hot shoe and the slow sync.

I sold it a month ago and 2 weeks ago I bought another one. I missed it, maybe I got addicted ?

 

You have my blessing ....

Asaf.

[douglas_green1]

IMHO, the main flaws are, the need for an add-on hot-shoe, for use with shoe-mounted flashes, and the fact that eventually, the LCD for the finder display might fail and be irreplaceable.

 

Other than that, it's pretty much the perfect manual focus 35mm SLR camera.

[User_1172872]

And, if you are left-eyed you can turn on the meter without poking yourself in the right eye. Now THAT was a fatal flaw in the FE-2; the "flaws" in the F3 that others have describe aren't even close.

[bruce_rubenstein___nyc]

I got an F3 (DE-2 finder) and am not very impressed with it. Compared to my FE2 & FM3a it has way more mirror induced vibration (the F3 has a secondary mirror to reflect light on to the light sensor in the floor of the body). Even with the low eye point finder the image magnification (.80x) is lower (smaller) than the FE's (.86x). In fact, I don't find the viewfinder to be significantly better than the F100. I don't care for the long throw on the film advance lever either (I don't use winders/motor drives on these cameras - I have an F100 for that.) I do, however, like the electronic shutter release.

[bruce_rubenstein___nyc]

I got an F3 (DE-2 finder) and am not very impressed with it. Compared to my FE2 & FM3a it has way more mirror induced vibration (the F3 has a secondary mirror to reflect light on to the light sensor in the floor of the body). Even with the low eye point finder the image magnification (.80x) is lower (smaller) than the FE's (.86x). In fact, I don't find the viewfinder to be significantly better than the F100. I don't care for the long throw on the film advance lever either (I don't use winders/motor drives on these cameras - I have an F100 for that.) I do, however, like the electronic shutter release.

[bruce_rubenstein___nyc]

I got an F3 (DE-2 finder) and am not very impressed with it. Compared to my FE2 & FM3a it has way more mirror induced vibration (the F3 has a secondary mirror to reflect light on to the light sensor in the floor of the body). Even with the low eye point finder the image magnification (.80x) is lower (smaller) than the FE's (.86x). In fact, I don't find the viewfinder to be significantly better than the F100. I don't care for the long throw on the film advance lever either (I don't use winders/motor drives on these cameras - I have an F100 for that.) I do, however, like the electronic shutter release.

[User_1172872]

Comparing an F3 viewfinder to anything else is the proverbial "apples to oranges." Nikon has made an amazing number of veiwfinder screens for the F3. There is one screen designed just for the 500 and 1000 mirror lens. Having used each on an F3, I can tell you it's the perfect screen for these lenses. That specialty screen is also useless for any normal or wideangle. [Not just dark corners - it's like a tunnell.] On the other hand, put the 1000mm on an F100 and you'll see a moire pattern on its screen.

[arraga]

<P>Adding to the ones above exposed:

 

<P>* Not positive enough AE lock.

<P>* Bad position of exposure compensation selector. You need to fiddle with both hands, and looking at the top plate instead of looking through the viewfinder.

<P>* With MD-4 on, awkward position of speed selection dial. This may be because I use it without the motor as an everyday carry camera, and my fingers are trained differently. With motor, i just go with AE. It's a different frame of mind (bah, 4 frames/sec of mind ;)

[john_liu5]

Early criticisms from some F3 novices (my wife has had her F3 for only a little while):

- Difficult to read shutter speed LCD and aperture window in darker conditions. Not just

night-time, but also on cloudy days when the brim of your hat shadows the finder.

- Little red illumination button is hard to press. I've found that reaching with my left hand

over the finder works better than my right index finger.

- Quite heavy with the MD-4. Could use it as a weight to tone up the arms and shoulders.

- No vertical shutter release. We bought the MR-3 but it doesn't fit.

- "+ and _" display just tells you over/under exposure, not how much you are over/under

exposed.

 

But we like it so much that I have been buying more Nikons . . . just got a old F to play

with, and researching a F4 for my main 35mm camera. I especially like the HP finder.

[loreneidahl]

Love my F3 - have 3 - have owned over 6.

 

Pitfalls - all that have been mentioned (real and perceived). However you notice that doesnt seem to stop anybody form buying them, and in quantity. :)

 

Every camera has faults. However the ability to know how the camera is going to react in a particular lighting situation more than makes up for it faults - real or perceived in my opinion ( why I have three).

 

The metering of the F3 is unlike any other. For what I shoot and how I shoot thats a big deal to me.

[lex_jenkins]

My gripes are pretty much the same as those already mentioned here:

 

1. Worthless meter readout illumination button.

 

2. For that matter, the dim gray LCD meter readout is practically worthless.

 

3. Clumsy, slow-to-operate exposure compensation dial undermines the otherwise useful AE mode. It's really nothing more than a variation of the ISO setting dial except it involves pushing a button rather than lifting the dial.

 

4. Virtually useless AE lock button. It's difficult enough to hold down without the MD-4 attached and almost impossible to reach with the motor drive in place. It should have been a push on/push off type rather than a momentary switch.

 

Considering all the years the F3 was in production it's difficult to understand why Nikon never upgraded some basic quirks such as the AE lock button and slowish flash sync speed. They continually upgraded the "lower" end FM-series so why not the pro F3? Puzzling.

 

5. The little bitty multiple exposure lever is too vulnerable to damage.

 

6. You can't easily switch mid-roll to and from using the motor drive. There's a cap on the bottom plate that has to be removed to use the MD-4 or replaced when the motor drive is not in use, otherwise the film will be fogged.

 

Doesn't sound like a big deal but it was to me recently when my motor drive batteries died (okay, they were three years old and had seen lots of use). I don't routinely keep the little silver oxide button cell in the camera body so I was left pretty much with a crippled camera with one shutter speed and no metering.

 

On the other hand, if the MD-4 were designed like the MD-12 for the FM2 and other compatible bodies you wouldn't have power rewind. So it's a reasonable compromise. There have been several occasions when I've finished a roll of film in my FM2N and fumbled around on the MD-12 for the power rewind switch only to remember that it doesn't have one.

 

7. Fairly minor gripe: The manual film advance feels odd to me. It's very slick and fast but a bit wobbly and lacking in the positive gear train feel of other cameras. I'd prefer something less crunchy and stiff than the typical Olympus OM SLR but more positive than the F3.

 

Okay, 'nuff gripes. Here are the features I really like about the F3 compared with other SLRs I've owned or used:

 

1. The MD-4 motor drive. Was a better detachable motor drive for manual focus cameras ever made? I used to be a Canon FD user but I think the MD-4 had 'em all beat. Feels great, despite the weight, and really helps offset the forward weight of long, heavy lenses for hand holding.

 

I've seen several auto-winders and motor drives that were pretty much crap. The MD-4 ain't one of 'em. I'll occasionally take the MD-12 off my FM2N but I almost never use my F3HP without the MD-4.

 

2. The HP finder. Not everybody likes this because of the smaller image size. But it's inarguably brighter. And even tho' I don't wear eyeglasses when shooting I like not having to mash the camera against my face in order to see the entire frame. Very helpful in crowds when you want to maintain your peripheral vision so you don't stumble over someone or vice versa.

 

3. A wide selection of screens, some of them exceptionally useful for specific purposes. Many of us use the E grid screen - supposedly designed for shooting architecture and landscapes - as an all-purpose screen because it's so bright. Terrific nighttime screen. Nothing to blank out when using slow lenses, something that plagues microprism collar and split-image focusing aids.

 

4. It's a brick. Even with the detachable finders it doesn't feel like something important might break.

 

5. Lenses. Among the better Nikkors and Canon FD lenses it's really a toss up. They're about equally good, just with different characteristics. But Canon wasn't ashamed to occasionally sell crappy lenses, especially when they first switched from the breechlock mount to the pushbutton release mount, while it's pretty uncommon to run across an AI or AIS Nikkor that is universally reviled.

[coloursalive]

Thank you everyone for the time that you have taken to respond. I should have mentioned that my dad has an F and a Nikkromat FE that we both love to use. I'm also planning to move on to a F4 should I find that I require anything more advanced, but that's quite a way off.

 

Anyway, I'm going to pick up the camera in a couple of hours and I'm sure I will love using it from the start. Once again, thank you for your responses.

 

Regards,

 

Susheel Chandradhas

[raf_belgium]

When you open the back of the F3 and look at the lower left side (where the film cartridge rubs against the body) you can have an indication of the amount of use the F3 had with a motor drive.

 

I don't believe the multiple exposure button is vulnerable. It certainly looks that way but i haven't seen many F3's with a broken one.

[Karim Ghantous]

I'm very late to this little party but it's an interesting thread. I have an F3HP and an F and the F's shutter is more subdued. I think it's because the lag between the mirror raising and shutter firing is longer than in the F3. The F3's shutter sound is nice - short and sharp - but too loud. There is no way I'd use this thing in church. And that is pretty much the only real gripe I have with this camera.

 

It would be nice if it were a bit smaller, too (though I'd hate to see it get lighter as I love the mass of the thing). If it had the modern, 1,005 cell matrix metering there would be little incentive to buy a more modern, AF body (assuming you don't need AF or automatic film advance).