joel_gomez Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Hey all, I've been shooting film for about 3 years now and I need an upgrade on my SLR. I was looking around and I came across a bunch of Nikon F3hp's for around the same price as the FM3a. Now I wanted some people's advise as to what they think about the two and which one the recommend. I do a lot of outdoor shooting as well as indoor. I'm just looking for a camera that's gonna last me and also keep taking great pictures. Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer_hahn Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 I know that if I had the choice I'd get an F3HP, just for the viewfinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael R Freeman Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Read this: <a href="http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfmseries/fm3a/index.htm">http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfmseries/fm3a/index.htm</a><p> Then this: <a href="http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/index.htm">http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/index.htm</a><p> That will keep you busy for a while.<br>If you do a lot of flash photography, you may prefer the FM3A over the F3.<p>Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmms Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 F3HP of c's,i envy u guys a lot in the states can get so many cheap F3hps from ebay...... F3 is just the powerful weapon to do anything of photography...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier_reichenbach Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 F3 HP anytime over FM3A. If you don't do much flash photography, that is. Or better still, F2 AS. A jewel of craftsmanship, the kind Leica people are fond of (I know, I have both.) All mechanical, except for the meter. Big and heavy, though. All three great manual focus cameras anyway. But for sheer «buttery» handling along with solidity, F2 and F3 are hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mskovacs Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Since I got my FM2N a couple of weeks back, it has made me appreciate my F3HP even more. The FM2N is a nice little camera but has a much poorer viewfinder and mechanical level of precision IMO. The film advance on the F3 is really smooth in comparison and racheted like a Leica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey_abelson Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 The FM3a is basically an FM2 with Aperture priority and ttl flash - I see little other difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joel_gomez Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 You guys have been of great help. I stoped by B&H today and I think I'm going to go with the F3hp. I mean for the money I can't beat it...and the view finder is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_h._hartman Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 <em>"The FM3a is basically an FM2 with Aperture priority and ttl flash - I see little other difference." --Jeffrey Abelson<br> </em><br> Jeff, you many know this but the FM3a is not based on the FM2 but rather the FE2. Popular Photography made complete fools of themselves point out how the ISO setting was moved from here to there, etc. Not true. The FM3a is mechanically almost identical to the FE2 save for the hybrid shutter. Naming the FM3a as though it were an FM family camera was done for marketing reasons.<br> <br> Regards,<br> <br> Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofey_kalakar Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 My suggestion is to hold both cameras, and assess the weight of both. If you want a compact light weight camera with a shutter capable of 1/4000 s along with great ttl flash sync then go with the fm3A. If your looking for a mechanical camera with a great high eye point viewfinder and can double as a bludgeoning weapon, then the f3hp is the one to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_soroka Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 Dave: I thought Nikon considered their FM/FE family tree as follows: FM FE FM2/FM2N FA FA minus some features = FE2 FM3A So, although the immediate predecessor is the FE2, it's still a descendant of the FM line, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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