plasma181

I own the FM10 and the FM3a. The FM10 is not as well constructed as the FM3a, but it hasn't let me down. It can accept lots of good Nikon glass and is able to take some nice pictures. Go to http://www.usefilm.com/cameras/45/Nikon_FM10__FE10.html which will take you to a usefilm.com page. This page has many shots taken with the FM10 and its brother, the FE10.

Tamron makes a well known and well reviewed 28-105mm zoom with a

constant 2.8 aperture. I have been looking for a manual focus

version of this lens for my FM3a, but can't seem to find a

reference. Is there such a thing from any manufacturer? There

aren't even any listed on eBay. Thanks.

I own the FM3a and haven't had any problems with it. It's 15 months old and still has the original batteries. Yes, I'd like a spot meter; yes, I'd like the aperture priority to work with a flash attached; yes, I'd like the AE lock to work easier. But what this instrument does, it does very well.

Edward:

Eyepoint is the distance your eye must be from the viewfinder to see all of the focus screen. The higher it is, the farther your eye can be from camera and still see everything. You want a high eyepoint if you wear glasses.

Bob

Don't you hate when you make up your mind, everything in nice and sweet and ready to go, then somebody just has to add their 2 cents worth? I do a few social events and chemical engineering society meetings, and I've had good results with the Agfa Vista. They use this technology that reproduces colors exactly as the human eye sees it. Their 800 is too grainy for an event like this, but their 400 does a nice job. Also, their ISO rating is dead on. The number on the box is the number you shoot.

I'm not entirely sure what the FM3a has under the hood as far as a light meter. I've tested it without film, and the automatic shutter will stay open for more than a minute. How long it will remain open or how accurate it is anyone's guess.

I have a 35-105mm 3.5-4.5 manual focus zoom for my FM3a. It?s the only lens I have that can go ?wide? angle. When I was younger, I used to hate it when I?d look through a viewfinder at something 5 feet away, and it would look like it was in the next county. Therefore, I refuse to own a dedicated wide angle lens. But my zoom works well when I need wide angle.

It seems the power is turned off in bulb mode. The manual states that bulb operation is mechanical, and the meter needle goes dead in bulb. I believe power is used for the shutter in manual settings other than bulb because the needle stays active. The manual does recommend removing the batteries, however.

I know the FM3a is able to fire all shutter speeds without

batteries, but are the batteries disabled during long time exposures

on the bulb setting? I would like to do time exposure without

draining the batteries. Of course, I can just remove them, but I was

hoping that wasn't necessary. Thanks.

Bob

There is no spot meter, but I don't use one. I would like an auto exposure lock that is easier to use. (The Pentax P30-t from the mid 90's had a nice one.) There is no shutter priority, which would be useful. It is a little tricky to load the film. Othe than that, it's a great little camera. I have a 50mm series E and a 35-105 Nikkor, and I get great pictures.