Nikon F3

The Nikon F3 was released in 1980 following two previous models in Nikon’s successful line of professional F series cameras; the F and F2. Interestingly, because of it’s popularity, the F3 remained in Nikon’s professional lineup during the production run of the two F models that came after it; the F4 and F5.

The F3, unlike Nikon’s previous professional SLRs, introduced a horizontally traveling electronic metal curtain shutter, with a top speed of 1/2000, which meant the operation of the camera, along with it’s meter were reliant on battery power. The F3 takes two LR44s or, S76s and they last extremely long. The camera is quite power efficient; it wakes up when the shutter release is lightly depressed and will shut off if not used ( by shut off, meaning there is no power drawn from the battery) so it’s no problem if the camera is left in the ON position. Also, if the batteries do die, the shutter can be released mechanically, however it is limited to a set speed of 1/60th.

The F3 offers a boatload of different finders and ground glass (focusing screen) options which are relatively cheap to pick up. As well, the F3, which was designed by legendary automobile designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, was the first Nikon to introduce the red stripe - an iconic characteristic of the Nikon SLR.

I got my F3 a couple of years ago in great shape for around $70.00 CAD. It came with the HP (high point) finder and I have never entertained the idea of buying a different type of finder, as I find the HP big and bright. It is said that the HP finder allows the operator to see the entire field of view from approx 2.5 cm away from the VF, making it a bit easier on those who wear glasses, (which unfortunately I am not). That said, the waist level finder (DW-3) looks kind of cool, and invokes a bit of an Exacta or Mamiya feel.

As you can see in the photos, my F3 has some bumps, scratches, and brassing. I call it character. I have taken this thing around the world and it’s never disappointed. I would hate to lose this camera. I have shot mostly Kodak UC 100 with my F3 (when the film still existed) and the meter was spot-on every time. I often use aperture priority with it, as I find it incredibly accurate with its centre weighted meter and extremely effective when using the exposure lock button.

For you folks that like to use Nikon prime lenses, you’ll be happy to note that this camera will literally work with any and all Nikon made primes, with the exception of the newest G style lenses (not a big fan of those, but

that’s for another time). I often use a 35MM F2 AFD and a 20MM F2.8 AFD when shooting with the F3; both are of the newer generation of auto-focus lenses. Just to be clear though, the F3 is a manual focus camera, in all of its glory. There was an auto-focus variant of the F3, known as the F3AF, that worked with two of the first Nikon auto-focus lenses ever to be released.

I would recommend this camera to any of you who love using primes on a manual focus camera and enjoy shooting with aperture priority on a reliable camera. It is for those reasons that I would call this camera an excellent street SLR. However the only drawback I see is its somewhat bigger size than early manual focus SLR bodies. I would not recommend this setup for studio work, mainly because it does not have a normal hot shoe. Unfortunately this camera has a weird dedicated Nikon shoe that is located on the rewind dial. It also has a limited top flash sync of 1/80th. You can get a TTL adapter for a hot shoe that allows use of normal flashes, but at that point its even clunkier and clumsier.