Nikon F3 2020 Review | Sample Photos | Shooting Experience
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- Опубликовано: 19 окт 2024
- This is my review of the Nikon F3, one of the all-time classic pro film photographers cameras. This thing is an absolute workhorse, with enough features that you aren't missing out on much when you opt for this over more expensive cameras. Absolutely clowned myself with the first recording so I redid it in my room and tried to make it better. I hope you enjoy! Like/ Subscribe if you enjoy the video!
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The DW-3 waist level finder ia also very handy in crowds as one can hold the camera upside down and focus with your arms outstretched. It is extremely good in tight places as you can literally have the camera against a wall on a tripod and shoot a room with either a wide angle lens, super wide angle lens or anything else you have to hand.
The DA-2 action finder was originally designed for use when wearing a motorcycle helmet, or an underground mining type of environment where equipment on your head prevents you from having the camera close to your face. You can see and focus with the eyepiece around 50mm to 70mm away from your eye quite well.
The DW-4 6x magnification finder is brilliant for slide copying, mounting on bellows for extreme magnification and just general copying work. It has dioptre correction built in and is often overlooked for what it can allow you to do with an F3 body.
You should explore how the centre based inbuilt meter actually works, it is quite different to normal centre weighted metering on almost all other 135 cameras. Not spot metering, but close enough for someone in a hurry to get correct metering from part of a subject.
You forgot to mention the "T" shutter setting, this makes the body very workable for astrophotography, where exposures are measured in hours, not minutes.
If you can find a type "E" focusing screen, it works extremely well with the entire 60 + array of Nikkor lenses that were available when new for this camera. Plus the grid on the screen is great for getting horizons lavel and within reason architectural shots aligned with the verticals of buildings, sort of.
Adding the MD4 motor drive totally changes the camera and makes the on body grip helper obsolete as the vertical drive mount makes carrying the camera in one hand really nice, especially when your are hot and sweaty,
I don't think you mentioned the mirror lock, this is quite handy for various things and when used with the MD4 drive will make the frame rate a bit faster, if so desired/required.
Those batteries don't usually work on a time basis, as in your statement they should last a year, they pretty much last a certain amount of films ruin through the body.
If you apply the mirror lock when the camera is on a tripod, move it slowly so you can see the exposure meter under the mirror. While on the mirroe, if you look closely you will see what looks like a vertical line then a bulb on the top, this is hard to see, but the light passes through the mirror to the exposure meter while the mirror is down. Think Pellicle.
There is a lot more to this camera, I don't have time, but if you look deeper you will find heaps more interesting stuff. I bought mine new not that long after they came out, bought another one a couple of years later, they still work like you wouldn't believe. Also, if you think your camera has brassing, you wouldn't wish to see mine.
Yes, the winder is silk, it i what made me buy mine when I first picked it up. Took me about 15 minutes to decide to buy it, very expensive, but, amortised over the last 36 years, cheap as chips.
Wow, thanks for the write up! I'd love to check some of these out. I was pretty astonished with the amount of versatility this camera has with accessories, but I guess I should've expected that considering it was used professionally by photographers for decades.
A fair and just review of a film masterpiece. No camera stays in production for 20+ years and outlives its successor without being seriously good. When launched many F2 users were doubtful about the electronically controlled shutter but this camera convinced them and today it is standard mainly due to this camera. I have both this and the F5 - another great but this is lighter and I prefer the manual advance to my winder. Not sure why so many buy the less expensive film Nikons of this era because this is not much heavier and built to a pro standard for little extra cash.
At 4:34 the back release is still up. If you do not seat it correctly then the back can pop open and expose however much film is out of the canister. (In other words what you have already shot).
You might check out the Canon F1, it was the direct competitor to the F3, and accepts most of the "F" and "A" series lenses and accessories.
When this camera was new, Nikon and Canon were the choice of the professionals. These two probably had eighty to ninety percent (guessing) of the market, although there was a small but loyal following for Pentax, Minolta, etc.
Loved your review, but do you struggle with numbers? Good job though!
Nice review... I give you high praise for attempting to load the F3 backwards on camera. I am still nervous to load my F3 normally (ok, it's not that hard... but I still get anxiety). One last thing, the fastest shutter speed is 1/2000 (I wish it was 1/8000, would save me a lot of fumbling around with ND Filters)
Aaaaaa, you are right! I most definitely mixed that up because I was staring at my fuji recording it, which has similar knobs with a 1/8000 shutter 🤯. I feel like I may make some viewers think loading it is harder than it is with this video. So, to them: Loading it backwards with used film is hard! It’s one of the easiest cameras to load regularly! 😂
thanks for make this video.my brand new f3hp is on the road,that's really makes me feel exciting.
I was fortunate today to receive one as a gift. I’m really excited to try photography. I’m curious is to how some of the photos were black and white you had shown. Is that something I am to ask the picture store to print in that manor? Thank you for sharing!
Lucky you! There are lots of ways to get black and white photos. You could shoot black and white film, which is the easiest and most pure way to get the photos in black and white. You can also use a photo editing application on your computer or phone to convert photos taken in color to black and white. If you do it that way then you can have the files in both color and monochrome!
Cheers,
Drew
Thanks for the review, Drew! I own a Leica M6 and a Nikon FE2. Both are great cameras, but I have to admit that I prefer the Leica for streetphotography - it‘s so quiet compared to a SLR.
I love my F3. Because I wear glasses, I replaced the normal viewfinder with a DA-2 action finder, which is big and brilliant even if you view through it from a few inches away. I think it looks a bit awkward but cool at the same time.
I saw that while I was doing a bit of research on the accessories for the video! Actually super cool that they made something like that even though it looks kind of crazy. I've actually been thinking about doing a video with the DW-3 waist-level viewfinder since it's also a pretty unique attachment for a 35mm camera!
Dear Friend please notice that the Nikon F3 has ALSO ANOTHGER VERZ IMPORTANT Position for the shutter speed. The Position '' T '' !!! In this position the shutter remains open for long time exposures. It means that you can take pictures of infinity time theoretically . In the Praxis night longtime exposures are possible! The shutter can emain open even for hours ! (until the battery is out ) Another characteric is that this Modell is also to be found as TITANIUM version or PRO version which is more weather protected and with a Titanium Upper part and prism.
Great Video! Would love to see what you think of the Canon New f-1 too
I know this and the Leica m6 is very different, one being an slr and the other a rangefinder. But as to image quality which one do u think is better
Well, the only thing that will make a difference in image quality between them are their lenses. You can get image quality out of Nikon f3 that is as good as a Leica for cheaper. That being said, I spent ~$200 on my Nikon f3 Lens and on average ~$1000 on my Leica lenses, so obviously my Leica M6 has better Lens characteristics than my F3 😂
The front body shutter switch is 1/80th second not 1/500th.
Sorry for the stupid question but can this camera run without a battery? I have a pentax and there is option for battery I think for the metering (?) but I don't use that so I'm still able to shoot without battery? Thanks
Hey stephie,
The Nikon F3 can run without a battery but it is extremely limited. You essentially lose all functionality except being able to trigger the shutter at ONLY a 1/60 shutter speed! All metering/ other shutter speeds etc is lost so really I would never recommend it.
@@DrewWaddell Wow that's crazy! Thanks for letting me know! :)
I think it's a good camera for photojournalists!
It's funny to see that camera manufacturers, Japanese people, and most users also read it as Nikon, but only a few arrogant English and American users read it as Naicon.
Respec.
the max shutter speed is 1/2000 sec not 1/8000 sec.
What about exposure compensation like +1, +2,
Hey! yes, there is exposure compensation, you can see the dial at ~ 1:16. It's locked with the silver button which you can press to twist the arrow. I personally don't use it often, but it works as advertised!
Every film photographer on RUclips: Meticoulously trying to pronounce F3 designer's name - fuck it up every single time.
Do it or do not. There is no trying.
I used one throughout the 80's and you don't seem to have a clue about why we all used it ( the MD4 with fast power rewind) . It does have a none iso hot shoe . A lot of F2 guys had basically switched to the FE until this hit. The Canon F1 was nowhere even the F1n. AF changed everything and the EOS 1ruled the AF world because of the EF mount. Nikon hit back with the F5 and D1 but in reality they have been playing catch up ever since the EF mount hit. Nobody liked the F3 when it came out because it felt like shit compared to the F2as but practicality won and the MD4 was the reason.
What would you recommend the f3 or f2as ? Trying to get the best quality in Photos