I have some good AIS and D lenses. I don't mind manually focusing the later. Looking for an alternative to my electric FG which amazingly works after 40 years.
Opinions on film bodies?
F2 - Supposedly the Leica M of Nikon bodies?
FM - Pokes you in the right eye if you turn it on and you shoot left eye. boo!
FM2 - Does it poke?
FM3a - Vulcan mind meld of FE and FM but gonna cost you
F3 - Giorgetto Giugiaro designed. *Italian flag emoji here*
F4 - Chunky whirring bastard gets no love
F100 - AF, not huge, kind of works with AI lenses.
F5 - Dude, just shoot a D3.
F6 - Cultist.
Will survive an atomic bombing - fm2. I just had one rebuilt.
ottokbre wrote:
I have some good AIS and D lenses. I don't mind manually focusing the later. Looking for an alternative to my electric FG which amazingly works after 40 years.
Opinions on film bodies?
F2 - Supposedly the Leica M of Nikon bodies?
FM - Pokes you in the right eye if you turn it on and you shoot left eye. boo!
FM2 - Does it poke?
FM3a - Vulcan mind meld of FE and FM but gonna cost you
F3 - Giorgetto Giugiaro designed. *Italian flag emoji here*
F4 - Chunky whirring bastard gets no love
F100 - AF, not huge, kind of works with AI lenses.
F5 - Dude, just shoot a D3.
F6 - Cultist. ...Show more →
jwolfe wrote:
Cheap durable and works with most lenses - N80.
Can hammer nails - f4s or f5.
Will survive an atomic bombing - fm2. I just had one rebuilt.
I am all about the F80/N80 - I like them so much I have two and use them more than my F6.
But they do not have an aperture feeler so will not work with Ai/AiS or other manual only lenses unless they are chipped.
I really liked my F4 but it really is so much better as an AF camera.
My F6 has an amazing focus screen which works incredibly well with manual focus and AF lenses. That would be the ultimate get up.
F2 - awesome w manual lenses.
F3 - see F2
FM/Fm2 - great with manual focus but eye pokers if you are left eyed.
Fm3A? Just get an FE2 and save $700. Or get an F2, F3, F100 and still have money over.
F5 - never owned but did pick one up once. Still have not recovered from that hernia surgery.
F100 - works w AI/AiS and AF lenses, unlike an N80. Careful not to break the film door latch.
ottokbre wrote:
I have some good AIS and D lenses. I don't mind manually focusing the later. Looking for an alternative to my electric FG which amazingly works after 40 years.
Opinions on film bodies?
F2 - Supposedly the Leica M of Nikon bodies?
FM - Pokes you in the right eye if you turn it on and you shoot left eye. boo!
FM2 - Does it poke?
FM3a - Vulcan mind meld of FE and FM but gonna cost you
F3 - Giorgetto Giugiaro designed. *Italian flag emoji here*
F4 - Chunky whirring bastard gets no love
F100 - AF, not huge, kind of works with AI lenses.
F5 - Dude, just shoot a D3.
F6 - Cultist. ...Show more →
Depends on what you are looking for; a unique, OG film experience or a comforting dslr-like experience.
Nikon F with standard prism. The original bad boy OG. No meter. No automation. No batteries. Not even a hinged back. It eats Leicas for breakfast.
Nikon F2. Almost as sturdy as the F. Pretty to look at.
Nikon F3. Slap an MD4 motor drive on it and it will instantly tranform you into a 1980's paparazzi. People will stop whatever they are doing and look in mesmerized amazement when they hear the motor drive rattle.
F4. I don't have one. Never liked the way it looked. The redheaded stepchild of the F generation.
F5. The beast. Great if you are leaning more toward the AF experience while lifting weights.
F100. It's a dslr that uses film.
FM2N. Durable, but not as tough as its big brothers.
N80. Great for AF lenses. I use it with a 50mm f1.8 AF-D attached as a meter for my F.
snegron7 wrote:
Nikon F with standard prism. The original bad boy OG. No meter. No automation. No batteries. Not even a hinged back. It eats Leicas for breakfast.
Nikon F2. Almost as sturdy as the F. Pretty to look at.
I think the F and F2 can share prisms/viewfinders. One thing I like is that the viewfinder has no split-prism focusing or anything else to clutter the view, and you can even get a waist-level viewfinder (with magnifying loupe) for it. Even though I used split-prism focusing for decades with my Pentax, I am having trouble with it now on my Minolta SLRs unless there are strong vertical lines in the image (similar issues with rangefinder focusing although I've gotten better with that). I'd rather have no split prism as I find it a distraction and not that useful, but for critical work I'd need to magnify the view somehow; the waist-level viewfinder with loupe would be ideal for portrait work on a tripod.
The F has some limitations and drawbacks; you waste a frame each time you use mirror lockup (the F2 doesn't have that problem) and a lot of people hate that metal film advance lever.
One thing that kinda disappoints me about my F4 is you have to manually lock-up the mirror with a very stiff lever to get vibration-isolation for slow shutter speeds, and then manually lower it back down after the shot. My FE2 (and similarly the FM, FM2, FE, probably a few others) has the less-hasslesome mirror pre-fire built into its self-timer mode: once the timer is running, the mirror goes ahead and flaps up as soon as you press your cable release. The F4 self-timer mode is *only* for selfies; the mirror flaps up when the picture takes, same as a regular shot.
(Though neither is as good as F6 and DSLRs which I believe have *both* a dedicated mirror-prefire mode (0.4 seconds on most, configurable on the D850) for medium-low shutter speeds, *and* for really slow shutter speeds a proper mirror lock-up (but it automatically comes back down after the shot, you don't have to flip a super stiff lever).)
But at the same time, the permanent mirror lock-up of the F4 (and F, F2, F3, F5), which the F6, the DSLRs, and the prosumer film bodies lack, is a really neat feature because it lets you use ancient non-retrofocal wide angles that protrude into the mirror box.
If you want AF get the F80. It is so cheap you can just buy one for the AF lenses and then still get another camera for the manual lenses.
- For some reason I never liked the F100. Bought, sold, bought, sold...there was also that niggling concern about the film door.
- F5. Well...big. Perfect otherwise, apart from the focus points not lighting up in the viewfinder. The weight was just too much though so sold that too.
- FM2n. You can channel your inner Steve McCurry with it. Really great actually for manual lenses if you're after a mechanical shutter. But if you're not and do not mind a bit of battery powered goodness then....
- ...get the F3. What I'd get. Don't worry too much about F3 vs F3HP, whatever is cheaper. An excellent manual focus camera with aperture priority and looks better than anything else.
In the end...just admit you'll buy all of those one way or another to try them out.
Lee Saxon wrote:
Can you say more here? Not criticizing because I love my FE2, just curious because I was considering looking into the FM3a.
In actual usage there is near to zero difference between the two. The only practical difference is the exp lock button, which has been moved to the back roght of the camera instead of via the front. The only time you will notice the hybrid shutter is if your batteries die, which in cameras like this has literally never happened for me. And if that happens - no meter
Of course they also look near to identical, but the advantage here is to the FE2 as it uses the much cooler older Nikon style script on the camera’s prism. If the FE2 never existed then I can see the rationale to buying an FM3a. But you would still be buying an old camera and I have seen a few now on ebay with non working meters which honestly I found surprising.
Of course sometimes you just want something and nothing else will do. I’m guilty of that too..
I'll pipe in and defend the FM3 - I think it's one of Nikon's best cameras, but it is over-valued/priced in today's market. It really is everything the Leica M7 should have been - it far more advanced than the Leica. Lots of little details that made me wonder why Leica didn't do that too. I sold my M7 and kept the FM3. I use it a lot.
I also love the F4, in all of its over-sized glory. It is the last of the "pro" cameras with real dials, and the meter is absolutely perfect. I think the AF system is fine, too, but I can see where others who are coming from today's digital cameras might find it a bit lacking. But the AF is very accurate. And it runs on AA batteries! How cool is that?
Still my favorite is the F2 with the plain prism. Very sleek (for an F series Nikon), great build, just does the job. Lenses are great from that era, and are cheap, too. I can understand why Nikon put the hurt on Leica with this camera.
ottokbre wrote:
I have some good AIS and D lenses. I don't mind manually focusing the later. Looking for an alternative to my electric FG which amazingly works after 40 years.
Opinions on film bodies?
F2 - Supposedly the Leica M of Nikon bodies?
FM - Pokes you in the right eye if you turn it on and you shoot left eye. boo!
FM2 - Does it poke?
FM3a - Vulcan mind meld of FE and FM but gonna cost you
F3 - Giorgetto Giugiaro designed. *Italian flag emoji here*
F4 - Chunky whirring bastard gets no love
F100 - AF, not huge, kind of works with AI lenses.
F5 - Dude, just shoot a D3.
F6 - Cultist. ...Show more →
Wait, what's wrong with the FG? I liked the EM vs FM-2n, myself. both needed higher than average hh ss though but FG shutter looks potentially the same as EM, FM-2n vertical travel as well
Oldwino wrote:
I'll pipe in and defend the FM3 - I think it's one of Nikon's best cameras, but it is over-valued/priced in today's market. It really is everything the Leica M7 should have been - it far more advanced than the Leica. Lots of little details that made me wonder why Leica didn't do that too. I sold my M7 and kept the FM3. I use it a lot.
I also love the F4, in all of its over-sized glory. It is the last of the "pro" cameras with real dials, and the meter is absolutely perfect. I think the AF system is fine, too, but I can see where others who are coming from today's digital cameras might find it a bit lacking. But the AF is very accurate. And it runs on AA batteries! How cool is that?
Still my favorite is the F2 with the plain prism. Very sleek (for an F series Nikon), great build, just does the job. Lenses are great from that era, and are cheap, too. I can understand why Nikon put the hurt on Leica with this camera. ...Show more →
I agree with most of what you say, apart from the M7 bit. Because no matter how many more features the FM3a has... it is an SLR camera. If you prefer that, fine.
Agree with the F4' Loved mine - big chunky dials rule! No menus to dive into. Obvious how everything works. Great meter and like you I had zero issues with the AF. But I just don't think it is a great MF camera because it really works better as AF!
Crazy cheap too considering this is a full spec pro build camera that I think was $2000 when it came out in 1988!
Using an inflation calculator, that is $5200 now, but you can get them for $250!
AmbientMike wrote:
Wait, what's wrong with the FG? I liked the EM vs FM-2n, myself. both needed higher than average hh ss though but FG shutter looks potentially the same as EM, FM-2n vertical travel as well
My main issue is that the metering is wayyyyy too dim to see (at least on mine). The 2nd is survivability. These things tend to drop dead one day, or so I am told.
No DOF preview, though that never bothered me on RF cameras. Mirror lockup is on the wish list too since I like film for landscapes more than digital.
F - Probably my favorite 35mm SLR. Smooth and quiet operation, great feel in the hand, and it doesn't care what lens is on the front. I've got the plain prism and the Type E focusing screen (grid lines and center reference circle), and the shooting experience is just sublime. Zero distractions, easy focusing, the camera is totally out of the way. Removing the back plate to load/unload film doesn't bother me, but it bothers some. Same for the metal advance lever. The later versions have a rubber cover, if that bugs you.
F2 - Also a phenomenal camera, but I'm 0/2 on them due to film doors that would pop open on their own. Between F and F2, the F2 does bring a few nice quality of life improvements to the table and it generally seems a little more refined. The metered prisms are nice and bright, and of course they give you a meter. But the DE-1 does handle better.
F3 - Solid as a rock. It's smooth all the way around from its finish to its operation, it's not as cumbersome as a metered F2, and it has auto exposure. I find that valuable, but if you don't then you likely won't enjoy the meter readout in the F3. It's a tiny screen with a "+" and a "-" with no scale to let you know how far you are from the correct exposure. I leave it in auto and use aperture to get the shutter speed where I want it. The HP finder is great if you wear glasses, the standard finder is maybe a bit better if you don't. Slightly more magnification, and I recall it being a bit brighter as well. I miss having a non-HP F3.
FE - Don't discount it if you can live with the advance lever sticking out. The viewfinder has a relatively high level of magnification, so achieving critical focus is pretty easy. I would imagine the FE2/FM/FM2/FM3a are all the same in this regard. And the meter readout is nearly perfect, with one scale and two indicators (current shutter speed and metered shutter speed). The only downside is that it can be tough to see in darker environments.
F5 - I really want to say that you're wrong here, but... you're not.
F100 - I quite enjoyed mine, but I'm not in a hurry to replace it. Not for F/F2/F3 money, anyway. The F100 will work with all of your lenses though, and it'll do great with the AF ones. But the MF experience is just like a DSLR. Fine, but not great. Still, it's a very practical camera.
N75/N80 - Excellent imaging tools, and so cheap that they're worth picking up just for your AF glass.
ottokbre wrote:
My main issue is that the metering is wayyyyy too dim to see (at least on mine). The 2nd is survivability. These things tend to drop dead one day, or so I am told.
No DOF preview, though that never bothered me on RF cameras. Mirror lockup is on the wish list too since I like film for landscapes more than digital.
But mainly just wanting a nicer Nikon experience.
I don't see how it's any more amazing that an FG is still going vs a similar vintage F3, FE2, FA, etc. Any camera can fail, but usually they don't, really a backup the best plan if it's a concern Seems like the mirror might have locked up using self timer on EM?
I liked the EM ergonomics better, I think it had a needle pointing to ss as opposed to red lights that could dim like the FM-2n? But honestly the Nikon mf ergonomics, I'll just say I switched back to OM after getting a IIIf. Much less shutter shock, too although some Nikon shutters might be OK like F3 or F2 or even old nikkormat
You might just look at CL marketplace or wherever people sell and see if you can get one from an interesting old original owner. Might be more interesting than a specific model. An idea.
Lots of great cameras to choose from. Here’s some of my thoughts:
FM and FM2: For me one of the most aesthetically pleasing cameras every made. The FE is similar but the squared off prism front doesn’t do it for me like the FM and FM2 does. My favourite is the FM2/T which can be had for $19,400 less than a titanium Leica, or $1400 less than a titanium F2. I don’t think there is anything particularly special about the build quality of the FE/FM series, they are similar to midrange SLRs of the same era from Pentax or Minolta.
The FM3a is massively over-priced and ugly (IMO). The proportions of the extra pointy prism don’t work for me unlike the classic F with the plain prism. I hate the modern font on the prism. I am not a fan of analogue meter needles in the picture frame (too hard to read).
The F2 is awesome and arguably the best long term bet after a Sover Wong service. Expensive to buy and get serviced. The camera balances top-heavy with the metering prisms.
F3 is another favourite. It has the proper pro camera build quality (twice as good as FM series) and stunning looks. I like it with the DE2, which is the perfect balance of magnification and eye relief. Still very reasonably priced on the used markets and there seems to be a good supply of amateur-owned cameras with plenty of life left.
F4. An ugly boat anchor of a camera. 99% of them available on the used market seem to of had a hard life as press cameras and have questionable reliability going forward. No amateurs were crazy enough to lug these things around. LCD screens in particular are a problem, most of them have bleeding LCDs now.
F5. Superb camera. Despite being heavier than an F4 with MB20 it feels more balanced to carry and has vastly superior ergonomics. It can be made lighter by using lithium batteries and small AFD primes. There seems to be a good supply of lightly used F5s on the used market.
Nikkormat FT2: My pick for the best bargain if you want a classic handling camera. It has the same build quality as the F2, but is better balanced. A nicer camera than the FM series at half the price.
ottokbre wrote:
I have some good AIS and D lenses. I don't mind manually focusing the later. Looking for an alternative to my electric FG which amazingly works after 40 years.
Opinions on film bodies?
F2 - Supposedly the Leica M of Nikon bodies?
FM - Pokes you in the right eye if you turn it on and you shoot left eye. boo!
FM2 - Does it poke?
FM3a - Vulcan mind meld of FE and FM but gonna cost you
F3 - Giorgetto Giugiaro designed. *Italian flag emoji here*
F4 - Chunky whirring bastard gets no love
F100 - AF, not huge, kind of works with AI lenses.
F5 - Dude, just shoot a D3.
F6 - Cultist. ...Show more →
F2 with the standard DE1(?) non-metered Prism is pretty much *perfection*. Such a joy to shoot and use.
FM is pointless in a world where FM2(n) exists.
FM2(n) is wonderful, but not my favorite. I don't shoot left-eye so I can't comment on that.
FM3a is such an awesome camera, but difficult to endorse at the price they command these days.
F3 is sleek but was always boring to me. I shot one for about a year and never loved it. I didn't "see" the metering like I did the FE2.
F4 no, just keep moving.
F100 is a neat camera, but better used with AF-D glass from the same era.
F5 is cool as hell but a boat anchor.
F6 is the most advanced 35mm SLR ever made, because it was the last pro film SLR made.
My favorite Nikon SLRs are easily the F2 and FE2. The aperture priority shooting on the FE2 is so casual and reliable, and the camera just WORKS. However, it's the same dimensions as the FM, so left-eye shooting won't likely work for you.
The F2 is one of those cameras I with I never would've sold. I had a flawless F2 with standard/plain prism, and it was just as enjoyable to carry and shoot as an old (pre-M6) Leica.
Problem with the Nikkormats is the meter cells tend to be either dead, or grossly inaccurate by now. Happened to both my FT2s.
@ottokbre my FE2 developed electrical issues - the shutter speed did not match what it metered. And I've seen FM3a with dead meters. So if your FG is working (I have one too!) keep with it. I'm not saying don't get another Nikon, I'm saying if you get an electronic one you may still have issues later. All these cameras are old now.
But my F2As... Sover Wonged it, it has the new meter resistor thingy that he does. Rock solid. But unless it has had that meter upgrade, the meters can be bad in those too. My older F2 metered head seems to work, until I notice the readings are way off. I haven't bothered to get it fixed as I have the As metered head.
Lee Saxon wrote:
Can you say more here? Not criticizing because I love my FE2, just curious because I was considering looking into the FM3a.
The FE2 is 98% the camera the FM3A is, functionally/in use.
Mechanical shutter is good for post-apocalypse use on the FM3A. The AEL button on the rear is cool if you aren't used to where it is/can be on older cameras, but can be confusing to use if you are.
Automatically reading the film speed is cool, one less thing to think about.
