So recently I found a nice Nikon FE and 28/3.5. It had been 30+ years since I shot film. So I got my feet wet. Shot a couple roles. Haven’t developed them yet. I found the 1/1000 max shutter speed of the Nikon FE too limiting. That's 1983 for ya. Still a VERY good camera! So I have given the Nikon FE with the 28/f3.5 to my 9y/o so he can learn photography with me and bring it with us when we go hiking. We will both have 28mm’s on our camera’s.
So onto the exciting new addition! The Nikon FM3A! I realize that most will know more than I do about it. But some may not, so I’ll share what I’ve learned for those who are interested. If I get something wrong, please correct it. This camera is mechanical up to 1/4000th of a second. Yet it still offers that wonderful light meter and aperture priority through the use of a tiny battery. Even if the battery dies, the camera will still shoot just fine. Just w/o a light meter or AP. By the way, The K3 viewfinder is brilliant! It’s a film camera from the early 2000’s with the best Nikon could throw at it. It's pristine. And I’m already on my second role.
It's also coming out with me when I go out for myself with my M10r/50 so I can finally shoot with a 28mm/50mm combo.
Hell yeah. Everyone who ever considered an M6 should have just bought an FM3A instead IMO. Make sure to go nab the Voigtlander 40/2 Ultron (pancake variety) for this guy!
The meter is perfect and the batteries last forever, in addition to being cheap and very easy to come by.
A camera so easy to use, even the wives will enjoy it!
I had an FM3a for a couple of years, great camera. I see a lot of chatter online about how prone it is to tanking, but mine was totally reliable. I loved its simplicity and the AEL button was super useful -- especially because the exposure needle is completely invisible in dark environments. What I'd do in concerts was aim at my subject, hold down the AEL button and then point the camera toward a light source to see what shutter speed was selected (to make sure I wasn't going to be at 1/30 or 1/15 of a second, for example).
Found a deal I couldn’t pass up. Always wanted one of these and I couldn’t think of a better excuse after finding a deal on eBay. Anyway, I am going to enjoy learning more about finding the proper exposure and how to use it my advantage.
bjhurley wrote:
I had an FM3a for a couple of years, great camera. I see a lot of chatter online about how prone it is to tanking, but mine was totally reliable.
That's great camera. My wife had it with 1.4/50 AiS, 1.4/35 Ais, 2/28 Ais...
Sometimes I feel jealous even having Minolta's XD and XK - FM3a were excellent piece of engineering!
