nikon fm3a review

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Average Ratings

Photograph Quality	10/10
Features	9.1/10
Ease of Use	9.2/10
Value for Money	8.4/10
Reviewer Rating	9.2/10
Overall Rating	9.3/10

93% Recommended13 out of 14 Reviews

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  • Elson75.'s review
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By Elson75. on 23rd Sep 2001

Elson75.'s Ratings

Features	10/10
Value for money	8/10
Overall value	9/10
Elson75.'s recommendation

Good Points

Full metal construction, making it very robust, durable and reliable in all sort of shooting condition. Available Aperture Priortity AE make shooting easiler.

Bad Points

Price is high in my opinion, as a mint used F3HP is so close to the selling price. I have more faith in the legend F3 rather than this new baby.

General Comments

INTRODUCTION

Nikon FM3a, a design that many assume will end the 2 decades of existences for the well-accepted FM2 and FM2n. I am not very sure how it will take over the heart of so many strong believer of the FM2n, which include myself.

I am no fan of the FM3a, as I strongly feel it should be registered as a FE3 instead because of the extra electronic control that the FE series provides. In my personal opinion, the inclusion of the Aperture Priority AE into the FM series, which make the discussed FM3a, have change the whole concept of the FM series, which should be fully manual, with no electronic interference. I have no idea why is it in the FM series instead of the FE series.

I do not own a FM3a at the moment, I got to use this camera from a friend of mine who just bought it and want me to test it out. I have done 2 session with him, and I am very please with the capabilities of the FM3a, somehow better than the FE2 than I have. I do not want to compare the body with the FM2n, as I find them very different.

BUILD

Nikon FM3a retains the well like build of the FM2n. It has a die cast body of copper silumin aluminum, making it light, but rugged and durable.

The robust quality of the FM3a will make it suitable with all sort of environmental attacks, which my FM2n survives with praise.

Shutter is similar to all recent design with aluminum alloy curtain that is more reliable.

FOCUSING

Focusing is done with split image, which is very effective, as it is similar to all other design like the FM2 and FE2. Personally, I find such focusing method more reliable than those do in AF bodies, which really rely on your eyesight.

Focusing can be difficult at low light situation, this is the only time you hope she have the infrared beam to assist focusing found in AF bodies.

SPEED

At Manual mode, it has a shutter speed from 1s to 1/4000s, plus bulb, which is similar to that of it's pre-decessor, FM2n. The mode is battery free, which provide some flexibility when the battery is flat. At Auto mode, meaning Aperture Priority AE, it has a stepless shutter speed of 8s to 1/4000s.

A flash sync speed of 1/250s, similar to FM2n, provides good flash capability to the user.

EXPOSURE

The Nikon FM3a provide a 60/40 center weighted metering, which is common to most manual mode Nikon SLR. Definitely it cannot be compared to more powerful and accurate 3D metering systems provided with present days AF bodies, but seasoned photographer will know how to appreciate such metering.

A good difference between the FM3a and the FM2n, but not the FE2, is the provision of the exposure compensation, which can provide +/- 2 stops in 1/3 increments. It is useful when you need it.

OTHER USEFUL FEATURES

The Nikon FM3a provides TTL flash, which is not provided in the earlier FM2n. The capabilities provide better flash usage, which results in better exposure. I am not a frequent user of flash, so I am not sure how critical this function can be. But I guess it will be very useful, since information transmitted is more accurate.

Auto DX film capability is another rare function found on manual camera. The body will automatically recognize the ISO code of the film used, ISO 25-5000, by reading the DX Coding. The only drawbacks is that we cannot confirmed the reading of the camera, since there is no feedback, it is done mainly based on trust. Of course, it can be manually set from ISO 12-6400.

The Nikon FM3a also provide depth of field preview and multiple exposure capability, for user who find them useful.

LENS MOUNT

Nikon have been very loyal to the old outdated F mount, but that actually save many Nikon users thousands of dollars because it can accept both older AI lens to present AF lenses. This is the best flexibility Nikon have provided for the world of Nikon photographer.

DRAWBACKS

The camera do not provide mirror lockup, which is critical for high magnification macro photography. But Nikon claimed that the camera's quick reflex mirror uses a special control gear and wheel mechanism that minimizes mirror bounce. I am not too sure about such mechanical capability, though I am a Mechanical Engineer. I have no faith in claimed mechanical theory, as I still believe the locking up of mirror (with timer activated) is a more foolproof method to eliminate any camera movement due to the flipping of mirror.

SUMMARY

This camera is for anyone who likes to have something like the FE2 and F3HP. If you are after the most pure of mechanical camera, this is not the one for you. A Nikon FM2n will be a better bet. The extra $250 or more paid to get the Nikon FM3a, instead of a FM2n or FE2, is to get the extra flexibility of Aperture Priority AE.

I have no doubts this is a very capable camera, which will slowly gain her own fans around the world as years go by. I am very sure she will buy over the past user of discontinued FE2, but I am not too sure if she can really as intended, replace the legend FM2n. With a price of about $600 in the streets, I would suggest hunting around for a mint F3HP, which in my opinions, is more capable.

Total Respect: +16