Nikon F3

The Workhorse

A solid, reliable, and beautiful camera that can survive almost anything you throw at it.

This is my Nikon F3. One of my very favorite cameras and my current daily driver. It’s good looking, solid, and has every feature I could possibly want (besides autofocus).

Let’s list a few of the ones that I like the most and that are less common) - 1/2000 of a second top shutter speed, exposure compensation, mirror lock up, depth of field preview, exposure lock, shutter lock, timed exposure, and a 1/90th of a second flash sync.

For me at least it’s unusual to see all of these together, and honestly with a fast-ish lens (f2) I can pretty much shoot anywhere at any time with this camera. I’ve even taken it into pretty severe rain situations without a cover and it’s been pretty much fine.

The F3 in the field with my go-to lens, my Nikkor 35mm f2 O.C

I usually shoot this camera in Aperture priority mode with my aperture between f8 and f16 depending on the lighting scenario, and use exposure compensation to help with trickier situations.

I usually pair this camera with the Nikkor 35mm f2 OC Auto and some rolls of Kentmere 400 pushed to either 800 or 1600. After shooting well over 40+ rolls with only this combo, I can really say it works damn near perfect for me and my use case.

Overall, one of my favorite cameras to ever use and it’s got a very satisfying shutter click and film advance. If you can get your hands on a good condition working one, it’s one of the best cameras you’ll ever use.