1) Aperature priority automatic exposure.
2) The brightest viewfind I have ever encountered.
3) Attach the motor drive and you're in for a real treat.
4) Easy to interchange screens.
5) A zillion lenses availble for it.

Just two:
1) The stupid little screen light button.
2) It needs to be fed film.

To experience the manual focus film journey, you must try this beauty. I must warn
you the fun is not complete until you mount it on the MD4 motor drive and pretend
you are shooting a fashon show: kerr-wiz-clunk, kerr-wiz-clunk, kerr-wiz-clunk.
You can take almost as many photos-per-minute with the F3 as with your wizz-
bang DSLR. If I didn't need to stop for reloading, I could burn $100.00 worth of
film in a very short time.4)

Customer Service

=Just fine.

Similar Products Used:

Mercury Univex, Kodak Retina IIa, Nikon S, Leica IIIg, Canon FTB. Canon AE-1, Canon F, Nikon F, Nikon D70,

Build quality, massive selection of lenses to choose from.

Perhaps the flash sync.

Bought this camera after reading the reviews and boy am i impressed! After being used to the modern plastic-fantastic cameras, this is a refreshing experience! I know it's been said so many times but this is a tank of a camera and my first choice when i'm going out to take pictures. Absolute quality!

Customer Service

Never needed it.

Similar Products Used:

F100, FM2n and EOS 5.

Everything!

The flash set up. But I don't shoot flash so it doesn't bother me.

Recently, a couple of times I had some minor problems with my F3. Was able to fix them on my own and me and the F3 are back on the photo road, so to speak. When you hold this camera in your hands, you just know you have a quality instrument. Kinda like the F and the F2. I've owned both. Sold my F2 (wished I wouldn't have done that). The F3's semi-automation and the ability to do it manually also is a good combo. Hated to hear Nikon discontinued it. What were they thinking? All of us non-AF people know that everything will come full circle again and we'll be back to where we started. Heck, three piece suits are back!!

Customer Service

Never Needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F, F2, FE, FE2, FM2N and Nikkotmat FTN

Viewfinder. Ruggedness. Hefty weight. Uses all Nikon lenses (except G and IX).

Hefty weight--really makes you feel it during long hikes, especially with MD-4. Weird flash coupling--incompatible with my existing flash.

This camera is HEAVY. Considering I've used the FE2 for many years, this camera is a step above. The weight seems to dampen the moves/shakes when handheld. Nice, bright, 100% view; ultrasmooth film advance lever. I use this camera for portraits and people shots more than for fine art, especially with the MD-4.

Similar Products Used:

FE2, FM3a, D70s

Built to last Wide assortment of lenses and accesories 80/20 metering is awesome

Flash sync Viewfinder illumination difficult to use. Other than that...well...you already know how I feel

Well, what can be said that has not already been said here. I have made a few mistakes in my life, getting rid of my Nikon F3HP when I got out of school was one of them. I have used several different cameras since then, but was never as happy shooting than I was with my F3. I have since gotten rid of all the junk, I have found two mint condition F3HP's, one that was still new in the box and several lenses and I am back to loving photography once again. I have turned some beautiful images with my Nikon F3. The best thing about this camera is it makes you think, it makes you take the pictures, not the camera, it makes you the photographer. It does have its weaknesses, as we all probably know, but nothing is perfect. My advise, buy one if you can, they are still available today on the used market, mint they are still a little pricy, but well worth it. One last thing, find yourself a MD-4 motor drive and just leave it on. The F3 Balances very well with the MD-4 attached.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 6006...Junk Minolta Maxuum 7....junk Nikon FG...great litle camera...but not very strong All of these are gone now...and I sure don't miss them like I did my F3!

You can take 'em to your local war and they'll perform! Strong build and very durable - a fantastic camera!

Some say slow shutter synch... - OK...

These camera's are battlefield ready and are what a lot of photo journalists used while "shooting" in war zones. One hell of a camera, and they feel like a camera should... the extra weight aids in holding the camera steady below 1/60th sec and with the viewfinder what you see is what you get. For me personally these are the best camera ever built, coupled with a 50mm 1:1.4 or 1:1.8 Nikkor - results are mindblowing! I love them!!!

Customer Service

what for??

Similar Products Used:

F3, F90X, F801,F70,F50... and would you believe...an EM (ghastly camera!)

Simple to use Extremely rugged and reliable Many accessories Nice ergonomics esp. with F3HP mirror lockup Removable viewfinder T and B settings Manual shutter speeds down to 8 sec 80/20 metering flashing self-timer Durable horizontal shutter Fantastic value on the used market

Oddball flash shoe (blocks rewind crank) Slow flash sync speed +/- manual exposure LCD readouts are sort of slow to read and don't give much information a bit heavy and bulky esp with MD4

I bought the F3HP almost entirely based on the praise the high eyepoint finder had received. After using the FM previously, I found the F3HP finder provided welcome eye relief (I wear glasses). And it makes me check composition corner to corner which is great. I also found the aperture priority feature and 80/20 CW metering advantageous for quicker and more accurate exposure readings. I now take this camera with me for those times when my main purpose of a trip or outing is photography i.e. I'm often carrying a tripod too! With the mirror-lockup, long exposure capability, MD4 motor drive, great and removable viewfinder - it just has so many specialized features that are useful for serious photography. Its drawbacks are also related to this specialization; however, so I find it a bit too much camera to take to a casual get-together or outing as it garners too many questions and too much curiosity (esp. with the MD4 attached) in this era of small, capable digital cameras). Some amateurs like strangers asking them if they are professionals based on the appearance of their equipment; I don't care for it. I rather be more unobtrusive than that. It's an unusual camera to me insofar as it has some definite weaknesses but it's strengths are so pronounced that it rises above them to garner a 5 rating (based on the current used market price). I can see why this camera - idiosyncrasies and all - has such a cult following among pros and serious amateurs alike.

Customer Service

Not Applicable

Similar Products Used:

FM FM2n

- Solid construction - Proven track record - Good viewfinder - Smooth film advance & shutter release - Any repair tech & their dog can fix it

- Non-standard flash shoe, requires fiddly adapters - Hard to meter manually with limited +/- reading - Useless viewfinder illumination light - Loud shutter - Even louder MD-4 that announces your presence to the world - Large & heavy - Like all nikons, using auto dedicated TTL flash sets the shutter to X-sync speed no matter what. Can't do TTL slow sync unless in manual mode.

I was reasonably happy with my F3 until I lent it to someone and they stuck their finger through the shutter.

Compact yet easy to hold. Good looking. Classic Nikon look. Bright viewfinder. Easy yo focus

1/80 flash sync Difficult to use the compensation dial.

Just bought a mint condition F3HP. I change to manual camera to get back the feeling of photography. Too much automation and control dials has hurt my photography instinct and using zoom at my level, did not help my skill. So I shot a test rolls of film with this F3HP. I have to say, my smile were all over my face. Extremely pleased with the handling of this camera. It is not big and feel very composed. I used an additional NF grip which can be attached to F3 or FM2, I am not using the motor drive as I feel they are heavy. This grip makes my camera even better to hold and with selective use of a monopod, it shows all the shots taken were sharp. I am particularly impressed with the metering of F3HP, I think it is better than my previous F100. Even this is just a center weighted metering. I don't like the over/under adjustment dials, I think they are very clumbsy and unlike Contax, which make this button so easy to use. F3HP has a refine and composed look and feel. It is indeed why it is such a classic. Just like anyone, I dislike the 1/80 sync speed, fortunately, I am not using flash that often. I strongly recommend serious photo lover to use this camera, if you can get a mint one in used market. I don't think I will change my camera again. AIS lens are really good.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

F100 Contax RXII. RX EOS1V

Unstoppable. precise. great in every aspects

none so far

Excellent MF camera with "A" function. This legendary camera keeps on delivering after 20+ years. With its great viewfinder and precise shutter mechanism, this camera can go anywhere from deathvalley to northpole.

Customer Service

GOOD

Similar Products Used:

Canon New F-1 Contax G2 Leica MP