I am not watching your video because of this obnoxious YT ad at the beginning.

I live in Texas. I have no idea what a British pound is or what a millimeter is. All I know about the British is that the Americans saved their behinds twice in one century from the Huns. Please write a website that gives the American equivalent of British measurements, so I will know what I am consideriing buying.

you made me wanned to go out with my ektars! thank you!

I shot 35mm film for about 35 years before going digital. Once I went digital I didn't touch film for almost 20 years. But in 2023 I pulled out my Nikon F100 and remembered how much I liked it. So, purchased some film and shot with it. In love again. But, I'm wanting to try 645 and noticed most 645 cameras shoot vertical. I mainly shoot landscapes, what cameras do you recommend that the camera shoots landscape like 35mm cameras do?

Dude, this thing might look similar, but Kodakchrome had WAY better dynamic range and like 10 times smaller grain. And I've used that legendary film stock for years...

Back when I was a teenager I wanted the F3. Badly. But back then it was new and in stock, so even if you found one it was still too expensive for me. So I've settled for a plain, used (but still relatively young in current terms) F2, which was amazing camera, and served me well for years. Today. I have neither, and life moves on...

The ZF is going to be my next camera for everyday use, next to my Z8, which I love! But I want a smaller camera I still can use everyday. I have had my eyes on the Fujifilm X-T5, but then I have to buy a new line of lenses too.

Do you have much experience with any of the non-normative Nikon viewfinders? I'm eying a switch to the Nikon F system, F-5 in particular, from Canon 1-N because the waist level and action viewfinders seem like they'd fit my photography better.

Less of a choice than a good lens. A camera just holds the film but the lens does the work. The F3 can work in a basic mode without batteries. I miss the days when batteries lasted six months . Love both cameras but the F3 has more toys to play with...🦘

Given the choice between F2 or F3, I choose the F2. I have been shooting Nikon 35mm SLRs since the late 1960s. I owned and used the F, F2, F3, and F4. I primarily used them for photojournalism, street, and scientific/medical/macro subjects. All were great cameras. I started with two F bodies with no motor drives. In 1971, I replaced my two Nikon F bodies with two Nikon F2 bodies with motor drives. I later added an F3 for the times I needed auto exposure control. I later replaced the F3 with two F4 bodies for the times with I needed auto exposure control and auto focus control. Today, I still own and shoot with the F2 and F4. Of the four cameras (F, F2, F3, and F4), the F and F2 were my personal favorites because I prefer battery-independent manual/mechanical cameras. I even use standard non-metered DE-1 prism finders on my F2 bodies.

any recommendations for a nice 35mm or 28mm AF lens?

Dude, that was a really good review! Thanks for sharing!! Despite mostly shooting medium format, I actually really love half frame. I hadn't really considered the Pentax 17, probably due to cost, but the photos are really great!!

good

good

good

good

I have the exact same issues with the exact same picker, I thought my camera had light leaks but I hope for the picker to be the problem, will try an other way

Just buy them both. Worked for me.

F2 is King, especially since clout chasers want the bragging rights of the F3, so prices area almosy ALWAYS overpriced.

i love my F3HP with nikkor 50mm f1.4 ais

Or be like me and rock the Nikon F... yes the photomic FTN brick version..

Nikon still offers AI-s lenses on their site. That's saying something. Great Video as well.

I have a Nikon FTn, which was a tank, but it had several drawbacks. #1, now, is the mercury batteries in the FTn finder. There are workarounds, but either they are pricey, or inaccurate, or don't last long. But also a PITA are the placement of the shutter button (too far back on the body for comfort!), and the need to completely remove the back to change film. I also have one of the two F3HPs I had. The one I have is specially modified with a pin-registered back, and a precision viewfinder reticle (grid) which was used to make multiple exposures on the same frame of film, in perfect registration. That was for multi-image slide show presentations. The Nikon F lens mount was always touted as non-changing, but the gotchas you mentioned (and many others) rendered that ad copy ridiculous. Canon's EOS system has made much better sense over the long haul. That said, if you bought your Nikon lenses and body all at the same time (or get them now from the same vintage), then there is no issue. Anyone looking for a used Nikon setup now should Google Nikon System Experts and read through the literature on compatibility of various vintage lenses and bodies. It's a navigable mine field, but necessary to know before you buy, what works with what.

Neither, F is my favorite.

I have both models, I prefer the F3, I even have the f3p (press edition). I think it is the best manual focus SLR camera ever made. There is a lithium battery, I think the CR-1, which lasts a long time. Thanks for the very interesting video.

I have the F3 and I've never felt the need to consider any other 35mm camera. If it died I would go straight out and buy another one, without hesitation. There's literally only one thing I don't like about it, and it's that the meter/shutter locks to 1/80th when you put in a new roll until you wind on to your 'first frame'. So even though you could be shooting an extra frame or two at the start of a roll, you are stuck at 1/80th and you would need an external light meter (or in my case, a good guess) as to what aperture to shoot at. Literally my only complaint and it's very minor. Everything about it is so intuitive, and aperture priority makes shooting casually so much more straightforward and simple. And nothing is quite as sexy as that red line down the front.

Really great interview, Hashem. Looking forward to Josie's new channel. I hope she finds the time!! (and gets more Pentax gear.)

Haha its funny this is the first recommended video for me, I just came back from shooting a friends wedding with my F2 and pair of F3s. I am solidly in love with both! I feel like other than the F3s reliance on a battery and aperture priority mode the main difference is the F2 has a more mechanical more vintage feel where as the F3 feels a little more like a price of tech than a machine. I think they kinda appeal to different people. If you want a mechanical block of camera that doesn't do anything for you the F2 is all the film camera anyone needs but if you are into the more reto modern design and or want aperture priority then its the F3. At the end of day the FM2 and FE2 are smaller, lighter and technically more capable cameras then the F2 and F3 and on par with the F2 price wise and usually cheaper than the F3 so those are usually my recommendations.

G'day from Newcastle mate. are these samples mainly DSLR scanned? They're beauties. Great video too.

I had a nice F2Sb and ended up selling it whereas my later F3 still delivers pictures which end in the living-room. It is simply that bit more refined in many places which make it a great experience in use. Especially the MD-4 motordrive is way ahead of its predecessors and integrates much better with the camera. When you are looking for a camera as a workhorse to shoot film: F3. Some have mentioned the FE2/3A but to me besides using flash the F3 is just a bit better ergonomically as much as I like the FE2 I own since 1996.

I have two F3’s (one loaded with Tri X 400 & one with E100). Use both weekly. Have an F2, gets an occasional outing with Ektar 100. Love all three cameras, however the F3’s are my favourite.

I have both, for functionality, definitely F3! For repairability, F2!

FM2 and FM3a are lighter and a little less solid, but great options as well

Canon New F-1 !!!

F2-AS in use, enjoy the full mechanical

The correct answer is F2AS. Best of the last handmade camera by Nikon.

I don't really agree here; the F3 using a battery is overstated; they last forever and a day. If I'm away on a trip, I'll either replace them or bring spares, I've never had a battery run out in 5 years. Advantages are quartz controlled shutter timing, which is rare to drift out of specification unlike a mechanical body. Granted, both are a nice design, both are pro bodies that are maintainable and reliable. Both shoot really well. I'd have the F3; the meter is telepathically accurate, better than the F2s and more reliable than a F2 meter, most of which are pretty old now. The F3 looks better too. F2 is a functional workhorse, but it ain't pretty.

When I was looking for a Nikon film body I had the F2 and F3 in the hands and between these two I would take the F3 simply because of the size. But in the end I got a FM2 because it is even more compact and I got it for a reasonable price :) Looking for more content from you in 2025! 😊

I use my FE manually just like an FM. The electronic isn't reliable after many year and I was not alone in my film photography group. I figure I prefer F2 over F3 now

Nice video! I have had the F3 for a few years. It is in beautiful condition, but the frame counter is not resetting. When the light meter suddenly stopped working, I started thinking about a new copy. Now, instead I have ordered an F2A, still on the way to me. I am really looking forward to it.

Here's the thing most people miss about ai and non ai lenses. Most ai lenses have the non-ai bunny ears. As long as it has the bunny ears you can use any ai/s lens on an F2 photomic. You cannot use non-ai lenses on an F3 of FM2 at all, this makes the F2 much more versatile for lens choice even if you don't spend the extra cash on a dp-11 or dp-12 prism. The best bang for your buck is the dp-1 or dp-2 if you want LEDs. The DP-3 is the most accurate, but costs about the same as a dp-12. To clarify, Non-ai does NOT mean stop down metering, it means you have to simply turn the aperture ring back and forth once to calibrate the aperture to the camera. Otherwise metering is exactly the same. Many non-ai lens formulas carried over to the AI lenses, with only updates to the body and sometimes coatings. There are many exceptions of course.

Nice comparison. I've got both. I bought the F3 soon after I got back into film because it was THE camera in the 80s and I couldn't afford one then. Both get use, but I prefer the F3, it fits my hands better and while I can sunny 16, my F2 has a meter that only works when it feels like it.

Never heard them called a knee-con before.

The whole battery thing needs to go away. It is simple, carry a spare battery, just like you carry extra rolls of film. It is such a poor overused argument, to promote a mechanical camera. More important is the point that is NEVER mentioned which is mechanic cameras losing their accuracy with shutter timings.

I have both, and love both of them. One thing that stands out to me, is the ability to hold the F2 at waist level and see the light reading on top of the prism. I prefer it while shooting street, for that reason.

Another informative video about gear that didn’t feel like I was being sold something. I don’t quite understand where you said one of the reasons you prefer the F2 is that you like to use Sunny 16- I have an F3 and there’s no impediment to using that method. Am I missing something?

Such a handy video! cheers legend

For some weird reasons I don't like the way F3 look, so F2 for me. But hey, I'm not against electronics. If someone give me a FE2 or FA, will gladly accept it :)

You can use F-mount lenses w/o aperture ring, the metering still works fine. One scenario would be during a vacation trip, I can use my AF-S lenses on my F3 in a pinch, so less need to carry both digital/manual versions of every focal length. How-to: mount the F-mount lens to a camera that can change the aperture, set it to the aperture you want (or wide open), unmount the lens without turning off the camera, mount it on the F3.

IF you have the MD-4 motor drive attached to your F3, you don't need camera batteries to power camera functions. The camera will operate on the motordrive batteries. I have not had batteries in my F3 in 40 years. My first Nikon was an F2 Photomic and I currently own an F2A along with my F3HP and another 8 or 9 Nikoms From an S2 Rangefinder to modern digital (boring).