Rugged built. Clear viewfinder. Multi exposure. DOF. AEL.

None, but it would have been better if the AEL button could be locked with just one touch.

This is a wonderful camera with really useful functions. It''s easy to handle and a beauty to look at. I just love when I set the limits and not my equipment...

Customer Service

None. Not expecting to have it the next 15 years either...

Similar Products Used:

Pentax K-1000

- very well built - depth of field preview (easiy accessible) - Lightweight - Full mechanical with only Aperture priority - and most important (clear without any extra options)

none

This body is really the best I''''ve seen and used. I bought the FM3A with the Nikkor 105mm Macro, what can I say .. (perfect). Just mount it on a tripod get a cable release and go shout macro .. for years and years. I don''''t have to repeat all that is said about this body. I can just assure that they are right.

Customer Service

not yet needed

Similar Products Used:

- Pentax MX - Canon F1

* hybrid mechanical/electronical shutter * preciseness and ruggedness * precise workmanship * indirect mirror lock-up * depth-of-field lever * TTL exposure metering * aperture priority * match-needle metering system * universal center-weighted metering * timeless features and design * great value for expected lifetime

* none obvious, except maybe 93% viewfinder coverage

This is simply the summit of decades of mechanical 35mm SLR camera development. It combines the reliability of the FM2 with the added benefits of aperture priority and TTL flash exposure metering. Its a jewel of workmanship which you cannot find in any autofocus camera. It is will offer you photographical pleasure for many, many years.

Customer Service

not necessary so far

Similar Products Used:

LOMO LC-A, Canon EOS 50, Praktica super TL 1000, Canon EOS RT, Kiev-88 CM, Kiev 19M, Kiev 35A, Zorki 4, FED 1(d), FED 1(e), Zenit 3M, Graflex 45 Super Speed Graphic, Kiev 4M, Agat 18K, Kiev 17.

Solid metal body construction and reliable build quality. Smooth shutter release and lower noise and vibration level than my older FE2. TTL flash metering and 1/250th sync speed.

None.

I purchased the FM3a in the black version. I traded in my FE2, which I loved, for some of the improvements the FM3a offered. The new viewfinder screen is noticeably brighter and I find focusing in dim light easier. The hybrid shutter offering all of the speeds without a battery is really quite a breakthrough. The new position of the AE lock is an improvement and the flash TTL compensation button provides me with the perfect fill flash outdoors. Other improvements I have noted are the elimation of the extra release lock before you can raise the rewind lever and open the camera back. Photographers that exercise control do not need that extra lock and it just slows you down when changing film. The film window in the camera back is a nice addition as well as the DX sensors (although I always set the film speed manually). The FE2 forced you to advance several frames after loading before the meter would work. The FM3a has no such "locks" and lets you start shooting when you have seen the rewind engage "long enough". The camera handles like a gem and the meter is dead-on. The precision build and quality feel are quickly evident upon first handling the camera. I appreciated my FE2 for the 15 years of service and pleasure it gave me but I know that the FM3a will give me slightly more for the next 20 years. If you want a camera that gives you full control as well as a touch of automation for exposure, then the FM3a is the ticket. It is just beautiful and I would like to give it more stars!

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FE2, Nikon FTn, Nikkormat FTn

Solid metal body construction and reliable build quality. Smooth shutter release and lower noise and vibration level than my older FE2. TTL flash metering and 1/250th sync speed.

None.

I purchased the FM3a in the black version. I traded in my FE2, which I loved, for some of the improvements the FM3a offered. The new viewfinder screen is noticeably brighter and I find focusing in dim light easier. The hybrid shutter offering all of the speeds without a battery is really quite a breakthrough. The new position of the AE lock is an improvement and the flash TTL compensation button provides me with the perfect fill flash outdoors. Other improvements I have noted are the elimation of the extra release lock before you can raise the rewind lever and open the camera back. Photographers that exercise control do not need that extra lock and it just slows you down when changing film. The film window in the camera back is a nice addition as well as the DX sensors (although I always set the film speed manually). The FE2 forced you to advance several frames after loading before the meter would work. The FM3a has no such "locks" and lets you start shooting when you have seen the rewind engage "long enough". The camera handles like a gem and the meter is dead-on. The precision build and quality feel are quickly evident upon first handling the camera. I appreciated my FE2 for the 15 years of service and pleasure it gave me but I know that the FM3a will give me slightly more for the next 20 years. If you want a camera that gives you full control as well as a touch of automation for exposure, then the FM3a is the ticket. It is just beautiful and I would like to give it more stars!

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FE2, Nikon FTn, Nikkormat FTn

Easy to use, you can add a motor drive, aperature priority, TTL flash, size and weight

I don''t like how it doesn''t lock in the flash compenstaion. Could be a bit cheaper, but considering it is all metal construction and an instant classic it is not too bad, just look at Leica prices!

I bought this after I thiguht I could get used to using the F100. It is simple lightweight. Compared to my F2AS it souns more like a Leica M6. it is probably the closest I will ever get to owning an M6. I like using manual expsoure and focus, i fell for the af and ae trap but realized that I don''t need or wnat it. The marketing guys do such a good job of making you believe you need all of of that stuff. having said that I do like having aperture priority and TTL flash. i also like the fact that it looks old fashion and people don''t seem to take you as seriously with it. I have the chroem one because I think it looks classic. It is also light weight and smaller than my F2AS. This means you can carry it around all the time, especially with a 50 1.8 af, very light! It seems well built, definitly from the same stock as the F2AS, I might even selloff my F2 and get another Fm3a!

Customer Service

Non needed yet

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F2, F3, F4, F100, Fm2, and Fm2

Sturdy, will built, small, compact, a joy to use.

The one thing which I disliked about the FM2 and which wasn''t corrected in the FM3a is that the film advance lever is also used to turn the camera on and if you are left eye oriented the lever sticks you in the right eye. Likewise if you want to turn the camera for a vertical picture. Were it not for this it would be the perfect camera for me.

Its seems that I have come full circle. My first camera was a manual camera with a 50mm lens and I used it for many years but I moved on to Zooms, Auto-focus and now back to a manual camera with a 50 1.4 lens. I really like this camera, a lot of joy has come back to my photography. The things I didn''t like in the FM2 have been corrected (with the exception of one which I will mention later)in the FM3a match needle metering instead of led''s, TTL flash, I still love my F100, but the FM3a is my day to day fun camera.

Customer Service

No problem with the FM3a yet. Have had to send my F100 in twice and thats the only camera body I have had to send for repair.

Similar Products Used:

F3, FE2, FA,EM, have used most of Nikon cameras over the years.

* Excellent build quality * Easy to use needle system * Quiet and smooth shutter * Flash sync to 1/250 sec * Compatible with newer SB flashes * Excellent focusing screen for accurate focusing in low light. * Small and light * Handles well with all buttons well placed. * AE lock is welcomed * Mechanical shutter can be used just about anywhere without batteries * Extremely discrete with AIS 45mm f/2.8P- especially in black, but I chose the silver.

* Match needle system is almost imposible to work with in very low light- I may buy a F3 or FM2n for this purpose as a backup. * Compared to other similar cameras and the purpose it is designed for, what else could possibly be a weakness- lack of autofocus!!??

Was I going backwards from a Nikon F5 to this little beauty? I DON"T THINK SO! This camera will out live the F5 and has put back the joy ionto my photography. With just about every feature I could want, except an illuminated viewfinder, what more could I ask for? A finely crafted camera that is light, small and handles well, even with lenses AIS 45mm f/2.8P, AIS 28mm f/2.8 and AF 85mm f/1.4D. This is the camera I take everywhere in a Lowepro Orion Trekker, along with my SC-17 and SB-28. A prestige camera, built to last and represents excellent value. I don''''t miss my F5!!!

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

Pentax K1000, Leica R6.2, Nikon F3

die cast metal body made in Japan (how refreshing!) aperture priority TTL

no spot metering stiff price (3 stars)

I first learned photography with a Nikon FM2 back in ''83. That''s a wonderful learning experience. I regret to have sold it in exchange for an N4004 (''85) and have moved up since then to an F100 which I love. Even though I enjoy taking pictures with the F100, I still miss my good ''ol FM2. So, I want to go back to "basic" by looking "forward" to a new manual focus camera "again". I''m debating between the new FM3A and the FM2N. I''ve since (as of last month) borrowed on and off a new FM3A from a good friend of mine and took about 5 rolls of sensia II 100. Here are my findings. The FM3A has aperture priority and TTL flash over the FM2N. I guess Nikon simply forgot about spot metering. Maybe, it''ll come out with an FM3AS (S for spot metering) in the future? Like I said, I want to go back to "basic" and that means "full mechanical". If I want AP and TTL, my F100 already has them. So I ended up purchasing a new USA FM2N "chrome" from B&H for $424.95 and saved money in the process. The FM3A is about $650.00 new (extra $200 for ap + ttl). By the way, chrome is a "classic" color versus all those new AF cameras in "black" (incl. my F100!). I still must admit the FM3A is a wonderful camera.

Similar Products Used:

FM2

Expandable. One likes a motor drive for events and work; the MD-12 drive (3.5 fps) can be bought used in good shape for $150--but most importantly, it can be removed! And the prime ai/ais manual focus lenses you can get used for $100-200 each are some of the best available. And, unlike a Leica rangefinder, it''s an SLR--you can use zooms!

One, the AE lock requires real thumb-twisting to press and hold down, as it''s small and right under the film advance lever, which, in the Nikon tradition, must be held out to meter. This renders it less useful.

I switched from the Pentax PZ-1p (a great camera) because I wanted quiet, manual. A good move. The FM3a feels invincible, like a professional tool, yet is light and small (but not too light or small); it gives manual control (easily), like the FM2, but has aperture priority and optional DX coding; the mirror is quiet and the body absorbs the slap (steady handheld shots down to 1/4 second!); the dials and crank are smooth as silk; frame registration is dead on; viewfinder is amazingly bright (with the standard screen, you don''t need autofocus to focus correctly every time). Finally (and this should cinch your decision), it feels like a Leica M, but at 1/3 the cost. It''s that sweet.

Customer Service

Don''t anticipate needing it, but if I do, it comes with a 5-year warranty.

Similar Products Used:

Canon AE-1, Pentax PN3, Pentax PZ-1p