35mm Photography and the Nikon F3

I've always had a soft spot for 35mm. It was introduced as an amateur format compared to 120 or 4x5 - the negative size is much smaller than other formats thus the resolution is lower. But what 35mm did was allow for a much more efficient and portable camera design. Photographers were suddenly able to take images that were previously impossible to make because of the size and speed that 35mm cameras allowed photographers to work.

Today you can find 35mm for a song - largely because they are no longer produced and the use market is so plentiful. Some of these cameras can be had at a mere fraction of what they cost when they were new years ago.

[thewildgoose]

I've shot almost every camera brand ever made, almost all of the Nikons and a lot of digital and in my opinion the Nikon F3HP is the closest there is to the perfect camera.

[tonybucca]

I used the F3 to shoot horse races...I'd crank the lens wide open, pre-focus at the finish line, and have the camera give me the highest possible shutter speed for the available light that day....hooves off the ground!

[jadeforest]

Dear Ted, I am enjoying your video so much, since I have a F3.. every day now you inspire me to study and practice .. over and over ... I am so happy ... being born in 1952 I finally started... better late than never.... Thank you for your lessons...

[kkyeung]

This is the best cannel about photography. It is not an usual channel. It combined theory, history and art.i love it!!! Keep going!!!

[winedemonium]

@7:00 "I wish a camera manufacturer would come out with a digital camera that's this simple to use." ... I'm sorry 2013 Ted, but you'll have to wait 'til 2023 for the Nikon ZF, but they make it (spoiler alert, you like it).

[LindyLooo]

I bought a Nikon F3 HP yesterday! can't wait to shoot!

[llamov]

I'm a retired photographer, and also worked in a professional level camera store in the 80's and early 90's. I love the F3 and used it as my primary 35mm for years, but it was not Nikon's very first aperture priority camera: far from it. The Nikormat EL which debuted in the 70's preceded it by quite a bit, followed by the Nikon FE. The (built like a tank) Nikormats can still be found online for less than $50.00 and they have the added benefit of using non ai lenses!

[lfp]

While I don't wish to take anything away from the F3, it is by all accounts a fantastic camera, when it comes to a manual focus Nikon, the FM2 would be my camera of choice.  
-The FM2 works at all shutter speeds without a battery, in contrast to the F3's 1/90.  
-The FM2's top shutter speed is 1/4000 vs the F3's 1/2000
-The FM2 uses a traditional hot shoe, no adapter needed.
-The FM2 is smaller and lighter
-The FM2 is virtually indestructible

The F3 certainly does have some advantages, however for the average shooter they may not be that big of a deal.
-The F3 has aperture priority mode, the FM2 is strictly manual.
-The F3 has interchangeable finders, and a nicer standard viewfinder
-The F3 has legendary Nikon F-series build quality  

All said, I do love your videos, and this was a great profile of a legendary camera.  Keep doing what you do, you have many fans!!  (Any chance of doing an FM2 profile?  ;)

[aarjaycee]

ah the Nikon F3. Many many years ago when I was in my mid 20s, I got into 35mm film photography I started out with a Camera Store Retailer's own brand camera, lots of auto settings Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority etc etc. Eventually I graduated to a Pentax Super A, Tele/Zoom Lens, 50mm Prime all the usual items photographers collect. AND yes I read LOADS of magazines too. Then one month a particular magazine ran a feature on what cameras PROFESSIONALS used and why. (large and I mean LARGE numbers of them were Nikon shooters)
There were fashion guys, landscape guys journalists the whole spectrum of camera users in the professional sphere. And here was where my desire for Nikon was born. One of those professional photographers, a journalist, waxed lyrical about a Nikon F3 what a great workhorse it was, how it never let him down, how easy it was to use in many different situations and finally, how he had once used it to hammer in nails into wood. Life threw me many curves between then and now including separation, divorce, financial hassles, selling all my beloved camera gear (I STILL miss that Super A) so the Nikon F3 was never something I owned. Only now within the last year have I managed to secure a Nikon not an F3, but a D7500 DSLR and as much as I love it and find it every bit as enjoyable to use, if not more so than my Pentax Super A from decades back, I would never NEVER use it to hammer nails in with. I'm not sure it would be as forgiving as an F3 when used as a woodworking tool

[gerryphilpott]

My very first camera was the Nikon F3. That and the 50mm f1.8 took me everywhere around the world in the 80's and 90's. My daughter uses it now and I was able to get a Leica M6 as I could afford one now. Love that film is still a part of our family.

[jixxxxer]

I'm looking at some B&W 35mm film negatives i shot in 1999, i had them scanned to digital, I can't believe how great the tonal range looks, I'm really wanting to shoot more film now, and after watching this video i'm seriously inspired, great video thank you, Ted.

[ronitsingh]

Love your reviews, you speak with passion. I love the vintage cameras, they were so well made, no play in the dials, solid bodies that you can press on till your hands would throb, doing that to one of the new plastic DSLRs, you would feel it flex a little, I don't like film photography but LOVE old film cameras, I aam happy that I can still use these manual lenses with digital bodies, I have a leica 50 f/2, canon LTM 50 f/1.2, canon FD 55 f/1.2 (mounted on 60D) and the rare canon 50 f/0.95. Love these lenses, they shoot beautiful pictures, just stunning.

Once again, love your work, keep it up!

[metalcommandshow]

I love this video. Its spot on. I actually went to totally shooting 35mm from shooting digital. I have been using a wide array of Canon FD gear as I have been collecting it the last 2 years. My favorite cameras? Canon A1, New F1 and T90. :)

[louismarino]

I have an f3. I love it. I was wondering if you had any advice on the best flash to use with it?

[brendonwilson]

I have a nikon FG which seems to be a more compact version of the F3. I haven't used it yet but I'm excited to because it's my first film camera

[Alexandermeter]

You forgot the mirror lockup and double exposure 😉 and the possibility to shoot all lenses except the g series

[jonathanfields]

Ted Forbes, has rapidly become one of my photographic heroes! I started out shooting digital and have now all but abandoned digital for film. There is nothing like the feeling you get when unspooling a roll of negatives and seeing that image.
My go to 35mm cam in a Minolta XE-7. I would have bought a nikon at the time, but the Minolta was cheaper and I have come to know my little Minolta like the back of my hand.

[aleksandargazibara]

apart from saying I really love your videos for their informative value and your obvious and tangible love of photography, I also love and appreciate the composition and lighting of the video itself :) keep up the great work - I am really glad I found your channel 

[ubsjwdm]

I exclusively shoot film and just bought an F3! Do you know about the double exposure lever? I think its one of the most fascinating features.

[andrewbradford]

Been getting into Photography recently with old Polaroids and recently bought some 35mm developing supplies. Looking forward to it. I love the "old school" look as well. I think the old films give a sense of emotion and character that the instant digital high quality pictures seem to lack.