Nikon FM3A!!!

[richardHaw]

https://richardhaw.com/2020/04/10/repair-nikon-fm3a/

well, something for you to read while working from home.

[Nasos Kosmas]

Very nice Richard glorious cameras from another era
I just remembered my FM gives no  exposure after 1/125 and as I checked the mirror comes down earlier above this speed and I get partially exposure film, is it bad to fix?

[Danulon]

A great camera. I purchased a used one about five years ago.
Still my favourite film camera. And my only "full frame" camera that easily fits into a jacket pocket with a 40 mm pancake lens attached to it. :-)


Thanks for the article, Ricard. So far I didn't appreciate enough how sophisticated the "innards" of this cam are.


Cheers,
Günther

[MEPER]

I have never seen the FM3A to be something much better than a FE2 I used for many years. I always carried a set of two small extra batteries (LR44 or SR44 as far as I remember).
OK.....the AE button can be useful. Then it also has a -1 EV flash compensation button for fill-in flash?
But a lot of money to pay for these features. 
FM3A has no P-mode or matrix metering like Nikon FA.

[MEPER]

…..and I just remember that FE2 also has a "AE button" by pushing the self timer lever (not as user friendly…..but). So really not much to get from a lot more expensive FM3A....?

[MILLIREHM]

I never had the FM3A- but the FM2, FE2 and FA. The FM3A probably is a very good camera but I found it mislabelled. Basically it is a FE2 with a hybrid shutter (all Shutter speeds both electronic and - as a backup -mechanically, which is different from the mechanical 1/250 the FE2 had for emergency purposes).
So it should have been named FH or FE3 (as its features were way closer to the FE2 than to the FM2).

[MEPER]

FM3A is probably so high in price because fewer was made. Black mint models seems quite high...…
I liked the "honey cube" titanium shutter used in FE2. It was also in FM2 but later models used an aluminium shutter…….which I saw as a cost saving…..but they are probably as good as the titanium.....I just liked the look of the titanium. FM3A does not have titanium shutter :-)

[MILLIREHM]

I think it got the shutter of the F801 (which gave 1/8000 on those but still 1/4000 on the FMx)