
- Nikon s2 rangefinder serial numbers dates manual#
- Nikon s2 rangefinder serial numbers dates professional#
My personal experience shooting the Nikon FM3a Regardless, it gave keen amateur photographers the best of both worlds.Ī solidly built, compact SLR with the convenience of aperture priority mode right there when it’s wanted and the ability to shoot fully mechanically – even up to 1/4000 of a second – if the batteries die or it gets too cold for them to work. You could infer from the name – FM3a – that it’s a mechanical camera at heart with the automatic stuff added to it. To become the true pinnacle of this range, to become its final form, it took on the electronic capabilities of the FE models too. When it replaced the FM2n in 2001, it was more than just the next in the mechanical side of the series. So Nikon gave them exactly what they were asking for with the FM3a.
Nikon s2 rangefinder serial numbers dates manual#
However, not everybody wanted their cameras to be controlled so much by computers and electronics that had a shorter shelf life than the old school mechanical ones.įor some, especially seasoned Nikon users, the ideal was a manual focus SLR that incorporated the aperture priority mode of the discontinued Nikon FE series but kept the rock solid, shoot anywhere mechanical workings of their FM counterparts.
Nikon s2 rangefinder serial numbers dates professional#
Fast forward to the mid-to-late 1990s though and this had become more of a rarity, with auto-focus a must in consumer level point-and-shoots and common in professional SLRs too. This meant that for years, people who wanted one of these cameras had to choose between a fully mechanical one that had to be shot with manual exposure control or an electronic one that had aperture priority mode but also an electronic shutter that wouldn’t work without batteries.Įarly versions of auto-focus were around at the time, but all of Nikon’s FMs and the FEs were manual focus only. The FM3a’s main predecessors were either mechanical or electronic cameras, with the former being the FM, FM2, and FM2n (new) which were available from in 1977-1982, 01, and the latter being the FE and FE2 that were available from 87. Available in black and chrome versions, it was the final release in Nikon’s popular line of compact, semi-professional 35mm film SLRs. 10 Final thoughts on this terrific film camera What is the Nikon FM3a?įirst sold in 2001 and discontinued a mere five years later in 2006, the FM3a is an interchangeable-lens, single lens reflex 35mm camera.8 Nikon FM3a vs FE, FM, FE2, FM2, and FM2n.4 Nikon FM3a features and technical specs.3 Some real world Nikon FM3a example shots.2 My personal experience shooting the Nikon FM3a.You can see what that price currently is as well as their availability at KEH Camera or on eBay. But they are probably – probably – worth the price. If it makes you want to get your own FM3a, I’ll warn you straight away. From the technical specs to my own personal experience. So in this review, I’ll cover as much as I can. But you probably want to know more than just that. The very short answer is that I really enjoyed using it and am happy with some of the results it gave me. The much-coveted Nikon FM3a.Īs someone who uses a rangefinder for my good film camera and occasionally plays with one cheap point-and-shoot or another, it was great to give the FM3a a spin and see how an SLR handles in comparison to what I’m used to. Like the time I got to borrow my friend Joshua’s SLR and put a few rolls of film through it and it happened to be, by many accounts, one of the best SLRs ever made. At no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I plan to include manual and AF film cameras later.This post contains affiliate links. PLEASE double check the details, or send me pictures to avoid typing mistakes! The color - some number series may also be color dependant.

Where the camera was bought - some cameras have regional serial numbers.Date purchased new - this helps me to date other similar cameras.Possibly the most important part is the serial numbers, which are NOT available elsewhere - please send me: Please let me know if you think I missed anything (such as video, rear LCD specs, memory card, buffer, battery life, AF with older lenses, AI metering.?) or if I included anything unimportant (do you want the exact sensor size or is just FX/DX sufficient.

I tried to include the details which would provide a useful basis for comparison. The intention here is not to include every specification - there is not enough space in this format and there are plenty of other sites with more complete information.

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