Nikon FM3A
The Nikon FM3A is an advanced semi-professional level, interchangeable lens, focal plane shutter, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by the Nikon Corporation exclusively in Japan, on small-volume assembly lines by trained assembly technicians, from 2001 to 2006. The camera was available in two finishes: black, and satin chrome. The introductory suggested US list price for the chrome body only (no lens) was $820.
Contents
History
Though standing solidly in the Nikon FM tradition of fully manual compact SLR's, the FM3a also fills the gap in the Nikon line-up that was created when the intelligently automated and much lamented FE2 was discontinued in 1989. The FM3a is the first camera in the fully mechanical FM series to have Aperture Priority AE and TTL flash functions. The camera proved popular with photographers as a rugged travel camera or backup for more highly automated film and digital cameras.
Construction and Features
The FM3a was built to a level of worksmanship and material quality unheard of in most cameras produced during its production run. It shared the advantages of not only the FM, but the FM2n, both generally regarded as two of the most reliable cameras ever built (both in terms of operation under extreme conditions and in day-to-day reliability reports from repair shops and magazine surveys). The FM3a has an extremely strong body of copper silumin alloy. The electronics are well protected within the body and of extremely high quality, including the flexible circuits. The camera's film transport consists of high-strengh hardened metal gears and moving parts, mounted on clusters of ball bearings. The modern vertical metal shutter utilizes precision tapered high-strength aluminum alloy blades and oilless self-lubricating bearings. A roller bearing assists the far side film transport. The guide rails are wide, precisely machined and made of stainless steel. The mirror frame is titanium and very solid, the mirror is large to reduce chances of vignetting with super-telephotos of up to 800 mm, and uses the same mechanism found on Nikon's pro F2, with some modern improvements designed to further reduce effects of vibration and mirror bounce. The FM3a, like older Nikon SLR cameras, features Nikon's famous close tolerance assembly and minimal space lubrication, meaning that it will reliably operate in temperature extremes of -40C to +50C. This worksmanship has a practical side - Nikons have accompanied more photographers to extreme environments - the summit of Mount Everest and the depths of the Saharan Desert - than any other SLR camera.
The FM3a has a hybrid shutter that operates either mechanically or electronically, depending upon the selected mode of operation. In manual mode when mechanically timed, the shutter features a range of speeds from 1 full second to 1/4000 of a second, T and B. In AE mode when electronically timed, the shutter steplessly selects shutter speeds from well below the marked 1 second to a high speed of 1/4000 second. In either mode the camera employs Nikon's classic 60/40 center-weighted TTL metering, and features TTL flash metering with a sync speed of up to 1/250 second. There is an AE lock button on the back of the camera and a Flash Compensation button on the left of the lens mount. The FM3a has a self-timer which automatically raises and locks the mirror before the exposure is made, a hot-shoe, and a PC connection. The camera uses a standard cable release, and is the first manual focus Nikon SLR to feature manual or automatic DX film speed indexing. The film speed can be read off the film canister through a transparent window on the back of the camera.
Operation
Manual Operation
The meter of the camera is switched on when the Film Advance Lever is moved away from the body, and the shutter lightly depressed. It cuts itself off in about 15 seconds. In manual mode exposure is set by matching the thin smoothly swinging needle in the left of the viewfinder with the wide blue, transparent bar that indicates the selected shutter speed. In this ingeneous finder, it is easy to see the number of stops that the camera is over or under the correct exposure. The only metering pattern available is the old standard Nikon 60/40 pattern. As with many Nikon SLR, the selected F-Stop can be read right off the lens in use through the Aperture Direct Readout (ADR) at the top of the viewfinder. Like FM2n and its predecessors the FM3a allows manual operation with a fully mechanical shutter. If the batteries die in an FM3a, the photographer still has full uses of every marked shutter speed on the shutter speed dial.
AE Operation
Like the FE and FE2 the FM3a it is also capable of Aperture Preferred Auto Exposure Control. The photographer selects "A" on the shutter speed dial, and switches on the meter in the normal way. The photographer then selects the F-Stop on the lens, and the camera body selects the shutter speed steplessly using the electronic timing of its hybrid shutter. Shutter speeds are indicated by the thin needle that swings up and down the aforementioned scale on the left of the view-finder. Again, the aperture is visible thorough the ADR. This mode also utilizes the 60/40 center-weighted metering. Therefore under certain conditions, as when the subject is strongly backlighted, it is essential that the photographer meter selectively, lock the exposure with the AE lock button on the back of the camera, and recompose the shot.
The highest-shutter speed in the AE range is 1/4000, but speeds extend well below the 1 second marked in the viewfinder. It should be noted that speeds longer than 1 second must be accessed through the AE function of FM3a. This is a departure from the FE2 which like the F3 allowed manual selection of shutter speeds up to 8 seconds. In AE mode, during long exposures, between the sound of the shutter opening and the shutter closing, the FM3a's is silent, for in this mode the camera electronically times the exposure. No wheels and gears here.
Intelligent Automation
The AE automation of the FM3a provides the photographer with thoughtful automation. Though Nikon has long since adopted other Auto Exposure Modes, including Shutter Priority, Program, and Variable Program, many aging Nikonians still think that in a fast changing picture taking situation nothing beats a Nikkor lens with an aperture selection ring and Aperture Preferred Automation for the right combination of quickness and control.
Advanced Flash
The really exciting thing about the FM3a is the up-to-date way it allows the photographer to use flash. The camera adds TTL flash to the FM2n and more control to the TTL flash capabilities of the FE2. Mount any Nikon TTL flash from a old SB-15 to the latest SB-800 on the FM3a and switch it on. In A Mode the FM3a automatically switches to 1/250 second shutter speed and measures the flash TTL. In Manual Mode the FM3a is ready to measure the flash in TTL mode, but it also continues to meter normally, allowing the photographer to select any speed from 1 second to the top flash-sync speed of 1/250 second. An additional feature is a Flash Compensation button placed on the left of the lens mount. Press it as you focus, compose, meter, and shoot. The camera will automatically take -1 EV off any mounted Nikon compatible TTL flash as it fires. Naturally both Nikon and 3rd party flash units can be mounted in the FM3a hot-shoe and used in Manual or Non-TTL Auto modes. When mounted compatible units activate a ready light in the viewfinder. An LED glows steadily when the flash is ready, and blinks briefly after the flash is fired and correct exposure is achieved. If the LED blinks in rapid succession, the shot was underexposed. The photographer needs to reshoot using a larger aperture, or perhaps even get closer to his or her subject.
Few manual focus cameras are the equal of the FM3a for sophisticated flash work, but this little camera that can is no F5. Indeed when it comes to flash, it is not even an N70, for it cannot take advantage of some of the features built into more sophisticated Nikon flashes units. For instance, when using the SB-28, the photographer will not be able to program flash compensation into the flash itself.
Accessories
Like the FM2n and FE2, the FM3a is designed to mate with the venerable MD-12 motor drive. It also utilizes the full range of other accessories available for compact Nikons including diopter correction lenses, a data-back, bellows, extensions rings, flash-units, interchangeable focusing screens, etc. One can do almost any kind of SLR photography with an FM3a, the TTL AE exposure is a real boon to when using various combinations of extension rings, bellows, filters, and converters.
Lenses
The FM3a can use the full range of Nikkor AI, AIS, P, AF, and AF-D lenses. In AE mode the FM3a can mount and use a G lens, but only at the widest aperture of the lens. Unlike the original FM and FE cameras, the FM3a cannot mount Non-AI lenses unless they have been converted to AI specifications. Mounting a Non-AI lens can cripple or damage the camera by binding the metering tab. With Perspective Control lenses this gets tricky. The 28mm F3.5 PC is always o.k. to mount. The 35mm F3.5 PC is never o.k. to mount. Earlier versons of the 35mm F2.8 and 28mm F4 are suspect. Later versions of both lenses are o.k.
Finally, when considering lenses, one ought to note that the FM3a is frequently traded as a kit with a 45mm F2.8P lens, reportedly a Tessar formula. An article in the March 2002 issue of Popular Photography Magazine called the 45mm F2.8 one of the best 35mm normal lenses ever tested. It is a superb lens, compact and sharp, and it looks great on the camera, especially with its unique concave hood. Of course, there are other options such as compact Nikkor wide-angles and normals, including the flat-field 55mm F2.8 Micro-Nikkor.
Conclusion
The FM3a appeals to a range of people from beginning photographers who want to learn the basics, to advanced photographers who want the portability and reliability of a small, manual-focus SLR with TTL metering, sophisticated flash capabilities, and outstanding handling qualities. It may be no coincidence that the footprints of the Nikon FM/FE series and the Leica M camera are so very nearly the same. The FM3a has been called a modern classic, and rumors abounded that Nikon once considered a digital version. Though FM3a sales remained steady, they were miniscule compared to Nikon's other cameras, and increasing costs led Nikon to announce it was discontinuing production and sale of the FM3a on January 11, 2006.
