How can I tell if my 35mm film is really loaded? This was a question I used to ask myself regularly, particularly if the film rewind knob didn’t rotate as I wound on, which was often the case.
I used to load a camera, close the back and then wonder whether the film had really engaged properly. The frame counter would advance, but that’s independent of the film transport, so sometimes I would open the camera to check. Inevitably, the film would have loaded perfectly well, and I had just lost several frames, until the time I ignored the lack of rewind knob rotation and got 36 photographs of nothing.
The problem is that the frame (or exposure) counter tells you that you have pulled the camera’s film advance or winding lever. On most manual 35mm cameras it does not tell you that the film has moved.
The reason is straightforward enough. On most manual cameras the frame counter is operated by the camera’s winding lever. It does not measure film passing through the gate. If the leader has failed to engage properly, you can operate the advance lever, cock the shutter and advance the counter without advancing the film.
That means the number of exposures displayed on the counter can climb without a single frame passing through the gate. You can therefore load a film incorrectly, close the back and apparently take 36 photographs. The lever advances, the shutter fires and the counter reaches 36, but the film is sitting in the film cartridge, unexposed. This is about as bad as it gets in film photography.
What should tell you that the film is correctly loaded is movement of the rewind knob or crank, but it may not begin to turn immediately. There can be enough slack in the film inside the cartridge for several advances before that slack begins to turn the cartridge spool.
To address this, I’ve found that if I take up any slack by turning the rewind crank very delicately in the rewind direction, it will turn immediately when I wind on. It is an extra step in the process and needs to be done carefully, but I’ve found it works well.
From the top clockwise: M6 slanted rewind knob and extended crank, M3 rewind knob with aftermarket crank, Nikon F2 rewind knob and extended crank.
I also wind and fire the shutter twice, with the back open. This lets me watch the frames advancing, see that the sprocket teeth have engaged the perforations, and the leader is being wound onto the take-up spool.
With the back closed, the rewind knob and crank rotate, confirming that the film is being pulled through the camera. I tested this on the Nikon F3 and subsequently applied the method to a couple of other models (Olympus OM-1n and OM-2SP) with the same results.
Loading a 35mm SLR, step by step
These steps are for a conventional manual-loading SLR with a hinged back and a wind-on lever. It does not apply to a bottom-loading rangefinder and should not be applied to a motorised camera.
Pull up the rewind knob, or flip the back-release latch, to pop the camera back open.
Drop the 35mm cartridge into the left-hand chamber.
Push the rewind knob back down so it locks into the cartridge.
Pull the thin, flat end of the film (the leader) across the open back.
Insert the tip of the leader into a slot on the right-hand take-up spool.
Line up the holes along the edge of the film with the small metal teeth, the sprockets.
Check the film lies straight across the film gate against the guide rails. Do not touch the shutter curtain.
With the back still open, wind the lever through a full stroke and fire the shutter once or twice. I like to leave the back open to watch the film move, and with two actuations I know there is enough film wound around the take-up spool. One is probably enough, but I’d rather be certain. The take-up spool should turn, the film should travel across, and the teeth should sit in the holes.
Turn the rewind crank gently in the rewind direction until the slack goes. Do not do this on a camera that loads using a motor as it could damage either the film or the camera.
Close the back until it clicks shut. The pressure plate on the door is now holding the film flat.
Advance and fire, and watch the rewind crank. If it turns, the film is moving and the load is good. Carry on until the frame counter reads 1. The frame counter only starts counting once the back is closed.
If the knob and crank does not turn, the film is not moving.
The rewind control tells me that the film itself is moving and, by taking up the slack first, I can rely on its movement as confirmation.
Film Loading by Camera Generation
Given what I learned about film loading in these 35mm cameras, it strikes me that film loading can be divided into three generations.
Generation
Examples
Loading
Opportunities for error
Early 35mm manual/bottom-loading
Leica IIIf and similar screw-mount Leicas
Removable base and take-up spool, prepared film leader.
Incorrect leader preparation or engagement; film not transporting; counter incorrectly set.
Improved manual loading
Leica M3/M4/M6, Pentax K1000, Olympus OM-series, Nikon F2 and F3
Film path becomes more accessible and loading simpler. The M3 uses a hinged rear panel but retains a removable take-up spool; the M4/M6 rapid-load system uses loading prongs. Conventional SLRs expose the film path through a hinged back.
Leader or sprocket engagement errors remain possible; photographer can mistake an advancing frame counter for evidence that the film itself is moving.
Hybrid and late electronic
Minolta X-700; Nikon F6; Canon EOS-1V
Loading indicators or motorised loading, automatic first-frame positioning, DX coding and increasingly sophisticated detection of loading failure.
Considerably fewer opportunities for unnoticed loading failure. Model-specific procedures and overrides apply.
Film loading by 35mm camera generation
My Leica M3 with third party winder. When you pull up the rewind knob the crank clears the top plate.
The Rotating Dots of the Leica M3
My earliest Leica is an M3. The design retains Leica’s removable baseplate and take-up spool but adds the opening rear flap. The M3’s rewind knob does not rotate during normal film advance. Instead, the centre shaft, marked with red dots, rotates as film is pulled from the film cartridge.
It is an elegant piece of design, and cutched so you won’t suffer from flyback if you let go, but the result is slower winding. I added a third party winder to my M3, which doesn’t much mar its clean lines, and speeds up the rewind considerably.
The Nikon F6 is an Exception
There is a caveat. The Nikon F6 manual specifically warns against turning the film rewind crank to reduce film slack: the film leader may come out of position and fail to advance properly.
In any event, the F6 does its own checking. The photographer positions the film leader and closes the camera; the motor performs the initial transport, and if the film is not seated properly, Err and E blink, and the rear screen reads FILM LOAD ERROR. This makes the classic blank-roll, whole film failure considerably harder to achieve, and raises the question of how we got from a tricky bottom load to an automated process with helpful messages.
Conclusion
I have seem videos on YouTube where film loads are performed at great speed with adminrable dexterity, without the extra step I use, and with the rewind knob/crank turning immediately. This leads me to conclude that my rather cautious practice is not for everyone, but it’s stopped me from fretting about taking 36 pictures of nothing rather effectively.
Development, launch, reception, adoption, production history and legacy
The Nikon FM3A and F3HP
As much as I admire the Nikon FM3A, I shoot with the Nikon F3 much more frequently. I’ve had my hand on the FM3A, but changed my mind and taken the F3 more than once. I think this is due to three factors. The first is the most obvious; the FM3A is both more costly and less robust than the F3, so any knocks will hurt more. The second is that the F3’s shutter and wind-on mechanisms both feel more solid and satisfying to me, and the third is that the HP viewfinder is really convenient with glasses. As a result, the F3 has travelled abroad with me quite frequently whilst the FM3A has been restricted to the UK. Both cameras are premium, manual-focus, aperture-priority Nikon SLRs, which is why they invite comparison. Curiously, they are almost opposites in one respect – the F3 was Nikon’s step into an electronic future, while the FM3A was a retrospective on a manual film camera past. What follows is a detailed comparison of the two, interspersed with shots I’ve taken with each camera.
Summary Comparison Nikon F3 vs FM3A
The F3 was Nikon’s professional system flagship. It was designed as a modular replacement for the F2 that would persuade sceptical pro photographers to accept an electronic shutter and automatic exposure. The camera’s strengths are its robust build, 100% viewfinder coverage, interchangeable finders and screens, many accessories, compatibility with pre-AI lenses through stop-down metering, mirror lock-up and unusually smooth professional ergonomics. Its main compromises are dependence on batteries for all normally selected shutter speeds, a slow 1/80-second flash synchronisation speed, a proprietary flash-shoe arrangement and a small LCD display.
The FM3A was designed as a compact, premium manual-focus camera for experienced enthusiasts and traditionalists at the point when Nikon was moving to digital photography. Its design combines the FM2’s battery-independent mechanical operation with the FE2’s aperture-priority automation. The FM3A’s most notable achievement is its astonishing hybrid shutter: every manual speed from one second to 1/4000 second, plus Bulb, works mechanically without batteries, while aperture-priority mode provides stepless electronic timing from eight seconds to 1/4000 second. It is an engineering marvel.
Where taking a knock, finder coverage, interchangeable prisms (DE-3 high-eyepoint, DW-3 waist-level etc.) and mirror lock-up are needed the F3 has the edge. For compact travel photography the FM3A is more convenient – and better looking in my view. The FM3A also offers the faster shutter and flash synchronisation, a conventional hot shoe, DX coding and lower weight. Low weight is generally important to me, but when weight is at an absolute premium and I need to take a few lenses with me I will probably take the Olympus OM-1n, OM-2n or OM-2SP or the Leica M6 TTL.
As a purchase in 2026, the F3 is generally the better value as the FM3A commands a scarcity and last-of-the-line premium: FM3A asking prices I saw in the UK in August 2026 when I wrote this averaged about £739, compared with roughly £410 for the F3.
Development history and launch
Nikon F3: persuading professionals to accept electronics
My 1982 Nikon F3HP with 50mm f1.8 pancake lens
Planning for the F3 began soon after F2 production stabilised. Purely mechanical shutters had earned professional trust, but electronics offered greater exposure accuracy, more automation, energy-saving functions and the possibility of better reliability through fewer and more efficiently adjusted components. Nikon therefore chose not merely to add aperture-priority exposure to an F2, but to develop a new professional camera around an electronically controlled shutter.
The F3 development programme began in 1973. The early concept, sometimes described in Nikon’s history as an “F3 Photomic AE”, retained the F/F2 pattern of placing the TTL meter and exposure electronics in an interchangeable Photomic finder. It was close to production but was abandoned when Nikon’s Engineering and Development Group succeeded in developing in-body metering using a semi-transparent “pinhole” reflex mirror and secondary mirror. Moving the meter into the body meant that waist-level, action and high-magnification finders could all retain TTL metering without individual meter assemblies or recalibration. The plan was therefore renewed and development restarted in 1976. The world moved at entirely different pace back then.
Formal design began in March 1977. Nikon stated three inherited F2-level objectives: high quality and reliability; ease of operation and versatility; and automatic operation. Electronic control and low power consumption were additional requirements. A modular horizontal-travel titanium-foil shutter was subjected to extensive accuracy and durability analysis, while value-engineering methods were applied to reduce component count and weight. The prototype was completed in November 1978.
The project also changed direction as new technologies became feasible. Nikon replaced an the analogue display initially envisaged with digital circuitry and a low-consumption LCD, adopted quartz shutter timing and developed an electromagnetic release. The MD-4 motor drive was treated as an integral part of the system rather than a peripheral accessory; Nikon targeted six frames per second, compared with four frames per second for the F2 drive, using a coreless motor and a lower-friction gear train.
Vienna 2025, Nikon F3
Legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, of Volkswagen Golf, Lotus Esprit, and Maserati Ghibli fame, was brought in for the exterior design. His contribution included the camera and MD-4 as a unified form, the shallow integral handgrip and the vertical red accent. The design language he introduced remained influential on Nikon cameras for many years.
NASA came calling in autumn 1978, while the F3 prototype was being finalised, asking for cameras capable of automatic exposure and unusually large film loads. Nikon produced a 250-exposure “Big” camera and a 72-exposure “Small” camera and delivered them in May 1980. The smaller version flew aboard Columbia in April 1981 without a backup camera and completed its mission successfully; later shuttle F3 configurations were further modified for long eye relief and gloved operation and used specialist lubricants.
Nikon FM3A: combining the FM2 and FE2 in the digital era
The FM3A programme began in December 1998. Unlike conventional Nikon projects, engineers from Mito Nikon joined the Ohi plant design group at the outset because the camera was expected to require extensive hand assembly, adjustment and production-line expertise. The team began with seven people and later expanded to twelve.
The product concept emerged around April 1999 after some months of discussion. Nikon’s starting point was the continuing popularity of the New FM2 among experienced amateurs, photography students and photographers who valued operation without batteries. Customers were nevertheless asking for the convenience of aperture-priority exposure and TTL automatic flash. The design goal was therefore not simply “a final mechanical Nikon”, but a camera that would preserve full mechanical shutter control while adding the FE’s automatic exposure functions.
That requirement produced the hybrid shutter. Nikon had to package both the FM2-style mechanical linkage and FE2-style electronic control into essentially the same body volume as the New FM2. The resulting mechanism was unusually difficult to manufacture. Nikon initially doubted that a mechanically governed 1/4000-second speed could be achieved within the size and precision constraints. The company also had to locate a supplier capable of producing the tiny high-precision analogue ammeter used by the match-needle display.
Line preparation, pilot fabrication/initial manufacturing activity began in 2000 and full series output in April 2001. The intended April 2001 release was delayed until July because orders exceeded the supply available from the rather labour-intensive line.
The matching silver AI Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P pancake lens launched with the camera in July 2001. It weighed about 120g and incorporated a CPU for communication with later Nikon bodies. A black-finish lens followed in November 2001 at ¥48,000 before tax. The lens is extremely compact, and sharp, but I use the 50mm f1.8 pancake much more frequently.
F3 and FM3A Milestones 1973-2006
1973 Initial F3 development begins; Early meter-in-finder “F3 Photomic AE” concept 1976 F3 programme restarted around body-integrated pinhole-mirror metering 1977 Formal F3 design begins; Quartz timing, LCD and Giugiaro design incorporated 1978 F3 prototype completed; NASA approaches Nikon 1980 Standard Nikon F3 launched; NASA cameras delivered 1981 Nikon F3 Small flies aboard Space Shuttle Columbia 1982 F3HP and F3/T introduced 1983 F3AF and F3P introduced 1988 Nikon F4 succeeds F3 as current flagship, F3 remains in production 1993 F3 Limited introduced 1996 F3 High Speed appears 1998 FM3A development begins 1999 FM3A product concept fixed 2000 F3 discontinuation announced 2001 FM3A full production and launch in July 2002 FM3A receives Camera Grand Prix Special Prize 2006 FM3A production and final shipments end
Reception and adoption
Reception of the F3
The F3’s reception was divided – much as Nikon had anticipated. Supporters welcomed a robust, ergonomic, aperture-priority professional Nikon that retained lens compatibility. Others objected to an electronic shutter in a professional F-series body.
Nikon won the more conservative professionals over and total sales exceeded 751,000 by September 1992. The F3’s handling was particularly favoured. The Giugiaro grip and rounded body were considered more comfortable than the squarer F and F2, while the ball-bearing-supported film transport made the manual advance exceptionally smooth.
Critics, however, focused on the relatively small LCD display, the proprietary flash shoe and the marmite-like divisiveness of the red stripe. Its 1/80-second X-sync also became somewhat restrictive for daylight fill flash as 1/200- and 1/250-second shutters became common.
Reception of the FM3A
Magnus Cathedral at Kirkjubøur, Faroe Islands, F3
The FM3A received unusually enthusiastic attention for a manual-focus film camera launched beside Nikon’s D1X and D1H digital professional bodies. Advance orders exceeded production capacity and specialist magazines published extensive features.
Popular Photography considered battery-free operation one of the camera’s principal attractions and described the FM3A as one of the best manual-focus SLRs then in production. Camera Arts praised its straightforward controls, versatile flash functions and mechanical fallback, while Shutterbug highlighted intuitive control placement, metal construction and smooth operation.
The camera received at least three formal honours: the 2001 Good Design Award, selection as a 2001 Japanese Historical Camera, and the Camera Grand Prix 2002 Special Prize. The Camera Grand Prix award praised its popularity, topical significance and advanced engineering, particularly the survival of a genuine manual-focus SLR in an autofocus and digital market.
The FM3A sacrificed autofocus, matrix or spot metering, automatic film transport, interchangeable finders and mirror lock-up. Spot metering did actually reach prototype stage, but Nikon abandoned it because the design could not be mass-produced with adequate consistency. Mirror lock-up was omitted because engineering resources and packaging space were focused on the complex hybrid shutter.
Adoption
The F3 was designed for press, commercial, scientific and institutional use and was part of a broad professional system. The standard body and F3HP were used by professionals and serious amateurs, while the F3P, F3 Limited and F3H addressed press or specialist high-speed requirements.
NASA is the most famous and influential institutional adoption. The 72 and 250-exposure F3 derivatives were followed by versions adapted for shuttle cabin use. NASA features included larger controls for gloves, extended eye relief, modified lubrication, thermal protection and high-capacity film backs. NASA selection has done wonders for many products (think Omega Speedmaster, for example) and the F3’s adoption was both a technical validation and an important part of the F3’s professional reputation.
The F3 also played a role in early digital professional photography, as Eastman Kodak chose the F3/F3HP architecture as the camera basis for the Kodak DCS 100 system introduced in 1991.
Nikon aimed the FM3A at experienced amateurs. It was not aimed at professionals, as it arrived after Nikon’s D1 and at the same time as the D1X and D1H, when professionals were moving to autofocus digital cameras.
Technical and usage comparison
Core specifications
Characteristic
Nikon F3
Nikon FM3A
Market position
Professional modular flagship
Premium compact manual-focus enthusiast/semi-professional body
Launch
March 1980
July 2001
Exposure modes
Aperture-priority AE and manual
Aperture-priority AE and manual
Shutter architecture
Horizontally travelling titanium-foil focal-plane shutter; electronically quartz timed at normal speeds
Vertically travelling aluminium-alloy metal focal-plane shutter; dual electronic and mechanical control
Automatic range
Stepless 8 seconds to 1/2000 second
Stepless 8 seconds to 1/4000 second
Manual range
8 seconds to 1/2000 second, plus B, T and X; selected normal speeds require power
One second to 1/4000 second plus B, all mechanically timed
Battery-free operation
Separate mechanical release at about 1/60 second; T mechanically available
Every marked manual speed and B
Meter
TTL, approximately 80/20 centre-weighted
TTL, approximately 60/40 centre-weighted
Metering range
EV 1–18 at ISO 100 with 50mm f/1.4
EV 1–20 at ISO 100 with 50mm f/1.4
Film speed
ISO 12–6400, manual
ISO 25–5000 by DX; ISO 12–6400 manually
Exposure compensation
±2 EV
±2 EV
AE lock
Yes
Yes
Viewfinder coverage
Approximately 100%
Approximately 93%
Magnification
About 0.8× with DE-2; about 0.75× with DE-3 HP
0.80× / 0.83× – sources vary*
Finder system
Interchangeable: standard eye-level, high-eyepoint, action, high-magnification and waist-level options
Fixed pentaprism
Screens
Twenty officially listed in Nikon’s launch-era account, including standard K
K3 standard; B3 and E3 optional
Flash
TTL off-the-film; proprietary F3 shoe system; PC connection; 1/80-second X-sync
TTL off-the-film; standard ISO hot shoe and PC connection; 1/250-second X-sync; −1 EV flash-compensation button
Mirror lock-up
Yes
No
Depth-of-field preview
Yes
Yes
Motor drive
MD-4, up to six frames per second; powered rewind
MD-12, approximately 3.2 frames per second; manual rewind
Dimensions
Approximately 148.5 × 96.5 × 65.5mm
Approximately 142.5 × 90 × 58mm
Weight
Approximately 715g body with DE-2
Approximately 570g excluding batteries
Finish
Black standard; titanium and specialist variants
Silver/chrome or black
Primary evidence
Nikon F3 history and manual-derived specifications.
Nikon FM3A history and US specification sheet.
*Nikon corporate history states 0.83×, while the Nikon USA specification sheet gives 0.80×.
Shutter and battery dependence
The F3’s shutter provided quartz-controlled electronic timing, which improves consistency, and aperture-priority mode, which can select intermediate values steplessly. As the shutter speeds are electronic, an exhausted battery limits the camera to a separate mechanical release of 1/60 second or mechanical T operation. Given how small, inexpensive and easily available the F3’s batteries are I have never seen this as a limitation, but it troubled many photographers in its heyday, and is still the subject of debate in forums today.
Winding gear, Deal beach 2023, FM3A
The FM3A’s shutter is mechanically far more ambitious. Selecting a manual speed engages the mechanical governor and linkage, while selecting ‘A’ activates the electronic timing mechanism. It replaces a single emergency mechanical speed with a full manual sequence from one second to 1/4000 second. The batteries are still required for the meter, aperture-priority automation, AE lock etc.
Metering and exposure control
The F3 concentrates approximately 80% of meter sensitivity in the central 12mm circle and spreads the remaining 20% across the rest of the frame. Light passes through tens of thousands of microscopic non-reflective areas in the main mirror, is redirected by a secondary mirror and reaches a silicon photodiode (SPD) in the bottom of the mirror box.
The FM3A employs a less strongly weighted 60/40 centre-weighted pattern, using paired SPDs located behind the pentaprism. Its rather lovely analogue match-needle display shows the meter’s recommended shutter speed and a separate indication of the selected speed. In aperture-priority mode, the needle shows the stepless speed the camera intends to use.
Neither camera provides matrix metering or a built-in spot meter. The F3’s stronger centre weighting reflected its pro design; Nikon’s brief was to replace the F2 for photographers who had spent years using handheld light meters and this pattern let a photojournalist meter selectively through the lens quickly and easily. The FM3A employed the same, more forgiving, weighting the FM2 and FE2 used, so those photographers trading up or adding a body found the meter behaved as they expected.
Viewfinder system
The F3’s DE-2 standard finder gives approximately 100% coverage and relatively high magnification. The DE-3 High-Eyepoint finder, introduced as standard on the F3HP in March 1982, provides excellent eye relief for glasses wearers at the expense of some magnification. Action, waist-level and high-magnification finders are all available. Because the meter is in the body, exchanging finders or screens does not require a different metering prism.
Lady Rosina, Deal Beach, FM3A
The FM3A’s fixed finder is smaller in system scope but exceptionally good for a compact SLR. Nikon redesigned the K3 screen to improve brightness and reduce split-prism blackout with slower lenses. The B3 plain matte screen was designed for macro and long lenses, and the E3 grid for architectural and landscape alignment. Its 93% coverage means more appears on film than is shown in the finder, which is convenient for uncritical consumer processing but less exact for slide, copy or tightly framed professional work.
Replacing the ‘Finder’
The term ‘finder’ can cause confusion when applied to the F3 and FM3A. This is because the term is used to refer both to replacing a focusing screen (FM3A and F3) and replacing a prism/finder screen assembly (F3 only).
The focusing screen sits on a shelf above the mirror, directly beneath the prism. It is a piece of ground glass, and it is where the image from the lens actually lands. Everything you see when you raise the camera to your eye is a projection onto that surface. The screen determines what focusing aid you get, such as a split-image wedge, a microprism collar, a plain matte field, or a grid. It also determines how bright the view is, and how the out-of-focus areas render.
The prism is the block of glass sitting on top of the screen. The image on the screen arrives laterally reversed and upside down, and the prism puts that right before it reaches your eye. On the F3 you can remove it and fit a waist-level hood in its place, and there is no prism in the light path at all; you look straight down onto the screen through a magnifier, with the image reversed left to right, just like you would with a Rolleiflex.
The finder, according to Nikon, means the whole viewing assembly of prism and eyepiece together, as a unit. This is why Nikon’s part numbers for the F3 carry finder designations rather than prism ones.
On the F3 both prism and screen come off. Nikon offered more than twenty screens for the camera and five finders or viewing heads. I’ll call them heads to avoid potential confusion. These were the standard DE-2, the high-eyepoint DE-3, the DW-3 waist-level, the DA-2 action finder, and the DW-4 magnifying finder. Lift the head off, and you are looking at the bare screen.
On the FM3A the prism is fixed and bonded to the top plate. The screens, however, come out through the lens throat. Nikon supplied three, being the K3 with split-image and microprism, the B3 plain matte, and the E3 with grid lines. Anyone who has fitted the grid screen for architectural work has, in a perfectly reasonable sense, changed the finder, as they have changed what they see. They just have not changed the thing that Nikon calls the finder.
The FM3A also accepts eyepiece accessories that thread onto the fixed prism, including dioptre correction lenses, the DG-2 magnifier, and the DR-3 right-angle attachment.
Finder Design Decisions
The F3 meters from a silicon photodiode in the base of the body, reading light passed down through the semi-silvered main mirror. The metering system therefore sits below the screen. Whatever head you fit, the meter reads identically.
The FM3A puts its metering cells in the prism, alongside the needle display. That is a cheaper and simpler arrangement, but it also makes an interchangeable prism close to unworkable, because every alternative head would need its own cells and display.
Lens compatibility
Both bodies use Nikon’s F mount, and for almost every lens Nikon has made since 1977, the two cameras behave identically. AI and AI-S Nikkors, the Series E lenses, the AI-P range with its CPU contacts, and the autofocus lenses of the AF and AF-D generations all mount and work fully on both bodies, with full-aperture metering and manual focusing. AF-S lenses are the same, offering manual focus provided the particular lens carries an aperture ring.
The F3 has a hinged meter-coupling lever that folds up out of the way, which allows unmodified pre-AI lenses to be mounted and metered stopped down, subject to checking the clearance on each individual lens. The FM3A has no equivalent release. Its coupling lever is fixed, and a pre-AI lens will foul it. The F3 will also accept fisheye lenses that require mirror lock-up.
Build, ergonomics and handling
Both cameras use rigid metal-based structures rather than moulded shells. Nikon’s FM3A has a copper-silumin aluminium-alloy chassis and metal outer body. The F3 likewise uses a strong die-cast alloy chassis and professional metal construction, but its modular finder, larger body and accessory couplings make it heavier.
My FM3A on Deal beach 2023
The F3 is exceptionally smooth to handle, with the film advance being particularly noticeable. It is slightly let down by the proprietary flash location and the small, not terribly bright LCD – though the latter has proved far more durable than Nikon advised users in the manual. The guidance given there was that although the camera used the highest quality LCD available, it would lose contrast and become hard to read after six or seven years, at which point they should take it to a dealer or Nikon service centre for replacement. Nikon was guessing at LCD longevity, of course, and happily my 1980 F3 and 1982 F3HP LCDs are both still working fine.
The FM3A has FM/FE type ergonomics: prominent shutter and film-speed dials, a conventional hot shoe, compact dimensions and a direct match-needle display. It is lighter and perhaps slightly less conspicuous.
Flash and motorisation
For flash, the FM3A offers 1/250-second synchronisation and its ISO-standard hot shoe accepts ordinary flashes while retaining Nikon TTL contacts. The −1 EV TTL-flash compensation button provides a quick fill-flash reduction.
Flash users might find the F3’s 1/80-second sync somewhat limiting. Dedicated TTL flash units use the contacts around the F3’s odd rewind-side accessory fitting, and hot-shoe flashes require an adapter or cable. On the plus side, the F3 offers a plethora of cords, high-capacity backs, finders, data equipment and motor-drive accessories. I have no experience of any of these.
The MD-4 transforms the F3 into a fast press or sports camera, advancing at up to 5.5 frames per second, or six with the mirror locked up, and rewinding a thirty-six exposure roll in a rapid four and a half seconds. It will also power the camera body should the F3’s own batteries run out. The unit weighs about 490 grams before the eight AA batteries, taking the full load to something like 1.7 kilograms with a standard lens.
The FM3A’s MD-12 is a little lighter at about 410 grams, and it manages 3.2 frames per second, but doesn’t provide a powered rewind. Instead, you use a slider that engages the camera’s film release so you can hand rewind.
Mirror Lock-up
For tripod, macro and long-lens work, the F3 also has mirror lock-up, which the FM3A lacks.
The F3 has a dedicated control. You just push in the depth-of-field preview button and rotate it, and the mirror rises and stays up until you release it. With the mirror up, the F3 cannot meter as its photodiode reads light passed down through the mirror, so raising the mirror cuts the light path to the meter entirely. The camera doesn’t actually tell you this because the LCD carries on displaying a shutter speed, but that speed is wrong. The right sequence is to meter first, hold the reading or transfer it to manual, and then lock the mirror.
Some fisheye lenses require mirror lock-up before they will mount on the F3 because they intrude far enough back into the mirror box that they would strike the mirror. With those fitted you compose through an accessory finder, because there is nothing to see through the camera.
The FM3A lacks this mirror lock-up, but has a decent workaround as its self-timer raises and locks the mirror at the start of its run, so the mirror is up and settled before the shutter opens.
Reliability and serviceability
The F3’s NASA qualification, more than 751,000 sales by 1992 and a production life extending to the year 2000 provide decent evidence of durability.
Age is not kind to anything much, but it is somewhat more spiteful to electronics than mechanical components. The F3’s LCD, electromagnetic release, metering electronics and dedicated flash contacts will eventually deteriorate and fail when it participates in the electronics apocalypse. The mechanical 1/60-second fallback is an emergency measure, but it isn’t much use in that final, terminal case. That sounds really quite morbid, but so far, so good, and I have an F, F2, FM and FM3A to fall back on.
The FM3A does not rely on a battery for shutter operation, but its hybrid assembly is far from mechanically simple. According to Nikon, its marvellous hybrid capability relies on a high part count, dual stop-shoe system, complicated gear routing, tight backlash control and individual hand adjustment. On the plus side, the FM3A repair documentation states that its basic construction follows the FM2 and FE2 and directs technicians to their manuals, tools and procedures where applicable, which might help somewhat with mechanical servicing. A bit.
Nikon F3 vs FM3A – which camera is best suited for what task?
Requirement
More suitable
Reason
Press, sport or action with motor drive
F3
MD-4 at up to six frames per second, powered rewind, professional controls and extensive accessories
Use with glasses (spectacles)
F3HP
High-eyepoint DE-3 finder
Exact slide, copy or architectural framing
F3
Approximately 100% viewfinder coverage; interchangeable grid and specialist screens
Low-angle, waist-level or action-finder work
F3
Interchangeable finder system
Pre-AI Nikkor collection
F3
Folding meter-coupling lever and stop-down metering
Daylight fill flash
FM3A
1/250-second sync and standard ISO hot shoe
Prolonged remote or cold-weather work (neutral with a supply of spare batteries!)
FM3A
Full manual shutter-speed range without batteries
Travel and street photography
FM3A
Smaller, lighter, unobtrusive body
Film camera learning
FM3A
Match-needle manual exposure is intuitive – I love it
Heavy lenses and prolonged professional handling
F3 or F3HP
Slightly better grip, larger body and modular finder options
The question of which camera is ‘best’ depends on what the use case is. The above is my take on that and opinions will no doubt differ. Clearly, either body can produce identical image quality when fitted with the same lens, film and accurately controlled exposure.
Production, variants and serial numbers
F3 production history
Nikon announced the F3’s discontinuation in 2000. Nikon’s official figure of units shipped is 751,000 units by September 1992. A specialist serial database maintained by Nico van Dijk records F3 serial numbers beginning around 120xxxx in March 1980 and reaching 200xxxx by June 2000, with 201xxxx associated with parts.
F3 variants
Version
Introduced (approx.)
Distinctions
F3
March 1980
Standard body with DE-2 finder; black finish
F3HP
March 1982
Standard body supplied with DE-3 High-Eyepoint finder
Press-oriented sealed and reinforced controls, DE-5 finder with conventional shoe, specialist back and control changes
F3 Limited
October 1993
Japanese-market collector version closely based on F3P; “Limited” marking
F3H / F3 High Speed
1996
Fixed semi-transparent mirror and high-speed motor configuration for very rapid sequences
NASA “Big” and “Small”
Delivered May 1980; subsequent mission variants
250- or 72-exposure capacity, modified controls, optics, lubrication and thermal arrangements
My 2001 FM3A with 45mm f2.8 pancake lens
Nikon FM3A production history
The FM3A was commercially available from July 2001 until production and final shipment ended in January 2006. Nikon says its early production could not satisfy demand, but digital camera adoption shortened its life to four and a half years of sales. Building a manual film camera at that point, with that amazing hybrid shutter does Nikon a lot of credit, in my estimation.
Nikon did not publish a production total or an official serial number allocation for the FM3A. User and collector sites list serial numbers from approximately 200000 or 200001 into the 310xxx–312xxx region, which gives a 112,000-number span, though this is not proof that 112,000 cameras were manufactured.
The two versions of the FM3A were silver/chrome and black.
FM3A production form
Introduction
Notes
Silver/chrome body
July 2001
¥96,000 before tax in Japan; product number 1666 in Nikon USA literature
The F3 established electronic shutter control and aperture-priority automation as acceptable in Nikon’s top professional line. The controversy over batteries was overtaken by the practical advantages of accurate timing and by the camera’s reliability in extended professional service. Nikon’s following flagship, the F4, expanded the formula with autofocus, more advanced metering, higher shutter speeds and integrated motorisation, but retained compatibility with a remarkably broad range of older F-mount lenses.
Its body-integrated metering was particularly influential. By moving the sensor out of the finder, Nikon preserved the interchangeable-viewfinder concept without sacrificing TTL measurement.
The F3AF was an important transitional product. It was Nikon’s first autofocus SLR system and demonstrated that focus detection could be integrated into a professional F-series platform.
The Kodak DCS 100 connection gives the F3 an additional legacy in that it participated in the transition that eventually displaced cameras such as the FM3A.
The FM3A’s legacy
The FM3A was the culmination of two existing Nikon product lines, fusing the mechanical FM/FM2 design with that of the electronically timed FE/FE2.
The FM3A demonstrated that a full-speed mechanical shutter and stepless electronic aperture-priority system could coexist, but it also marked the point at which such labour-intensive manufacturing was no longer feasible. Nikon’s history stresses that several subcontractor craftspeople and specialist engineers were approaching retirement and that the camera depended on local Mito-area expertise inherited from the FM2 and F3.
Buying: F3 vs FM3A
As I write this in 2026, the F3 is still an affordable film camera, though titanium bodies, clean F3P or Limited versions command higher prices.
The FM3A is consistently more expensive, with black bodies and complete 45mm f/2.8P sets being the most costly. I bought my silver/chrome FM3A from Greys of Westminster in about 2018 for a price I can’t recall, but I know it made me wince a little. Silver bodies with ordinary wear are the least costly but cost more than FM2, FE2 or standard F3 bodies.
Aesthetics
When I put the F3 and FM3A next to each other the F3 looks large and somewhat ungainly in comparison to the diminutive FM3A, which, like the FM2 (and the original F) are great looking film cameras. The F3’s square head, in particular, looks unlovely in comparison. In my view, it is still far better looking than Nikon’s autofocus models, however. As much as I love using the F6, it is not a thing of beauty. This kind of contrast must have been very apparent at the launch of the FM3A when it sat next to Nikon’s first digital models.
However, once I pick up either camera and use the controls, the feeling is reversed. The F3 feels just right, while the FM3A feels fine.
Side by side: the FM3A and F3
Nikon F3 vs FM3A Conclusion
These are both wonderful cameras.
The F3 led Nikon’s professional line from the mechanical F2 into a quartz timed, electronic future. NASA adoption and use as the basis for Kodak’s DCS 100 cement its importance in the timeline of photography. For the photographer it is practical, exceptionally hard wearing and feels great to operate.
The FM3A was Nikon’s last hurrah for the manual film camera, and offers a great deal of useful functionality in a very attractive package. Its 1/4000-second top speed, hybrid shutter, 1/250-second sync, conventional hot shoe, DX coding, bright match-needle finder and 570g body are a tough act to beat. The fact that it tends to spend more time on the shelf than in my bag is really down to the fact that the F3 feels so solid to pick up and operate, and I know it will take the inevitable knocks so much better.
I shoot with both the Leica rangefinders and the Nikon SLRs. The most frequently used are my Leica M6 TTL 0.58 and Nikon F3, which is the camera that got me back into shooting with film. They are both legendary cameras, but very different to shoot with.
I’ve found the key to knowing them better is to gain an understanding of their metering systems. These, I learned, are separated by design philosophy and intended user as well as the underlying camera technology.
Nikon: SLR TTL Metering Through the Focusing Screen
Let’s start with the SLR. The Nikon F3 is a single lens reflex (SLR)of 1980 in this example. It was built for professional photojournalists, sports photographers, and anyone needing fast, reliable exposure in unpredictable environments. The F3 has a TTL (through-the-lens) metering system. It works like this:
Nikon F3 HP
Light enters through the lens.
It reflects off the mirror up to the focusing screen.
The focusing screen diffuses the light, spreading brightness across a visible field.
A silicon photodiode sensor reads this averaged light.
The focusing screen acts like a diffuser, helping the camera analyse brightness across a broad field.
This system allows the meter to “see” what the lens sees – including vignetting and out-of-focus area, making it perfect for delivering quick, intuitive exposures, and ideal for changing light and fast subjects.
For the F3, Nikon chose an 80/20 bias for the F3’s light meter. 80% of the metre’s emphasis is on a 12mm circlein the center of the frame. The remaining 20% averages the rest of the screen. The result is a broad center-weightedpattern.
From the F4 onwards, Nikon offered Matrix metering. See the second table for more details of the F3’s successor models – the F4, F5 and F6.
Leica: Metering from the White Patch
The Leica M6 TTL rangefinder was launched nearly twenty years after the F3 in 1998 (though the F3 was still being produced at that time). It was produced for the niche that Leica occupied by the time – photographers who prioritised craft, discretion, and classic rangefinder handling over automation or frames per second.
It was a refined version of the original Leica M6 (1984–1998). While the original M6 also offered TTLmetering,the TTL in the newer model refers specifically to TTL Flash metering. This meant the camera could now meter flash exposure through the lens, something the original M6 couldn’t do. Personally, that’s not important to me. The reason I chose the TTL model was the larger shutter speed control, which I find easier to use.
Leica M6 TTL
As the M6 TTL is a rangefinder, unlike the F3 it has has no mirror, no focusing screen, and you don’t ‘see’ through the lens. Instead, you compose through a separate optical viewfinder, while a TTL meter reads light reflected from a small white patch on the shutter curtain.
The M6 TTL meters light through the lens, but only from a small central area, about 12–13% of the frame. This metering zone corresponds roughly to the 90mm frame lines in the viewfinder, which is visible when a 28mm lens is mounted. This is the most common lens on my 0.58 M6 TTL.
Since there’s no focusing screen to average light across the image, the camera measures only from a narrow reflective patch inside the lens throat.
The meter behaves more like a semi-spot meter – it is accurate but limited. Leica assume (correctly in most cases, I think) that their photographers will meter, then recompose. This is ideal for slower, methodical shooting where tone matters more than speed.
F3 SLR Vs M6 Rangefinder Summary Comparison
Feature
Leica M6 TTL
Nikon F3
Viewfinder type
Rangefinder
SLR
Metering system
Center-weighted selective (~13%)
Center-weighted TTL (~80%)
Design intent
Precision, manual control
Speed, general-purpose shooting
Ideal for
Deliberate exposures, tonal control
Fast shooting, balanced exposures
Reflective surface
White patch on shutter curtain
Focusing screen and mirror system
Summary of Rangefinder and SLR Successors
Feature
Leica M7
Nikon F4
Nikon F5
Nikon F6
Viewfinder type
Rangefinder
SLR
SLR
SLR
Metering system
Center-weighted selective (~13%)
Matrix (5-segment), Center-weighted, Spot (3.5mm)
3D Color Matrix, Center-weighted (customizable), Spot (4mm)
3D Color Matrix II, Center-weighted (customizable), Spot (4mm)
Design intent
Classic rangefinder with auto exposure
Versatile, electronic pro workflow
Advanced metering and AF for high-speed pro use
As per the F5, but with increased digital-era precision
Ideal for
Rangefinder shooting with auto exposure convenience
Flexible metering in dynamic environments
High-speed, accurate exposure in fast-changing light
As per the F5, but with more precision and flexibility
Reflective surface
White patch on shutter curtain
Focusing screen and multi-sensor prism system
1005-pixel RGB sensor linked to AF and lens data
Enhanced 1005-pixel RGB sensor with i-TTL integration
Final Thoughts – SLR vs Rangefinder Metering
Researching and understanding SLR vs Rangefinder metering systems has been helpful in getting the most out of my M6 TTL and F3, but it has also helped me understand how different the cameras really are. The M6 TTL demands more from me during exposure, but offers more precision. The F3, meanwhile, provides faster exposures, which means I’m less likely to miss the opportunity.
The date for our departure on our long anticipated road trip in the Faroe Islands finally arrived on the 25th May 2023. Our first was flight from Stanstead, UK to Aalborg, Denmark, an old city on the Limfjord where Viking ships once sailed. As it was a late afternoon flight with a decent layover we had time to head into the city for quick dinner with our Danish friends who would be accompanying us in Aalborg.
The final flight, on Atlantic Airways, arrived at Vágar Airport (Vága Floghavn in Faroese, IATA: FAE). This is the sole airport serving the Faroes on the island of Vágar. The landing was flawless, despite a nasty cross wind. The airport was built by the British Army during World War II and site was chosen largely because it was hard for German warships to observe from the sea! This is not the only legacy of the British in the Faroe Islands, as the locals apparently continue to enjoy British staples such as fish and chips and Dairy Milk chocolate.
It was late when reached the Hotel Brandan in Tórshavn so we retired after a quick night cap.
For those interested in photography, in addition to the shots on this page, you can find my black and white gallery here. Also on this site, Part I of this blog provides a bit more background to The Faroe Islands and describes why it is well worth visiting.
Where to Stay in The Faroe Islands?
We had a short debate about where to stay in The Faroe Islands, particularly as to whether we should stay in a remote location or in the city. Although we found some lovely cabins out in the wilds, eventually we decided that it would be best to base ourselves in the capital city Tórshavn. We found this decision suited us very well.
We travelled to some fairly remote locations during the day and Tórshavn felt like a metropolis in comparison. The Hotel Brandan was comfortable, hotel amenities were very welcome, the staff were friendly and the excellent breakfast set up us nicely each day.
Road Trip Day 1. Rain, Vestmanna and The National Gallery
We awoke full of excitement on our first full day, and after breakfast headed for the village of Vestmanna (West Men), on the northwest coast of Streymoy, the main island. It is a short drive, just half an hour or so from our hotel. We took the scenic mountain road Oyggjarvegur and stopped near Kaldbaksbotnur, a village of just two farms, near Kaldbaksfjørður and took in the spectacular views of the fjord.
Amazing light in Kaldbaksfjørður, seen from Kaldbaksbotnur
Vestmanna is a medium sized Faroese village best known for boat tours to the Vestmanna bird cliffs. The boat was sailing that day, but as we had already booked two other boat trips and it was raining we elected to visit the Saga Museum by the harbour and grab a coffee. Piracy was a common hazard in Vestmanna for centuries and features quite heavily in the various stories told by the wax figures and accompanying audio at the Museum.
The Epic Voyage of St. Brendan The Navigator
The first of the waxwork figures we encountered is of an Abbot. This figure, and accompanying audio, tells the story of St. Brendan The Navigator, an Irish Monk. He is important in the story of The Faroe Islands because of the epic journey he is said to have made across the North Atlantic in the sixth century, which was recorded in a ninth century text. During the voyage, Brendan visited an island which he described as The Paradise of Birds and a larger island described as The Island of Sheep. It’s not hard to see how this could have been The Faroe Islands, an archipelago whose name means Island of Sheep.
The National Gallery, Listasavn Føroya
We returned to Tórshavn, a name that rather pleasingly translates as Thor’s harbour. For the mythologically inclined, Thor’s most nautical myth is an account of his fishing trip to catch Jörmungandr (Jormungand) the Midgard Serpent.
On the return journey we took the other (non-scenic, but still scenic!) road from Vestmanna. We had a pleasant walk around Tórshavn harbour before heading for Listasavn Føroya, the National Gallery of the Faroe Islands, which is a great rainy day location to visit.
The National Gallery houses a large collection of nearly 3,000 works of Faroese art of which only around 10% are displayed in the museum’s permanent exhibition. These are divided into themes, and the museum is well worth visiting. There was a lot of great work on show, but I particularly enjoyed the work of Sámal Joensen-Mikines, Edward Fuglø (particularly ‘Colony’) and Rannva Kunoy. There are trees around the museum which is quite a novelty on the Faroes, which is treeless across most of the islands.
In the evening we dined at Áarstova, a lamb and seafood restaurant in Tórshavn. It is named after the house two famous local poets, Hans Andrias Djurhuus and Janus Djurhuus, were born in. The food, setting and service were all excellent.
Day2 . Wind, Klaksvík and Gjógv
The second day we headed to Tórshavn to Klaksvík via Route 10 and the Eysturoy tunnel. This incredible feat of engineering, which took several years to compete, shortens the drive from just over an hour to a little over 30 minutes. All the sub sea tunnels charge a toll, which was applied by our hire car company. It was exciting to see the world’s first undersea roundabout (aka the jellyfish roundabout), after which we drove up the East coast of Skálafjørður, the longest fjord in the Faroe Islands, passing half a dozen or so small villages.
Encountering a Skrid
The view Gøtuvík near a turf-roofed farmhouse
There is a very small road about halfway across one of the narrowest parts of Eysturoy which provides wonderful views of the bay of Gøtuvík. We stopped and took a few shots there. It was so windy we could hardly stand up straight to take our photographs. Reading a local weather report later, that was hardly surprising as we were experiencing a skrid – a gale force (8) wind. Beyond that, at force 9, is a stormur a strong gale, and a hvassur stormur, which blows at storm force 10.
Syðrugøta – and a Saga
We rounded the end of Gøtuvík bay, passing Syðrugøta, where The Faroe Islands’ most famous Viking age Chieftain Tróndur í Gøtu (c. 945 – 1035) is said to have lived. He is a central character in the Færeyinga saga, the Faroe Islands’ saga which tells of the arrival of Christianity, and his opposition to it.
For those interested in the strange world of the Norse I can highly recommend a book that provides a thoroughly entertaining deep dive into it: TheChildren of Ash and Elm. This is written by a scholarly archaeologist who happens to posses a great sense of humour.
Shortly after we passed Syðrugøta it started to rain quite heavily and the wind picked up, but this didn’t deter the women playing football on a windswept pitch in one of the small towns we passed through. We were in awe of their resilience.
On to the Northern Islands
After crossing Leirvíksfjørður, the fjord that separates the islands of Eysturoy and Borðoy, via the 6km long Norðoyartunnilin (The Northern Isles Tunnel) we drove into Klaksvík, the capital of the four Northern Islands; Borðoy, Kunoy, Kalsoy, and Viðoy. Borðoy was the only one of the four we visited, but we got great views of Kalsoy later that day from the village of Gjógv.
Klaksvík – The Harbour amongst the Mountains
The harbour at Klaksvík
Klaksvík is the main fishing port for the islands and the second largest city. Despite this, before the sub sea tunnel Norðoyartunnilin opened it must have been quite isolated. It is in an impressive location, sitting between two fjords and surrounded by high mountains that rise from the shoreline, which made for some great pictures.
A Faroese knitwear shop, Tógvhandilin, beckoned. Klaksvík is one of three main towns with shops, the others being Tórshavn (the clear leader) and Runavík. There is a knitwear festival in the islands each year. Each of us bought something – hats, mittens and a sweater. Faroese knitwear is very well made and amazingly warm.
My hat was certainly a welcome upgrade when we were out at sea later on the trip. Before we left we had coffee and something to eat at Fríða Kaffihús, a nearby café. This recommendation came from the knitwear shop and proved to be a winner.
Spectacular Gjógv
Our next destination was Gjógv, a small, colourful fishing village located on the northeast tip of the island of Eysturoy, overlooking the island of Kalsoy. It is about 30 miles from Klaksvík and is located at the end of a deep valley, with no other villages in sight.
The view of Kalsoy from Gjógv
We parked and walked down towards the village, which sits on either side of a river. The majority of Gjógv’s houses are modern but colourful and make for a lovely spectacle as you walk down the hill towards the sea. It was a lovely start, but it gets even better.
Walking down to the shore we found breath taking views over the volcanic shore to the Island of Kalsoy. One of our party observed that the coast resembled one she had seen in South Africa, and having seen something similar myself, I agreed. The village gets its name from a 200-meter-long gorge, which was used for centuries as a natural harbour and is also quite something to behold.
Some Welcome Waffles
After taking in the views for some time we enjoyed the local speciality of Faroese waffles (vaflur) with rhubarb jam at Gjáarkaffi, a tiny coffee house. It turns out that rhubarb is one of the few vegetables that grows in the tough climate of the Faroe Islands. My memories of British rhubarb and custard are not especially fond ones, but the slightly sharp jam was a superb accompaniment to the waffles.
One of the old photos in Restaurant Barbara
A Different Kind of Surf and Turf
We drove back to Torshavn, well pleased with the day, and completed it with dinner at Barbara. This is a fish restaurant, which serves a multi course tasting menu described as tapas. It is set in a very old turf-roofed house which has an interior full of character. I particularly liked the old black and white photos of life in the Faroe Islands in the early twentieth century. We had high expectations of the restaurant and it did not disappoint, though like all the best restaurants in town, the bill was quite steep.
Day 3. History: Kirkjubøur and Sandur
Next up on our road trip was Kirkjubøur. This is the country’s most important historical site and the southernmost village on Streymoy. Here, in close proximity, are the ruins of the Cathedral, the oldest church still in use, and an ancient log house which has been continuously inhabited since the sixteenth century by one of the leading families of the Faroe Islands. Most of the houses in the village are dressed in classic pitch-black with turf roofs and there are views of the islands of Hestur, Koltur and Sandoy.
Kirkjubøur was the seat of the Faroese bishop from the 12th century until the Reformation, and the church there was the most important in the islands. The medieval village was larger than it is today with around 50 houses. Most of these were washed away by a storm in the 16th century.
What remains is still fascinating.
Kirkjubøargarður/Roykstovan
The farm house Kirkjubøargarður is one of the oldest constantly inhabited wooden houses of the world and the oldest part, the Roykstovan, (the smoky room) dates to the 11th century. This part of the building is open to the public. The Patursson Family, who have played a number of important cultural and political roles in the history of the Faroes, has occupied the farm since 1550 and is still resident.
Kirkjubøur: St. Olav’s Church and St. Magnus Cathedral (Film, Nikon F3)
Saint Olav’s Church – Ólavskirkjan
Saint Olav’s Church or Ólavskirkjan dates from about 1250 (though I’ve seen older dates). What is agreed is is that it is the Faroe Islands oldest church still in use.
Saint Olav is the patron saint of the Faroe Islands (and of Norway). He is celebrated each year at Ólavsøka (Saint Olav’s Wake), a two-day celebration held on 28th and 29th of July. Many Faroese gather in the capital Tórshavn, some in traditional Faroese dress, greeting those they meet with “Góða (Good) Ólavsøka!”.
A set of carved pew ends from the church, known as the Kirkjubøur chairs, are now in the National Museum. We didn’t get to that museum on the trip, but there are some great images of them on a set of postage stamps issued by Postverk Føroya in the 1980s.
The museum also holds a runestone, the Kirkjubøur stone, which was found in the church in 1832. The glass art in the front gate was made by painter, sculptor, glass artist and explorer Tróndur Patursson.
The Epic Brendan Voyage – Part II
In 1977 this intrepid member of the Patursson family accompanied British explorer and historian Tim Severin across the North Atlantic on the Brendan, a replica of a replica of St. Brendan’s currach in an attempt to prove this feat was possible. It was! Setting out from Tralee, Ireland, this remarkable, two-masted boat of ancient design, wrapped with ox hides and sealed with animal grease, successfully made the 4,500 mile crossing, arriving in Newfoundland Canada. The voyage took over 13 months and the route took in the Hebrides, the Faroe Islands and Iceland.
St. Magnus Cathedral
The ruins of San Magnus Cathedral (Film, Nikon F3)
Close to both St Olav’s church and Kirkjubøargarður farm house is Magnus Cathedral, a ruined cathedral, built around 1300, which is commonly said to have been abandoned before it was a finished, though recent research suggests it did indeed get a roof. The ruins are the largest medieval building in the Faroe Islands and stand as a reminder of a time when the small village it looms over was the religious centre of the islands.
As a black and photographer, I am fan of atmospheric ruins, particularly if they have a story to tell, and I have been photographing a local ruined manor in Oxfordshire for many years.
The Crossing to Sandy Sandoy
By way of extreme contrast to the epic Brendan Crossing, our first sailing in the Faroes was the short ferry crossing from Gamlarætt to Skopun on Sandoy. This is the only island in the archipelago with sand dunes. The ferry rolled considerably in the swell but the journey took less than 30 minutes. This service will soon be replaced by a sub sea tunnel which is under construction. Our point of arrival, Skopun, is a niðursetubygd, a unique Faroese term for a settlement or village of modern origin (19th century) which has no outlying land belonging to it.
The Old Church in Sandur
From Skopun we drove down to the town of Sandur, walked around the old church which is the 6th on the site, and took in the view. The first of these churches was an 11th century stave church. Also dating from the 11th century is a hoard of silver coins that was found in the graveyard. The sandy beaches may have welcomed settlers well before the Viking age as evidence of settlement in the 4th-6th century was found on the island in 2007.
Returning to the harbour at Skopun we took some pictures of some old abandoned boats just beyond the harbour, before boarding the ferry and returning to Tórshavn via Gamlarætt.
A Literary Lunch
We had a late lunch in the Paname Café in Torshavn after a wander in the excellent bookshop that is in the same building. The fare in the café was first rate. The bookshop, H.N. Jacobsens Bókahandil, was established in 1865 and is the oldest in the islands. The building that houses the café and bookshop has the classic Faroese grass roof and red exterior and is quite a landmark in Tórshavn. It’s a great place to hang out for a while.
Another wander in the old town was followed by a short rest at the hotel and before we knew it was it time for dinner, which we took in the hotel. The bar was crowded with Icelanders who seemed to be having a most excellent time.
The road to the Drangarnir sea stacks
Day 4. Sea Stacks and a Waterfall into the Sea
Our last day of our road trip on The Faroe Islands took us on Route 50 back to Vágar, the home of the airport in the western part of the Faroe Islands. We crossed via the sub sea tunnel and drove through Sandavágur with its landmark bright red-roofed church. Soon we reached Sorvágur, a little town most visitors frequent only to sail to the famed bird island of Mykines.
Later that day we would heading out to the sea stacks by boat. After a short wander around the harbour and town we headed on to Gásadalur and its famed waterfall that empties into the sea.
A Miss and A Myth
We passed Lake Leitisvatn, also also known as Sørvágsvatn, and more commonly theFloating Lake because of the optical illusion it presents when seen from Trælanípa cliffs. This view requires a one hour hike. Though we planned to see this, to our regret we didn’t make it.
We did however, see the silver statue of a Nykur (also known as a Nixie or water spirit) at the lake. We took this to be a prancing horse, but despite its equine form this is no pony, but a sinister mythical beast and the subject of Faroese legend.
The Nykur has the rather unfortunate habit of luring the unwary to mount it or touch it, after which its sticky skin keeps them attached and they are dragged down and drowned in the lake. The word Nykur may well be related to Old English nicor (water monster) used in the epic poem Beowulf.
Gásadalur and Múlafossur
Gásadalur is home to the spectacular waterfall Múlafossur. There are only about 30 waterfalls that empty directly into the sea in the world and I had never seen one before. It is quite something, and made all the more special by the seabirds that fly in front of it.
A farm dog followed us as we walked towards the waterfall and wanted to play. We threw a stone for him which he ran after and jealously guarded for a while, before realising it. He stayed with us for some time.
Nearby the waterfall in Gásadalur is a café and guesthouse in a working farm, Gásadalsgarðurin, which sells local art and serves locally sourced food. Here I tried another local delicacy – fermented meat. The farm breeds bull calves organically and their fermented meat is used in a beef soup. The soup has been recognised at Embla, the Nordic Food Awards.
Drangarnir
We walked around the harbour and then to the boat, where we met our skipper, an avuncular and highly capable Faroese named Elias.
One of the Drangarnir sea stacks
We had booked the boat to sail to Drangarnir, the Faroe Islands’ most famous rock formations. There are two sea stacks, Stóri Drangur (large sea stack), a spectacular sea arch, and its companion Lítli Drangur (small sea stack).
Beyond the stack stacks lie Mykines. We had booked a trip to the island earlier in our stay but never reached it due to bad weather, which is not uncommon.
Elias talked of his life in The Faroe Islands and the childhood he spent there. It was great to hear directly from a Faroese. His description of an active life, bound by community and much closer to nature made a great case for life on the islands. We also learned that our food in Gásadalsgarðurin had been cooked by his mother and served by this sister!
Bøur Beach and Village
Our Faroese Skipper, Elias
We sailed past the picturesque village of Bøur, which must have one of the best views in the islands. It overlooks Drangarnir, as well as the uninhabited islands of Gásholmur and Tindholmur. There is a tiny beach of black volcanic sand nearby, which is likely be one of the quietest beaches in the world.
We finished the day at Katrina Christiansen – a fish restaurant with a history. The building is early eighteenth century and the informative website describes how it started as a barbershop, before becoming a general store and home to William Heinesen a well known Faroese poet, writer, composer and painter. The menu offers a choice of tasting menu, and both fare and service were excellent, with the cod cheeks and Faroese beef and mashed potatoes being the standouts.
Return and Reflections
A typical view on a road trip in The Faroe Islands
Our return to the UK was via Copenhagen as the connection at Aalborg was just too tight for comfort. I will confess to feeling a little lost when I returned to Oxfordshire and kept my slightly battered and much annotated map of The Faroe Islands in my pocket for a few days. The post holiday blues have passed now and I am extremely happy and grateful to have been able to make the trip.
A road trip in the Faroe Islands is a much more practical proposition than I had thought and the islands are quite unlike anywhere else.
I saw some of the most stunning landscapes in the world – rugged, sculptured, dramatically lit, and painted shades of green I have never seen before. They are also largely untouched and possess a distinctive and fascinating cultural identity.
Beyond The Faroe Islands: Other Road Trips on this Site
If you’ve enjoyed reading about our road trip in The Faroe Islands, you might enjoy some of the others I have made.
Why visit the remote and northerly Faroe Islands? A volcanic archipelago of 18 islands situated between Iceland and Norway in the most turbulent part of the North Atlantic might not seem like the most promising destination for a road trip. However, as I found recently, the islands proved to be an epic setting for a motoring holiday .
The Gift of the Gulf Stream
The Faroe Islands are located on the 62nd parallel in the North Atlantic, northwest of Scotland and about halfway between Iceland and Norway. The island’s closest neighbours are the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland) and the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
This is generally a rather chilly part of the world; the Arctic starts only a couple of parallels up at 64.2°N. The icy Bering Sea, The Sea of Okhotsk on the Eastern coast of Siberia, Alaska and the Hudson Bay are some of the cold and rather inhospitable neighbourhoods at this latitude.
Fortunately, the Faroe Islands sits right in the heart of the Gulf Stream. This creates a temperate marine climate with minimal temperature variation. The average temperature ranges from around 3°C in winter, which is very moderate for so northerly a location, to an admittedly rather cool 12°C in the summer. The harbours never freeze and snow is short lived.
The Connected Archipelago
Like north west Scotland, the Orkneys and Shetland, the Faroe Islands are notoriously windy, resulting in extremely choppy seas. In years gone by this severely restricted travel between the 17 inhabited islands – especially in bad weather or at night.
This presents few problems today as the islands are well connected by an impressive series of sub sea tunnels, making it easy to travel across them by car. One sub sea tunnel even has a roundabout – the world’s first undersea roundabout, AKA the jellyfish roundabout. The Faroe Islands have a good infrastructure, with an excellent road network. Over half the islands’ electricity is produced from sustainable sources like wind power.
The archipelago is 113km (70 miles) long and 75km (47 miles) wide, with an area of about 1,400 square kilometres (540 sq. mi.). This makes it slightly larger than half the size of Luxemburg and the 170th largest country by area.
A road trip is an eminently practical proposition.
The Wild Beauty of The Faroe Islands
The Faroes are also an utterly beautiful and somewhat otherworldly place to visit.
You will never be more than 5 km (3 miles) away from 1100 km (687 miles) of spectacular coastline. This is deeply indented with fjords, dotted with imposing sea stacks and has many steep rocky cliffs, many of which are populated by colonies of seabirds.
Looking out to Kalsoy island from the coast at Gjógv
The rugged landscape, composed of volcanic rock and sculptured by glaciers, has high mountains, deep valleys and many waterfalls. Nothing much grows above ground, so the contours of the land are always on show and the treeless slopes contribute to the islands’ wild beauty.
With all this on offer, the Faroe Islands are a landscape photographer’s paradise.
The two photographers in our party took a medium format Hasselblad System V film camera, a Nikon F3, a Leica Q2, a brace of modern Nikon digital cameras and a selection of lenses from 24mm to 500mm. I also made use of my iPhone Pro, especially from within the car. We were both pleased with the results, some of which you can see in this article. You will find the main black and white photo gallery here.
Constantly Changing Light
Although the archipelago sees less than 850 hours of sunshine per year, the northern light is ideal for photographers and artists. The light is never the same for long; the changeable maritime climate produces brilliant sunshine one minute and misty hill fog the next. Rainfall and cloud are both frequent.
A sunlight valley under heavy cloud.
Our Faroese skipper on our sailing trip out to the sea stacks joked that it rains 300 days a year. That’s an exaggeration, as it only rains for 210 days! You can of course pick the month of your visit, and June has the fewest wet days at 12. As they say in The Faroe Islands (and in Iceland), “if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.” Inevitably we encountered some rain on our trip, but it didn’t trouble us.
At this latitude the sun is also up (but not always visible!) for nearly 20 hours at the summer solstice.
A Fascinating History: Settlement of the Faroes
Unlike most of the world, human colonisation did not occur in pre history. Evidence of settlement on the Faroe Islands goes back to the mid-fourth century, though the people are unknown. This was followed by Irish monks in the eighth century, who may have established Christian communities.
Norse settlements followed in the ninth century, resulting in a Norse culture. The name Føroyar (Faroe Islands) is derived from old Norse and means Sheep Islands. The Faroese language, which is closely related to Icelandic, derives from the Old Norse language of these Norsemen, which developed into modern Nordic languages in the mid-to-late 14th century.
It’s possible there is some Gaelic language in Faroese as place names such as Mykines, Stóra Dímun and Lítla Dímun may contain Celtic roots.
The conversion of the islanders to Christianity came c. 1000 from Norway. In the same century the Faroe Islands may well have formed a stepping stone beyond Shetland for the journey across the North Atlantic to America. The islanders established their Althing (parliament), later named Løgting, at Tinganes in Tórshavn, the capital city.
The islands became a Norwegian province in 1035 and passed to Denmark with the rest of Norway in 1380. Later the islands became a Danish royal trade monopoly, which inhibited economic development for many years.
A Fascinating History: The Faroese Strike Back
Rising Faroese national identity and a shift to fishing as the islands’ main commodity led to the end of the Danish trade monopoly in 1856. Faroese national identity was further strengthened in the 19th century by the creation of a written Faroese language and the restoration of the Faroese Løgting (parliament). This body first sat in 825 and is likely to be the Parliament with the longest unbroken tradition. The Thingvellir of Iceland and Tynwald, on the Isle of Man, also make claim to this distinction.
The British occupation of the Faroes to protect against German incursions from occupied Denmark changed life in the Faroe Islands and strengthened demands for home rule. This resulted in autonomous status in 1948. As part of that move, Faroese was also given equal status with the Danish language.
The beautiful village of Gjógv.
The Unspoilt Faroe Islands
With a low population density, minimal industrialisation and tranquil untouched landscapes, the Faroe Islands offer a beautiful pristine environment that’s hard to find elsewhere.
The most substantial contributor to the the low level of industrialisation is the percentage of fishing and aquaculture in the thriving Faroese economy. This contributes virtually all the income from exports (around 95%). There is plenty of room for both of these activities: the Faroe Islands has self-identified as one of 15 Large Ocean States (LOS) with a maritime zone of 271,000 square kilometres. You will see Salmon farms in fjords and bays throughout the islands.
It’s also a very safe place with one of the lowest incarceration rates in the world. At the date of our visit, you wouldn’t quite be able to count the prison population on your fingers, but you could get pretty close! The prison is famous for its location, which has possibly the best views of the spectacular fjord Kaldbaksfjørður.
As you can see from the word ‘Kaldbaksfjørður’, the written language looks both Nordic and magnificently old. It contains the letter ‘Eth’ (ð) which is also to be found in Old English and Middle English.
Faroese Culture and Art
The Faroese people have a distinct cultural identity, rooted in their Norse heritage and many local traditions, including a long tradition of ballads (kvæði) and songs. These have helped to keep the Faroese language alive for centuries.
This is accompanied by modern Nordic design sensibilities, which are visible in many of the newer buildings.
For art lovers there are several galleries of Faroese Art to enjoy. The work we saw, which spans the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries, really enriched our experience of the islands.
Heading for Drangarnir, the Faroe Islands’ most famous rock formation
Faroese restaurant culture has changed drastically within the last decade, particularly in the capital. It is now much more common for Faroe Islanders to eat out and traditional Faroese food has become part of a burgeoning dining scene with new restaurants emerging regularly. We ate very well during our stay.
Why Visit The Faroe Islands? Why Not?
I hope this short article answers the question ‘why visit the Faroe islands?’ Yet, as I write this another question occurs to me: why did it take so long for me to visit the Faroe Islands?
In part II of this post I’ll describe the packed four day itinerary of our Faroe Islands road trip.
I have been photographing the ruined manor at Hampton Gay regularly over the last 20 years or so. Along the way I learned about the history of the manor, and became interested in the story of the family that built it. According to the landed families site the story of the Barry family at Hampton Gay starts with John Barry (d. 1546), a glover and landowner of Eynsham, Oxfordshire. The coat of arms of the Barry family dates back much earlier – to the reign of King Edward II (1307-1327) – but the connection to that time is no longer discernible.
Engraving of the Manor at Hampton Gay by JC Buckler, 1822
Oxford, Sheep and the Manor
The Barry’s fortune and subsequent investment in the Manor at Hampton Gay came from John Barry, who moved to Oxford in 1536. He prospered substantially, becoming Oxford’s leading tax payer and holding the office of Alderman of Oxford, 1537-46 and Mayor 1539-41. In 1544 he purchased the Hampton Gay estate, but died just two years later, leaving some 1,900 sheep in his will.
The estate passed to his eldest son, Laurence Barry (d. 1577) and then to Laurence’s eldest son Vincent (1548?- 1615), who built the manor house. The exact date is not certain, but it probably dates from the 1580s.
Like many other landowners at the time, Vincent Barry enclosed the fields of the parish for sheep farming, which resulted in a revolt amongst the local labourers and farmers and a plot to murder him and his daughter. Barry was warned, and the revolt was thwarted. Several men were arrested and the ringleader was executed.
The Barry Inheritance
After Vincent Barry died it passed to his daughter Katherine and her husband Sir Edward Fenner (d. 1625). The next to inherit the estate was his cousin, Vincent Barry (1628-80) of Thame, Barrister-at-law and Justice of the Peace for Oxfordshire. He followed in turn by his son, also Vincent Barry (1660-1708).
The Sale of The Manor
The Rev. Vincent Barry (1660-1708), was a cleric and graduate of Oriel college, Oxford. He inherited Hampton Gay Manor from his father in 1679. In 1682, he was admitted to the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court. The same year, he sold the Hampton Gay estate, sold the Manor in 1682 to Sir Richard Wenman (1657- 1690), 4th Viscount Wenman. This was possibly in order to provide for his widowed mother and other dependants. He subsequently became the vicar of Fulham. The Barry fortunes would then decline for some generations.
Re-establishment of the Barry family fortune
It was not until the nineteenth century that Sir Francis Tress Barry (1825-1907)re-established the Barry family’s fortune. He established himself in business in Bilboa and made a fortune from open cast copper mining in Portugal. Sir Francis purchased St. Leonard’s Hill, in Windsor, which he used to lend to the Prince of Wales during Royal Ascot. He was involved in various philanthropic projects, including making a Christmas gift of 6d to all the children in the London workhouses and workhouse schools. Sir Francis also owned Keiss Castle in Scotland, where he served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Caithness and financed the excavation of Nybster Broch, an Iron Age drystone structure nearby. Sir Francis had five sons and two daughters.
The following is from his obituary from the Morning Post, March 1st, 1907.
The late Baronet filled the position of British Vice-Consul for the province of Biscay, Spain, in 1846, and was Acting Consul for the provinces of Biscay, Santander, and Guipuzcoa in 1847. In 1854 Mr. Barry was offered by the Earl of Clarendon the appointment of British Consul at Madrid, but was obliged to decline it as he had established himself as a merchant at Bilbao. Returning to England shortly after, he joined his brother-in- law, Mr. James Mason, in the exploitation of the famous San Domingo copper-mines in Portugal, from which time many honours fell to him. He was decorated with the Order of Christ by the King of Portugal in 1863, five years after being raised to the rank of Commander of the same Order. In 1880 he was decorated by the King of Spain with the Cross of Naval Merit (Second Class). He acted as Consul-General in England for Ecuador in 1872. Sir Francis represented Windsor in the Conservative interest from 1890 to 1906. He was created a Baronet in 1899, and also held the Portuguese title of Baron de Barry. Sir Francis is succeeded by his son, Major Edward Arthur Barry, who was born in 1858.
Long Crendon Manor, Where Colonel Barry lived with his second wife (shot on a Nikon F3 in 2023)
The story of the Barry family at Hampton Gay resumes with Stanley Leonard Barry. He was born in 1873, the fifth and youngest son of Sir Francis Tress Barry. Educated at Harrow, he became a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Berks Regiment (Militia) in 1891, and a Lieutenant in the 10th Royal Hussars, in 1894.
According to the Anglo Boer war site Barry served in South Africa in the South African War from 1899-1902 as as a Staff Captain. He was mentioned in despatches and highly decorated – receiving the Queen’s Medal with six clasps, the King’s Medal with two clasps, and the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). He also became a Brevet Major. A brevet was a military commission conferred for outstanding service but without a corresponding increase in pay.
After the South African war he served as Signalling Officer, Deputy Assistant Adjutant General (Intelligence) and Assistant Military Secretary (AMS) to General Sir John French from 1900 to 1906.
During World War One Lieutenant Colonel Barry once again served under Sir John French, now Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. This time he served as Aide-de-Camp (ADC). He also served in attendance on HRH the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII, and the Duke of Windsor after his abdication), in the early years of the war.
From 1916 Colonel Barry served as Assistant Military Secretary, Home Forces, Horse Guards. He was mentioned in Despatches, made a Member of the Victorian Order (MVO) and a Companion of the Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG) in 1915. He was also awarded the Chevalier, Legion of Honour.
After the war Colonel Barry was awarded an OBE, and was promoted to Brevet Colonel. He retired from the army in 1929 and lived in Long Crendon Manor, which was restored by renowned architect Phillip Tilden in 1920/21 under the direction of Colonel Barry’s future second wife.
Return – after 300 years
The Manor at Hampton Gay, 2021
According the peerage.com, Colonel Barry married twice: Hannah Mary Hainsworth in 1906, and Laline Annette Hohler (formerly Astell) in 1927. His second wife was the widow of fellow WWI veteran and DSO holder Lt-Col. Arthur Preston Hohler, who survived the war but died soon after returning to England in 1919.
Colonel Barry had a daughter from his first marriage, Jeanne Irene Barry (1915-2008), who married the Hon. James McDonnell, the son of the 7th Earl of Antrim, in 1939.
Colonel Barry returned the Manor to the Barry family in 1928 when he purchased it from Wadham College. The family had last owned it 300 years previously, in 1628. The College had purchased it in 1862 for £17,500. It burned down just 15 years later.
The ruins of the manor remained in the Barry family after Colonel Barry died in 1943 but the story of the Barry family at Hampton Gay came to an end when his daughter, by then the Hon. Jeanne McDonnell, sold the ruins in 1975.
Photos of the Ruin
For more photos of the ruin take a look my galleries:
As a Nikon user and collector, I’ve noticed quite a few Nikon film cameras appearances in the movies and on TV shows. This short article outlines those appearances. I’ve also written in more detail about the Nikon F’s appearance in one of the all time great movies – Apocalypse Now and there is an equivalent article on Leica M cameras in the movies.
“The Nikon F reinforced its reputation and established itself as modern design icon through its starring roles in films such as Blow-Up, with David Hemmings as a fashion photographer in London; Apocalypse Now with Dennis Hopper as a Photojournalist; and, later, with Clint Eastwood as National Geographic photographer in The Bridges of Madison County.”
Nikon SLRs in Movies
Beyond those described above, the Nikon F series Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras appeared in several movies, including more greats like Full Metal Jacket and Taxi Driver. I found additional appearances from a little internet research, which revealed quite a few more. The Nikon F, F2, F3, F4 and F5 have all made appearances, but despite searching, I can’t find a movie with Nikon’s final pro SLR, the mighty Nikon F6 in it. Whilst I haven’t included TV, I am sure that my favourite TV detective, Columbo, used a Nikon F or F2 in one episode but I can find no reference to it. I suppose I will just have to watch every episode again… I am also yet to see another favourite, the Nikon FM3a on the screen, though the FM and FM2 have made appearances. With retro cameras becoming more popular its by no means impossible it’ll appear one day.
1971 Nikon F with the classic 50mm f/1.4 NIKKOR-S Auto lens (1966-1974)
Lolita (1962, Nikon F1)
Blow-Up (1966 Nikon F)
The French Connection (1971, Nikon F Photomic)
Diamonds are Forever (1971, Nikon F)
The Killing Fields (1984, Nikon F)
Jaws (1975, Nikon F2)
Taxi Driver (1976, Nikon F2)
The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978, Nikon FM with MD motor-drive)
Apocalypse Now (1979, Nikon F)
Cannonball Run (1981, Nikon F)
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982, Nikon F)
Under Fire (1983, Nikon F2)
Ghostbusters (1984, Nikon FE2)
Full Metal Jacket (1987, Nikon F) Private Joker and Rafterman!
Gorillas in the Mist (1988, Nikon F)
Groundhog Day (1993, Nikon F Photomic)
The Bridges of Madison County (1995, Nikon F with S36 motor drive)
Heat (1995, Nikon F4)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997, Nikon F5)
Ronin (1998, Nikon FE2)
City of God (2002, Nikon F)
Walk the Line (2005, Nikon F Photomic)
The Bang Bang Club (2010, Nikon FM2)
Batman v Superman (2016, Nikon S3 Y2K)
Ford v Ferrari (2019, Nikon F Photomic)
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020, Nikon F3 HP)
The First SLR?
Today many people think of the Nikon F as the first Single Lens Reflex camera, but it was actually the much less well known Ihagee (who made the Exakta VX Ihagee Dresden famously used in Rear Window) that manufactured the first 35mm SLR outside of prototypes. The F brought the innovations and features of earlier models into a single body so well that earlier models seem to have faded from consumer memory. Its effect on the camera market is similarly profound as it ended the dominance of German rangefinders from Zeiss and Leica. If you are interested in the history of photography there are a couple of comprehensive timelines on the site. From Chemistry to Computation is the timeline of the photographic process, whilst the Camera Timeline Year by Year describes camera introductions and innovations every year from 1900 to the present day.
My Nikon Film Cameras
Beyond Nikon Film cameras in the movies, I have a small collection of Nikons I enjoy shooting with. Some of which are reviewed on this site (The F6 and FM3a).
I have a late Nikon F from 1971 and it shoots very well. It has the original standard non-metered eye level finder, like the ones Dennis Hopper was carrying in Apocalypse Now. As much as I like an integrated light meter, the Photomic heads spoil the lines of the F too much so I use a hand held lightmeter. The Photomic heads are a little easier on the eye on the F2 and I have added a DP-12 Photomic head to my 1975 F2. I have a rather battered 1980 F3, which I bought in Sweden, and a 2004 F6, which I use a great deal. I also have an FM3a and FM2n, both of which are very lightweight and great to shoot with.
Other Classic Film Cameras in Movies
A huge number of film camera manufacturers have come and gone and their products have appeared in hundreds, if not thousands of movies, but below are a few of the more notable ones. Of the models listed below, I have only shot with the Olympus OM-1, another game changing camera which began a shift towards more compact, lighter 35 mm SLRs, away from the increasing weight of the Nikon pro SLRs and back towards the smaller form factor that Leica had always delivered with rangefinders.
Though I don’t have any of the Rolleiflex models listed below (2.8F and T), I have a Rolleiflex 3.5F from 1961 which I absolutely love, and is considered by many to be one of the finest film cameras ever made. The Rolleiflex uses 120 medium format film which produces huge and very detailed 6x6cm negatives. Shooting a Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera is an entirely different experience to shooting either an SLR or rangefinder, and though manual focus can be challenging, gazing at the world through that illuminated ground glass screen that sees the world back to front is absolutely entrancing.
The Nikon FM3A (often written as FM3a) is one of the most refined manual SLRs ever made, and as a 21st century manual focus film SLR, somewhat of a throwback. It was introduced in July 2001 when the shift to digital cameras was well underway. The model was the last of Nikon’s semi-professional line of compact 35 mm film SLRs and one of the brand’s last film cameras; only the autofocus F6 SLR of 2004 and Nikon’s limited edition rangefinder swan song, the SP of 2005, came later.
Nikon FM3A with 45mm f2.8 lens
The D1X, an improved version of Nikon’s first DSLR, the D1, was already out by the time the FM3A was launched. The retro looking FM3A sat on shelves in camera shops around the world next to the hulking digital flagship and autofocus film cameras such as the F5 and F100. Increasing digital camera sales, low sales volume and the increasing costs of such a mechanically sophisticated unit put paid to the FM3A in January 2006. This left only the Nikon F6 and the Cosina manufactured Nikon FM10 in Nikon’s 35mm film SLR line.
Nikon built the FM3A for serious amateur photographers who wanted a high quality camera with full manual control. Personally, I am grateful for that. It may be a camera out of time, but it is an outstanding piece of engineering: compact, handsome, precise, durable, reliable and a pleasure to shoot with.
Evolution of the FM/FE Series
The first model of the mechanical Nikon FM series, the FM was introduced in 1977. Along with the electronic FE of 1978, the FM replaced the mechanical Nikkormat FT series and electronic Nikon EL series.
In 1982 Nikon introduced the mechanical FM2 with a honeycomb-pattern titanium curtain shutter that enabled a top shutter speed of 1/4000 sec and 1/200 sec for flash sync. This was a huge step forward compared to the FM’s 1/1000 sec and 1/125 sec. The electronic Nikon FE2 followed in 1983, and in 1984 the FM2n raised the flash sync speed to 1/250 (identifiable by the sync speed labelled in red). From about 1989 the titanium shutter was replaced by an aluminium version – this later FM2n is the version I have.
The Table below shows the FM and FE series at a glance.
FM
FE
FM2
FE-2
FM-2n
FM3A
Shutter
Mechanical
Electronic
Mechanical
Electronic
Mechanical
Hybrid
Automation
None
Aperture
None
Aperture
None
Aperture
Max. Shutter Speed (Sec)
1,000
4,000
Flash Sync (Sec)
1/125
1/250
Lens Compatibility Since
1959
1977
Introduced
1977
1978
1982
1983
1984
2001
Discontinued
1982
1983
1984
1987
2001
2006
The FM and FE Series of SLRs (excluding the later Cosina FE10 and FM10)
Development of the Nikon FM3A
Development started in December 1998. Engineers from Mito Nikon (a Nikon production facility that had originally created the Nikkormat of the 1960s and later the F3, FM2n, F4, and others) joined forces with their counterparts at the Ohi Plant. The Ohi facility was the source of Nikon’s first cameras and early models such as the Nikon rangefinders and the Nikon F. Top engineers from these two facilities came together to form a project team.
The FM3A, Deal Beach
The FM3A’s predecessor, the manual all-mechanical controlled ‘New FM2‘, had been a best-seller since its introduction in 1984. It was popular amongst experienced amateurs and some professionals, and offered shooting even when the battery was exhausted. At that time Nikon could see also increasing demand for the aperture-priority AE. The project team needed to produce a design that would reconcile these conflicting requirements. Eventually, in order to address the simultaneous availability of aperture-priority AE and battery-free shutter operation, the team decided to adopt a hybrid shutter design.
The hybrid shutter design meant that the shutter had to operate with two control systems. This resulted in a larger, more complicated shutter mechanism with more component parts. As the FM3A was the successor to the New FM2, a larger camera body was not acceptable, meaning the larger shutter unit had to be mounted in the limited space available.
It was extremely difficult to develop a reliable shutter unit with such a complicated mechanism in such a limited space, and in the early stages the project team thought that the highest speed of 1/4000 second would be unattainable. However, after much development work the design was successfully realised. It really was a heroic effort.
Launch and Packaging
The Nikon FM3A was announced in February 2001 at the PMA show in Orlando, Florida. Prior to its introduction, Nikon customers had to choose between the mechanical FM model with manual exposure control or the electronic FE with aperture priority mode that wouldn’t work without batteries.
After the FM3A became available photographers had the best of both worlds with a hybrid shutter that allows both electronically-controlled auto-exposure shooting and full manual control without the need for batteries. The hybrid shutter was an innovation for the FM3A, though the FM3A adopted the traditional exposure meter with indicator needle, which had been continuously applied from the Nikkormat EL released in 1972.
When the FM3A went on sale in July 2001 the shift to digital photography was in full swing. Nikon had released the digital SLR camera D1 in 1999 for professional use and in the same year as the FM3A was released Nikon put the D1X and D1H on the market. Just at the time when digital cameras were going to the mainstream, Nikon consciously chose to launch a manual SLR camera. It was a brave move, and one that many photographers applauded then – and now.
The FM3A came in all black and silver and black. For the silver version there was a matching Nikkor 45mm pancake lens available at launch, which is shown in the picture above. The FM3A could make use of a range of accessories such as the Nikon MD-12 motor drive, the MF-16 databack and the various TTL flashes.
The Pancake Lens
In July 2001, the manual focus Nikkor 45 mm f/2.8P AI-s pancake lens went on sale simultaneously with FM3A. It was a lightweight Tessar design just 17 mm deep and weighing only 120 g. The lens consisted of 4 elements in 3 groups with a 7-blade circular diaphragm. Initially the finish was matched to the silver FM3A model, with a black finish added that November. A CPU in the lens enables programmed, aperture-priority, shutter-speed priority, and manual exposure modes. The CPU also enabled it to function with Nikon’s autofocus cameras. It pairs really well with the camera, but my preferred lens is the 50mm f1.8 pancake – though the sample shot shown below was taken with the 50mm f1.4.
The Nikon FM3A is one of the most refined manual SLRs ever made. Its compact size, large bright viewfinder, ergonomic controls, excellent analogue light meter display and accurate focusing split image focusing screen make it a pleasure to use. The absence of the normal SLR blackout is an added bonus.
The focusing screen is actually the brightest standard screen of any manual-focus Nikon. This is Type K3 Focusing Screen, the interchangeable focusing screen that comes as standard. The K3 is ‘a matte/Fresnel screen with a split-image rangefinder spot surrounded by a microprism ring and a 12mm centre-weighted area reference circle’. It is optimized for f/2 lenses – faster lenses won’t get any brighter. I’ve found it very easy to use. Nikon introduced two alternatives along with the K3, the E3 matte screen for close ups, and the B3 etched screen with horizontal and vertical lines. The B3’s lines are useful for composition, architectural photography or multiple exposure operation.
The meter is predictable, accurate and extremely easy to use via needle matching. It uses a 60% centre-weighted pattern but also provides a welcome and well-placed AE lock button on the back for manual adjustments. There is also a film window, which was a new feature for the FM series.
The build quality is exceptional. The top and bottom body covers are each drawn from a sheet of brass; the shutter release and film wind cap are lathe-turned, whilst the shutter and film advance actions run on self-lubricating bearings. The film transport mechanism is very tough and makes use of hardened metal gearing.
An Engineering Marvel
Under the covers the Nikon FM3A’s hybrid shutter is one of the most advanced SLR shutters ever built – a marvel of compact mechanical engineering built to such a high standard that it can shoot at 1/4000 of a second without battery power. This is a feat most other mechanical shutters just can’t match, topping out at 1/1000 or 1/2000 of a second. Adding batteries powers the electronically controlled shutter for aperture priority shooting, the excellent analogue light meter, exposure lock, and DX film coding. Batteries also enable the TTL flash exposure compensation for fill flash – the only manual-focus Nikon to have this feature.
The camera weighs in at 570g, only a little more than the king of compact SLRs – the Olympus OM-1 (510g). At 142.5 x 90 x 58 mm it also compares well against the OM-1’s diminutive 136 x 83 x 50 mm form factor.
I enjoy using the analogue light meter, which is preferable to the one on my F3. The two needles, one matched to your settings and one to the light measured by the meter, are clear and easy to see. That analogue instrument is also far more durable than LEDs. When the inevitable electronics apocalypse claims many of my cameras the FM3A (along with the F and F2) will just keep going…
Drawbacks
Beyond the difficulty of viewfinder visibility in low light, there is very little to say against the FM3A, other than it was, and remains, a pricey camera. It has a fixed pentaprism so it isn’t quite as versatile as the F Series cameras with their interchangeable finders, but you can change the focusing screen if you want to. Some also find the locking device on the exposure compensation dial annoying, and it certainly isn’t strictly necessary, but it doesn’t trouble me much.
Comparisons with Other Cameras
The FM3A Vs the FM2n
The FM3A is regularly compared to its predecessor, the FM2n often to determine whether the additional investment for the FM3A is worth it. Both cameras feature an all-mechanical vertically-traveling focal plane shutter capable of taking 1/4000th a second exposures but the FM3A adds electronic aperture priority mode. Both are also very light, but the FM2n comes in a tad lighter at 540g versus 570g. You can shed a few more grams if you go for the FM2/T which makes use of titanium top and bottom plates to get to a very trim 515g for a tough, metal camera.
One of the many Temples at Stowe, shot with the Nikon FM3A
The most obvious difference to the FM3A is the FM2n’s -o+ LED metering display (a bit like the Leica M6 TTL’s), which is quite different to the FM3A’s analogue twin needle display. The needles are great in normal lighting conditions, whereas the FM2n’s is better in low light. I enjoy shooting with both, but I think the FM3A’s makes for a more engaging shooting experience. The price difference between the two models is even more acute with the black FM3A as it commands a premium as a collector’s item. I went for silver FM3A and a black FM2n, which gives me the best of both worlds.
Nikon FM3A Vs FE2
The FM3A is also regularly compared to the FE2. There are a lot of similarities between the FM3A and the FE2, such as the needle matching finder and the 1/4000 maximum shutter speed. These are the differences as far as I can see, not all of which favour the FM3A, depending on your perspective. The FM3A has:
Fully mechanical operation at all speeds without the need for a battery. FE-2 has 1/250th or B.
DX film speed encoding
A different placement for the Auto Exposure (AE) lock button
A film window to display the film in the camera
Metering that works immediately after you load the film – no waiting for frame 1
No rewind knob lock (aka camera back interlock)
A chrome plated brass lens mount instead of the stainless steel used on the earlier cameras.
Nikon FM3A Vs F3
Curiously, there has been quite a bit of debate on the internet on the FM3A vs the F3, though the current Nikon F pro body at the time of its launch was the F5. A frequently asked question seems to be which one is tougher and more resilient. I have both and they both seem pretty tough, though the F3 seems to have an Achilles heel when using a flash mounted above the rewind knob. There are several reports that if a mounted flash is bumped reasonably hard, the chip which controls exposure functions under the rewind knob can crack, rendering the F3 largely inoperable.
The F3HP has the hot shoe above the prism which fixes that problem, but if you are looking for the toughest possible camera I would take an F2 or original F ‘hockey puck’. I am not sure how useful the comparison is, but the main differences between the F3 and FM3A is that the F3 is heavier and larger, uses an LCD in the viewfinder, offers an interchangeable prism and pro accessories and is slower for flash sync (1/80 versus 1/250) and shutter speed (1/2000 versus 1/4000).
Comparison with Leica M
An odd comparison, for me at least, is one with the Leica M6. In some cases this occurs as part of a search for an SLR that feels as good as a Leica, in others I think it is just a comparison of late model film cameras – the M6 TTL was introduced in 1998, the FM3A in 2001. I shoot with both Nikon and Leica cameras – digital and film, but I am not sure of how useful comparisons are. Rangefinders and SLRs are very different, and Leica takes a unique approach to building cameras and lenses – which is reflected in the cost. I really enjoy shooting with both the M6 TTL (a 0.58 model) and M7 (a 0.85), but I don’t have to worry about finder magnification with the Nikons.
Discontinuation
Unlike the FM2 that was a best-seller for 16 years, the FM3A had a shorter production life. In January 2006, five years from its introduction, production of FM3A was discontinued along with the F100, F80 and other major film cameras. Nikon’s discontinuation was necessary to allow the firm to concentrate its resources on the digital cameras.
Nikon FM3A Specifications
Shutter: Vertical-travel, metal focal-plane shutter: 8 to 1/4000 sec step-less aperture-priority auto. Bulb, 1 to 1/4000 sec manual with mechanical control (all settings available without batteries in manual)
Viewfinder frame Coverage: Approx. 93%
Viewfinder Magnification: Approx. 0.83x with 50-mm lens set to infinity
Focusing screen: K3 type (split prism-image microprism type, Clear Matte Screen IIa) standard, B3 type and E3 type optional
Viewfinder information: Shutter speed, exposure meter indication, shutter indication, direct aperture value, exposure compensation mark, ready light
Exposure Compensation: ±2 EV in units of 1/3 EV
Auto Exposure Lock: AE lock button
Self-timer: Mechanical, countdown time of approx. 4 to 10 seconds
Flash sync speed: 1/250
TTL flash Compensation: Compensation to -1 EV activated with the TTL flash compensation button
Automatic DX film recognition
Film-check window On rear of camera
Power Source: One 3-V lithium battery (CR-1/3N type), two 1.55 V silver batteries (SR44 type), or two 1.5 V alkaline batteries (LR44 type)
Dimensions (W x H x D): Approx. 142.5 x 90 x 58 mm / 5.6 x 3.5 x 2.3 in.
(camera body only)
Weight: Approx. 570 g / 20.1 oz. (camera body only, without batteries)
Pros and Cons
Pros
Large, bright viewfinder
Exceptional build quality, including brass top and bottom plates and a chrome plated brass lens mount.
Easy manual focus using the split-image focusing patch and micro-prism focusing ring (standard K3 screen)
Accurate and intuitive needle matching metering
Fast (1/4000th second) hybrid shutter, which works even without batteries
Compact and light weight
Very large choice of lenses, including one designed for the camera (45mm pancake).
Extremely well featured, including AE lock, TTL flash exposure compensation for fill flash and film recognition window
Cons
Price – especially in pro black!
Viewfinder visibility in low light
Exposure compensation lock?
Conclusion: Future Proof Pleasure
The FM3A is an outstanding piece of engineering that will last long into the future. It is compact, handsome, precise, durable, reliable and a pleasure to shoot with. For me, along with the F, F2 and F6 it is one of Nikon’s greatest cameras. It makes an appearance on a few greatest ever and favourite film cameras lists too, though I think the FM2 shows up just as regularly.
Thoughts and Further Reading
If you have experience with the FM3A please leave me a comment below – I’d love to hear from you, and if you interested in classic cameras you might also enjoy these articles on the site:
There are many strands in a photography timeline – the chemistry of film and processing, the physics of optics, the mechanical engineering of shutters, the electronics of metering and digital photography, and the camera designs that bring everything together. At each end of the photography timeline, the science is bewilderingly complex – from the arcane chemical processes of early photography to the algorithms of computational photography, which enables cameras to go beyond capturing photons to compute pictures.
It’s not a linear journey; digital photography has been accompanied by a resurgence of interest in all things analogue, characterised by toy cameras, digital filters and apps that produce or replicate the look of film as well as the renewed growth of film photography. I started to shoot with film again in 2016 and around the time I first wrote this article, during the lockdowns of 2020, I started to expand my small collection of vintage film cameras and went back to film photography. There is an all-film gallery of the boats of Deal, Kent shot with a variety of film cameras including SLRs, TLRs and rangefinders here. It’s gratifying to see the growth of UK film businesses such as Analogue Wonderland, which supplies a vast range of film stock and The Intrepid Camera Company, which has reinvented large format photography for the twenty-first century. I’m as interested in looking forward as back however, and and follow new developments with great interest.
I’ve reviewed, and borrowed from, many timelines and dozens of articles and books on the history of film, film processes, cameras, lenses, digital technology, phone camera development and computational photography to compile this photography timeline and in an attempt to combine these strands. The sections of the timeline are of my own devising.
I’ve tried to be diligent with my research and check the facts. The sources for many of ther entries are included as URLs. I have also referred to several excellent books: A History of Photography in 50 Cameras by Michael Pritchard; the Taschen books 20th Century Photography and A History of Photography; Photography A Concise History by Ian Jeffrey and Photography, the Definitive Visual History by Tom Ang, all of which I can recommend. If you spot any factual errors please feel free to share them with me along with the source(s).
There are two other timelines on this site, one for nineteenth century cameras and a year by year timeline for cameras from 1900. These exclude lens, photographic process and phone cameras covered in this article.
Photography Timeline 1826-2020
1826-1850 The Genesis of Photography
c. 1826 Joseph Nicéphore Niépce uses bitumen of Judea for photographs on metal and makes the first successful camera photograph, View From My Window at Gras
1827 Niépce addresses a memorandum on his invention to the Royal Society in London, but does not disclose details
1829 Unable to reduce the very long exposure times of his experiments, Niépce enters into a partnership with Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre
Charles Chevalier creates a compound achromatic lens to cut down on chromatic aberration, a failure of a lens to focus all colours to the same plane, for Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre’s photographic experiments
1835William Henry Fox Talbot makes his first successful camera photograph or “photogenic drawing” using paper sensitised with silver chloride,
1839 The public birthday of photography, from three inventors – Daguerre, Fox Talbot and Bayard
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre’s Daguerreotype becomes the first photographic process to be adopted, creating a unique image on a silvered metal plate of remarkable sharpness.
Hearing of Daguerre’s invention, Fox Talbot announces a paper process to achieve images by action of light and presents his photogenic drawings at the Royal Society in London
Hippolyte Bayard produces direct-positive images (like Daguerre’s process) on sensitized paper (like Talbot’s).
Sir John Herschel suggests fixing images in sodium thiosulphate. He also coins the terms photography, negative and positive.
Stereoscopic depth sensing is first explained by Charles Wheatstone as he invents the stereoscope
1840 The Petzval Portrait becomes the first wide-aperture portrait lens and the first photographic lens where the design was computed mathematically before construction
Alexander Wolcott opens The earliest known photography studio New York City – a “Daguerrean Parlor” for tiny portraits, using a camera with a mirror substituted for the lens
Alexander Wolcott patents a modified Daguerrotype camera using a polished concave mirror to reflect the focused light onto a photosensitive plate
The cyanotype or blue-print is invented by Sir John Herschel, the first photographic process not to use silver
Fox Talbot discovers what will be revealed as the Calotype process the following year, the first known method of multiplying an image
J.F. Goddard uses iodine to shorten exposure times for daguerreotypes
1841 Fox Talbot patents the Calotype process, or photogenic drawings that produces photographic images on salted paper – a negative-positive process that makes multiple copies possible.
The first photographic studio in Europe is opened by Richard Beard in a glasshouse on the roof of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London
The Royal Academy of Science in Brussels displays the earliest stereographs
Joseph Puchberger patents the first hand crank driven swing lens panoramic camera
1844 Fox Talbot publishes The Pencil of Nature bringing photography to the attention of a wider public
Robert Hunt’sResearches on Light records the first known description employing platinum to make a photographic print, but does not succeed in producing a permanent image
1845 The Bourquin of Paris camera is the first camera with the lens in a metal tube using a rack and pinion mechanism for focusing.
Two French Physicists, Fizeau and Foucault develop the first recognisable shutter mechanism in order to photograph the sun
1847Louis Désiré Blanquard-Evard improves Talbot’s Calotype process and presents his research to the French Academy of Sciences
1848Edmond Becquerel makes the first, temporary, full-colour photographs, though an exposure lasting hours or days is required and the colours sometimes fade right before the viewer’s eyes
1850 The albumen print is announced by Louis-Désiré Blanquard-Évrard, delivering greater density, contrast and sharpness than had been possible with a salted paper print.
1851-1870 Instantaneous Photography
1851 English sculptor Frederick Scott Archer invents the Collodion process, or collodion wet plate process, which is 20 times faster than all previous methods and is free from patent restrictions
The Great Exhibition transforms stereoscopy from a minor scientific interest to a craze which will not wane until the 1870s
1853 The Tintype process is first described by Adolphe-Alexandre Martin – an inexpensive direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel
1854James Ambrose Cutting takes out several patents relating to the Ambrotype process, underexposed or bleached wet collodion negatives that appeared positive when placed against a dark coating or backing
Parisian portrait photographer André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri patents the Carte-de-visite (CdV), a new style of portrait utilizing albumen paper the size of a visiting card that will become commonly traded among friends and visitors
1855 The carbon process is patented by A. L. Poitevin, producing an image resistant to fading which becomes widely used in book illustration
1857 The folding camera with tapering bellows is invented by C.G.H. Kinnear, forming the basis for subsequent bellows designs
1858 John Waterhouse invents Waterhouse stops, a system using plates with different aperture diameters that could be inserted into a slot in the lens barrel which are the earliest selectable stops.
John Harrison Powell registers his design for a portable stereoscopic camera.
Fox Talbot perfects photoglyphic engraving, the forerunner of the they dust-grain photogravure process.
1859 Thomas Sutton introduces the Panoramic Camera, which uses a spherical water-filled lens to create a panoramic photograph
Dr. J.M. Taupenot develops the dry collodion-albumen process, though adoption of dry plate photography would come later with the gelatine dry plate process
1860 John Jabez Edwin Mayall popularises the carte-de-visite with a set of portraits of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace published in an album
1861 James Clerk Maxwell presents a projected additive colour image, the first demonstration of colour photography by the three-colour method
The first photographic single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is invented by Thomas Sutton
Oliver Wendell Holmes creates but does not patent a handheld, more economical, stereoscopic viewer than had been available before
1862 The first successful wide-angle lens is the Harrison & Schnitzer Globe
1863 The cabinet card is first introduced by Windsor & Bridge in London, a larger form of the carte-de-visite suitable for display in parlours
1871-1900 Instantaneous Photography without the Chemistry
1871 English physician Richard Leach Maddox invents the lightweight gelatin dry plate silver bromide process, assigning the complex and arduous chemistry work photographers had previously to undertake to a factory
1873Charles Harper Bennett improves the gelatin silver process by hardening the emulsion, making it more resistant to friction
The platinotype process, which produces platinum prints, is patented by William Willis.
1877 George Eastman learns to make his own gelatin dry plates, based on the writings of the British innovators, including Charles Harper Bennett
1878 Heat ripening of gelatin emulsions is discovered by Charles Harper Bennett, making possible very short exposures and paving the way for the snapshot
Eadweard Muybridge’s sequential photographs of a galloping horse settle whether all four hooves leave the ground, and establish the photographic analysis of motion.
1879 George Eastman applies for a patent for an emulsion-coating machine, which enables him to mass-produce photographic dry plates
1881 Thomas Bolas patents a hand-held, box form camera he calls a detective camera
1882Etienne Jules Marey perfects a chronophotographic gun, a device capable of taking 12 exposures a second.
1883 Ottomar Anschütz designs a camera with an internal roller blind shutter mechanism in front of the photographic plate – the first focal-plane shutter in recognisable form
William Schmid patents the first detective camera to be widely sold
1885 The first flexible photographic roll film was sold by George Eastman, though this original “film” was actually a coating on a paper base
1886 Frederick E. Ives develops the halftone engraving process, making it possible to reproduce photographic images in the same operation as printing text
The first single use camera, the Ready Fotografer, is introduced, using a dry plate, though it appears to have enjoyed very limited success
1887The Rev. Hannibal Goodwin files a patent application for camera film on celluloid rolls, though it will be not granted until 1898, by which time George Eastman has started production of roll-film using his own process
Adolf Miethe and Johannes Gaedicke produce Blitzlicht – the first ever widely used flash powder
1888 The Kodak n°1 box camera, the first ready-loaded, easy-to-use camera is introduced with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest.”
1889 George Eastman introduces the first transparent plastic roll film, made from highly flammable cellulose nitrate film
The Loman Reflex, the first commercially produced camera with a focal-plane shutter, is introduced
Eastman’s celluloid roll film is adopted by Thomas Edison for his 35mm motion picture format, fixing the film width that will later dominate still photography.
1890 The Zeiss Protar, the first successful anastigmat photographic lens, designed Dr Paul Rudolph, is introduced
Hurter and Driffield introduce the “S” shaped characteristic curve which is central to sensitometry, the science of light-sensitive materials
The Ilford Manual of Photography is first published, providing detailed technical information regarding optics, chemistry and printing.
W.W. Rouch and Co. introduce the Eureka, which will become a popular detective, or hand, camera
The German manufacturer C.P. Goerz incorporates the Anschütz focal-plane shutter into a camera
Jacob Riis publishes How the Other Half Lives, the first sustained use of flash photography for social documentary.
1891 Bausch and Lomb introduce the first of their iris diaphragm shutters, incorporating an f-stop and shutter speed setting device
1892 Samuel N. Turner applies for a US patent for paper-backed, daylight-loading roll film. The backing paper is printed with white exposure numbers which can read through a red window in the back of the camera. The idea is incorporated in the Boston Manufacturing Company’s ‘Bullseye” camera of the same year.
1893 The Cooke triplet lens is patented by Harold Dennis Taylor of T. Cooke & Sons, the first lens system that eliminates most of the optical distortion or aberration at the outer edge of lenses
1895 The Pocket Kodak appears, the first mass-produced snapshot camera.
George Eastman recognises the potential of Samuel N. Turner’s daylight loading process and acquires his company, having licensed the process initially.
1896 The Zeiss Planar lens, designed by Dr Paul Rudolph, is introduced.
The Dallmeyer-Bergheim soft-focus lens produces soft definition without losing the natural structure of the object being photographed
A collapsible version of the Goerz Anschütz camera, the Ango, is introduced, which becomes popular and is widely copied
1897 Kodak markets the Folding Pocket Kodak which produces a 2 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ negative – the standard size for decades
1899 The Sanderson hand camera, the first highly flexible view camera that allows photographers to retain the correct perspective, is introduced
1900-1947 The Rise of Popular Photography
1900 Kodak bring the Brownie, an inexpensive user-reloadable point-and-shoot box camera and the most successful camera range of all time, to market
1901 The popular medium format film 120 film is launched by Eastman Kodak for its Brownie No. 2, and will become the longest surviving roll film format
1902 Carl Zeiss introduces the Tessar lens, an inexpensive design that becomes extremely popular
Alfred Stieglitz founds the Photo-Secession, the movement that presses photography’s claim to be an art in its own right.
The Thornton-Packard Company introduces The Royal Ruby, a field camera in polished mahogany with brass fittings and leather bellows, as the King of Cameras
1903 To compensate for the curl resulting from gelatine emulsion, Kodak adds a layer of gelatine coating to the back of the film and introduces it as N.C. (Non Curl) film.
1904 Realising that tarnish reduces reflection, Dennis Taylor of Cooke Company develops a chemical method for producing lens coatings
The term Straight Photography is first used in the journal Camera Work as response to Pictorialism
The Midg No. 0, a quarterplate magazine camera that takes twelve glass plates in metal holder is introduced.
1905 The Soho Reflex large-format single-lens reflex camera is introduced and becomes the definitive SLR model until after WWII
The first telephoto lens optically corrected and fixed as a system is introduced – the f/8 Busch Bis-Telar
Thomas Manly introduces the Ozobrome process, a simplified carbon process, which becomes a favourite amongst Pictorialists
1906Panchromatic plates, sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light, are marketed by Wratten and Wainright in England
c.1906 The Ticka, a watch-style disguised camera, is introduced and goes on to become the most popular watch-form camera ever made. It is loaded with a film carried in a one-piece drop-in cartridge.
1907 The Autochrome plate is introduced, the first commercially successful colour photography product.
1908 Kodak produces the world’s first commercially practical safety film using cellulose acetate base instead of the highly flammable cellulose nitrate base.
c. 1910 Adoption of the bromoil process begins, creating the soft images reminiscent of paint popular with the Pictorialists
1911 In Italy, The Bragaglia brothers begin experiments in photodynamism
The Graflex Speed Graphic press camera is introduced and will continue in production until 1973
1913 Kodak introduces Eastman Portrait Film and begins supplying 35mm cine stock in forms suited to still photography; the 35mm width itself dates from 1889 to 1892.
Oskar Barnack, creates the Ur-Leica, the prototype of a small-format 35mm camera, doubling the width of 18x24mm cinema film and running it horizontally, rather than vertically as in cinema cameras of the time
The introduction of Eastman Portrait Film begins the transition to sheet film instead of glass plates for professional photographers
1917 Paul Strand’s essay Photography and the New God in the final issue of Camera Works argues for images to be sharply focused and clearly camera-made
1924 The first common wide aperture lens becomes available with the f/2 Ernemann Ermanox
1923 The first fisheye lens is the Beck Hill Sky (or Cloud in the UK) lens designed for scientific cloud cover studies
1925 Leica introduces the Leica I, a watershed design that makes the 35mm format truly viable
The wide aperture Ermanox becomes available with an f/1.8 lens
1928 The Rolleiflex offers photographers superb build quality, superior optics and bright viewfinders
The Zeiss Sonnar lens is patented by Zeiss Ikon. It is notable for its relatively light weight, simple design and fast aperture.
The Vacublitz, the first true flashbulb made from aluminium foil sealed in oxygen, is produced in Germany by the Hauser Company.
1929 Minolta, originally named the Nichi-Doku (which means “Japan-German”) Photographic Company, introduces its the first camera, the Nicalette, which is equipped with a German shutter and lens.
1930 The Leica I Leica Thread Mount (LTM) offers a camera with interchangeable lenses.
c. 1931 Dr Harold Eugene “Doc” Edgerton, invents of the ‘strobe’ flash, transforming the stroboscope from an obscure laboratory instrument into a common device
Rodenstock introduces the Imagon, which will become one one of the classic professional soft-focus portrait lenses, a look strongly associated with images of Old Hollywood
Kodak introduces Verichrome film, offering greater latitude and finer grain than the Kodak NC (Non-Curling) Film that had been the standard since 1903.
1932 The Leica II is launched, the first Leica camera with a rangefinder, which becomes a signature of the company
Group f.64 is formed – an association of California photographers who promote sharply detailed, purist photography
The first Agfacolor film is introduced, a film-based version of their Agfa-Farbenplatte (color plate) product which is similar to Autochrome
The first photo-electric light meter is introduced, the Weston Model 617
Voigtländer introduce the Prominent, a a6x4 folding bed, coupled rangefinder camera, Voigtländer’s first rangefinder camera
1933 The Leica III is introduced and is produced in parallel with the Leica II, and will remain in production in various iterations until 1960
The first Rolleicord is introduced, a simplified version of the Standard Rolleiflex, with a cheaper 75mm Zeiss Triotar lens
1934 Kodak releases the first preloaded 35mm film, the 135 film cartridge, removing the need for photographers to load their own film into reusable cassettes in a dark room
Minolta creates the first Japanese camera to use the 6 x 4.5cm format – the Semi Minolta I.
1935 Eastman Kodak markets Kodachrome film, the first colour film that uses a subtractive color method to be successfully mass-marketed
Zeiss Ikon introduce the Super Ikonta B, a premium quality, folding medium format rangefinder camera notable both for its build and image quality
Canon introduces the Hansa, the first Asian 35MM camera.
Leica introduces the Thambar, a legendary 90mm f2.2 soft focus portrait lens
Interference-based anti-reflective coatings are invented and developed by Alexander Smakula of the Carl Zeiss optics company
1936 the first widely-distributed 35mm SLR camera, the Kine Exakta, is introduced, with a design that will influence many subsequent SLRs.
Zeus Ikon launch the Contax II, the first camera with a rangefinder and a viewfinder combined in a single window.
1937 The Rolleiflex Automat introduces automatic film loading and transport.
The Minox subminiature camera is introduced, becoming one of the most suitable cameras for covert use.
1938 Kodak Introduces the Super Six-20, the world’s first camera with built-in photoelectric exposure control
The first hot shoe appears on the Univex Mercury, though hot shoes did not become common until the 1960s.
Jaeger-LeCoultre produce the Compass Camera, an Ultra-Compact 35mm Camera, machined out of solid aluminium and designed by Noel Pemberton Billing
1939 The Argus C3 is introduced and becomes the world’s best-selling 35mm camera, offering affordable 35mm rangefinder photography to amateurs
Kodak adds a ready-mount Service for 35 mm Kodachrome Film. This makes it possible to project slides as soon as they are received from the processing laboratory.
1940 Kodak introduces Tri-X film in sheet film formats
The first Minolta-made lens with the “Rokkor” name appears on a portable aerial camera used for military purposes, named in honour of Mt. Rokko.
1941 The Kodak Ektra 35mmRF is introduced with the first complete anti-reflection coated lens line for a consumer camera
1942 Eastman Kodak introduces Kodacolor – the first negative film for making colour paper prints.
1945 The Kodak dye-transfer process is introduced
1946 Kodak markets Ektachrome Transparency Sheet Film, the company’s first colour film that photographers could process themselves using newly marketed chemical kits
1947 Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour, and George Rodger found Magnum Photos, the first picture agency owned by its photographers.
1948-1984: The Refinement of Film Photography and the Birth of Digital
1948 Instant photography is introduced with the first instant-film camera, the Land Camera 95 or Polaroid camera.
The iconic Hasselblad 1600F camera is introduced and goes on to develop a reputation as the ultimate professional camera.
Nikon introduces the Nikon 1 rangefinder, the first Nikon-branded camera ever produced. The design is based on the Contax rangefinder but with a simpler shutter similar to that used by Leica.
1949 The modern lens aperture markings of f-numbers in geometric sequence of f/1, 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32 etc. is standardised
The Contax S camera is introduced, the first 35 mm SLR camera with a pentaprism eye-level viewfinder
Kodak introduces high-speed Tri-X black and white film on 35mm and roll film. Aimed squarely at photojournalists, it was the first fast film for general use.
1955 The Kilfitt Makro-Kilar f/3.5 is the first macro lens to provide continuous close focusing
1957 The Asahi Pentax SLR is introduced, placing controls in locations that would become standard on 35 mm SLRs
Hasselblad introduces the medium format 500 C system camera, which will go on too become one of most influential and successful cameras of all time
1958 Minolta introduces the first achromatic lens coating – two layers of magnesium fluoride deposited in different thicknesses to radically reduce glare and flare.
1959 The Nikon F is introduced, Nikon’s first SLR and the first SLR aimed at professional photographers
The the first production varifocal (zoom) lens for still 35mm photography is produced – The Zoomar 36-82mm f/2.8 for Voigtländer Bessamatic 35mm SLRs
Kodak High Speed Ektrachrome film becomes the fastest colour film on the market
1960 Konica introduces the Konica F, featuring the Hi-Synchro, the first SLR shutter with a speed of 1/2000s
1961 Eastman Kodak introduces faster Kodachrome II color film
1962AGFA introduces the first fully automatic camera, the Optima, with an automatic programmed exposure, using a selenium-meter-driven mechanical system
The Nikkorex F is the first production single-lens reflex camera with the metal Copal square shutter
1966 The VEB Pentacon Prakica is the first SLR with an electronically controlled shutter
Zeiss produce the Planar 50mm f/0.7, the world’s fastest lens, used by NASA to photograph the far side of the moon
The Rollei 35 is introduced as the smallest full-frame 35mm camera in the world
1967Nikon F Photomic SLR is the first camera with a centre-weighted exposure metering system
1969 The foundations for digital photography are established with the development of the charged-couple device (CCD) at Bell Labs.
1971 Nikon introduce the F2 to succeed the legendary F with a variety of finder options.
1972 Kodak reduces the popular Instamatic Camera to pocket size with the introduction of the Pocket Istamatic Camera with the new easy-load 110 Film Cartridge, extending the cartridge loading principle to what had hitherto been known as the sub-miniature camera.
Polaroid introduces the SX-70 an improvement on previous models that ejects pictures automatically and without chemical residue.
The Copal Compact Square Shutter (CCS), one of the most notable focal plane shutters of the ’70s, is introduced with the Konica Autoreflex TC
1977 Fuji introduces the first zoom lens to be sold as the primary lens for an interchangeable lens camera – the Fuji Fujinon-Z 43-75mm f/3.5-4.5
The Minolta XD11 is the world’s first camera with aperture priority and shutter priority, as well as a fully metered manual mode.
Kodak enters the instant picture field with a range of cameras and a new film. Kodak instant cameras do not need a mirror to reverse the image laterally, which is a requirement for Polaroid cameras, but litigation from Polaroid soon follows.
Kodak introduces the DC 210, the first “Megapixel resolution” digital camera selling for under $1000 ($899).
1978 Konica introduces the C35 AF, the first point-and-shoot autofocus camera.
1979 The highly portable and collapsable medium format Plaubel Makina 67 is released
Olympus launch the XA series, one of the smallest rangefinder cameras ever made, featuring a fast 35mm f2.8 F. Zuiko lens, and aperture priority metering.
1980 The Ricoh AF Rikenon 50mm f/2, the first interchangeable autofocus SLR lens, is introduced
Nikon introduces the F3, with manual and semi-automatic exposure control.
1981 Sony introduces the Mavica, a TV camera that records TV-quality still images on magnetic floppy discs.
The Sigma 21-35mm f/3.5-4 becomes the first super-wide angle zoom lens for still cameras.
International speculation on the silver market causes a significant rise in the price of silver, an important base material for the photographic industry. Agfa-Gevaert’s struggles results in the group being acquired by Bayer.
The low-tech plastic Holga camera is introduced, which will later attain cult status with the advent of Lomography and become a major source of inspiration for Instagram.
1982 Nikon introduces the FM2, which uses an improved Copal Square Shutter to achieve an unheard-of speed range of 1 to 1/4000th second and a fast flash X-sync speed of 1/250th second.
Kodacolor VR 1000 film is announced at Photokina. It is a T-Grain film, which makes possible such a high speed film with tolerable grain.
1983 The Olympus OM-4 is the first camera with a multi-spot exposure meter, taking up to eight spot measurements and averaging them
Nikon introduces the FA, the first camera to offer a multi-segmented (or matrix or evaluative) exposure light meter, which uses two segmented silicon photodiodes to divide the field of view into five segments.
1984 LOMO begin mass-producing the LC-A, achieving popularity within the USSR and kickstarting Lomography.
The Contax T, the first in a series of high quality, exceptionally compact 35mm rangefinder cameras is introduced
Leica introduces the M6, which resembles the Leica M3 but adds a modern, off-the-shutter light meter with no moving parts and LED arrows in the viewfinder.
1985-2006: Autofocus to Camera Phones
1985 Minolta introduces the world’s first fully integrated autofocus SLR with the autofocus (AF) system built into the body – the Maxxum 7000.
1986 The disposable camera is popularised by Fujifilm with the 35mm QuickSnap, which helps to define consumer photography in the late ’80s and ’90s
The Canon T90 marks the pinnacle of manual-focus 35mm SLRs
Canon launches the RC-701 ‘Realtime camera’ the first commercially available Still Video Camera
Kodak introduces T-MAX film which is smooth, fine grained and sharp – characteristics due to its use of a tabular grain emulsion. T-MAX 100 has a very high resolution of 200 lines/mm and is often used for testing the sharpness of lenses.
1987 Canon launches the EOS (Electro-Optical System), an entirely new system designed specifically to support autofocus lenses.
Canon becomes the first camera maker to successfully commercialise Ultrasonic Motor (USM) lenses which appear with the introduction of the EF 300 mm f/2.8L USM lens
1988 The Fuji DS-1P, the first digital handheld camera, is introduced, though it does not sell
The JPEG and MPEG standards are set.
1989 Canon introduces the 50mm f/1.0L, the fastest AF EF mount lens, and one of the fastest lenses in the world.
1990 Adobe Photoshop 1.0 image manipulation program is introduced for Apple Macintosh computer.
Eastman Kodak announces the development of its Photo CD system
The gum oil process, a painstaking and highly expressive photographic method, is invented by Karl P. Koenig.
1993 The f2 35 mm autofocus Konica Hexar is introduced, one of the quietest of 35mm cameras
The instantly recognisable Nikon 35Ti compact camera is released with a distinctive analog display on top
The Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM is introduced, which Canon claims as the longest focal length lens available for any interchangeable-lens autofocus SLR.
Eric Fossum and colleagues at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory develop the CMOS active pixel sensor, the technology that will make the camera phone possible.
1994 The Apple Quicktake 100 is among the first consumer colour digital cameras, connecting to a Macintosh by serial cable.
SanDisk introduces CompactFlash, the first removable digital storage format to be widely adopted by camera makers.
1995 The Casio QV-10 is the first camera to incorporate an LCD screen on the back for image preview and playback
1996 Eastman Kodak, FujiFilm, AgfaPhoto, and Konica introduce the Advanced Photo System (APS), enabling the camera to record information other than the image
The Canon IXUS is the firstIXUS APS camera, Canon’s contribution to the launch of the APS film system and an important milestone in compact camera design
Hasselblad introduces the V-system 503 C/W medium format film camera which will continue into production until 2013
1997Philippe Kahn publicly shares a picture via a cell phone for the first time
1998 Leica launches The M6 TTL to replace the M6 with a larger, reversed shutter dial and TTL flash capability
Kodakintroduces the Portra family of daylight-balanced professional colour negative films for portrait and wedding applications.
Fujifilm launches Instax, which by the 2010s outsells every digital camera line and becomes the largest surviving film business.
1999 The first commercial camera phone, the Kyocera Visual Phone VP-210, is launched in Japan
The Nikon D1 is the first fully integrated digital SLR designed from the ground up, rather than a digital modification to a film SLR
2000 Sharp and J-Phone introduce the first mass market camera-phone in Japan, The J-SH04
Canon introduces the EOS D30, the company’s first digital SLR produced in-house. Previously Canon had a contract with Kodak to rebrand DCS models. It was also the first DSLR with a price tag affordable to enthusiasts.
2001 Nikon produce the manual focus FM3a, the last manual focus 35mm SLR released by a major maker
Adobe releases Lightroom, which establishes the catalogue and develop workflow that becomes standard for digital photographers.
2008 Panasonic releases the Lumix G1, the world’s first mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera – which uses the main image sensor for autofocus, metering and full-time electronic viewing.
The Nikon D90 is the first DSLR with HD video recording capabilities
Olympus and Panasonic announce the Micro Four Thirds standard, the first shared mirrorless system mount.
Polaroid ends instant film production, and the Impossible Project acquires the last factory, restarting production in 2010.
2009 FujiFilm launches world’s first digital 3D system
The FinePix Real 3D System includes includes the FinePix Real 3D W1 digital camera, FinePix Real 3D V1 picture viewer and 3D print capability
The Leica M9 is the first full-frame digital Leica M.
Sony introduces the first consumer back-side illuminated (BSI) sensor, the “Exmor R“, which improves low-light performance
2010 Instagram, the photo and video-sharing social networking service is launched on iOS.
Worldwide demand for photographic film falls to less than a tenth of what it had been ten years before
c.2010 Photographers start to use social media filters and apps such as Hipstamatic s part of a wave of analogue nostalgia
2011Lytro releases the first pocket-sized consumer light-field camera, capable of refocusing images after they are taken
The Fujifilm FinePix X100 is introduced, the first model in the Fujifilm X-series, a range that makes the case for the benefits of APS-C over full-frame cameras
Instagram adds hashtags to help users discover both photographs and each other
2012 Sony launches the world’s first full frame compact camera – the RX1, with a fixed 35mm F2 lens
Sigma launches its Art line, the point at which independent lens makers begin to compete with camera manufacturers on quality rather than price.
Olympus introduces the OM-D E-M5 with a 5-axis sensor-shifting image stabilisation system – the first of its kind in a consumer camera
Nokia launches the Lumia 920, the first cell phone with an optical stabilised sensor
The Nikon D800 is introduced with the world’s highest resolution DSLR sensor
Eastman Kodak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
2013 Sony announces the ⍺7 which starts the full frame mirrorless revolution.
Nokia launches the Lumia 1020 phone with a 1.5 inch 41 megapixel rear sensor
Sales of digital cameras in the United States of America start to fall in terms of revenue and in unit shipments, as more consumers turn to smartphones and social media
Hasselblad discontinues the 503CW medium format film camera
Leica introduces the Leica T (Typ 701) with Leica’s first fully-electronic, designed-for-mirrorless lens mount
Google introduces HDR+, which merges a burst of underexposed frames into a single image, establishing the capture and merge principle underlying modern computational photography.
2015 Google Photos delivers AI-based organisation of images
Sony announces the first camera to employ a back-side illuminated full frame sensor, the α7R II.
Leica announces the full frame, fixed-lens compact Leica Q (Typ 116) – the first full-frame Leica to incorporate an autofocus system.
2016 Apple introduces Portrait Mode, which uses the dual backside cameras to create a depth map to isolate a foreground subject and then blur the background
Apple introduces the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone offers a dual camera setup with different focal lengths, 23mm and 56mm, entering the realms of telephoto on a phone.
The Google Pixel applies machine learning to HDR+ under Marc Levoy, and processing rather than optics becomes the principal difference between phone cameras.
2017 The Sony a9 introduces a stacked CMOS sensor with blackout-free shooting at twenty frames a second, the design that will define professional mirrorless cameras.
Intrepid Camera launches its Kickstarter project for a light-weight, low cost, compact 10X8 film camera.
2018 The Huawei P20 Pro provides a new triple camera system
Leica, Panasonic, and Sigma form the L-Mount Alliance, the first shared full frame mirrorless mount.
Canon officially discontinues the EOS-1V, the company’s last remaining film camera
Nikon introduces the Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras.
Google Night Sight achieves similar results to a camera on a tripod with a handheld Pixel camera phone using consecutive shots reassembled into a single image via an algorithim
Leica introduce the Leica M10-D, a digital camera without an LCD screen designed to combine the excitement of film with digital technology.
Researchers at Dartmouth College announce the Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) which replaces pixels with jots, where each jot can detect a single particle of light (photon)
Mirrorless cameras overtake DSLRs based on value (CIPA data)
2019 Xiaomi introduce the CC9 Pro, with five rear cameras including one with 108-megapixels
The Fujifilm GFX 100 is the world’s first medium format camera to offer in-body image stabilization, with a 102MP BSI-CMOS sensor
4.5 million digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras manufactured by CIPA companies are shipped, down from 16.2 million in 2012
Apple introduces Deep Fusion, which merges nine exposures at the pixel level.
2020 Samsung Introduces the Galaxy S20 Ultra with five cameras to capture 108MP photos, 100 x zoom and 40MP selfies
Apple introduces ProRAW, delivering computationally processed images in an editable raw file.
Apple adds a LiDAR scanner to the iPhone 12 Pro, giving depth measurement rather than depth estimation.
Nikon’s introduces the D780, its first DSLR to incorporate on-chip phase-detection autofocus, a feature inherited from its mirrorless Z series
Canon launches the EOS R series next-generation full-frame mirrorless cameras featuring Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology that provides autofocus in low-light conditions previously too dark to focus in.
The Apple 12 ships, with a new 7-element design with an ƒ/1.6 aperture for the primary camera as well as advancements to Smart HDR and Deep Fusion.
Digital camera shipments drop to a new low of 8.9 million units, down from 121 million units in 2010.
Mirrorless cameras overtake DSLRs based on unit volume (CIPA data)
The first large-scale image recognition system based on transformers, Vision Transformer (ViT), is introduced by Alexey Dosovitskiy and Thomas Kipf
2021 Sony introduces the ⍺1, a 50.1MP, 8.6K camera capable of shooting bursts at up to 30fps blackout-free, with 15 stops of dynamic range, real-time animal eye AF and anti-distortion shutter technology.
Olympus exits the camera market, completing the sale of its camera business to JIP, a Tokyo-based venture capital firm.
The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity is founded, establishing the C2PA standard behind Content Credentials.
Nikon announces, and very late in the year, ships, the Z9 – the first professional camera to arrive without a mechanical shutter without rolling shutter thanks to its fast stacked shutter. It also offers the world’s fastest still image frame rate of 120 fps.
2022 OpenAI launches DALL-E 2. A portmanteau of ‘Dali’ (as in Salvador) and Pixar’s ‘WALL-E’, it offers a massive upgrade on its predecessor, with more realistic results and four-times higher resolution
Stability AI launches Stable Diffusion, a deep learning, text-to-image model based on diffusion techniques.
Apple introduces the Photonic Engine with the iPhone 14, a computational photography technique that enhances photos taken in mid-to-low lighting conditions.
Leica introduces the M11 with a 60MP full-frame back side illuminated sensor
Japanese media organisation Nikkei reports that the compact ‘point-and-shoot’ market has retracted to 3.01m units as of 2021, a drop of 97% from its peak of 110.7m cameras in 2008.
2023 Sony launches the a9 III which delivers the world’s first full-frame global shutter sensor, which allows the camera to freeze motion in captured images with a max shutter speed of 1/80,000 second and 120 fps continuous shooting.
The Leica M11-P becomes the first production camera to sign images with C2PA Content Credentials at the moment of capture.
Nikon introduces the Zf which draws inspiration from the FM2 film camera and features brass dials.
Leica releases the Q3, the third-generation model in its fixed-lens full-frame compact series, featuring a 60MP BSI CMOS and phase detection autofocus, which enhances focus speed and accuracy.
ChatGPT expands its capabilities by adding voice and image functionalities.
According to Nikkei, global shipments of digital cameras in 2023 totaled 7.18 million units, a slight decrease of 0.3% from the previous year.
Google introduces Magic Editor on Pixel devices, enabling context-aware, AI-powered edits like repositioning subjects, removing objects, and enhancing skies with simple gestures.
Adobe unveils Firefly, its generative AI engine, integrating text-to-image and inpainting tools into Photoshop and other Creative Cloud apps.
2024 Canon launches its mirrorless flagship, the EOS R1, featuring a newly developed full-frame stacked CMOS sensor that enables ultra-fast readout speeds and blackout-free continuous shooting. The camera’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF system uses deep learning algorithms for real-time subject recognition and tracking.
Google launches “Add Me” and “Reimagine” tools in the Pixel 9 series, allowing users to generate alternate facial expressions and poses or insert missing subjects using AI.
The year passes with no new releases of DSLRs, marking a near-total shift to the development of mirrorless cameras.
2025 Hasselblad launches the 907X 100C, a modular medium format system combining the CFV 100C digital back with the 907X body, offering a 100MP sensor and compatibility with vintage lenses
Fujifilm announces the development of the GFX ETERNA, its first medium format camera designed specifically for filmmaking, featuring a 102MP sensor.
Huawei’s Pura 80 Ultra merges two periscope lenses and a 1″ sensor, using AI to fuse data for improved dynamic range and enhanced detail. 2025 Sigma introduces the BF, a full frame camera milled from a single billet of aluminium with a radically reduced control set, and the year’s clearest statement that design has become a point of competition.
Fujifilm introduces the GFX100RF, the first fixed-lens compact camera built around a medium format sensor, at 102 megapixels.
Fujifilm introduces the X half, a digital half-frame compact with a vertical sensor and a simulated film advance, aimed directly at analogue nostalgia.
Sony revives its full frame fixed-lens line with the RX1R III, a 61 megapixel compact.
Nikon introduces the ZR, the first camera to come from its acquisition of RED Digital Cinema.
Hasselblad introduces the X2D II 100C, which uses LiDAR to assist autofocus in a medium format camera.
Ricoh introduces the GR IV, and premium compacts including the Fujifilm X100VI, the Leica Q3, and the Sony RX1R III sell out, confirming a compact camera revival driven by younger photographers.
Google releases Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, known as Nano Banana, and Adobe adds it and Black Forest Labs’ FLUX.1 alongside Firefly in Photoshop’s Generative Fill, so a photographic editor can call on competing generative models within one workflow.
The Google Pixel 10 becomes the first consumer smartphone to sign every photograph with C2PA Content Credentials at capture, using hardware-backed keys held in a secure element.
Google releases Nano Banana Pro, built on Gemini 3 Pro, which generates and edits at 4K resolution.
2026 CIPA reports that 9.4 million cameras were shipped worldwide in 2025, eleven per cent up on 2024, with fixed-lens compacts up about thirty per cent by volume and roughly fifty per cent by value, and DSLR shipments down to about 690,000 units.
Ricoh introduces the GR IV Monochrome, and Fujifilm the Instax Mini Evo Cinema, the only notable launches of the first quarter.
Nikon’s C2PA implementation for the Z6 III is suspended and its certificates revoked after a signing vulnerability is found, the first significant setback for camera-level content authentication.
Megadap shows the first autofocus adapter for Leica M lenses on Canon RF bodies, part of a wider move towards cross-system compatibility.
Content authentication becomes more of a system than a single standard, combining C2PA signing at capture, invisible watermarking such as Google SynthID for generated images, and platform-level labelling, as regulatory pressure builds through the EU AI Act.
Before I went back to film with a Nikon F3 in 2016, my previous film camera was a compact APS film point and shoot Canon IXUS, from the late ’90s . My photos from that time date from before I actively studied photography and the shots aren’t the best. So my journey with film photography really started with the Nikon F3.
A Fortunate Find
Whilst staying with friends in Stockholm in 2016, I came across an Aladdin’s cave of a camera shop, which had a number of film cameras for sale, including Kodak Instamatics, Rolleiflex TLRs and Nikon SLRs, including several Nikon F3 models, some fitted with external motor drives.
The Nikon F3 model I picked out showed signs of wear and had a hole in the bottom of the body (which I later discovered was due to a missing motor drive coupling cover) but I was quite taken with it and bought it on impulse.
An Early Model
This was my first Nikon film SLR. A bit of research revealed that the F3, the successor to the legendary Nikon F (also reviewed on this site) and F2, was the last of the manual-focus, pro 35mm SLR cameras. It was introduced in 1980 and stayed in production until 2001, despite being superseded by the autofocus F4 in 1988.
That’s a long run – especially as according to Nikon’s own history, work on the F3 started back in 1973, barely two years after the debut of the Nikon F2! The formal design process started in 1977 and a prototype was ready by late 1978, which is when NASA came knocking for an automatic exposure control camera for the Space Shuttle.
A check on the serial number showed my F3 was an early model from 1981, not the more common HP (High Eyepoint) variant introduced in 1982. The HP model is identical to its predecessor except for the finder (DE-3), which allowed those wearing glasses a better view of the entire frame. This became standard on the F3, which became known as the F3HP.
Finder Trade-offs
I don’t wear glasses when shooting, preferring to use a diopter, and in this case that’s an advantage, as the trade off the HP model makes to make the whole viewfinder visible from slightly further back is fractionally lower magnification. The F3 is also slightly lighter than the HP variant as the HP finder weighs a little more, though the HP finder has slightly improved rubber sealing. Unless you wear glasses, there isn’t much in it.
Five Finders
The F3 has five finders (all interchangeable) to choose from: eye-level (DE-2), eye-level HP (DE-3), waist-level (DW-3), sport (DA-2), and high-magnification (DW-4). The F3 also offered a right-angle viewing attachment (DR-3) and an Eyepiece Magnifier (DG-2). I’ve stuck with the DE-2 my F3 came with.
F3 Exotics
Beyond models based on finder variants there are several more exotic models of the F3. The best known, is the F3/T titanium model, which is not much lighter than the regular F3 but quite desirable.
There was also a ruggedised F3P Press/Professional model, the F3 AF autofocus model and the weighty F3H F3 High Speed, a motorised speed demon that could shoot at 13 frames per second.
The autofocus Nikon F3 AF, which became available in 1983 with 2 autofocus lenses, was Nikon’s first entry in the world of AF technology. The Nikon F-501 arrived in 1986, and the Nikon F4 in 1988.
The F3 Electronics Controversy
Unlike its predecessors, which had always been entirely mechanical, the F3 uses an electronically controlled shutter which requires batteries. Electronic shutters and dependence on battery power for anything more than a light meter was initially resisted amongst Nikon professional shooters. Their initial response was to remain loyal to their fully mechanical F2s and eschew the F3.
This controversy apparently continued for years and may still continue. As one blogger wryly commented as recently as 2019: “I mean, what could possibly go wrong in attempting a dispassionate, objective analysis of two excellent SLRs made by Nikon? Oh…right…we are dealing with two groups of people: 1) those that believe that the SLR reached perfection in 1971 and everything since is an abomination against the laws of nature, aka “Knights of the Order of F2″ (referred to henceforth as KOTOOF2), and 2) everyone else.”
The fears of Nikon pros at launch turned out to be unfounded as the F3 demonstrated itself to be just as bulletproof as the F and F2. Nikon was committed to increasing reliability – as an example the F3’s shutter was designed to last an incredible 150K actuations, increased from 100K for the F and F2. However, to give photographers more confidence in the new technology Nikon built in a backup mechanical shutter into the F3 that operates at 1/60 sec.
In practice, the F3’s batteries last a very long time (compared to my Leica M6 TTL for example) and the tiny LR44s are easy to carry as spares. I also have an F2 with a Photomic head, and it is excellent, but my F3 gets used more.
The F3’s Horizontal Shutter
Another issue that the professionals weren’t keen on was the slow flash sync speed. The F3 has a horizontal travel shutter which, given the 3:2 aspect ratio of film, takes longer to operate than a vertical travel shutter. The 1/80 second maximum sync speed was the same as that of the F2, but well below the semi pro models (FA, FM2, FE2) with vertical travel shutters, which offered 1/250 second. The F3 was the last of the Nikon Pro cameras with a horizontal shutter – the F4’s went the other way.
Longevity versus Mechanical Cameras
Over time electronic components can be the Achilles heel of older film cameras and initially I thought the Nikon F3’s LCD which displays the shutter speed might be a weak spot. The display in the viewfinder, the Aperture Direct Readout (ADR), is just a display window so is not subject to deterioration, but LCDs don’t always age well. They can become harder to read over time and eventually stop working entirely. Nikon predicted they would only last about seven years or so with pro usage! 35 years after leaving the factory my well used F3’s LCD is holding up perfectly well. The F3’s manual controls also mean that the camera can still be used without the LCD display, although not with automation.
The last point to consider in the electronic vs mechanical Nikon stakes are that electronic shutters usually maintain their accuracy over time better than mechanical shutters.
F3 Surprises
One surprise to me about the F3 was that it was styled by an Italian design legend: Giorgetto Giugiaro, the man who styled the Ferrari 250 GT Bertone, the Aston Martin DB4 GT Bertone, and much else.
Another surprise was that there were Space Shuttle versions of the F3. These had large magazine backs of different capacities and various other modifications for use in space. It wasn’t the first Nikon in space however, as modified Fs were used aboard Apollo 15 and Skylab.
Upgrades and Repairs
Before I could shoot with my new purchase I needed to get it serviced and replace the missing motor drive coupling cover. Reading a little more, I learned that my camera was fitted with an unusual focusing screen, a plain matte screen which lacked the usual split image rangefinder spot.
The F3 is highly modular. Its five interchangeable viewfinders could be paired with some twenty interchangeable focusing screens. These vary from the standard central split-image microprism rangefinder screen to those for very specific use cases such as close ups, astro and architectural photography.
Mine was fitted with a Type D, which is used for close ups and with long lenses. I called Greys of Westminster and ordered the more usual Type K type rangefinder screen, a new coupling cover and a -2 diopter. The most common screen types (and my type D) are shown in the table below.
Screen Type
Description
Best For
K (Standard)
Matte/Fresnel with 3 mm split-image and 1 mm microprism collar
General photography; typical standard screen
B
Matte/Fresnel with fine-ground matte spot in the center
Telephoto lenses and precision manual focus
D
Fine-ground matte with no focusing aids
Clear, uncluttered view; macro and low-light
E
Like K but with etched grid lines
Architectural work, alignment, composition
P
Diagonal split-image, microprism collar, and grid lines
Versatile; focus aids plus composition guides
It’s easy enough to remove the F3’s finder to change the screen. Sliding the grooved buttons on each side of the finder back towards the eye piece releases the front of the finder which can then be lifted out and removed.
All that remained was to take the body into my local camera shop, imagex, who sent it away for a much needed service, at a very reasonable cost of £69.
Adjusting to the F3
It wasn’t difficult to get used to the controls of the F3. They are simple and the dials on the top plate of were familiar looking, as I was shooting with the retro styled digital Nikon Df at the time, and the F3 only offers aperture-priority automation and manual operation.
I did fire the shutter accidentally with the backup mechanical release lever (‘what does this lever do? doh!’) to the right of the lens beneath the ‘exposure memory lock’ button (AE-L on modern cameras).
LCD Display
The LCD shutter speed window in the finder isn’t especially bright and can be hard to read at times. There is a button to light it up but it’s exceptionally hard to press and gives so little additional light that it’s not worth the effort. I actually prefer the needle matching system of the FM3A, FE and FE2, though that is even harder to read in low light.
80/20 Centre Weighting
An adjustment I thought I might need to make was to get used to the heavily centre-weighted metering system, apparently a request from Nikon Pros looking for greater precision. Metering is TTL and reads the light over the whole focusing screen, but nearly all (80%) of metering sensitivity is set to the central 12mm, whilst the rest of the screen gets the remaining 20%.
Nikon accomplished this weighting in an unusual way; by putting thousands of tiny little pinholes in the reflex mirror. These allow exactly 8% of the light to pass through the mirror and onto a metering cell. This didn’t make its way into subsequent models; the F4 reverted to 60/40 weighting.
In practice the heavy centre weighting can be useful, and certainly hasn’t presented a problem, even when I forgot about it, but that maybe because I shoot with very forgiving black and white negative film.
The F3 was the first in the F series to put the meter in the camera body. Previous models, which had the meter in the prism, featured 60/40 centre-weighted metering. This is also the case with the last of Nikon’s film cameras, the rather wonderful FM3A.
One little control that isn’t at all obvious is the Multiple Exposure Lever on the far right of the top plate. This enables you re-cock the shutter without advancing the film.
First Outing with the Nikon F3
Once the camera was back from service I bought some Ilford HP5 400 film and headed for the Victoria and Albert Museum, where I shot some of the statues in various galleries, whilst I also visited the excellent Paul Strand photographic exhibition. Initially I kept looking at the back of the camera to see what I had shot, only to be greeted by cardboard film type insert on the camera back. My first keeper is shown above – I really liked the grain and the tone of film and I was hooked.
From the Nikon F3 Onwards…and Backwards
Since I bought the F3 I have acquired several other Nikon film cameras, including the mighty F6 the hybrid mechanical/electronic marvel that is the FM3A, and the FE2 – all of which you can read about in detail on this site from the preceding links.
I’ve also gone back to the start of the F series with a late F from 1970 and an F2 from 1975, both of which are excellent cameras. I particularly like the way you can see rangefinder DNA in the F’s baseplate, which evolved from the Nikon SP rangefinder. The prototype for the F was built on an SP model, adding the distinctive mirror box and pentaprism of the SLR, and a new lens mount, the F mount. The letter F comes from re-F-lex.
A scene from the Faroe Islands, shot with the Nikon F3
Though some of my photographer friends love the later Nikon F4 and F5, I have never taken to either of them – preferring either the earlier F, F2 or F3 manual focus cameras or the final F6 model.
I’ve taken the Nikon F3 with me when I’ve travelled, including some fairly harsh environments like the Faroe Islands, and it performed very well. I thought about taking my FM2n on that trip, as it is lighter, but the more rugged F3 inspired more confidence.
The Nikon F3’s Professional Successors
For those considering an F3, or perhaps one of its successors, below is a quick comparison table. For me, it is the F3 for manual exposure and the F6 for auto exposure, but that’s just my personal opinion.
Feature
Nikon F3
Nikon F4
Nikon F5
Nikon F6
Metering System
Center-weighted (80%)
Matrix (5-segment), Center-weighted, Spot (3.5mm)
3D Color Matrix, Center-weighted (customizable), Spot (4mm)
3D Color Matrix II, Center-weighted (customizable), Spot (4mm)
Light Meter Sensor
TTL via mirror/focusing screen
TTL via multi-segment SPD sensor in prism
1005-pixel RGB sensor (linked to AF and lens CPU data)
Enhanced 1005-pixel RGB sensor with i-TTL (intelligent TTL) flash and AF integration
Reflective Surface
Mirror and focusing screen
Focusing screen and multi-sensor prism system
Mirror, prism, and RGB sensor combination
Mirror, prism, and refined RGB sensor with advanced integration
First professional Nikon SLR with integrated autofocus (AM200 sensor module)
Advanced Multi-CAM1300 AF with subject tracking
Multi-CAM2000 AF with refined subject tracking and dynamic AF area
Viewfinder Display
LCD metering display
LCD display with comprehensive exposure info
Advanced LCD viewfinder info with customizable grid
Bright, high-contrast LCD with customizable data display
The Go Anywhere F3
The Nikon F3 remains one of my favourite manual Nikon film cameras. Unlike other more expensive classics, such as Leica M6 or Nikon FM3A, which most photographers (including me) fret about in use, my F3 presents no worries at all. It is extremely rugged, affordable to service (or replace), and easy to use.
I bought it slightly beaten up and it’s so tough I am comfortable taking it anywhere. I have 50mm and 28mm (Voigtländer) pancake lenses to keep the form factor to a minimum – the F3 and both pancake lenses easily fit into a small camera bag. It is versatile: the shutter is fast (up to 1/2000 second), and though I haven’t needed them to date, there is a PC connection (though a flash requires an adaptor), and it will take a standard cable release. It takes great pictures. What more could you ask for?
It’s been a while…