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F3

Milton Heiberg
AMPHOTO

A m e r i c a nP h o t o g r a p h i cB o o kP u b l i s h i n g
A n l m p r i n to f W a t s o n - G u p t i P
ll ublications
1 5 1 5B r o a d w a yN
, e w Y o r k ,N . Y .1 0 0 3 6

www.orphancameras.com

CONTENTS
PAFIT ONE:
THE CAMEFIA
NIKCIN F3
lntroduction
PARTSNOMENCLATURE

10
12

BasicOperation
FILM
LOADING
ASA FILMSPEED
SETTING
MAKINGEXPOSURES
LENSES
CHANGING

16
16
18
20
21

DetailedInstructions
BATTERIES
FILMPLANEINDICATOR
FILMADVANCELEVER
FRAMECOUNTER
FILM
REWINDING
\-- SETTING
THEAPERTURE
SPEED
\CTTIruCTHESHUTTER
WINDOW
LCDDISPLAY
ILLUMINATOR
VIEWFINDER
RELEASE
MECHANICAL
BACK-UP
LEVER
EXPOSURE
METERING
LOCK
MEMORY
EXPOSURE
BUTTON
USINGTHEMANUALMODE
SCALE
DEPTH.OF.FIELD
FOC US I NG
FOCUSING
INFRARED
S CRE E NS
FOCUS I NG

22
22
24
24
25
26
27
30
33
37
37
38
44
45
46
46
49
50

'.x

I- I

E Y E P I E CE
S HU T T ER
MULTIPLE
EXPOSURE
LEVER
CHA NG I NG
LE N S ES
SELF-TIMER
M I RRO LO
R CK -U L
PE VE R
A CCE S S O RY
SH OE
S Y NCT E RM I N AL
F I LMM E M OHOL D ER
CA M E RACA R E

50
53
54
54
56
56
58
59
60

Accessories
MD-4 MOTORDRIVE
BASICOPERATIONS
OFTHEMD.4
S B - 1 2S P E E D L I G H T
B A S I CO P E RA T IOONFT H ESB -1 2
F I NDE RS

62
62
62
70
71
78

PART TWO:
GiENEFIAL
PHGITC,GiFIAPHIC
TEGHNIOUEsi

Introduction

82

Lenses and their Uses

L E N SC H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Focallength.Speed.Depth of
f ield. Perspectivedistortion.
N O R M A LL E N S E S
W I D E - A N G L EL E N S E S
TELEPHOTO
LENSES
ZOOM LENSES

82
82
85
87
87
89

www.orphancameras.com
Filmsand Filters
F I L MC H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Spged.Grain..Contrast.Color
Balance.Reversaland negative
films. Latitude.
SLOW FILMS
FILMS
MEDIUM-SPEED
F]LMS
HIGH-SPEED
S P E C I A L - P U R P O SFEI L M S
Kodak High-ContrastCoPYFilm.
Kodak Direct Positive
PanchromaticFilm.Kodak High
Speed lnfraredFilm.Kodak
EktachromelnfraredFilm.
Eastman5247. Kodak
EktachromeS lide DuPlicating
Film.
FILTERSYSTEMS
FILTERSFORBLACK-AND-WHlTE
FILMS
FORCOLORFILMS
FILTERS
Color-conversionf ilters.Lightbalancingf ilters.ColorcomPensatingfilters'
FILTERSFORBOTH COLORAND
BLACK-AND-WHITEFILMS
Polarizer.Neutral-densityf ilters.
Haze,UV and skYlight filters.
EXPOSURECALCULATIONWITH
FILTERS
Electronic Flash PhotograPhY
EXPOSURE
DETERMINING
AUTOMATICFLASH
MANUAL FLASH
BOUNCEFLASH
FILL.INFLASH

90
90

92,
92
92
93

94
94
96

98

99
100
100
101
101
102
103

ExposureGuide
THEE X P O S URMEE T ER
FORCOLORFILM
METERING
F O RBL A C K -AN D M E T E RI NG
WHITEFILM
W I TH O U T
A ME T ER
E X P O S URE
E
HT EXPOSUR
AVAILABLE.LIG
REFLECTORS
P US H- P RO CE SS l N G

lt

'l

105
105
107
108
109
109
109
111

www.orphancameras.com

,l
r

PAF|T ONE

THE CAME]IA

THE

IVIKGIN F3

lntnoduction

The NikonF3 is a 35 mm' single-lens-reflex

I
?
camera,with both manualand automatic-exposure
at theheart
camera
TheF3 is a professional
capability.
I
The
accessories'
and
of lenses
system
of anextensive
metering
exposure
shutter,
electronic
an
F3 features
{,4
features
saving
andenergy
fromthefilmplane,
directly
?
for longerbatterylife.
to the designof the NikonF3 is flexibility' a
Ceniral
viewfinders,
be usedwith fourdifferent
can
The F3
twentydifferentfocusingscreens,a six-frame-perflashunitsthat
secondmotordrive,and electronic
t
through-the'lens
the
with
synchronize
automatically
Oa

lol

www.orphancameras.com

It

TheNikon F3 is a 35 mm, single-lens-reflex

camera,with both manualandautomatic
exposurecapability.lt is the first automatic
exposurecamerawith interchangeablefinders
and focusingscreens.

It

exp0sure
metering
system.
Sincethemetering
system
is c0ntainedin the body 0f the F3, any Nikon
vi e wfinder c an be u s e d w i th o u tl o s i n gme te ri n g
capability.
Otheraccessories
designed
for the F3 are
NikonIntervalometers,
severalcamera
backs,various
remote-control
units,and nearly70 Nikonlenses,
ranging
from6 mmto 2000mm.
Following
in thetradition
of theNikonF andF2,the
NikonF3 is designed
quality,
to provideunparalleled
flexibility,
andruggedness.
lt is a cameracapable
of
beingmodified
to meelanyphotographic
situation.
11

1
2
4
5

13
12
11

18

12

www.orphancameras.com

I
NTKON
F3-PARTSNOMENCLATURE

)
,
I
,

|
|

_
1|
J
,
I

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
1 1.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
2O.

Mirror lockup lever

Self-timer LED
Shutter-speed dial locking button
Backup mechanicalrelease lever
Exposure memory lock button
Lens mounting flange
Reflex mirror
ADR window
Viewfinder illuminator
Metercoupling lever.
Lens release button
Lens mounting index
F l a s hs y n c . t e r m i n a l
Meter coupling lever release button
Motor drive coupling
Film rewind button
Motor drive positioning hole
Tripod/motor drive coupling socket
Battery chamber lid
Motor drive coupling cover

I
,
13

32

23
33
24
25

34
35
'36

14

'o

I
#'

ft
,

3
t

21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
4O.
41.
42.
43.

Depth-of-field indicators
Exposure compensation scale
Hot-shoe contacts
Film rewind crank
Camera back lock lever
Exposure compensation locking button
Shutter speed index
Film plane indicator
Shutter speed dial
Shutter-speed scale
Self-timer lever
Power switch
Multiple exposure lever
Shutter release button
Frame counter
Film advance lever
Distance scale
Aperture/focusing index
Aperture ring
Eyepiece shutter lever
ASA film speedscale
Viewfinder eyepiece
Memo holder

I,
15

www.orphancameras.com

Elasic OPenation
of the Nikon FB

FILM
LOADING
backby first slidingthe safety0penthe camera
thenlifting
lockievertowardthe rearof thecamera,
Insert
open'
swings
back
the
knobuntil
thefilm-rewind
Push
film
chamber'
the
into
cassette
film
mm
a 35
downtherewindknob,twistingit slightlyto properly
intoa
thefilmleader
Insert
it withthecassette.
engage
take-up
the
Turn
spool.
take-up
sloi on the camera's
wheel(onthelowerendof thespool)to theleft
spool's
wrapped
untilthefilm leaderis firmlyandcompletely
aroundthe take-upspoolmakingsurethat the film
with boththe top,
engaged
perforations
are properly
spool'Withthe
on the take-up
sprockets
andbottom,
close
properly
seatedandthe film straight,
cartridge
strokethe filmAlternately
the backof the camera.
leverand releasethe shuttertwo or three
advance
thefirstframeis
indicates
times,untilthefilmcounter
Turntherewindknobto takeup anyslackin
reached.
you
thefilm.Whentheendof ttierollof filmis reached
button
rewind
the
depress
First
film'
mustrewindthe
Pullouttherewindcrank
of thecamera'
onthebottom
on
untilyoufeelnomoretension
andturnit clockwise
thecrank.
16

o
a

j
L
f,

Place the f ilm cartridge into the camera with

the film leader facing to the right.

,tl

lnsert the f ilm leaderinto the take-upspool.

17

Turn the take-up spool until both the'top and

bottom sprocket wheels are properly engaged
with the film perforations.

ASA FILMSPEED
SETTING
TosettheASA,lift theoutercollarof theASAfilmspeeddialandrotateit untiltheASAvalueof thefilm
yguareusingis aligned
withthewhiteindexmark.
Firstturn 0n the pgwerswitchthen,checkthe
the shutterrelease
by slightlydepressing
batteries
are goodthe liquidcrystal
button.lf the batteries
(LCD)
theshutter
will display
in theviewfinder
display
shouldbe
speed.lf it doesnot cgme0n, batteries
replaced.
18

To set the AsA f ilm speed, lift the outer collar

of the film speed dial and rotate it untit the
proper ASA number is opposite the white
index mark.

to
\t

Once the ASA rs sef, release the f ilm speed

dial and the appropriate setting is locked into
place.

19

www.orphancameras.com

MAKINGEXPOSURES
thesesteps:
Takea pictureby following
turnthe
operation,
for automatic
Tosetthecamera
' A'
g
re
e
n
is
th
e
un
ti
l
c
loc
k
wis
e
dial
s hut tesp
r eed
withthewhitemarkon the prismhousing'
aligned
ringon lenst0 the desiredf-stop'
Setaperture
depress
slightly
theviewfinder,
Asyoulookthrough
the
display
will
LCD
the
s0
button
release
the shutter

To test the batteries,turn the power on and

tightly pressthe shutter'releasebutton half
,Jty ao*n. tf the batteries are OK, the LCD will
displaythe shutter sPeed.

@
20

a
t

rl
6

shutter
speed.
TheLCDwill stayonfor l6 seconds.
lf
the shutterspeedis too fast or too slow,turn the
aperture
ring to adjust.For hand-held
photography
b e g inwit ha s hut t er
s p e e do l 1 /1 2 5s e c .
Nowfocusby turning
thefocusing
ringon the lens
u n ti lthe im ageappea rs
s h a rp .

CHANGING
LENSES

'l

'

Toremove
a lens,pressthelens-release
buttonon
thecamera
bodylocated
to therightof thelenshousing
a n dw hilef ir m lygr ipp i nbgo thth el e n sa n dth ec a me ri
body,
turnthelensclockwise
approximately
60 degrees
untilit comesoff.
Tomounta lens,placethelensonthelensmounting
flangeof thecamera
body.
Aligntheblackreference
dot
(oraperture/focusing
index)onthelensmounting
ring
w i tht hewhit edot( len s -mo u n ti
i nndge xo) n th el e n s _
mounthousing
of thecamera
body.
Whenfirmlyseated,
turnlenscounterclockwise
untilit clicksintoposition.
Whenstoring
sparelenses,
keepthefrontandback
l e n sc apson.W henc arry i nagc a m e ra
b o d yw i th o uat
lensmounted,
alwaysprotectthe mirrormechanisms
with a bodycap.

0
[,
21

www.orphancameras.com

Detailed OPenation
of the Nikon F3

BATTERIES
of the NikonF3 is entirely
Thenormaloperation
power.
Withnormalusage,t
on electrical
dependent
.,
p . it o f 1 .5 - v olts, ilv er - ox i dbea, tte ri e s(Ev e re a d y D
lZ
will
) las tu p t0 o n ey e a r.
E P X7 o6 r e q uiv alent
lid
thebattery-chamber
remove
To insertbatteries,
'
wiisthea c o i nT' h el i d h a s '
b y t urn i nigt c ount er c loc k w
Place
in position'
thatholdthebatteries
twoextensions
intothe lid so the
batteries
silver-oxide,
two 1.5-volt.
facesthe lid,andtheplus
sideof thebattery
negative
n i tha
s ignfa ce so u t .Replaccelip,andl i d ,a n dti g h tew
c oi n .
turnon the powerswitchby
Totestthe batteries,
so
awayfromthecamera)
pushing
it to theright(facing
+
Thenslightlypresstheshutterthereddotis showing.
meter
onlyhalfwaydown.Theexposure
button
release
aregood,
lf thebatteries
by thisprocedure.
is activated
th e
t he l i q u i dcry s t aldis play( LC D )w i l l i l l u s tra te
the
inside
window
left
l,
shutterspeedin the top
a
1
6
s
e
c
o
n
d
sn d
fo
r
o
n
r
em
ains
LCD
The
v iewfi n d e r .
power.
lf the
to preserve
thengoesoff automatically
theLCD
installed,
aret00weak,or improperly
batteries
doesnotoperate.
22

The batteries of the Nikon F3 are located in

the battery chamber in the base of the camera.

The battery-chamber lid has a clip that holds

batteries in place for easy installation.

23

www.orphancameras.com

release
mechanical
The NikonF3 has a back-up
fail. By pullingout the back-up
lever if batteries
releaselever part way, it becomes
mechanical
completely
Whenpushed
t0 yourfingertip.
accessible
of
a speed
at
mechanically
shutter
the
releases
it
down
a l l e a s el e v e r
1/ 60 se c. Th e bac k - upm ec h a n i c re
speeddialis
whentheshutter
in thismanner
operates
"T".
leveris
back-up
lf
the
0n any settingexcept
trippedwhenthe dial is set on "T", the shutterwill
opena n d re mainopen,unt ilt h e d i a l i s m o v e dto
setting.
another

- FILM.PLANE
INDICATOR
markonthetopof thecamera
Thewhiteengraved
the
represents
illustration)
body (seeaccompanying
In
of thefilm planeinsidethe camera.
exactlocation
macas
photography,
such
of
areas
specialized
the exact
t0 measure
it is necessary
rophotography,
In
the film planeand the subject.
between
distance
thiswouldbe thepointfromwhichto
suchinstances,
thefilmplaneandthe
between
Thedistance
measure.
46.5
flangeis exactly
of the lens-mount
frontsurface
mm.

FILMADVANCELEVER
leverontheNikonF3 is designed
Thefilmadvance
0ne stroke
and operation'
for quick accessibility
Whenreleased,
frame.
thefilmonecomplete
advances
restposition.
backto itsnormal
springs
it automatically
thefilm
stroke,
given
complete
one
lf the leveris not
24

Thefilm plane indicator showsthe exact

location of the film inside the camera.Precise
measurementsof subject-to-filmdistancearc
madefrom this mark.

maybe advanced
withseveral
shortstrokes;
butonce
thefilm is advanced
completely,
themechanism
locks.
At this pointthe levermaybe pulledout onlythirty
degrees
from its closedposition.
This is a handy
"ready" positionwhen makingquick sequential
exposures.
A complete
strokeof the advance
lever
measures
170degrees;
pull30 degrees
forthehandy
out,plus140 degrees
for a complete
advance
cycle.

,fi

FRAMECOUNTER
Thef ramecounterkeepstrackof the numberof
pictures
takenon a roll of film.lt haswhitemarksat
12,20, 24, and36 for mostpackaged
films,andblue
25

Thef ilm advancelevermaYbe pulled out

thirty degreesto a "ready"position-Fromthis
point, a single strokeof | 4O degreeswill
advancethe f ilm completelyto the next f rame-

n u m e r aflosr e v e r yf i v ef r a m e s( 5 , 1 0 , 1 5 ,e t c . )l.t i s
graduated
fromtwo framesbelowzeroto forty (four
thirty six). This is
framesbeyondthe traditional
whobulkloadfilm.
forphotographers
helpful
especially
R E W I N D I N GF I L M
exposed,
Whena roll of film hasbeencompletely
To rewind
leverwill stopin mid-cycle.
the advance
button0n the
film, pressthe film-rewind
exposed
thefilm sprocket
Thisreleases
of the camera.
bottom
Foldoutthe
driveandallowsthefilmto be rewound.
26

Theframe counter of the Nikon F3 is located

to the right of the film advancelever

rewindcrankand turn it clockwiseas its arrow

indicates.
Keepturninguntilthereis n0 longerany
tension
fromthefilm (therewindcrankwill turnmore
freely)andtheendof theleader
will snapbackintothe
cassette.
Openthecamera
backby pushing
thecamera
backlockleverto the rightwhileliftingthe rewind
knob.Thecamera
backthenpopsopen.Loading
and
unloading
0f film should
alwaysbe doneoutof direct
sunlight.

THEAPERTURE
SETTING
Theaperture
ringonmostNikkor
lenses
is thelens
ringclosest
to thecamera
body.Turning
it opensand
closes
thediaphragm
inside
thelensto thedesired
f27

is
thediaphragm
number
to a higher
Whenturned
stgp.
light
less
letting
thus
aperture,
closedto a smaller
the lens.
through
that
Thismeans
areautomatic.
MostNikkorlenses
shutterthe
until
theyremainat the largestaperture
0ncethe shutter-release
buttonis pressed.
release
closes
automatically
the aperture
buttonis pressed,
f-stoP.
downto the selected

To rewind the fitm when You have completed

the roll, f irst pressthe rewind button on the
bottom of the camera.

28

once the rewind button hasbeen pressed,fold

out the rewind crank and turn it ciockwise
until all the film has been rewound. Then open
the back of the camera by pushing the rock
lever to the right and putiing ,p oi tit ,twind
crank.

o
Set .t.heapertyre by turning the aperture ring
until the desired f -number is opposite the
index mark.

29

www.orphancameras.com

Whenusingan AtNikkor lens, the selectedt '

stop is disptayedin the viewfinder to the right
of the shutterspeed.

maybe doneby turningthe

Settingthe aperture
with the
f-stopis aligned
ringso thedesired
aperture
dotonthelens'
indexreference
blackaperture/focusing
c a n a l s ob e s e t w h i l e
mo u n ti nrigng.T he aper t ure
ring
Justturnthe aperture
lookingin the viewfinder.
window.
in theaperture
f-stopappears
untilthedesired
0ldernon-AlNikkorlenseswill not displaythe fwindowof theviewfinder.
stopin the aperture

SPEED
THESHUTTER
SETTING
controlled,
an electronically
TheNikonF3 features
foil.This
titanium
quartz-timed
madeof quilted
shutter
andhasspeeds
focalplaneshuttermoveshorizontally
for "T", "8"
fromI to 1/2000sec.lt alsohassettings
an e l e c tro nsi ce l f-ti m e r.
,
and"X" (l /8 0 s ec . )plus
dial is on the rightsideof theTheshutter-speed
rotatethedial
speed,
prismhousing.
Tosettheshutter
the white
with
speed
shutter
andlineup the desired
indexmarkontherightsideof theprism
shutter-speed
30

a
.{

'O

n
)t
iI
f:
f

h o u sing.
T hedialhast w o " l o c k "p o s i ti o n th
s : e ' A'
(a u tom atsicet) t ing,
"
X"
(1
/8
0
andth e
s e cfl
. a s hs y n c )
se tti n g.
lf eitherof thesesettings
comeintoposifion
while
rotating
thedial,it automatically
locksitselfin position.
To rotatethe dial out of that position,
depress
the
button
in thecenterof thedialandrotate
thedialaway
fromthelockposition.
Thedialmoves
freelywithsoft
clicksacross
all othersettings.
The shutter-speed
dial is colorcodedfor quick
'A'
identification
of variousshutterspeeds.
The
is
g re e n,
s peeds
of onef ul ls e c o nodr s l o w ear reo ra n g e
andfractional
speeds
in whitewithout
are displayed
n u mer at or
s . eis onee x c e p ti oTnh. es p e e o
T her
d f 1 /0 0
sec.is in red as a reminder
thatthis is the fastest
ma n u al- ex poss ur
e t esrp e e dto b e u s e dw i thfl a s h
hut
(besides
synchronization
the "X" syncsetting).
Wh ent he dialis s eto n ' A ," th ec a m e ra
i s i n th e
aut0matic
exposure
mode.In automatic
the shutter
sp e e dis c om plet ely
gov e rn ebdy th em e te ri nsgy s te m .
On cethe ex pos urreang ei s e s ta b l i s h ae dc h a n g ien
shutter
speedis accomplished
by turningthe aperture
ri n g .T he s hut t er - s pedeida l , th ro u g hmo s t p i c tu re
ta ki n g,
will be lef t alon eT. h e re fo re
a n, u n i n te n ti o n a l
shiftmustbe prevented
andthe lockposition
at this
settingis essential.
Forsimilarreasons
the "X" settingis a locked
p o si tion.
W hent ak ingpi c tu reuss i n ge l e c tro nfli ca s h ,
theshutter
speeddialcannot
shiftaccidentally
outof
thesynchronized
position.
Thissetting
firestheshutter
a t 1 /8 0s ec '
31

The shutter speed dial has two lock positions:

"4" and "X." To unlock the dial frcm these
positions, pressthe releasebutton in the
center of the dial.

Thissetting
is fortimedexpgsures.
The"8" setting
The
usedwitha tripodanda cablerelease.
is usually
the
on
button
the
as
openfor as long
remains
shutter
the
with
closes
shutter
The
cablereleaseis held.
of the button.
release
except
is alsofor timedexposures,
The"T" setting
pressed,
the
is
button
that oncethe shutter-release
go.
this
In
let
is
button
the
after
open
remains
shutter
setting,the shutterremains0penuntil the shutterposition,
to another
dialis moved
speed
wherethe shutter-speed
Thereare two situations
in favorof otherpriorities.
dialis bypassed
32

Thefirstis whena freshroll of film is loaded

into
thecamera.
Theshutter
speed
is automatically
setat 1/
80 sec.forthefirstfewframes
whentheshutter
speed
'A',
dialis set0nanyof thefollowing
settings: "X", 0r
1/125through
1/2000sec.Whenthe framecounter
indicates
thefirstframehasbeenreached,
theshutter
speedreturns
to its actualsetting.
Th es ec onds it uat ioonc c u rs
w h e nth e S B-1 2o r
SB-1 1fl as hunit sar eus e dw i thth eN i k o nF 3 .In th i s
eventthe shutterspeedis automatically
set at 1/80
se c.e xc eptwhenm anu asle tti n gosf l /3 0 s e c .a n d
slowerare used.This featurepreventsaccidental
(s i n c e
re l e a soef t hes hut t er
att h ew ro n gs h u ttesrp e e d
th eSB-12andS B - 11ac t u a l lsye tth es h u ttesrp e e d
of
th eca m er a)
andallows
t h efl a s hto b eu s e da sa fi l l -i n
o u td o o wit
r s ha s hut t er
s p e e do f 1 /6 0s e c .o r l e s s .

LCDDISPLAY
WINDOW
Whentheshutter
speeddialis setfortheautomatic
mode,
theLCDwindowdisplays
theapproximate
shutter
sp e e a
d t whic ht hepic t u re
w i l l b eta k e nIn
. th i sm o d e ,
th e sh ut t ers peedis c o mp l e te g
l yo v e rn ebdy th e
automatic-exp0sure
meteringsystem.The system
provides
stepless
shutter
speeds
fromI sec.t0 1/2000
sec.lf a givenlightingsituation
demands
an actual
shutter
speedof 1/463or 2-1/2 sec.,thenthat'swhat
th esh u t t er
s peed
will be.
Toavoidconfusion
theLEDwindowdisplays
oneof
theclosest
commonly
recognized
shutter
8, 4,
speeds'
2 , 1 , 1 /2,1/ 4, 1lg, 1/ 15 ,1 1 3 01, /6 0 ,1/1 2 5 ,1 1 2 5 0 ,
1 / 5 0 01
, / 1 0 0 0o, r 1 / 2 0 0 0s e c .

www.orphancameras.com

o nth e
I n a d d i ti oeac
n, ht im ea newn u m b earp p e a rs
may
in
light
a
shift
before
112
sec.
lor
LCO,
it remains
changeit. lf it were not for this featureeventhe
e eL C Dto fl i c k e r,
in lightwouldc a u s th
slightech
st a nge
t re a d .
m aki nth
g en u m bert soodif f ic u lto
onlythe
modethe LCDdisplays
In the automatic
Forexample,
of a second.
of thefraction
denominator
1125 0se c.reads250 and1/ 2 se c .re a d s2 .
t0 thepointwhere
Whenthe lightleveldecreases
onef ull s e c o n sdh u ttesr p e e do r
the me te d
r e m ands
witha dashto the
thatnumber
more,theLCDdisplays
from
a wholenumber
rightof it.Thisdashdistinguishes
a fraction.
d nge
belowth ee i g hst e c o nra
lf th el i g htlev eldr ops
a minussignappears
system
metering
of theautomatic
thereis not
L Thisindicates
to theleftof thenumeral
aperture.
lightto takea pictureat thepresent
enough
makethe
therearefouralternatives:
Whenthisoccurs
0r usea faster
larger,
shoota timedexposure,
aperture
f ilmo r ASAr at ing.
tf the LCDshowsthenumerateight with a
minus sign to the right of it, there is not
enoughIight to make a correct exposureat the
shutter speedyouhaveselected.

+lnDo

34

-E-

{
j

'a

:.iL
iI
"V
'&
4

n
I
r-I
'lt

lf thelightentering
the automatic
metering
system
re q uir es
d e1 /2 0 0 0s e c ra
. nge
a s hut t er
s pee b
d e y o nth
s h u tte r
o f the LCD,( 1/ 2000s e c .i s th e ma x i mu m
to th el e fto f th en u me ra l
sp e ed)
a pluss ignapp e a rs
2 0 0 0 .A s m alleraDe rtu re
s l,o w e rfi l m , o r n e u tra l for thelight.
density
filtermustbe usedt0 c0mpensate
(se ethe s ec t ionon N e u tra l -d e n sf iilty
te rs ).In th e
ma n u alm ode.t he LC Dw i n d o wi n th e v i e w fi n d e r
of the set
displays
an "M" to the left of the number
sh u tter
s peed.
Whenus ingm anu a l lcyo n tro l l esdh u tte sr p e e d s
a plusor
from8 seq.t0 1/2000sec.theLCDdisplays
minussign(orboth)justabovetheletter"M". Thisis
to i n d ic atan
e under0r o v e re x p o s u re .
Forex am ple,
if t heL C Di s d i s p l a y i na gm i n u s i g n
Eitherthe shutter
the picturewill be underexposed.
madelarger.
speed
or theaperture
should
bedecreased
lf a plus sign shouldappear,the picturewill be'
overexposed.
speedand/or
In eithercase,manipulation
of shutter
aperture
mustbe doneuntilboththe plusandminus
Thenthe camerais set for a
signsappeartogether.
Tooperate
thecamera
in themanual
correct
exposure.
o n ma n u aml e te ri n g .
mo de,
s eet hes ec t ion
Avoidstoring
theNikonF3 in a hotplacesuchas a
theLCDis
of a carbecause
trunkor glovecompartment
of 60 degrees
C
to heat,andat temperatures
sensitive
(1 4 0degr ees
F ) t hewh o l es u rfa coef th e L C Dtu rn s
b l a ckand is t em pora ri ul yn u s a b l eT.h i s c o n d i ti o n
andhas
dropsto normal
disappears
asthetemperature
no effecton the actualfunction
of the F3.Storage
of
35

www.orphancameras.com

r4,..rPrn

I
Overexposed

-\I.

Underexposed

C orre ctl ye xpos ed

ln the manualmode a small "m" appearsto
is
the left of the shutter speed.Overexposure
is
indicatedby a "+"; sign; underexposure
indicatedby a "-" sign; and correctexposune
is indicatedby a "- *" sign.
mayshorten
in heatsuchasthis,however,
thecamera
belowfreezing
the life of the LCD.Temperatures
l , a k i nigts
y t heliq u i dc ry s tam
i nc re a se
thsev is c os itof
returnsto
But againthissituation
response
sluggish.
rises.
normalas thetemperature
overa periodof six or
The LCDmaydeteriorate
difficult
years.
andbecome
lose
c0ntrast
lt
can
seven
d e a l eor r
s eey o u rc a me ra
t 0 se e Wh
. e nt hishappens
l et m e n t.
neare st
Ni ko sner v icof
e f ic ef ora re p l a c e m e n
36

J
f\

VI EWFIND ER ILLUMINATOR
In lowlightsituations
it becomes
difficult
to seethe
LcD and aperture
windowsinsidethe viewfinder.
A
smallredbutton0n the far rightcornerof the prism
housing(frombehindthe camera)when pressed,
illuminates
thesetwo windows
witha small"grain-of.
wheat"lamp,providing
a verydimbutsufficient
right.

BACK-UP
MECHANICAL
RELEASE
LEVER
The NikonF3 hasan emergency
provision
for a
mechanical
shutter
release
if thebatteries
should
fail.
Thisback-up
mechanical
shutter-release
leveris at the
lowerleftsideof thelens-mount
housing.
ln low light situationsthe LCDbecomes
difficult to read.Toilluminate the display,
pressthe viewfinder-illuminatorbutton on the
cornerof the prism housing.

37

www.orphancameras.com

Touseit, pullit partwayoutfromthewallof the

. r e s s i ni tg,a
l e n s - m o uhnotu s i nsgoi t i s a c c e s s i bBl eyp
i s a c h i e v eAd h
. a n dm e t eor r
1 / 6 0s e c s. h u t t esrp e e d
e d u c a t egdu e s ds e t e r m i ntehsea p e r t u rsee t t i n gW. h e n
t will
t h es h u t t esrp e e d i a li s s e to nt h e" T " p o s i t i oi n
a l l o wt r m e de x p o s u r e s .
N o t e :l f t h e f i l m i s a d v a n c ewdh i l et h e b a c k - u p
m e c h a n i craell e a s lee v e ri s b e i n gh e l dd o w n ,t h e
e lhye nt h ef i l ma d v a n c e
s h u t t ewri l lr e l e a si em m e d i a t w
c y c l ei s c o m p l e t et hdu, sw a s t i n0gn ef r a m eA. l s oi,f t h e
e v e irs
f i l mi s a d v a n c ei ndc o m p l e t ae nl ydt h eb a c k - ul p
r i l l g 0u p a n d
u s e dt o r e l e a steh es h u t t etrh, em i r r ow
r e m a i ni n t h e " u p " p 0 s i t i ounn t i lt h e a d v a n clee v e r
c y c l ei s c o m p l e t eTdh.i st o ow i l l w a s t eo n ef r a m e .

EXPOSURE
METERING
mseutreer i nsgy s t e m
T h eN i k o F
n 3 ' sa u t o m a t i c - e x p g
do
. us e t t h e a p e r t u raen dt h e
i s a p e r t u rper e f e r r eY
s e t st h ec o r r e csth u t t esrp e e d .
m e t e r i nsgy s t e m
u s i n gt h e m e t e r i nsgy s t e mm, a k es u r et h e
Before
u s e di ss e tc 0 r r e c tol ynt h e
A S Ar a t i n o
g f t h ef i l mb e i n g
A S Ad i a l T
. h e nt,u r no nt h em e t esr w i t c hf o u n da t t h e
l euat st oenT.h i s
b a s eo f t h ea d v a n cl e v e r / s h u t t e r - r e b
be
ypdu s h i ni tgt o t h er i g h st ot h er e dd o t
i sa c c o m p l i s h
and
i s s h o w i nTg h. i st u r n s0 nb o t ht h em e t e r i nsgy s t e m
t h ee l e c t r o m a g nsehtui ct t e r - r e l ebaustet o nW. h e ni n t h e
" o f f " p 0 s i t i o nt h, e s h u t t e r - r e l e a
b suet t o nd o e sn o t
operate.
Nexta
, c t i v a tteh e L C De x p 0 s u r e a d o uwt i n d o w
t h ev i e w f i n d eTro. d o t h i s ,p r e s s o f t l y0 n t h e
inside
38

TheNikon F3 is equippedwith a I l8O sec.

mechanicalshutter speedin the eventof a
battery failure. Tof ire the shutter
mechanically,use the mechanicalshutterreleaseleveron the front of the camera.
shutter-release
button.
Becareful
to presstheshutterrelease
softly0r youwill triggertheshutter.
TheLCD
w i l l r e m a i n0 n f o r 1 6 s e c o n dasf t e ry o u rf i n g e ri s
removed
fromthebutton.
Eachtime the shutter-release
buttonis pressed
whilethe camera
is in the automatic
mode,the LCD
windowdisplaysthe approximate
shutterspeedat
whichthe exposure
will be made.Thedisplay
is the
approximate
as it indicates
onlythe closestc0nventionalshutterspeed.The actualshutterspeedis
39
t

(ona stepless
determined
scale)at theexactinterval
could
Thisshutter
speed
needed
fora correct
exposure.
be 1/157sec.buttheLCDwouldread1/125sec.(see
section
on LCD).
As the light reflectedfrom the subjectpasses
through
thelens
of thatlightis transferred
, 92 percent
Thepther
to thefocusing
with a reflexmirror.
screen
throughthe
eightpercentof the lightis transmitted
mirrorvia 50,000minuteeliptical
holes(seeaccompanying
mirrorhingedto the
illustration)
to a second
backof the mainreflexmirror.
Thissecondary
curved
mirroris ribbedin several
directions
t0 diffuselight.lt reflectsthe lightontoa
photodiode)cellat thebottomof
singleSPD(Silicoir
themirrorbox.Theinstant
theshutteris released
the

TheNikon F3 meters the exposureby allowing

light to passthroughthe main mirror and on to
a secondarymirror khown herd which
reflectsthe light on to the SPDphotocell.

40

ffi
TheNikon F3 exposuremetering system
allows light to passthrough the main miror
by meansof tiny holes randomlyptaced
in a keyholepattern. Thelight passing through
the mirroris reflected on to the SpDEy a
secondarymirror locatedbehind the main
mirror
rl

,-- V
E4

lightbeingmeasured
by thisSPDcelldetermines
the
shutterspeed.
TheNikonF3'smetering
system
is center-weighted.
Whenviewinga subject
through
thetype"K" focusing
scre ens upplied
wit h t h e c a me rath
, e me te ri s g 0
41

www.orphancameras.com

@
TheF3 meteringsystemis eightypercent
center-weighted.Thelight meter concentrates
primarilyon the centralportion of the image..
'area.
Shownhereis the relative"importance"
of variousareasof the imageto the light
meter
0n t he lig h tw i th i nth e s c re e n ' s
perce ndt e p endent
l a r g e1r 2 m mc i r c l e .
c te ri n g ,
Wh e nth e c am er ais s et f o r a u to m a time
and s hut t ers pe e da re c o n tro l l ebdy
depth -o f-field
t urn i nth
g ea p er t urreing.T oc o n trodl e p tho f fi e l d s, e t
fs to p .T h e s h u tte r
t he a p e rtu rreingon t he des i re d
adjus t eldf th
. es h u ttesrp e e di s
s pee ids a u tom at ic ally
shot,turntheaperture
toofastor slowfor a particular
i n th eL C D
a p p e a rs
speed
s hut t er
l edes ir ed
ringu n ti th
window.
meterreadsall lightasif it
Theautomatic-exposure
18 p e rc e ngtra y
a
s t a n d a rd
f
r
om
wereb e i n greflec t ed
c ea tt0 n e0 nfi l ma n d ,
t o r epr od u th
pan el t. i s d e s igned
t hyi s, i s d e s i ra b l e .
phot ogr aph
f or mo stg e n er al
how e v efor o lth ea u to ma ti c
s it uat ions
S o mel i g ht ing
mete ri nsyst
g emF. orex am plweh e np h o to g ra p hai n g

42

Tooperatethe exposurecompensationdial,
pressthe lock releasebutton and rotatethe
dial until the appropriateexposure
compensationnumberis oppositethe index
mark.

|l

s m a l l l, i g h ts u b j e cat g a i n sat d a r kb a c k g r o u nt hde,

meterwill readthe background.
Thisoverexposes
the
subject.
Toavoidthissituati0n,
underexp0se
In
slightly.
a situation
wheremostof thebackground
is lightand
thesubject
is moderately
dark,gltlggD.e slightly.
In thesedifficultlighting
situations
try to takea
(seethesection
reading
directly
fromthesubject.
0n
the exposure
mem0ry-lock
button.)
lf the subjectis
d i s t a nt a
, k ea c l o s e - urpe a d i nfgr o ma n 1 8 p e r c e n t
g r a yc a r do, r f r o mt h ep a l mo f y o u rh a n dR
. emember
theshutter
speed
beingdisplayed
bytheLCDandreturn
43

www.orphancameras.com
thecamera
t0theoriginal
fieldof viewNext,
turnrhe I
exposure-compensation
index/ASA
dialuntilrheshurter u

I
q

s peedo b ta i n ef d
r omt he c los e-ure
p a d i nagp p e a rs
in
theLCDwindow.
Exposure
compensation
maybe usedto underex-

i'::#,::1'J:H::'
ll""l11X,'i,J
A i
;T,*';'JLtl

k e eps
t h ee xp os urc e
om pens atdi o
i anfro
l ma c c i d e n ta l l y
slipping
awayfrom "0." T0 movethe dial to a new
pos it io pn re
, sstheloc kbut t onan dro ta teth ed i a l .B e
surethatthedialringis firmlylocked
in position
when
settingit. Do notforgetto returnthe dialt0 the ,,0,,
position
aftermaking
a compensated
exposure.

EXPOSURE
MEMORY.LOCK
BUTTON

The exposurememory-lock
buttonis used t0
accurately
expose
brightor darksubjects
against
their
opposite
backgrounds.
To use the exposurememory-lock,
centerthe

;::l:'ill'nfJ[:1,:l't,11,'l';,["
ilo,;
]l'ill''fl::I i,

compose
the sceneand takethe picturewhile the
b u t t oni s sti l l d epr es s ed.
T he p h o to g ra pwhi l l b e
p r ope rleyxp o se d.

USINGTHEMANUALMODE
Form a n u aolp er at ion,
m ov et hes h u tte r-s p edei adl
fromthe 'A' setting.
Pressthe lock-release
buttonin
t h ec enteor f th edialandr ot at et h ed i a lto a d e s i re d
44

To use the exposure-memory-lock, pretssthe

exposure-memory-lock-button and keep it
pressed as you recompose your photograph.

shutter
speed.
TheLCDwindowin theviewfinder
will
displayan "M" to the left of the shutterspeed
n u m e r a lTsh. i si n d i c a t et hsec a m e r a ,i ns t h em a n u a l
mode.
"8" and"T" eithera
In all manual
settings
except
plussign,minussign,or bothappear
abovethe"M".
Theminussignindicates
underexposure.
Theplussign
indicates
overexposure.
A correct
exposure
is indicated
whentheplusandminus
signappear
together.
Usethis
exposure
0r deviate
fromit as youseefit.
45

www.orphancameras.com

t
G

ln the manual mode a correctly exposed

photograph is indicated by a "- +" above the
"m" and to the left of the selected shutter
speed.

DEPTH-OF.FIELD
SCALE
Thedepth-of-field
scaleis directlyin frontof the
lens.Thescaleis
ringon almost
everyNikkor
mounting
of thefusually
colorcodedto matchthecolorcoding
ring.lf youwantt0 getan
ontheaperture
stopnumbers
you are workingwith
indication
of the depth-of-field
usethe depth-of-field
beforeyoumakethe exposure,
-field buttonyou
preview.By pressing
the depth-of
' c l oseth ed i a p hr agm
a pde rtu re .
downt o t hep re -s e l e c te
At this point,just look throughthe viewfinderto
previewthedepth-of-field.

FOCUSING
Nikon
withthe standard
TheNikonF3 is equipped
is a
Inthecenter
of thisscreen
TypeK focusing
screen.
s plit -i ma gra
e ngef inders ur r o u n d ebdy mi c ro p ri s m
outfield.
collarandfine-matte
46

Next to the distance markings on Nikkor

lenses is a color coded depth-of-f ield scale
that indicates zones of relative sharpness
given by various apertures.

The depth-of-field preview-button allows you

to visually check the depth of f ield by
temporarily stopping down the lens aperture
from the maximum apprture to the selected
aperture. The image alrkens in the viewfinder
but the depth of f ield afforded by the selected
aperture then becomes visible.
47

www.orphancameras.com

T h e s p l i t - i m a gr e
a n g e f i n d e ; - uJ s e f u li n m o s t
situations
wherethe sublect,Katter
hasverticallines.
Simply
rotate
thefocusiny'ing
untilthetwo halves
of
t h ei m a g ce0 i n c i dTeh. en f i c r o p r i cs 0
ml l abr r e a kuspa n
o u to f f o c u si m a g es 0 t h a ti t a p p e a rssh a t t e r eudn t i l
b r o u g hitn t o f o c u s .B o t ht h e m i c r o p r i s a
mn d t h e
r a n g e f i n dmear yb e c o mdei f f i c utl o
t u s ei n l o wl i g h to r
w i t hl e n s ehsa v i nsgm a lm
l a x i m uamp e r t u r eI sn.t h e s e
s i t u a t i o nuss, e t h e m a t t eo u t f i e l do f t h e f o c u s i n g
screen.

The type K focusing screen is the standard

focusing screen on the Nikon F3.

f
}
48

I N F R A R E DF O C U S I N G
Infrared
lightraysfocusata pointslightly
infrontof
raysfromthevisiblespectrum.
Therefore,
whenusing
blackandwhiteinfrared
film a slightadjustment
in
focusing
is necessary.A
smallreddotlocated
to theleft
of the aperture/distance
scaleindex(onmostNikkor
lenses)
is usedas the focusing
indexfor black-andwhiteinfrared
film.
First,focus normally.
Then,shift the distance
marking
indicated
by the distance
scaleoverto the
infrared
focusing
dot.Thecamerais nowfocused
for
infraredrays.
B e c a u s eo f t h e s p e c i a ln a t u r eo f b l a c ka n d w h i t e
i n f r a r e df i l m , u s ea m e d i u m - r elde n sf i l t e rw h e nt a k i n g
pictures.
lnfrared films reguire a slight adjustment of
focus to provide sharp photogriphs. Nikkor
lenses have a small infrared focusing index dot
just to the left on the normal focusing index
mark.

49

www.orphancameras.com

SCREENS
FOCUSING

theoptionof
TheNikonF3 offersthephotographer
wi thh i sc a me raT.h e re
s c r eens
s c us ing
u singv a ri o ufo
f or the F3,
are twentyfocusingscreensavailable
d " s cre esnu p p l i ewdi thth e
r angi nfro
g mth es t andar" K
as thetype"T" thatis used
to suchscreens
camera,
Like many of the
preparing
TV broadcasts.'
when
for the F3, the
designed
screens
focusing
accessory
etchedinto the
markings
type "T" has specialized
inrs
c o m p o s i ndgi ffi c u l t
to g u idephot ogr aphe
s ur f a ce
lineindicates
Inthecaseof thetype"T" a dotted
shots.
shows
whilea solidoutline
format,
TVscreen
standard
suchas thetype
a "safeaction"area.0therscreens,
"E", f0r architectural
ph0t0graphy,
andthetype"M",
photomicrography,
are alsoavailable
and
for close-up
to the F3 photographer.
To changefocusingscreens,f irst removethe
t hef inde r-re l e al esvee rsto th e
view fi n d ebry s liding
a lif t ingt h eu n i ts tra i g hutp ,a n d
bac kof th eca m erand
is accessible'
screen
Nowthefocusing
off thecamera.
yo u rfi n g er nail
t her e a re d g eo f th es c re e n
under
Inse rt
andlift if out.
insertthefrontedge{the
screen,
Toinstallanother
r ep i na n dp u s h
edgew i thth es lotint hec ent eru)n d eth
downthe rear edgeof the screenuntil it falls into
p lace .

SHUTTER
EYEPIECE

DE-2eyelevelviewfinder
TheNikonF3'sstandard
beusedwhen
thatshould
shutter
an eyepiece
features
50

L,

lo @ l'l

@
[l
@ ll @
@@
@@@
Type C

TypeE

Type B

TypeD

T ype G (Gr,G:, Gr, Gr)

T ype H (Hr, H:, Hr, Hr)

Type L

Type P

Type J

Type M

Type A

w
t

r@

TypeT

for the FS.

| 3 accessoryfocusingbcreens
6
51

To remove a focusing screen, remove the prism

housing, and place your f ingernail under the
back edge of the screen and lift it out.

it is impossible
to keepyour eye at the viewfinder
(suchas whenthe self-timer
is in use).Thisshutter
r Dprevents
straylightfrom entering
the eyepiece
and
*lg,o
affecting
the automatic
exposure
meterreading.
pushthe smalllever,
To usethe eyepiece
shutter,
located
to the left of the eyepiece,
to the left.The
eyepiece
appearsred, to signalthat the eyepiece,J\utor.,
tt
-$r"
shutteris in use.
52