Nikon f6.

Woodsy said:
Precisely.

Ergonomics not being subjective is essentially another way of stating that everyone who uses an F3 has the same hand, face and arm size and shape, which of course is nonsense. Build 'quality' (I.E, the quality of the workmanship by which is it assembled?) I doubt there's much in it. How resistant each model is to damage is another matter; one which I have no doubt the F3 is better for.
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Actually people are very similar - generally four fingers and a thumb all on the same place on a right hand; a design engineer will tell you that hence one good design can be ergonomically correct for a high proportion of users.
An interchangeable viewfinder with different designs for eye glass wearers, not having to have the wind on lever in the stand off position to switch the meter on (a left eye viewer gets pocked in the eye with the FE/FM series of cameras) and a shaped grip on the right hand side of the camera give the F3 better ergonomics.
Build quality also includes the quality of parts incorporated inside, the F3 is superior in this respect with every component being selected for its function and longevity hence the shutter could be guaranteed for twice the activations of the non single digit Nikon's. Even the film advance mechanism has twice the number of bearings as any other camera and is reputed to be the smoothest of any make of camera - all done to allow the highest frame rate on any film camera whilst consuming half the battery power from the motor drive.
Researching the development of the F3 shows how much thought went into its design and ergonomics; it certainly wasn't ''cobbled' together as it is being suggested but a major project for Nikon & a 'make or break' product for them.
The only advantage the FM3a has is the flash sync speeds allowing better use of daylight fill flash IMO

But...............both are really superb cameras and if money was no object I would have both as well as an F6 (I would leave the F5 as it is just like my fuggly D4)
 
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Fraser Euan White said:
not having to have the wind on lever in the stand off position to switch the meter on (a left eye viewer gets pocked in the eye with the FE/FM series of cameras)
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....and the lever could get up your nose in the vertical position :rolleyes:. I have a SLR camera (Chinon CE) that you have to wind on fully before you can use the meter...stupid :rolleyes:.....h'mm do the designers ever get the sack for silly ideas.
 
Having recently purchased a F5 it has become my go to 35mm body currently.

I cant currently put my finger on it or write sufficient pros in praise of the F5, but lets just say that it sits in my hands exactly as I would expect a pro camera from Nikon to do so, it has a large view finder (important to specs wearers like me), and all of the controls fall to hand with ease, backwards comparable with all my Nikon glass etc.

I'll wear out before the camera does.......

F6 just looks like a slightly souped version of a F100.. Sorry but that is how i see it, and I would go as far as to say that the F5 is the better camera of the 2. :exit:

Also just look at F6 prices versus F5's...... That I can not understand

:nikon:
 
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The cynic's guide to Nikon SLRs:

F3 - Aggressively angular 80s design, the Audi Quattro of SLRs. Spoilt by proprietary flash system designed purely to sell more Nikon flashguns.
F4 - Nikon's best manual focus camera (rumoured to have an emergency AF mode). Started the unfortunate trend for bloated pro bodies that can also be used as boat anchors. Did wonders for the sales of the F90.
F5 - Easily mistaken for a medium format camera - put it next to an Olympus XA and it's hard to believe they take the same film. Good camera to use if you have an assistant to lug your gear about. Too many locks.
F100 - Nikon's best AF camera, until the plastic catch on the back breaks and you realise there are no spares.
F6 - Jumped up F100 for 5 times the price. Small faux-digital screen on the back makes it look like an obsolete dSLR.
FM3a - Nikon's last word on manual SLRs. Seems like a precision instrument until you try a Leica, then it feels more like a hard-wearing piece of agricultural machinery. Only works when the wind-on lever is pulled out to a position carefully designed to poke left-eyed photographers in the right eye.

I'm available to insult other cameras on request.
 
excalibur2 said:
erm Canon T70 ;)
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The T-series, Canon's last ditch attempt to persuade their hapless customers the FD line had a future, produced one worthwhile camera, but it wasn't this one. Launched in 1984 with the slogan The New Age Dawns (presumably 'Ignorance is Strength' and 'Not as bad as the T50' were rejected as too on the nail), the T70 was touted as 'the camera with brains' (a faculty more traditionally supplied by the photographer). Constructed from 80s wonder plastic, the T70 proclaims its operating features on the front in crowded gold lettering like a cheap stereo. Other Amstrad-inspired design cues include 'total pushbutton control', a feature made fashionable by the badly mistaken belief that buttons cryptically labelled 'up' and 'down' are somehow superior to dials, and an ability to make irritating beeps to broadcast your mistakes to the world. The T70 is noted for two innovations in battery technology, a fragile main compartment cover that is typically secured with duct tape, and a backup lithium cell so deeply buried in the works that nobody without a service manual and a soldering iron can replace it.
 
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To try and get things in perspective, I don't think any of the Nikon cameras were or are "Fugly"
This is, if I understand the term, "Fugly"

Pentax_6%C3%977_MU.JPG
 
With the exception of some of the T series, I think overall Canon have produced prettier, sleeker looking cameras than Nikon, particularly when fitted with battery/power booster grips. In particular, I think the Nikon F2 series looked like a cross between a WW2 battleship and the skyline of New York! As for the Pentax 6x7, it's not ugly, it's just huge!
 
soupdragon said:
To try and get things in perspective, I don't think any of the Nikon cameras were or are "Fugly"
This is, if I understand the term, "Fugly"

Pentax_6%C3%977_MU.JPG
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Are you blind, it’s a design classic.
 
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