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t 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 10
PARTSNOMENCLATURE 12
BasicOperation 16
LOADING FILM 16
SETTING ASA FILMSPEED 18
MAKINGEXPOSURES 20
CHANGING LENSES 21
DetailedInstructions 22
BATTERIES 22
FILMPLANEINDICATOR 24
FILMADVANCELEVER 24
FRAMECOUNTER 25
REWINDING FILM 26
\-- SETTING THEAPERTURE 27
\CTTIruCTHESHUTTER SPEED 30
LCDDISPLAY WINDOW 33
VIEWFINDER ILLUMINATOR 37
BACK-UP MECHANICAL RELEASE
LEVER 37
METERING EXPOSURE 38
EXPOSURE MEMORY LOCK
BUTTON 44
USINGTHEMANUALMODE 45
DEPTH.OF.FIELD SCALE 46 {
FOC US I NG 46
INFRARED FOCUSING 49 '.x
FOCUS I NGS CRE E NS 50
I- I I
 E Y E P I E CE
S HU T T ER 50
MULTIPLE EXPOSURE LEVER 53
CHA NG I NG LE N S ES 54
SELF-TIMER 54
M I RRO LO R CK -U LPE VE R 56
A CCE S S O RY SH OE 56
S Y NCT E RM I N AL 58
F I LMM E M OHOL D ER 59
CA M E RACA R E 60
Accessories 62
MD-4 MOTORDRIVE 62
BASICOPERATIONS OFTHEMD.4 62
S B - 1 2S P E E D L I G H T 70
B A S I CO P E RA T IOONFT H ESB -1 2 71
F I NDE RS 78

PART TWO:

GiENEFIAL PHGITC,GiFIAPHIC
TEGHNIOUEsi

Introduction 82
Lenses and their Uses 82
L E N SC H A R A C T E R I S T I C S 82
I Focallength.Speed.Depth of
f ield. Perspectivedistortion.
N O R M A LL E N S E S 85
W I D E - A N G L EL E N S E S 87
TELEPHOTO LENSES 87
ZOOM LENSES 89
 www.orphancameras.com
Filmsand Filters 90
F I L MC H A R A C T E R I S T I C S 90
Spged.Grain..Contrast.Color
Balance.Reversaland negative
films. Latitude.
SLOW FILMS 92,
MEDIUM-SPEED
HIGH-SPEED F]LMS
FILMS

S P E C I A L - P U R P O SFEI L M S
Kodak High-ContrastCoPYFilm.
92
92
93 o
Kodak Direct Positive
PanchromaticFilm.Kodak High
Speed lnfraredFilm.Kodak
EktachromelnfraredFilm.
Eastman5247. Kodak
EktachromeS lide DuPlicating
Film.
FILTERSYSTEMS 94
FILTERSFORBLACK-AND-WHlTE
FILMS 94
FILTERS FORCOLORFILMS 96
Color-conversionf ilters.Light-
balancingf ilters.Color-
comPensatingfilters'
FILTERSFORBOTH COLORAND
BLACK-AND-WHITEFILMS 98
Polarizer.Neutral-densityf ilters.
Haze,UV and skYlight filters.
EXPOSURECALCULATIONWITH
FILTERS 99

Electronic Flash PhotograPhY 100

DETERMINING EXPOSURE 100
AUTOMATICFLASH 101
MANUAL FLASH 101
BOUNCEFLASH 102
FILL.INFLASH 103
 ExposureGuide 105
THEE X P O S URMEE T ER 105
METERING FORCOLORFILM 107
F O RBL A C K -AN D -
M E T E RI NG
WHITEFILM 108
W I TH O U T
E X P O S URE A ME T ER 109
AVAILABLE.LIG HT EXPOSUR E 109
REFLECTORS 109
P US H- P RO CE SS l N G 111

lt

'l
 www.orphancameras.com

,l
r
o PAF|T ONE

THE CAME]IA

o
 THE IVIKGIN F3

lntnoduction

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

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

exp0sure metering system.Sincethemetering system

It 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 thetraditionof theNikonF andF2,the
NikonF3 is designed to provideunparalleled quality,
flexibility,
andruggedness. lt is a cameracapable of
beingmodified to meelanyphotographic situation.

11
 13
1
12
2
11
4
5

18

12
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I
NTKON
F3-PARTSNOMENCLATURE
)
1. Mirror lockup lever
2. Self-timer LED
, 3. Shutter-speed dial locking button
4. Backup mechanicalrelease lever
I 5. Exposure memory lock button
, 6. Lens mounting flange
7. Reflex mirror
8. ADR window
9. Viewfinder illuminator
| 10. Metercoupling lever.
| 1 1. Lens release button
12. Lens mounting index
13. F l a s hs y n c . t e r m i n a l
14. Meter coupling lever release button
_ 15. Motor drive coupling
1| 16. Film rewind button
J 17. Motor drive positioning hole
, 18. Tripod/motor drive coupling socket
I 19. Battery chamber lid
2O. Motor drive coupling cover
I

,
13
23
32
t
33

34
24
25
35
'36
t

14
'o 21.
22.
23.
Depth-of-field indicators
Exposure compensation scale
Hot-shoe contacts
24. Film rewind crank
25. Camera back lock lever
26. Exposure compensation locking button
27. Shutter speed index

I 28.
29.
30.
Film plane indicator
Shutter speed dial
Shutter-speed scale
31. Self-timer lever
32. Power switch
33. Multiple exposure lever
34. Shutter release button
#' 35. Frame counter
36. Film advance lever
ft 37.
38.
Distance scale
Aperture/focusing index
, 39. Aperture ring
4O. Eyepiece shutter lever
41. ASA film speedscale

3 42.
43.
Viewfinder eyepiece
Memo holder

t
I, 15
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Elasic OPenation
o
of the Nikon FB

FILM
LOADING
a
0penthe camera backby first slidingthe safety-
lockievertowardthe rearof thecamera, thenlifting
thefilm-rewind
a 35 mm film
knobuntil
cassette
the
into
back
the
swings
film
open'
chamber'
Insert
Push t
downtherewindknob,twistingit slightlyto properly
engage it withthecassette. thefilmleader
Insert intoa
sloi on the camera's take-up spool.Turn the take-up
spool'swheel(onthelowerendof thespool)to theleft
untilthefilm leaderis firmlyandcompletely wrapped
aroundthe take-upspoolmakingsurethat the film
perforations are properly engaged with boththe top,
spool'Withthe
andbottom,
cartridge
sprockets
properly
on the take-up
seatedandthe film straight,
the backof the camera. Alternately
close
strokethe film-
a
leverand releasethe shuttertwo or three
advance
times,untilthefilmcounter indicatesthefirstframeis j
reached. Turntherewindknobto takeup anyslackin
thefilm.Whentheendof ttierollof filmis reached
depress the rewind
you
button
L
mustrewindthe film' First
onthebottom of thecamera' Pullouttherewindcrank
andturnit clockwise untilyoufeelnomoretension on
d
thecrank.
f,
16
 Place the f ilm cartridge into the camera with
the film leader facing to the right.

lnsert the f ilm leaderinto the take-upspool.

,tl
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 theASAfilm-

speeddialandrotateit untiltheASAvalueof thefilm
yguareusingis aligned withthewhiteindexmark.
Firstturn 0n the pgwerswitchthen,checkthe
batteriesby slightlydepressing
button.lf the batteries
the shutterrelease
are goodthe liquidcrystal
o
display(LCD) theshutter
will display
in theviewfinder
speed.lf it doesnot cgme0n, batteries shouldbe
replaced.
18
o

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
Once the ASA rs sef, release the f ilm speed
dial and the appropriate setting is locked into
place.
\t 19
 www.orphancameras.com
MAKINGEXPOSURES
Takea pictureby following thesesteps:
operation, turnthe
c
Tosetthecamera for automatic
' A'
s hut tesp
r eed dial c loc k wis un
e ti lth e g re e n is
aligned withthewhitemarkon the prismhousing'
Setaperture ringon lenst0 the desiredf-stop'
Asyoulookthrough theviewfinder, slightly depress
the shutterrelease button s0 the LCD will display the

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.

a
@ t

20
 shutter speed. TheLCDwill stayonfor l6 seconds. lf
the shutterspeedis too fast or too slow,turn the
rl aperture ring to adjust.For hand-held
b e g inwit ha s hut t er
photography
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
6 s h a rp .

CHANGING
LENSES

'l Toremove
thecamera
a lens,pressthelens-release
bodylocated
buttonon
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
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Detailed OPenation
of the Nikon F3

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

22
I 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
The NikonF3 has a back-up mechanical release
lever if batteriesfail. By pullingout the back-up
mechanical releaselever part way, it becomes
accessible t0 yourfingertip.Whenpushed completely
down it releasesthe shuttermechanically at a speed of
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
operates in thismanner whentheshutter speeddialis
0n any settingexcept "T". lf the back-up leveris
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
another setting.
- FILM.PLANE
INDICATOR
Thewhiteengraved markonthetopof thecamera
body (seeaccompanying represents
illustration) the
of thefilm planeinsidethe camera.
exactlocation In
areas
specialized of photography, such as mac-
it is necessary
rophotography, t0 measure the exact
distancebetween the film planeand the subject.In
suchinstances,thiswouldbe thepointfromwhichto
measure.Thedistance between thefilmplaneandthe
of the lens-mount
frontsurface 46.5
flangeis exactly
mm.

FILMADVANCELEVER
Thefilmadvance leverontheNikonF3 is designed
for quick accessibility and operation'0ne stroke
advances thefilmonecomplete Whenreleased,
frame.
it automaticallysprings restposition.
backto itsnormal
lf the leveris notgivenone completestroke,thefilm

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

C degrees from its closedposition.This is a handy

"ready" positionwhen makingquick sequential
exposures. A complete strokeof the advance lever
measures 170degrees; 30 degreesforthehandy pull-
out,plus140 degrees for a completeadvance 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
framesbeyondthe traditional thirty six). This is
especially helpful forphotographers whobulkloadfilm.

R E W I N D I N GF I L M
exposed,
Whena roll of film hasbeencompletely
the advance To rewind
leverwill stopin mid-cycle.
exposedfilm, pressthe film-rewind button0n the
bottomof the camera. thefilm sprocket
Thisreleases
driveandallowsthefilmto be rewound. Foldoutthe

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
tensionfromthefilm (therewindcrankwill turnmore
freely)andtheendof theleaderwill snapbackintothe

o cassette.Openthecamera

knob.Thecamera
backby pushingthecamera
backlockleverto the rightwhileliftingthe rewind
backthenpopsopen.Loading and
unloading0f film should
alwaysbe doneoutof direct
sunlight.

THEAPERTURE
SETTING
TheapertureringonmostNikkorlenses is thelens
ringclosest
to thecamera body.Turningit opensand
closesthediaphragm inside
thelensto thedesired f-

27
 Whenturned
stgp. number
to a higher thediaphragm is
closedto a smaller aperture,thusletting lesslight
throughthe lens.
MostNikkorlenses areautomatic.Thismeans that
theyremainat the largestaperture untilthe shutter-
release buttonis pressed.0ncethe shutter-release
buttonis pressed, the apertureautomaticallycloses
downto the selected f-stoP.

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.

Settingthe aperture maybe doneby turningthe

aperture ringso thedesired f-stopis aligned with the
blackaperture/focusing indexreference dotonthelens'
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
lookingin the viewfinder. Justturnthe aperture ring
untilthedesired f-stopappears in theaperture window.
0ldernon-AlNikkorlenseswill not displaythe f-
stopin the aperture windowof theviewfinder.

SPEED
THESHUTTER
SETTING

TheNikonF3 features an electronically controlled,

quartz-timed
shutter madeof quilted titanium foil.This
focalplaneshuttermoveshorizontally andhasspeeds
for "T", "8"
fromI to 1/2000sec.lt alsohassettings
and"X" (l /8 0 s ec . )plus
Theshutter-speed
, an e l e c tro nsi ce l f-ti m e r.
dial is on the rightsideof the-
a
prismhousing. Tosettheshutter speed, rotatethedial
andlineup the desired shutter speed with the white
indexmarkontherightsideof theprism
shutter-speed
.{
30
 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,
andth e " X" (1 /8 0s e cfl
. a s hs y n c )
se tti n g.
lf eitherof thesesettings comeintoposifion while
rotating thedial,it automatically locksitselfin position.
'O To rotatethe dial out of that position,
button in thecenterof thedialandrotate
depress
thedialaway
the

fromthelockposition. Thedialmoves freelywithsoft

clicksacross all othersettings.
The shutter-speed dial is colorcodedfor quick

n identification
g re e n,s peeds
andfractional
n u mer at or
of variousshutterspeeds. The
'A'
of onef ul ls e c o nodr s l o w ear reo ra n g e
speeds are displayed in whitewithout
s . eis onee x c e p ti oTnh. es p e e o
T her
is

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
synchronization (besides 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
)t 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

iI ta ki n g,
will be lef t alon eT. h e re fo re
shiftmustbe prevented
a n, u n i n te n ti o n a l
andthe lockposition at this
settingis essential.
f: Forsimilarreasons
p o si tion.
the "X" settingis a locked
W hent ak ingpi c tu reuss i n ge l e c tro nfli ca s h ,
f 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.

The"8" setting is fortimedexpgsures. Thissetting

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

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
C 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
re l e a soef t hes hut t er
att h ew ro n gs h u ttesrp e e d (s i n c e
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 speeds' 8, 4,
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
n, ht im ea newn u m b earp p e a rs
I n a d d i ti oeac o nth e
LCO, it remains lor 112 sec.before a shift in light may
changeit. lf it were not for this featureeventhe
slightech st a nge in lightwouldc a u s the eL C Dto fl i c k e r,
t re a d .
{
m aki nth g en u m bert soodif f ic u lto j

modethe LCDdisplays onlythe

In the automatic
denominator of thefraction of a second.
1125 0se c.reads250 and1/ 2 se c .re a d s2 .
Forexample,
o l
Whenthe lightleveldecreases t0 thepointwhere
the me te d r e m ands onef ull s e c o n sdh u ttesr p e e do r I
more,theLCDdisplays thatnumber witha dashto the
rightof it.Thisdashdistinguishes a wholenumber from
a fraction.
lf th el i g htlev eldr opsbelowth ee i g hst e c o nra d nge
of theautomatic metering system a minussignappears
to theleftof thenumeral L Thisindicates thereis not
enough lightto takea pictureat thepresent aperture.
Whenthisoccurs therearefouralternatives: makethe
aperture larger, shoota timedexposure, 0r usea faster
f ilmo r ASAr at ing.

tf the LCDshowsthenumerateight with a

minus sign to the right of it, there is not
t
enoughIight to make a correct exposureat the
shutter speedyouhaveselected.

+lnDo -E-

34
 'a lf thelightentering
re q uir es
the automatic
s pee b
a s hut t er d e y o nth
metering
d e1 /2 0 0 0s e c ra
o f the LCD,( 1/ 2000s e c .i s th e ma x i mu m
system
. nge
s h u tte r
sp e ed) a pluss ignapp e a rs to th el e fto f th en u me ra l
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 -
density filtermustbe usedt0 c0mpensate for thelight.
(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
displays an "M" to the left of the number of the set
sh u tter s peed.
Whenus ingm anu a l lcyo n tro l l esdh u tte sr p e e d s
from8 seq.t0 1/2000sec.theLCDdisplays a plusor
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
the picturewill be underexposed. Eitherthe shutter
speed should bedecreased or theaperture madelarger.
lf a plus sign shouldappear,the picturewill be'
overexposed.
:.iL
'& In eithercase,manipulation of shutter speedand/or
4

iI aperture mustbe doneuntilboththe plusandminus

"V signsappeartogether. Thenthe camerais set for a
correct exposure. Tooperate thecamera in themanual
mo de, s eet hes ec t ion o n ma n u aml e te ri n g .

n
'lt
Avoidstoring

sensitive
theNikonF3 in a hotplacesuchas a
trunkor glovecompartment of a carbecause
to heat,andat temperatures
theLCDis
of 60 degrees C
I (1 4 0degr ees F ) t hewh o l es u rfa coef th e L C Dtu rn s

r-I 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

disappears asthetemperature
no effecton the actualfunction
dropsto normal
of the F3.Storage
andhas
of

35
 www.orphancameras.com r4,..rPrn

I
Overexposed --
\I.

Underexposed

C orre ctl ye xpos ed

ln the manualmode a small "m" appearsto

the left of the shutter speed.Overexposure is
indicatedby a "+"; sign; underexposure is
indicatedby a "-" sign; and correctexposune
is indicatedby a "- *" sign.
thecamera in heatsuchasthis,however, mayshorten
the life of the LCD.Temperatures belowfreezing

response
thsev is c os itof
i nc re a se
sluggish. But againthissituation
normalas thetemperature
The LCDmaydeteriorate
rises.
l , a k i nigts
y t heliq u i dc ry s tam
returnsto

overa periodof six or

J
seven years. lt can lose c0ntrast andbecome difficult
t 0 se e Wh
neare st
. e nt hishappens s eey o u rc a me ra d e a l eor r
e f ic ef ora re p l a c e m e n
Ni ko sner v icof l et m e n t.
f\
36 ?
 VI EWFIND ER ILLUMINATOR
In lowlightsituations
it becomesdifficult
to seethe
LcD and aperture windowsinsidethe viewfinder.A
smallredbutton0n the far rightcornerof the prism
housing(frombehindthe camera)when pressed,
illuminatesthesetwo windows witha small"grain-of.
wheat"lamp,providing a verydimbutsufficientright.

BACK-UP
MECHANICAL
RELEASE
LEVER
The NikonF3 hasan emergency provisionfor a
mechanicalshutterrelease
if thebatteries
should fail.
Thisback-upmechanicalshutter-release
leveris at the
lowerleftsideof thelens-mounthousing.

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
l e n s - m o uhnotu s i nsgoi t i s a c c e s s i bBl eyp . r e s s i ni tg,a
1 / 6 0s e c s. h u t t esrp e e d i s a c h i e v eAd h. a n dm e t eor r
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 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 t will
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
s h u t t ewri l lr e l e a si em m e d i a t we lhye nt h ef i l ma d v a n c e
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
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 pe v e irs
u s e dt o r e l e a steh es h u t t etrh, em i r r ow r i l l g 0u p a n d
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
T h eN i k o F n 3 ' sa u t o m a t i c - e x p g mseutreer i nsgy s t e m
i s a p e r t u rper e f e r r eY do. us e t t h e a p e r t u raen dt h e
m e t e r i nsgy s t e m s e t st h ec o r r e csth u t t esrp e e d .
Before 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
A S Ar a t i n og f t h ef i l mb e i n gu s e di ss e tc 0 r r e c tol ynt h e
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
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 l euat st oenT.h i s
i sa c c o m p l i s h be ypdu s h i ni tgt o t h er i g h st ot h er e dd o t
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 and
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 ab 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
inside 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

38
 TheNikon F3 is equippedwith a I l8O sec.
mechanicalshutter speedin the eventof a
battery failure. Tof ire the shutter
mechanically,use the mechanicalshutter-
releaseleveron the front of the camera.

shutter-release button. Becareful to presstheshutter-

release 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 closestc0nven-
tionalshutterspeed.The actualshutterspeedis

39
t
determined (ona stepless scale)at theexactinterval
needed fora correct exposure. Thisshutter speedcould
be 1/157sec.buttheLCDwouldread1/125sec.(see
section on LCD).
As the light reflectedfrom the subjectpasses
through thelens , 92 percent of thatlightis transferred
to thefocusing screen with a reflexmirror. Thepther
eightpercentof the lightis transmitted throughthe
mirrorvia 50,000minuteeliptical holes(seeaccom-
panying illustration)
to a second mirrorhingedto the
backof the mainreflexmirror.
Thissecondary mirroris ribbedin several curved
directions t0 diffuselight.lt reflectsthe lightontoa
singleSPD(Silicoir photodiode)cellat thebottomof
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
 I

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

lightbeingmeasured by thisSPDcelldetermines the

rl shutterspeed.
TheNikonF3'smetering system is center-weighted.
,-- Whenviewinga subject through thetype"K" focusing
- V

E4 scre ens upplied , e me te ri s g 0

wit h t h e c a me rath

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

perce ndt e p endent 0n t he lig h tw i th i nth e s c re e n ' s

l a r g e1r 2 m mc i r c l e .
Wh e nth e c am er ais s et f o r a u to m a time c te ri n g ,
depth -o f-field and s hut t ers pe e da re c o n tro l l ebdy
g ea p er t urreing.T oc o n trodl e p tho f fi e l d s, e t
t urn i nth
t he a p e rtu rreingon t he des i re d
s pee ids a u tom at ic ally
toofastor slowfor a particular
adjus t eldf th
fs to p .T h e s h u tte r
. es h u ttesrp e e di s
shot,turntheaperture
o
ringu n ti thl edes ir ed speed
s hut t er a p p e a rsi n th eL C D
window.
Theautomatic-exposure meterreadsall lightasif it
wereb e i n greflec t ed f r oma s t a n d a rd 18 p e rc e ngtra y
pan el t. i s d e s igned t o r epr od u thc ea tt0 n e0 nfi l ma n d ,
f or mo stg e n er al phot ogr aph t hyi s, i s d e s i ra b l e .
s it uat ions
S o mel i g ht ing
mete ri nsyst
42
how e v efor o lth ea u to ma ti c
g emF. orex am plweh e np h o to g ra p hai n g I
f
t

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.
subject. Toavoidthissituati0n,
Thisoverexposes the
underexp0se slightly. In
a situation wheremostof thebackground is lightand
thesubject is moderately dark,gltlggD.e slightly.
In thesedifficultlighting situations try to takea
reading directly fromthesubject. (seethesection 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 I
exposure-compensation
index/ASA dialuntilrheshurter u 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::'
k e eps
ll""l11X,'i,J A i
;T,*';'JLtl
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 positionwhen
settingit. Do notforgetto returnthe dialt0 the ,,0,,
position aftermaking a compensated exposure.

EXPOSURE
MEMORY.LOCK ]
BUTTON
The exposurememory-lock buttonis used t0
accurately
exposebrightor darksubjects
against
their
opposite
backgrounds.
To use the exposurememory-lock, centerthe

;::l:'ill'nfJ[:1,:l't,11,'l';,["
compose
]l'ill''fl::I i,
ilo,;
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,
fromthe 'A' setting.
m ov et hes h u tte r-s p edei adl
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
d
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.
In all manual settings except "8" and"T" eithera
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
mounting ringon almost everyNikkor lens.Thescaleis
usually colorcodedto matchthecolorcoding of thef-
stopnumbers ontheaperture ring.lf youwantt0 getan
indication of the depth-of-field you are workingwith
beforeyoumakethe exposure, usethe depth-of-field
preview.By pressing the depth-of -field buttonyou
' c l oseth ed i a p hr agm
downt o t hep re -s e l e c te
a pde rtu re .
At this point,just look throughthe viewfinderto
previewthedepth-of-field.

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

}
48
 I N F R A R E DF O C U S I N G

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

SHUTTER
EYEPIECE
TheNikonF3'sstandard
an eyepiece
features
50
DE-2eyelevelviewfinder
beusedwhen
thatshould
shutter
0
L,
lo @ l'l
Type A
@ Type C TypeE

[- l
@ ll @
w
Type B TypeD T ype G (Gr,G:, Gr, Gr)

@@
T ype H (Hr, H:, Hr, Hr) Type L Type P

t @@@
Type J Type M

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 impossibleto keepyour eye at the viewfinder

(suchas whenthe self-timer is in use).Thisshutter r D-
prevents straylightfrom entering the eyepiece and *lg,o
affectingthe automatic exposuremeterreading.
To usethe eyepiece pushthe smalllever,
shutter,
located to the left of the eyepiece, to the left.The
eyepiece appearsred, to signalthat the eyepiece,J\utor., tt
shutteris in use. -$r"

52