I'm trying out this nikon f3.I don't have the manual but I would like to take afew pictures in the automatic mode to check out the camera operation. How do I set up the controls. thanks

-- rory (rip3@hotmail.com), October 06, 1998

Answers

Rory, at http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3/f3.htm you can find an F3 manual in .pdf format.

-- Geoffrey S. Kane (grendel@pgh.nauticom.net), October 08, 1998.

I'm posting this in a hope that this is an interest to some of you, or someone might benefit from my experience and learn something out of it.

Rory Panton wrote:

Thank you for your advise! I am trying out the f3. I don't understand how the A button located on the shutter speed dial works? When I put the dial on A and snap a picture the shutter opens but it won't close until I turn the knob. Would you know if I am doing anything wrong?

rip3@hotmail.com

Hiroshi Shigematsu wrote:

I'm sorry to get back to you so late. My mail server was down.

Rory, this may sound silly question, but did you take the lens cap off when you pressed the shutter button? If the lens cap is on, the camera will automatically choose the longest shutter speed, 8 second, at Aperture-Priority (A) mode. Also, if you activate Mirror Lock-Up in "A" mode, the same thing happens because the light won't hit the meter. The other solution I can think of is to put new batteries. Maybe batteries are bad.

Another thing you should know about F3 is that shutter speed is fixed at 1/80s regardless of the exposure mode until the film counter is advanced to #1.

The button in the center of the shutter speed dial unlocks the dial, which locks when set to the "A"(Aperture-Priority) or "X"(1/80s flash sync speed) positions. The lever surrounding the shutter speed dial activates the 10sec self-timer. When a red dot is visible, it is activated.

Rory, I still don't know in what situation you faced that problem; unfortunately, the information you gave me is not enough to judge anything. So, my answer may be a little off the point. However, it sounds to me that the light meter inside the camera isn't getting enough light so that the camera chooses 8sec shutter speed. I, personally, never had such problem when I used my F3 correctly, of course. Check your camera and operation. Just make sure everything is all right. Then, let me know if you could solve the problem. I always welcome any questions. Good Luck!

Rory Panton wrote:

Thanks for the info Hiroshi. Where is the mirror lockup button on the f3? I had the batteries changed. Any more help would be appreciated thanks.

Rory

The Answer:

On the face of the camera, next to the lens mount, and right below the shutter speed dial, there is a chrome button. That is the Depth-Of-Field preview button, and you'll notice a lever surrounding it. That is the Mirror-Lock-Up lever you are looking for. Press the DOF preview button, then, turn the MLU lever away from the lens mount to activate MLU. However, if you activate MLU, you can't see through the viewfinder so that you will know whether it is on or off by looking through it. Just below the DOF preview button are the mechanical 1/60s shutter release lever and the exposure-lock button. I really hope you can solve your problem.

I visited the above site that Geoffrey has noted. There was huge amount of information about Nikon F3, and most of the stuff I told you is covered, too. If you only want to know how to operate your F3, it is the place to go. I was amazed the way the pictures were used to effectively explain how to operate each of the controls. As he told you, you can download the entire manual for your F3 there. If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in your computer, click on the yellow button near the bottom of that page to install it. Then, click on "FULL manual" to get your copy of it.

I don't know what else to tell you, but I hope you also do your own part of homework. I'm telling you this provided that you have already told the way to get the information you need. I am more than happy to help you if you try to do some of your own search, and can't find the answer. Rory, while I don't mean to blame you, the lazy question usually gets lazy answers.

-- Hiroshi Shigematsu (pooh02@earthlink.net), October 13, 1998.