On Sat, 19 Sep 1998 09:26:24 -0500, "Danny J. Miller" wrote:

>I have dabbled in photography as a hobby for about 5 years now. I'm
>still shooting my original Pentax P3 that I purchased when I first
>started. I think I have finally outgrown this camera and am interested
>in purchasing a used non-AF body. I really like the features of the
>F3. I understand that one of the true strengths of the F3 is its
>overall general ruggedness. However, most of my work is done from a
>tripod. I've also realized that the FA has very similar features.
>Since the FA can be significantly cheaper, I'm wondering if this might
>be a better choice for me.

The FA is a more "auto-oriented" body (though still good for
manual-exposure use...). The FA does have 1/250th flash
synch (vs. 1/80th), and a shoe that is in much more common use.
The F3 has a better viewfinder (sharper at the edges with short
lenses, without linear distortion, about 100% film-area, and
easier to see with glasses - and a very wide range of screens
are available for it). BTW, I have a very-near-mint FA and MD-15
(and a good-user F3...) available....;-)