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>I am in the market for a new camera. At the moment I am using a borrowed
>Nikon FE and would like to stay manual and believe Nikon would be the best
>for a manual.
>I am wondering first of all what people believe Nikon's best manual slr is?
I am fond of the F3 (accurate, undistorted, sharp viewfinder which is
easy to see with glasses), sturdy, compact, (compared with most bodies
with motors built-in), with well layed-out controls - though it is not
ideal for some flash uses (slow sync. speed, low top film speed for TTL),
though for others, it is excellent, and can even allow TTL fill-ratios
to be set (using the AS-7 or SC-14 remote cord).
>The two that seem in production at the moment seem to be the FM-2 and
>F3HP. Does anyone have experience with these and what comment do you
>have?
The FM-2 is a pleasant, compact, manual SLR, but has few features
beyond a good set of basics (which may be fine, depending on what you
want to do with it). Lack of TTL flash is a big negative for me (for
tele and macro flash uses, especially).
>I would like any stats for the FM-2 and F3HP and am wondering is the
>titanium body solid titanium or merely a coat a few microns thick.
The F3T and FM2T have cover plates of titanium (not all plates, but
the major ones). Brass covers can be bent easily with your fingers,
whereas titanium covers are VERY hard to dent, even with considerable
force. Whether this makes any difference in practice is open for
discussion....
>In people's experience is the titanium worth the extra 200 or so? I would
>like to have and use it for a long time and want it to last.
It will definitely resist denting more, but if the camera receives
sufficient shock to dent brass covers....... (I would just try to avoid
denting the camera - though I must admit that I have two F3T's [wanna
buy one? ;-]).
>Are there technical differences between the titanium and chrome and black
>versions of the FM-2?
No (same is true of the F3HP, F3T).
>And what are ballpark figures for the FM-2 chrome, black, titanium, and
>the F3HP?
Call B&H for specific prices.
Hope This Helps