C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Nikon F3HP is a variant of the Nikon F3 (1980) fitted from the factory with the DE-3 High-Eyepoint finder rather than the standard DE-2 prism. Introduced around 1982, the HP designation refers to the finder's extended eye relief of approximately 25 mm, allowing photographers who wear eyeglasses to see the entire viewfinder frame without pressing the eyepiece to their lens. Beneath the finder, the camera is identical to the F3: an aperture-priority and manual electronic SLR on the Nikon F mount, with a titanium vertical-travel focal-plane shutter. The F3HP was Nikon's flagship 35mm camera for most of the 1980s and remained in production until 2001.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The professional Nikon F3 fitted with a high-eyepoint finder - glasses-friendly without sacrificing the full frame.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Nikon F |
| Years | 1982–2001 |
| Shutter | 8s – 1/2000s + T/B, electronic vertical titanium focal-plane |
| Mechanical fallback | 1/60s and B (no battery required) |
| Flash sync | 1/80s |
| Meter | Center-weighted silicon, EV 1–19 (ISO 100) |
| Modes | Aperture-priority, Manual |
| Viewfinder | DE-3 high-eyepoint, ~25 mm eye relief, 80% coverage |
| Battery | 2x SR44 (shutter depends on battery except at 1/60s and B) |
| Weight | ~750 g (body + DE-3) |
The Nikon F3 was introduced in 1980, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign - the same designer responsible for the original Volkswagen Golf. It was Nikon's first aperture-priority automatic SLR in the professional F series, replacing the fully mechanical F2. The standard F3 shipped with the DE-2 prism; the high-eyepoint DE-3 finder was offered as an accessory and later bundled into the F3HP variant aimed at eyeglass-wearing professionals and sports photographers. The F3 line proved extraordinarily durable commercially: Nikon kept it in production for over two decades, long after the F4 (1988) and F5 (1996) superseded it at the top of the lineup, because a loyal following of photojournalists and documentary photographers refused to switch. The final F3 bodies shipped in 2001.
The F3 represented a generational shift for Nikon - the move from the all-mechanical F2 to an electronically controlled shutter - while retaining every virtue of the F-mount system: full compatibility with the entire Nikkor AI and AI-S lens catalog, interchangeable finders, and rugged build quality that withstood press-room abuse. The HP finder made the F3 accessible to the large proportion of working photographers who wear corrective lenses. Photojournalists at major wire services and newspapers used F3 and F3HP bodies throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s; the camera appeared on the front lines of most major international news events of that era. The Giugiaro body design is widely considered one of the best-ergonomed 35mm film cameras ever produced.
Nikon F mount. AI and AI-S lenses are fully compatible with metering. Pre-AI (Non-AI) lenses require a conversion ring or body modification for metering (the F3 does not have the AI coupling ridge retrofit that the FM/FE series received). Recommended glass: Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S, 85mm f/1.4 AI-S, 35mm f/2 AI-S, 105mm f/2.5 AI. Accessories: MD-4 motor drive (4 fps, essential for sports work), MF-6 finder shade for the DE-3, MK-1 eyepiece correction lenses, DA-2 action finder (alternative high-eyepoint finder).
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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