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 FM3A (2001) is Nikon's final manual-focus body and the only camera ever to fit a **hybrid shutter** that runs all speeds (1s through 1/4000s) mechanically without battery, while also offering electronically-timed aperture-priority AE when batteries are present. It's the FM2 / FE2 fused: FM2's full mechanical reliability plus FE2's AE convenience. The TTL meter is silicon, the body is the same copper-aluminum chassis as the FM/FE series, and the F-mount accepts AI/AI-S lenses with full coupling.
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 last manual-focus Nikon. A hybrid shutter that runs purely mechanical without batteries — at every speed.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Nikon F (AI / AI-S full coupling; AF lenses meter and shoot in manual focus) |
| Years | 2001–2006 |
| Shutter | 1s – 1/4000s, hybrid (mechanical at every speed; electronic AE) |
| Flash sync | 1/250s |
| Meter | TTL center-weighted silicon |
| Modes | Aperture priority, manual |
| Weight | 570 g |
| Battery | 2× SR44 (AE only; mechanical without) |
Released June 2001 as the successor to the FM2 (FM2 ended 2001 simultaneously). Production ran five years until 2006, when Nikon ended manual-focus film body production. Total build numbers were modest — perhaps 50,000–100,000 across the run.
The FM3A is the single most-coveted manual-focus Nikon. The hybrid shutter is mechanically unique: a pair of springs powers the shutter; an electromagnet times AE exposures when the battery is in. Drop the battery, every shutter speed still fires accurately. No other camera ever combined the FM2's mechanical reliability with the FE2's AE.
For 2026 buyers, used prices have risen sharply — a clean black FM3A is $1,000–1,500, twice what an FM2 sells for. It's the body Nikon shooters want when they want "FM2 reliability and FE2 convenience" in a single camera, and Nikon never made another.
F-mount: AI / AI-S full coupling. AF, AF-D, AF-S lenses mount and meter; manual focus only. Pre-AI lenses cannot be mounted (no flip-up tab on the FM3A — that capability ended with the F4). MD-12 motor drive (fits FM/FE-series), MF-16 data back, SB-28 flash with TTL.
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.
View profile →Nikon FM3A
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