[Leica] Re: F3 question : OFF-TOPIC

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@bayarea.net>]

At 5:03 PM -0800 2/7/00, Leica Users digest wrote:
>Assuming that it is indeed true that Nikon hasn't actually built an F3 in
>many years, does this mean that the new F3 that I could buy off my dealer's
>shelf has been sitting in that box, unused, for years?  Is this good for
>the camera?

As long as it hasn't been open to the elements and collecting dust, 
it should make no difference at all to the camera. Nikon uses 
self-lubricating bearings and bits to the greatest degree possible in 
their cameras with very little lubricant, which is usually what 
causes problems as the lubricant ages and gets stiff. The entire 
shutter release and timing mechanism is electronically governed and 
not subject to static deterioration, all the camera's internal 
components are metals and plastics which are highly stable and 
resistant to change (no rubberized cloth shutter curtains, they're a 
titanium foil).

My F3/T was made in '85 and is still in absolutely "as-new" 
condition. I suspect it sat in the box that I bought it in last year 
for more than 10 years, unused. I happened to be by a camera shop on 
a Nikon day when they had a shutter tester so I had the shutter 
tested for accuracy ... it's accuracy is within 0.4% of nominal at 
every speed.

I don't believe that Nikon has not manufactured an F3 for a great 
length of time. One of the folks on the NikonMF list started to 
collect F3 serial numbers last year and has a web page with his 
findings so far. I can't find the URL just at the moment, but he had 
verified examples with manufacture dates from 1981 to 1997 when last 
I looked at it. My understanding was that Nikon sells a run of F3s 
and makes the decision as to whether to produce another run each 
time, much as Mike J. described. So far, they've continued to sell in 
consistent, if low, volume every year. They're an expensively crafted 
body and a tough bugger to kill.

Godfrey