LENS-DB.COM

Specification

Manufacturer description

In June 1996, Nikon released the Nikon F3H (the "H" stands for "high speed"), a single-lens reflex film camera intended for press photographers. Based on the Nikon F3 and its MD-4 motor drive, both of which Nikon (formerly Nippon Kogaku K.K.) had released in 1980, the F3H was capable of high-speed continuous shooting at up to 13 fps.

The S3M - the forerunner of cameras for high-speed continuous shooting

Released in 1960, the Nikon S3M rangefinder camera was capable of high-speed continuous shooting. Nikon had developed it for photographing ski competitions. It was based on the Nikon S3 camera but featured faster film winding thanks to a half image size of 18 x 24 mm, instead of 24 x 36 mm. It also boasted a higher-voltage battery and a faster motor drive. These features enabled high-speed continuous shooting at up to 9 fps.

Subsequently, Nikon also developed models capable of high-speed continuous shooting that were based on the F and F2 single-lens reflex cameras.

The choice of the F3

By the time Nikon released the F3H in the latter half of the 1990s, it could have opted to develop a model for high-speed continuous shooting that was based on the F4 or the F5 — the successors of the F3.

"In comparison with the F4 and F5, the F3 was simple in structure and easy to rework. Other major reasons were its proven ability to withstand the rigors of long years of use by professional photographers and the fact that the MD-4 featured a motor of amazing power even by the standards of the time."

The mechanism that enabled continuous shooting at 13 frames per second

In order to enable high-speed continuous shooting, it is necessary to minimize the time required to shoot a single frame. On the F3H, this was achieved by the following means:

1. Partial modification of the camera's workings

2. Speeding up the motor drive

3. Predictive control of the camera and the motor drive

Partial modification of the camera's workings

There is a mirror inside the F3's lens mount that reflects light from the attached lens and directs it into the viewfinder. When the shutter button is pressed, the mirror pops up and the light from the attached lens reaches the film. When exposure is complete, the mirror returns to its original position. The mirror is known as a "quick-return mirror."

To eliminate the time required for mirror operation, the quick-return mirror was replaced with a fixed half-mirror on the F3H. The half-mirror directs 30% of the light from the attached lens to the viewfinder and the remaining 70% onto the film.

The F3 features full-aperture metering. For this reason, the diaphragm blades are only stopped down to the preselected aperture value during exposure. The aperture is then fully opened once exposure has been completed. In order to reduce the time required for these two operations on the F3H, the camera was not equipped with a full aperture exposure measuring mechanism. Hence, the aperture of the lens attached to the F3H is always stopped down.

Speeding up the motor drive

If the battery voltage for the motor drive was increased so that the motor rotated at a higher speed, the film-winding time would be reduced. However, the film-winding time of the MD-4H special motor drive for the F3H was reduced by increasing the gear ratio by a factor of 1.5 instead of by increasing the voltage, since the MD-4 (which the MD-4H was based on) had torque to spare. As a result, the F3H had the further advantage that it could still be used with the conventional MN-2 NiCd battery and the MH-2 Quick Charger, since its operating voltage was the same as that of the MD-4.

Predictive control of the camera and motor drive

When the shutter button is pressed on an ordinary camera, a series of operations is performed inside the camera in sequence (one after the other) to complete the shooting process. On the F3H, this sequence of operations is handled somewhat differently.

"When shooting 13 fps, allowing one operation to finish before commencing the next would simply take too long. There is a slight lag between the time at which a camera's mechanism receives a command signal and the time at which it actually starts to perform the corresponding function. In order to reduce this time, a 'jumping the gun' control method was adopted, whereby signals were sent to each mechanism ahead of time."

On an ordinary camera, the film is not wound on until shutter operation has been completed. On the F3H, however, a command signal is issued to the motor drive before the shutter operation has finished, instructing it that it is "OK to wind on the film." Then, before the motor drive has finished winding on the film, it sends a command signal back to the camera, instructing it that it is "OK to release the shutter."

In other words, in the case of the F3H, the camera and the motor drive predict and control each other's operations, so that certain operations overlap. This serves to minimize the time required to shoot a single frame.

"If the actions of the mechanism were at all unstable, it would be completely impossible to predict and initiate them. This type of control was attained on the strength of the stability and precision of the F3's mechanism".

Why the F3H was developed

"Every generation of cameras for high-speed continuous shooting has been developed for press photographers who cover sports. This was essentially true for the F3H as well. However, the development of the F3H also represented Nikon's reaction to the fact that, the previous year, a competitor had released a camera for high-speed continuous shooting that could shoot 10 fps. Thus, Nikon's aim was to surpass its competitors with F3H's unique durability and high-speed continuous shooting of over 10 fps. Just as the company was on the point of launching the cutting-edge F5, it made the decision to simultaneously meet this specific requirement for high-speed continuous shooting as well."

Nikon has also made very-high-speed continuous shooting possible on cameras that are available to the general public - releasing the F5 single-lens reflex film camera (which can shoot 8 fps) in 1996, the F6 single-lens reflex film camera (which can shoot 8 fps with Multi-Power High Speed Battery Pack MB-40) in 2004 and the D4 digital single-lens reflex camera (which can shoot 11 fps) in 2012. To this day, however, the F3H is still Nikon's fastest continuous shooting single-lens reflex camera.

From the Nikon Journal (Vol. 23 No. 4, September 30, 2006)

Nikon first entered the world of 'high speed' camera production with the original Nikon F, making it in both 7fps and 9fps versions. They were made in very small numbers and offered primarily to professional sports photographers covering events such as the Olympics. During the F2 era they continued the practice producing the legendary F2H, a 10fps model, in at least two versions. With the arrival of the F3 everyone wondered when a high speed model would debut, since the F2H had been a very successful item. Finally, Nikon announced the F3HS... sort of. It had to be the 'quietest' announcement 'never heard'. Only about 200 were ever made and it was a special order item only. A true collectible.

Other Nikon F3 special editions (3)

• Nikon F3 Limited (2500 units) - October 1993
• Nikon F3/T (300 units) - December 1982
• Nikon F3P - 1984