20–Year–Old Nikon F3H 35mm Film Camera Wins Speed Test Against Nikon D3 DSLR (VIDEO)

Photographer Ron Volmershausen decided to run a speed test between a rare Nikon F3H 35mm film SLR and the Nikon D3 DSLR introduced a decade later in 2007. The results in the video below may surprise you.

Launched in 1996, the Nikon F3H was a modified F3 intended for use by press photographers at the 2008 Olympics in Nagano. Less than 1000 cameras were made and they’re almost impossible to find. The Nikon D3 came out in 2007 and while it’s not the fastest DSLR by today’s standards it’s still pretty fast.

As you’ll see in this video posted by Bokeh, the F3H (“H” for “High Speed”) won the test with a burst rate of 13 frames per second (fps), as compared to 11fps for the D3. We should mention that the D3 only achieves that top speed with the mirror locked up; otherwise it tops out at 9fps.

By comparison Nikon’s fastest current DSLR, the D5, delivers 12fps with autofocus for each shot and a huge buffer of 200 Raw + JPEG files. Canon’s new 1DX Mark II is the current speed champ, hitting 14fps in the standard mode and 16fps with the mirror locked up.

(Via Peta Pixel)

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