Page 1 of 2 - Arri S Serial Numbers - posted in 16mm: I know this is a long shot, but I am doing an inventory of 160 some-odd arri-s's and sb's and I would like to know if anyone knows where i can find the hostories of certain Arri serial #'s. I need to know of mechanical differences in certain models made in certain years, if the serial numbers reflect any kind of chronology, etc etc. I bought a used F6 six months ago and it would be interesting to find out. It looks new, but is a low serial number. It was programed in Japa.
INTRODUCTION: Since purchasing my F6 new in August of 2008 it has traveled all over the place with me, mainly in the United States, but also in Haiti’s extreme heat and humidity. Its been in the rain, dirt, mud, dust, desert, forest, mountains and just about every other place you can think of. The camera has been pulled out of and stuffed into a bag or crate countless times.
I’ve run close to 400 rolls of film through it – not epic by heavy shooter standards, but not too skimpy either. So even though the shutter is rated to an astounding 150,000 actuations (I haven’t even used a 10th of its shutter’s life span), the rest of the camera has begun to show some wear and tear. There’s nothing glaringly wrong with the camera, except the sub (front) command dial missing more often then hitting when rotated – but after reading a few scary threads on other blogs about serviceability, availability of parts, etc. I decided to have it done while there was still the opportunity to do so. Even though these cameras are built to last, nothing lasts forever. With use everything eventually breaks, wears out or needs maintenance of some sort. Being a preventative maintenance guy I believe in taking good care of things. On top of these reasons, I’ve wanted to have the modification to accept pre-Ai (F-mount) lenses made on the F6 – before it became impossible to get parts.
What follows below is an account of the process, beginning with the most recent update and growing older the more you read. UPDATE 11/27/15: Today – 22 days after the F6 left here for its journey to the mother ship in California for servicing – UPS rang the doorbell and handed him back to me. He was packed in the same, original gold box and all original packing material he left here in three weeks ago. Upon opening the box I was delighted to see him safely cradled between the two, form-fitting cardboard inserts he originally arrive here in back in 2008, wrapped in the same, plastic bag.
I’m happy to report he’s back to his old self and looking rather smart; better than ever. Nikon Service did an excellent job of cleaning, adjusting, and servicing the camera. They:.
Replaced the rubberized grip. Due to extreme fluctuations in temperatures the grip had worked its way loose over 7 years of use.
This appeared in two places: the most noticeable was the bottom right-front above where the MS-41 battery caddy slides in. At first it was just a little, but it grew to a gap between the bottom black rim and grip producing an entry point for moisture and dirt. The second as on the back door where, when you grab the camera with your right hand, the thumb rests. Replaced the rubber button collars surrounding BKT buttons on top-back-left and AE/AF-L and AF-ON buttons on top-back-right that had gradually worked their way loose and torn; both one clumsy grip away from tearing off completely. Adjusted the sub-command dial: it was not consistently engaging when rotated. Being primarily Aperture-Priority and Manual exposure shooter I use the sub command dial more frequently than the main command dial.
Performed the non-Ai lens modification to the lens mount allowing use of pre-Ai/non-Ai/F-mount lenses. (this added $50 to the cost of servicing). The F6 with a Pre-AI 50mm 1.4 lens mounted. Replaced the internal battery, which was working fine, but after 7 years decided to replace it while it was in for servicing. (this added about $75 to the cost of servicing). As an added bonus they sent it back with two Energizer Lithium Photo batteries (it left here with no batteries).
![Serial Serial](http://www.lense.fr/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/nikon-f6-arriere.jpg)
They also replaced the internal battery without eradicating the 10 rolls of data stored in the camera I had forgotten to extract before sending it in. They were also able to maintain the present roll count of the camera, keeping my file naming structure intact – which I was very pleased about. As if all the above weren’t enough – I was granted the NPS 20% discount, bringing the grand total to what I felt was a reasonable cost. The camera looks, sounds and feels like new – but it’s most certainly my same old friend, evidenced by the serial number, a few well-earned battle scars and the worn eye piece shutter lever on the viewfinder. The executive summary: I’m extremely pleased with the job Nikon Service did on my F6.
They made me validate the camera was purchased new, in the US (even though there is a “Nikon USA” sticker on the rear, flip-down door) before performing service. The parts hold was about 1 week, and upon completion the shipping was next day. Who could ask for anything more.To anyone considering sending your F6 in for repair – especially if you bought it new in the US, and can prove it – do not hesitate. In hind site I’m glad to have not purchased a gray market camera years ago. At the time it would have saved a couple hundred dollars, but painted me into a corner when it came time for service. After this experience I’ll be sending him again – more frequently this time – knowing cost is reasonable and confidence is high in a quality service experience.
Thank you Nikon Service. UPDATE 11/24/15: Thus far I am very impressed with Nikon Service. This morning I received a e-mail from the gentleman coordinating my repair with Nikon Service informing me that there was in fact a way to preserve the data on the camera, and the repair should be completed by today. Having forgotten to extract the last 10 rolls of data from the camera before sending it in for repair, this was great news. Coming unsolicited, by the way, after I’d told them to proceed yesterday.
So high marks for being proactive and willing to accommodate requests on the fly. UPDATE 11/23/15: The camera has been on Parts Hold for a week. I just received word today it should be completed by tomorrow. As suspected, replacing the battery does reset the number of rolls the camera has recorded to zero.
This is something to be aware of when purchasing a used F6 if you’re using the roll count to gauge the age of the camera. If the internal battery has been replaced, the counter begins again at zero. There is no way to prevent this.
UPDATE 11/17/15: After a reminder from my friend Andy in the UK I used Nikon’s web-based system to request replacement of the internal battery while it’s there for service. The current battery functions – but I figure I may as well replace it while the camera is being worked on. This raised the estimate from $115 to $170. Well worth it. TIP: If you need to reset your film roll number go to: SET-UP Shooting Data Film number: and re-enter the number of rolls in the camera. This is both good and bad: Good if your roll counter accidentally resets to 0. Not so good if you’re buying a used F6 and are counting on the number of rolls the camera has exposed to determine the age of the camera.
LATER in the same day. Wood Chisels, Allenspark, Colorado (Portra 160) Getting it ready to send: First off, “sending him in” means sending the camera to Nikon’s Service Center in Los Angeles, California. Being in Colorado – Los Angeles is the proper service center. Being a NPS (Nikon Professional Services) member, I decided to go through the NPS web site to set up the repair and print the packing slip. The NPS literature states that being an NPS member provides preferential treatment so I figured hey, why not.
I filled out all the requisite information in the web form and printed it out. Always keeping original boxes, (much to the chagrin of my office) I carefully packed the F6 body in its original packaging materials, minus the strap, MB-40 grip and any batteries. I included the body cap, wrapped the camera in the original plastic bag it came in and placed it carefully in the cardboard cut-out form cradling the camera top and bottom, then slipped the golden, exterior box around it, then placed the whole thing in a corrugated cardboard box with a thin layer of bubble wrap around it. I sent the package USPS Priority Mail, trackable and insured for $2,500 which would cover the cost of a new one if the postal system lost or damaged it. It cost about $48 to ship it one way. It would have cost another $20 to ship it UPS. The package left Colorado on a Wednesday and arrived in California on a Saturday.
North Park, Colorado (Velvia) After a few days of waiting I called the Nikon service center (800) 645-6687, Option 1 for English, Option 5 for repairs and made it through to a helpful, intelligent human who was able to peer into the Service system. My camera had not been “entered” yet, and he suggested I called back in a couple of days. That puts us at today. A second call produced a second, helpful, intelligent human who peered into the system again and told me the camera was received, but listed as “non domestic.” I asked her what non-domestic meant to Nikon service and she told me I had to provide proof of purchase in the US for them to repair my camera. Thank goodness I keep important receipts like that – even from 2008. I went into the storage area of my office and after 5 minutes (and feeling pretty proud of myself), produced the original sales receipt from B&H Photo, dated August, 2008.
The document was scanned, then attached to a reply e-mail from Nikon. A follow up call (call number 3) put me in contact with the original gentleman from earlier in the week who said he’d personally make sure the document was forwarded and provide an update soon. He did both of those things, and Nikon has agreed to now look at my camera. My account with Nikon now reflects this repair on-line and I’m able to track status via a service order number. Just as importantly I’m able to communicate (presumably) directly with Nikon service through this portal additional details as necessary. In an effort to clearly communicate my hopes of the F6’s visit to Nikon Service, I was told to send an e-mail through their system and it would be posted on the service center’s web page, which it was. Here is the e-mail I sent.
This article needs additional citations for. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Contents. F3 variants F3HP and F3/T Initially, the F3 model with the DE-2 eye-level finder was introduced, soon followed by the popular F3HP, or High Point camera, with the DE-3 High Eyepoint prism/finder. The major advantage of this finder was that the entire viewfinder image could be seen from a distance of 2.5 cm from the viewfinder.
This made the F3 more usable by those who wear glasses when shooting, or were forced to shoot in high-glare situations while wearing sunglasses. The only down-side to this was a smaller image through the viewfinder compared to the standard prism.
With the exception of the 'P' spec camera, all viewfinders are completely interchangeable. The F3 and F3HP retained the flash mount on the rewind dial, which (with flash mounted) obstructed that area of the camera. A significantly more durable, robust titanium version of the F3HP was also offered, called the 'F3/T', initially in a more natural titanium finish or 'champagne' coloring, and later in a less conspicuous black. It weighs 20 grams less than the comparable F3.
The champagne offering was introduced in 1982 and was quickly discontinued around 1985, making it the rarer (and costlier on the used market) of the two titanium models. The F3/T featured titanium clad viewfinders (DE-4), titanium back, titanium top and bottom plates. It also benefited from the conformal coating of the internal circuit board. The mechanical specifications between the black finished F3/T and the natural finish F3/T were identical. Nikon F3/T made of titanium F3P Next to be introduced was the F3P in 1983. Built primarily for use by photojournalists ('P'ress), the F3P included additional weathersealing, O-ring gaskets, the MF-6 Auto Film-Stop Back, Type-B Matte focusing screen, a modified Titanium DE-5 pentaprism with ISO-type accessory shoe and no eyepiece blind, rubber-covered waterproof shutter release with a modified lockout and no cable release threads, a round frame counter window with white numerals (some have been seen with blue numerals), and an extended shutter speed operating knob for easier operation in cold or wet environments.
The F3P lacked a film door release lock, self-timer and multiple-exposure lever. A variant of the F3P called the 'F3 Limited' was also sold just in Japan, starting in 1994. The Limited had special badging, regular film back without the auto-stop feature of the MF-6/6B back, and was otherwise identical to the F3P. It also came in a wooden presentation box.
Neither camera could use the DX-1 viewfinder of the F3AF body. Contacts in mirror housing were configured differently than a regular F3 series camera. On an F3P and F3 Limited, they were used for flash synch and ready light purposes.
![Numbers Numbers](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411UzwhaPVL.jpg)
On an F3, F3/T, and F3AF, they were used to communicate the exposure meter display information to the LCD inside the DX-1 viewfinder. Nikon F3H High Speed 13 Frames per second The F3H, a high-speed camera, was introduced for press, sports photography and for the 1998 Nagano Olympics in Japan. However Nikon recently stated its true motivation on its website in that it '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'. Following previous practice with the Nikon F High Speed and the F2H, it featured a fixed pellicle semi-transparent mirror, diverting 30% of the light through to the view finder, allowing the camera and the specially produced MD-4H motor drive to achieve up to 13 frames per second, when the MN-2 nicad battery is used (as opposed to 7.5 frames per second with eight AA alkaline batteries). The F3H had the appearance of an F3P modified for high-speed photography; however, under the skin were some advanced techniques to achieve the speeds required, including something Nikon have described as 'the camera and the motor drive predict and control each other's operations, so that certain operations overlap'.
The MD-4H was essentially a speeded-up MD4, with the gearing increased by 1.5 and the voltage raised to the standard, already capable, motor. There is one additional gold contact pin surrounding the rewind spigot, that joins with the electrical connection on the base of the camera. The front face of the drive features a slightly extended area with a switch that enables the option of using the drive at a constant 6 frames per second. Production was short, official reports from Nikon claiming only around 100 such cameras made, however its likely that the real number exceeds that by many hundreds, as serial numbers in the high 800's have been noted. Serial numbers on the camera body begin with H9600., and the front features the signature F3 logo with a H added. Instead of the depth-of-field preview button, it had an extended version of the button which became an aperture opening button for composing purposes.
Metering was done at working aperture, instead of wide-open, as on other F3 bodies. The camera is also unique among all F3's in having a white film take up spool. Like the F3P, the DX-1 viewfinder could not be used on it. When fitted with the MD-4H it is also incompatible with the Magazine Back MF-4 250, Firing Rate Converter MK-1 and Data Back MF-14. It was the last specialized high speed film Nikon camera made and somewhat amazingly, it is still the 'fastest' frame rate SLR (including digital) that Nikon has ever made. The camera is highly collectable, with limited numbers being produced and being the final in a line of the high speed cameras starting with the legendary Nikon S3M.
F3AF Finally there was the rarely seen 'F3AF', a model which included an autofocus (AF) pentaprism finder (DX-1) capable of autofocusing with two special AF Nikkor lenses—the first of their kind, which included focus motors in the lens bodies. Those lenses were the AF-80mm f/2.8 Nikkor and the AF-200mm f/3.5 Nikkor. It was the first autofocus camera to be produced by Nikon, in 1983. However, even while the more successful subsequent Nikon AF design for the F4 and other models put the focus motor in the camera body, the F3AF's in-lens approach foreshadowed in-lens autofocus designs that would later come to dominate the market more than 15 years in the future, such as 's USM and Nikon's own Silent Wave Motor (SWM) lenses.
In addition, the F4's support of the two special F3AF lenses now permits it to work with new Nikon SWM lenses that were designed long after both the F3 and F4 ceased production. Construction Nikon abandoned the earlier mechanically operated shutter of the F2 for a modern, electronically controlled, horizontally traveled metal curtain design. The new shutter proved to be equally reliable and less maintenance-intensive overall, though the decision to retain the horizontal-travel design significantly limited its top flash sync speed (1/80 sec.) compared to other Nikons, some of which used the Copal shutter.
This decision forced many disappointed press photographers to use Nikon's semi pro bodies (FM, FE, FM2, FE2 etc.) instead when higher sync speeds were needed, usually for fill flash in daylight situations. The F4 finally solved this sync speed deficiency with Nikon's pro grade SLR offerings with its 250th sync. In contrast to the manually operated F2, the F3's electronic shutter required battery power to operate, although the camera included a small backup mechanical release lever that tripped the shutter at 1/60 sec. The F3 continued the high-quality of its predecessors, in some ways surpassing it.
Tolerances were exacting, and typically Nikon – just enough for operation of the camera (with a small allowance for debris), yet not enough to inhibit cold-weather operation at temperatures where lubricants begin to gel. Only the finest quality mechanical and electronic parts were selected, and Nikon insisted that all electronic components be sourced with a guarantee of 20 years of continued supply. Not only did the F3 utilize ball-bearings to mount its shutter and film transport mechanisms, but additional clusters of bearings were added to the film advance to make one of the smoothest operating cameras ever built. Indeed, resistance is so low when operating the film advance that it is difficult to tell if there is film in the camera. For the first time, shutter information was displayed via an internal liquid crystal display (LCD) inside the viewfinder. Aperture information was relayed through Nikon's 'ADR' (Aperture Direct Readout) which was a window at the top center of the viewfinder that got its information from a micro-prism that read small numbers at the top of the mounted lens, of which type 'AI' (Aperture Indexing) or 'AIS' (Aperture Indexing Shutter Priority) lenses had printed behind the normal aperture numbers. Though widely used today, LCDs were very hi-tech at the time.
They proved somewhat difficult to see at night, so Nikon installed a button-operated light for use at night. The LCD is one of the few problem areas of the F3 design, since with age, LCDs lose contrast, blur, and become inoperative after a number of years. Fortunately, unlike modern autofocus cameras with LCD 'Command Center' panels, malfunction of the F3's LCD viewfinder display does not prevent full operation of the camera, since this is accomplished with manual dials and indicators. Many F3 cameras built in the 1980s were never used professionally, and therefore are still in perfect working order, including the LCD. On early production models the autoexposure lock button, originally a simple push-in part, is often missing; Nikon later redesigned this part so it was securely attached from inside the body. The later part can be fitted to early bodies but a partial stripdown is required.
The Nikon F3 was the last in the Nikon series of manual-focus, professional level 35mm SLR cameras. Its production cycle is generally accepted to be from 1980 to 2000 or 2002, close to a record for a high-volume professional camera. Its successor – the – along with operating the two F3AF lens, featured auto-focus and new optional metering and modes, but retained the ability to mount older manual-focus lenses.
The F3 was also the last F-Series camera to be offered without an integrated motor drive, making the camera smaller overall than its successors in the F-Series. The lasting appeal of the F3 remains the same as it was at its inception – a precision tool for those who prefer a less complex, extremely well made camera for continual use in extreme environments. The optional motor drive for the F3, known as the MD-4, contained either 8 AA batteries or a special battery pack that would be recharged. Its performance surpassed that of past Nikon models, with a capability of 4 frames per second with uninterrupted reflex viewing, or 6 frame/s with the reflex mirror locked up. The integral seamless design of the MD-4 motor drive made it an extremely popular option for many F3 users. A bulk film back could be fitted in lieu of the normal back to the F3.
This film back, known as the MF-4, was capable of handling up to 10 meters (33 ft) of 35mm film, or 250 exposures.