Introduced in March 1980, it has manual and semi-automatic exposure control whereby the camera would select the correct shutter speed (aperture priority automation).

It is also the first of numerous Nikon F-series cameras to be styled by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro,[3] and to include a red stripe on the handgrip – a feature that would later become (with variants of stripes and various other shapes) a signature feature of many Nikon cameras.

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.

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 F3H, a high-speed camera, was introduced for press, sports photography and for the 1998 Nagano Olympics in Japan.

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 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.

Serial numbers on the camera body begin with H9600..., and the front features the signature F3 logo with a H added.

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 Canon's USM and Nikon's own Silent Wave Motor (SWM) lenses.

[citation needed] 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.)

This decision forced many disappointed press photographers to use Nikon's semi-pro bodies (FM, FE, FM2, FE2, etc.)

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.

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 F4 – 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 integral seamless design of the MD-4 motor drive made it an extremely popular option for many F3 users.