The F2 was mechanical, and many professionals were sceptical about the reliability of the new battery-dependent F3. But, in time, the F3 earned its reputation as a reliable workhorse and suspicion gave way to trust. Despite its electronics, the F3, like the later F4, was mainly a mechanical device with an iris diaphragm, mirror, shutter and film transport. Even the latest Nikon, the F90, is mainly mechanical. The claimed depth of field is from 1 metre to infinity.
Sharpness is reasonable at the closer extreme.
F otoMan is an important landmark in still camera design because it removes the hitherto important area of mechanics almost entirely. This makes it the first totally digital camera. The FotoMan's shutter release button is the last mechanical link with cameras as we have known them. Pushing the button is accompanied by the reassuringly familiar sound of a shutter operating but this is a simulated sound, generated to serve no purpose other than to reassure the photographer that an exposure has been made. Without these sounds, or with the facility to turn them off as required, the camera would be completely silent.