Nikon F3 Timeline
The Nikon F3 was built from 1980 till 2000 - in fact Nikons longest serving (Professional) Camera spanning an extraordinary 20 year life (the longest production run of any 35mm SLR Camera).
The F3 development process was started by Nikon in 1973 after the introduction of the F2 series (and the EL Electronic Shutter control SLR in 1973). A Number of prototypes such as the “F3 Photomic AE” were planned/designed/prototyped during the period up until 1979.
F3 with DE-2 finder March 1980
F3HP (DE-3 finder) 1982-2000
F3/T Titanium Champagne 1982-1985
F3AF 1983-1985
F3/T Titanium Black 1985-1999
F3P Press Model 1984
F3H 1998
F3/T Classic (Year?)
F3 Limited (Edition) 1994
F3HP discontinued Winter 2000
The Nikon F3HP was discontinued by Nikon in Winter 2000 (the Black F3/T a few years earlier). According the the Nikon website some information leads me to think that this was due to the high cost of production and the problems surrounding the securing of spare parts, Nikon sources also stated that at the end of the decade they were selling a few hundred F3’s per year - and making a loss on these.