The German manufacturer of top quality cine equipment created with this 8mm SLR camera a wonderful product which included all technical features which were available at that time. In 1963 Nizo was taken over by Braun/Frankfurt and for the latter a clear an functional design of all its products was a priority. This change in philosophy is perfectly visible if one compares the FA-3 (launched precisely in 1963) with its predecessors Heliomatic, Focovario and Allmat. But not only new esthetic criteria were introduced, keeping production cost under control was another priority. You may notice that the FA-3 has no longer the sprocket film feed, the backwinding system is simplified and (an innovation!) some plastic parts are used for this new model. The camera did not have a very long production cycle since the Super-8 format was launched in 1965 and the new Kodak cassette required a completely new design with the next generation of cameras. More info on the history of NIZO can be found there:
Zoom lens: Schneider Varigon 1,8 / f = 9-30mm or Angénieux 1,8 / 7,5 - 35 mm
Flicker free TTL finder (not very bright, however), groundglass screen with a split image rangefinder.
Very performing clockwork motor. 44 turns of the crank enable 75 sec of continuous shooting at standard frame rate (compared to 30 sec on most cameras).
Automatic exposure (CdS element, battery type PX13 / MR9)
Variable (rotating) shutter, back winding, single frame counter
Frame rates: 12, 16, 24, 48 fps and single frame