Looking to buy a film camera, which is better?

I've always used digital so now I'm looking to move onto film cameras. I've looked at a few and started liking Pentax Spotmatic 35mm, Nikon F3HP 35mm and Nikon FM2 35mm. I'm open to other suggestions and pros and cons about the ones I have listed. I'm really looking to start in film so an overly complex camera isn't really ideal.

The metering system in the F3 was always spot on for me, and the camera is certainly a pro-level body and a workhorse. The FM2 has a similar metering system with similar features and is lighter. Both with take the same lenses. The Spotmatic is an older body and may be harder to get repaired should something happen. The F3 will have the best shutter of the three and I believe the highest flash sync speed. I have owned my F3 since 1986 and it still shoots great. Every Nikon lens I purchased for it is tack sharp. My preferred lens for portraits is my Nikkor 105mm f/1.4. And I love my old 50mm f/1.2! The ability in these lenses to knock the background out of focus is beautiful!

What is best really comes down to which one will fit your needs best. What type of shooting are you wanting to do? People, products, landscapes, fashion, journalism, weddings, snapshots, events, etc. These all have differing needs that will dictate lens types, shutter sync speeds, focal lengths and maximum f/stops.

Events, portraits, landscapes, journalism, weddings and fashion will all benefit from "faster" lenses. In other words, lenses with wider f/stops.f/1.4 is faster than f/3.5. This will allow you to shoot with faster shutter speeds as well as giving your more control over depth-of-field. (how much of your image is in focus). This means greater control over the levels of focus in your subject, foreground and background.
These faster lenses are more expensive, so if budget is an issue, the Spotmatic would be a good option as its older lenses may be less money. But they may also be harder to find! The Nikkor lenses will be more plentiful, but more expensive. Third-party lenses from Tokina ( manufacturer of Nikon lenses) can be a good substitute if you get a good lens. Since you are not looking for auto-focus, that will save you some dollars too!

Product photography does not always need a fast lens since products don't move and you can control lights and exposure in the studio.

If you are looking to go pro, almost all clients these days are requiring digital files. Very few labs offer film developing. I use http://www.reedphoto.com for my negative film developing and slide film developing needs. They are a pro lab and have been in business since the 1970's There are a few others around I suspect.

If you want an absolute basic camera, the old Pentax K1000 was a great one. Very durable, built in match needle metering. No automatic exposure. These things would work forever, and they were inexpensive. They still show up on ebay from time to time and I would pick the K1000 over the spotmatic.

Either of the Nikons are probably better than the Spotmatic. F3 maybe best.

There are far more Pentax fit lenses around than Nikon, I would go with a more up to date Pentax such as the ME Super, any K mount lens can be used as designed on any current Pentax DSLR, no other manufacturer can claim this. The auto mode on this camera will always give you a correct exposure. If you prefer a manual camera with built in 'match the needles' metering the K1000 is a good choice, the camera with the record for the longest production run (over 20 years).

In the 1960 to 1990 period Pentax were, by far, the most popular cameras, there are thousands of reasonably priced lenses for sale at any one time. There were over 200 different lenses made by Pentax, and even more made by 3rd party manufacturers, more than any other manufacturer.

All Pentax film cameras can be repaired, spares for them all (even the very early ones from the 1950's) are still being made by Pentax. They are easy to service and calibrate, they were designed that way.

For high quality images at reasonable prices go with Pentax, it's still true today.