Advice on Nikon

[clayne]

Sorry to detract on the latest posts - but honestly I'd say an F3 is a much better all-arounder/sweet-spot camera than an F4. The F4 is overly bulky and honestly a bit long-toothed/80s-era feeling to me without any real advantages over it's older brother. The F3 is just a classic period - you can't really go wrong with one.

 

[Mats_A]

If (when) I get an F4 it will most likely be the (European ???) model whithout the external battery pack.

If one looks for a silver lining in this digital photo age it must be that poor guys like me can afford pro-cameras. A good age to be alive in!

r

Mats

 

[fschifano]

You might want to reconsider that. While the external batter pack does add quite a bit of bulk and weight to the camera, it's not terrible and there are some advantages. The extra weight adds stability and the extra shutter button makes hand held vertical compositions easier to do. Oh yeah, longer intervals between battery changes is nice too.

 

[rwboyer]

I read this whole discussion, and nobody mentioned the F4? If the F5 and F100 were in the mix, why not the F4? Seems to me to be the best of the old (good old knobs and dials) but with good automation too. Bright finder, lots of lens compatibility, built like a tank, cheap.

You are not a great reader - I mention these on page one.

RB

 

[djacobox372]

The Fe/fe2 is a great choice, I much prefer it's analog meter then the led/lcd meters in other nikon mf cameras. I've bought and sold everything you've listed on ebay, and I must say that you should be able to buy it all for well under $500. An "ebay price" for that list of items would be around $300, $100 for the camera, and $200 for the three lenses.

 

[Mats_A]

The Fe/fe2 is a great choice, I much prefer it's analog meter then the led/lcd meters in other nikon mf cameras. I've bought and sold everything you've listed on ebay, and I must say that you should be able to buy it all for well under $500. An "ebay price" for that list of items would be around $300, $100 for the camera, and $200 for the three lenses.

You are most likely right about eBay prices. But I have bought enough on eBay to know that it's a gamble. In this case I preferred to pay the "dealer-tax" and get one that I know will be OK. It is a 25 year old camera after all.

Even something as "simple" as a light meter can give problem when you can't inspect it beforehand. First Weston meter I bought was completely dead. Seller returned money and let me keep meter. Second one did meter something but not in any meaningful way. Third one (Sekonic) was a charm.

r

Mats

 

[chuck94022]

You are not a great reader - I mention these on page one.

RB

Oops. Well, i hope I'm a great reader in spite of the oversight...

 

[chuck94022]

You are not a great reader - I mention these on page one.

RB

On a second read, RB, I found no posts from you on page one. There is a post from you on page two but you don't seem to mention the F4. In your follow up post you don't mention it either.

So does that make you not a great writer?

 

[totalmotard]

Mats, before you buy the 20, see if you can find one to try or look through the viewfinder with one mounted. I find the 20 almost too wide. I really like the view from the 24. The 20 looks almost unnatural to me.

I've bought from KEH, Adorama, B&H and my local camera store. My local store has a nice selection of used lenses and bodies and they usually price close to KEH so I'll buy from them because I can inspect it before buying.

 

[Mike Reyburn]

I have obtained very good results using the excellent TC14A teleconverter with the 50 f1.4AIS lens on a F3HP. This combination makes a great 71mm moderate portrait lens. Something to consider.

 

[andrewc]

This has been a wonderful thread! I have an FE that my dad gave me a few years ago and I find that I love using it. Last week at our camera shop I found a Nikkor 50/1.4 but it came with an FA attached to it, so I bought the combo. I feel that I could really grow to like this camera but one that I've admired for quite some time is the F3HP. So, I bought one from KEH and should receive it by the middle of next week. I'm very excited and encouraged by all the great comments about the F3HP in this thread. I also bought a Nikkor 24/2.8 to add to the arsenal

 

[fschifano]

You have the bug. Now go get yourself an 85 mm f/2 lens and you're set to go.

 

[Robert Budding]

Listen to what Ralph is saying. Zoom lenses make photographers lazy and produce shitty photography 95% of the time. Prime lenses force a modal style of seeing and approaching subjects/scenes which can be felt and seen in the final results.

73% of statistics are made up on the spot.

As for cameras - my first serious camera was an FE2. Excellent camera. I carried one about Europe in my backpack during my youth. But now I use an F100 for family pics. Auto focus proved valuable when my kids were young and always in motion. And it proved valuable when they started playing organized sports.

I also enjoy manual and semi-manual cameras. I use a Mamiya 7 for travel, and I shoot 4x5 when I really want to slow down and exercise a great deal of control.

 

[elekm]

Good point about kids and manual focus cameras. Great cameras, but when kids are on the move, it can be difficult to focus quickly.

Zoom lenses and autofocus aren't bad things. But I see how they can lead toward complacency.

However, that's true of all things: Automatic transmissions, electric can openers, microwave ovens, digital cameras (oops, let's open that Pandora's Box), etc.

 

[Pumal]

I bought the Nikon F in 1959 when it came out. I used for years. In 1973 I added a Nikon F2. Kept using both. When the F3HP came out, took me a while to take the jump. I didn't want a camera with batteries. Finally I relented after Nikon made the Nikon F2 more expensive than the F3. Later came the FM, FE, FE2, FM2, F4, FM3A, etc. They are all still working.