Need to get a Nikon body, tell me about the Fxxx/Nxxxx series

[Dr.Pain-MD]

After a year of dealing with my Nikon FE, it is not cooperating and is constantly jamming and locking up on me. I've had it serviced twice, the second time was supposed to be a sure fix, but the problem still haunts me. At this point I am very fed up with it and will most likely be using it as a doorstop/paperweight/etc. So now I am on the lookout for a new Nikon body.

After a bit of reading, I have become really interested in the Fxx/Nxxxx series. For some reason I am attracted to the elctronic-ness of them, especially since I tended to shoot in aperture priority with my FE a lot of the time. I still have one fully mechanical Nikon-mount body, my trusty Kiev-19 which I have full confidence in, so I am set in that department.

Now, I have three AI primes that I use and these are the lenses I plan on using. I, obviously, want metering with the AI lenses so that's a big requirement. I also need to be able to manually punch in the ISO and override the DX coding, but I think that most of them can do that. Other than that I don't have any other major requirements, at least not off the top of my head. My one big concern though is the viewfinder/focusing screen issue. I want to be able to focus with ease, so something like a microprism would be a pretty important thing to have. I've read that they have the electronic rangefinder, but how about the screens themselves? I'm hoping that they're not like those in the new Nikon DSLRs because those are, quite frankly, absolute crap when it comes to manual focusing or seeing things even. I would like to know what focusing on this series is like, so tell me about that.

So yeah, let's hear it. What's good and what's out there?

EDIT: How responsive is the electronic rangefinder? From my reasearch it seems to be that it is very easy to use and that sounds great, but how quick is it to check your focus?

 

[stavrosk]

Nikon F100 can meter with manual lenses and has a fast shutter speed of 1/8000.
It is not as expensive and heavy as say an F5.

It is considered as a solidly built camera that lasts.

 

[guitstik]

F4 can matrix meter with lenses back to 1977.

 

[darkosaric]

F801s is my favorite: good build and nowadays almost for free

 

[Johnkpap]

The othe option is A Nikon F3, there are alot for sale a Clean F3 HP can be had for Under $250.00 !!! not Bad for a camera that cost $$$$$ new and the MD4 is avaliable for under $100.00.

The other option is a FE2 or a FA they can also be bought for under $250 and the both work with a MD 11/12 motor

Regards

John

 

[OldBodyOldSoul]

My suggestion would be either a F4 or a F100 depending on the ratio of MF/AF you expect to do. I would skip anything in between, unless you don't want to spend more than $50. The only reason I am suggesting F4 and not F3 (which is what I use) is the auto film advance/rewind in F4.

F100 does handle like a DSLR, I would compare it with D700 in size and feel. The VF is nice and big, but very different from anything from the old era. Focusing screens for F-F4 were made with manually focusing in mind; focusing screen in F100 is optimized for AF and it shows. I do use my F100 with old Nikkors with absolutely no problems, but it's no F3. Its ground glass is a bit dimmer than F3HP and then there are five AF points that you have to learn to ignore.
Personally, I pick up F100 when expecting to use AF. Otherwise, it's F3.

 

[Paul Goutiere]

The Nikon F4 is a good choice providing you can accept its bulk and weight.

I use mine with manual focus AI lenses and for a while focused with the standard "type B" focus screen that came with the camera. I later bought a "type P" screen (hard to get) which is similar to the screen in my F3HP and I find this much better. I would not buy this camera for it's autofocus capability even with modern lenses. see: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf4/screens/index.htm

The F4 is a very nice camera, but for weight and portability I prefer the F3HP.

 

[Terry Christian]

I can't compare it to anything else, but I do like my F4S. Yes, it's rather heavy, but I have small hands and I like having the stability that such a camera affords me. It's a matter of personal "feel," but it's nicely contoured, so it feels great.

Yes, the AF is relatively slow, but it's nice to have. The electronic rangefinder lamp doesn't light until you're dead-on focused, so there isn't much "play" in that and I find I rarely depend on it. I snap the shutter when I feel the scene is focused regardless of the lamp.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Who worked on your FE? That should not be such a problem.

 

[tkamiya]

Manual focusing on F-100 isn't that easy. For one, the electronic range finder gives you a "range" where the blue dot illuminates. Sometimes, this range can be quite a bit.

For another, the arrangement where the dot is located at lower left corner of view finder requires one to look at two things at once. The scene itself making sure focusing bracket is where it is supposed to be, and the lower left corner for the green dot. I've never got used to this. The dot is so far on the edge of my view that it isn't easy or natural.

I do like F-100 and I have 3 of them - but manual focusing on them isn't my thing.

 

[BrianShaw]

Who worked on your FE? That should not be such a problem.

That's what I was thinking!

 

[ooze]

I have an F4 and an F90x and have played around with almost all Nikons. I would say either an F90x or an F801s are very capable and reliable electronic bodies...and so cheap these days. My only complaint would be the plasticky back door with the gum that tends to peel off. Personally, I'm not that fond of the F4.

 

[CGW]

I have an F4 and an F90x and have played around with almost all Nikons. I would say either an F90x or an F801s are very capable and reliable electronic bodies...and so cheap these days. My only complaint would be the plasticky back door with the gum that tends to peel off. Personally, I'm not that fond of the F4.

The 8008s/801s didn't have the dull, rubberized finish, so no problems. The sticky back problem was common among early N90s/F90x, so much so that Nikon replaced them free. Later versions didn't seem to have the same defect.

 

[CGW]

Manual focusing on F-100 isn't that easy. For one, the electronic range finder gives you a "range" where the blue dot illuminates. Sometimes, this range can be quite a bit.

For another, the arrangement where the dot is located at lower left corner of view finder requires one to look at two things at once. The scene itself making sure focusing bracket is where it is supposed to be, and the lower left corner for the green dot. I've never got used to this. The dot is so far on the edge of my view that it isn't easy or natural.

I do like F-100 and I have 3 of them - but manual focusing on them isn't my thing.

Funny but I've always found the confirmation dot to be accessible but not distracting in that position. This lets me frame and focus with the dot appearing when what I'm aiming at is in focus. Accuracy has never been an issue. Seems to work just fine on older models like the 8008s/801s and N90s/F90x, too.

 

[tkamiya]

I always wished if the focusing dot was actually tied to the focusing point bracket. That way, I can concentrate on THAT.

The difference in our experience may have to do with the fact my eyes are highly corrected by glasses. (I'm guessing here) I have the same issue with all of my Nikon bodies.

 

[dugrant153]

I second the F801s as a great camera. It has the focus confirmation (electronic rangefinder) that's really helpful.

I'm actually selling mine as I moved up to the F90x!

 

[ic-racer]

Other than the F6, the last film SLR they made was the N75 (F75). They are dirt-cheap. Here is my (there was a url link here which no longer exists) of it. In terms of using the focus indicator, it does not work in practice because you can't see the focus site and the indicator at the same time. By the time you take your eye away from the focus spot to see if the indicator is lighting up or not, the subject has moved. The screen is too small to really manual focus, so just let the camera do it.

 

[CGW]

In terms of using the focus indicator, it does not work in practice because you can't see the focus site and the indicator at the same time. By the time you take your eye away from the focus spot to see if the indicator is lighting up or not, the subject has moved. The screen is too small to really manual focus, so just let the camera do it.

The N75 is just too plasticky and feature-light compared to the not-much-better N80. Won't meter with manual lenses. Crappy mirror prism, too. Still think the F100, N90s/F90x are best all-rounders for the $.

 

[Rob Skeoch]

I had the F3, F4, F100, F90, FM, FE and F5. The F6 is the best camera Nikon has made.... and they're a bargain on ebay.

-Rob

 

[Mark Crabtree]

I like the N6006 (F-601) and decided to keep mine since it didn't sell here; they are a little newer than the N8008 (F-801). When I got it, it was a surprise how nicely made and functional it was. I also have an F-80 (N-80) and will say that the manual focus confirmation in it is more precise than the one in the older 6006. Either is fine, but the F-80 seems to do better with things like the 24 f2.8 at moderate distances (where focus is really not very critical anyway). Both seem fine with fast lenses where it would be an issue.

As mentioned, the FE is a great camera. Once in a while you just get a problem that is hard to sort out. A friend had an M4 like that we finally had to go over to the repair shop in person to sort out the issue (not a Leica specialist). With most 35mm cameras so cheap today (like my F80 for about anything somebody wants to give me for it) I would usually just pick up one in good shape and avoid the repair hassles. I had a fairly new at the time OM-1 that went back repeatedly but never got the flash sync entirely right.

My favorite Nikon is still the F with straight prism, but the finder isn't as easy to focus wideangles with as the later bodies.

 

[ic-racer]

In terms of using the focus indicator, it does not work in practice because you can't see the focus site and the indicator at the same time. By the time you take your eye away from the focus spot to see if the indicator is lighting up or not, the subject has moved. The screen is too small to really manual focus, so just let the camera do it.

The N75 is just too plasticky and feature-light compared to the not-much-better N80. Won't meter with manual lenses. Crappy mirror prism, too. Still think the F100, N90s/F90x are best all-rounders for the $.

The focusing comments above are identical for F100 (which is also covered in plastic). In Auto focus the N75 focuses faster. To make a comparison based on $; you can get ten N75s for the price of a F100.

 

[stavrosk]

Yes but the N75 has a maxiumum shutter speed of 1/2000.
For some of us fast shutter speed is a very intrinsic factor of our shooting style.

 

[CGW]

Yes but the N75 has a maxiumum shutter speed of 1/2000.
For some of us fast shutter speed is a very intrinsic factor of our shooting style.

Agree. Along with the truly awful F55, it was a low-end body. It took Nikon.ca a very long time to clear them even at give-away prices. The combination of lowish max shutter speed and a dim pentamirror finder didn't help.

 

[EASmithV]

The manual focusing on my F6 is excellent, so if the other cameras are like that, good to go.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

I had the F3, F4, F100, F90, FM, FE and F5. The F6 is the best camera Nikon has made.... and they're a bargain on ebay.

-Rob

Oh ya' got me all excited! But then I checked eBay and they're still going for mostly way over a thou'. I'm sure that's a huge discount to when new but not quite the bargain I was hoping for....like F3 bodies for $150 that were $2000 when new....oh well.