Nikon F4

MartinCrabtree · Jul 13, 2016

I'm waiting for my FM2n to come back from being restored. Man it's been a long time.

CMoore · Jul 13, 2016

Who is doing your FM.?

Theo Sulphate · Jul 13, 2016

CMoore said:
... for me, the F4 has a lot of technology that is unimportant. ...

That is a profound statement. Not necessarily about any particular camera (or device), but in knowing what is important to you. There are technophiles I encounter daily who will not understand why someone would not want the very latest device.

I admire the F4 for the reasons I gave above, but find myself increasingly moving to all-manual mechanical cameras and lenses.

FM2n is always a good choice.

sepiareverb · Jul 13, 2016

If you use exposure compensation at all regularly the F4 has a vastly simpler, more legible dial than the Fm2/3. Granted this was much more important to me when I was shooting 80% slide films, but ease of use and ease of legibility is important to me. Why I used the F4 so much more than the F100 and never "upgraded" to the F5.

Chan Tran · Jul 13, 2016

sepiareverb said:
If you use exposure compensation at all regularly the F4 has a vastly simpler, more legible dial than the Fm2/3.

I don't think the FM2 or FM2n even has the exposure compensation. The FM3a does have the exposure compensation though.

sepiareverb · Jul 13, 2016

Chan Tran said:
I don't think the FM2 or FM2n even has the exposure compensation. The FM3a does have the exposure compensation though.

Is it not around the ISO dial? I've not had one for a while now.

Chan Tran · Jul 13, 2016

sepiareverb said:
Is it not around the ISO dial? I've not had one for a while now.

The FM, FM2, FM2n all have the ISO as part of the shutter speed dial and has no EC.
The FE, FE2 and FM3a the ISO dial is around the rewind crank and has the EC.
There is no need for EC for a manual camera.

CMoore · Jul 13, 2016

Yes...as Chan Tran says...i pretty much only shoot in Manual Mode, so Exp Comp is kind of meaningless for me.

chip j · Jul 13, 2016

Does anyone find the FM2n to be noisy & clunky? I do, that's why I love my N80 w/28-100mm zoom for most everything (+really good MATRIX!).

CMoore · Jul 13, 2016

I don't know.
I have both Canon and Nikon, and i would say my FM is the least "clunky". It is about the smallest and lightest SLR i own.
Noisy.? Not sure about that either. All my SLR make noise when you wind them, and when you press the shutter button.
Is the FM2n extra noisy for some reason.? I have never handled one.

frank · Jul 13, 2016

As a left eye shooter, I don't appreciate the shutter lock/unlock tied to the stand-off position of the film advance lever.

Theo Sulphate · Jul 13, 2016

chip j said:
Does anyone find the FM2n to be noisy & clunky? ...

The FM2n I can't speak about, but the other day I was looking at two FM's, nearly identical - as their serial numbers were so close - and one of them had that sweet SLR "thwap" sound whereas the other was like: "clap-bang!". I looked at the mirror foam on each and they both had what looked like new foam. For some reason that one particular camera sounded awful. I suspect there is some other cushioning I'm not aware of.

Theo Sulphate · Jul 13, 2016

frank said:
As a left eye shooter, I don't appreciate the shutter lock/unlock tied to the stand-off position of the film advance lever.

Yeah - I hate that. That's why I like the early version of the FM, where the lock surrounds the release and the shutter can be tripped with the wind lever pushed all the way in.

CMoore · Jul 13, 2016

Theo Sulphate said:
Yeah - I hate that. That's why I like the early version of the FM, where the lock surrounds the release and the shutter can be tripped with the wind lever pushed all the way in.

Really.?
I was not aware of that...wish mine was that way. You do get "used to it".....but it does seem like about the worst possible way to go about achieving that function.

Ricardo Miranda · Jul 14, 2016

chip j said:
Does anyone find the FM2n to be noisy & clunky? I do, that's why I love my N80 w/28-100mm zoom for most everything (+really good MATRIX!).

Yes, the Nikon F80 / N80 for the USA market is quite silent, but CMoore has only MF Nikons. As you know the F80 can't meter with AI/S lenses.

The early FM is similar to the EL2. They have an unlocking switch around the shutter release.

sepiareverb · Jul 14, 2016

Chan Tran said:
The FM, FM2, FM2n all have the ISO as part of the shutter speed dial and has no EC.
The FE, FE2 and FM3a the ISO dial is around the rewind crank and has the EC.
There is no need for EC for a manual camera.

Correct. Was thinking of the FE2/FM3.

Huss · Jul 14, 2016

frank said:
As a left eye shooter, I don't appreciate the shutter lock/unlock tied to the stand-off position of the film advance lever.

Slap on the MD12 motor winder and that no longer becomes an issue as the advance lever can remain flush. They run about $15- $25 for one and are excellent, but silly loud, to use.

frank · Jul 14, 2016

Got it covered, Huss. This is also an early version with the knurled shutter surround lock.

CMoore · Jul 14, 2016

Very Nice.
So what spurred Nikon (on the FM) to change the way they locked the shutter, from the knob to the lever.?
Thank You

Ricardo Miranda · Jul 14, 2016

C
It was to make it easy for the user.
When the FE came up, it didn't need any more the separate switch to unlock the shutter release when the motor drive was on.
On the FE and later FM and all the others subsequently when you attach the MD-11 or the MD12 the shutter button is released internally via a pin on the base. So, you don't need to turn the advance lever away to unlock it.
That is my understanding.

On the early FM and the EL2 the shutter is locked when the advance lever is flushed. It can then be unlocked and the meter activated by 2 ways: moving the lever to the stand by position or switching on the unlocking ring around the shutter button.

One advice: read the manuals for these cameras. All of this is there.

macfred · Jul 14, 2016

For the archives ...
Nikon EL2 with the unlocking ring around the shutter button :

Nikon EL2 by Andreas, on Flickr

Stupidly sold ...

Ricardo Miranda · Jul 14, 2016

macfred said:
Stupidly sold ...

You're not the only one.
I sold mine once, but then managed to buy it back.

WP_20150922_16_13_23_Pro by Ricardo Miranda, on Flickr

Huss · Jul 14, 2016

frank said:
View attachment 160556 Got it covered, Huss. This is also an early version with the knurled shutter surround lock.

Sweet! Then you're set if u get an FM2n.

This motor drive was used as a sound effect (and featured in) the Duran Duran video "Girls on Film"

John_Nikon_F · Jul 16, 2016

Here's the business end of my FM2n...

Body was $129.50 (turned out to be about $86 after a trade-in), MF-16 back was $10 shipped, and MD-12 was $19.75 shipped.

-J

Christiaan Phleger · Jul 16, 2016

I've followed this and I think I will point out that where I feel that the F4's best feature is that once you get a feel and understanding of how the camera works using (and trusting) the Matrix metering and the auto-exposure the camera nails the exposure remarkably well especially in quick moving situations. I've had much more experience with black and white and color neg, and my experience taught me to let the camera give it the best guess. Careful use of the spot meter is also very useful when I use in Manual exposure mode.

Nikon F4

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