The Nikon F4s or The Nikon F5?

[unohuu]

Andrew, the offer still stands...you will already have an F5 to compare against the F4s. Would not have offered if it would have been an imposition. These are the kind of folks here on APUG. The F4s was the first AF Nikon I owned and I will always treasure it, but it won't keep pace with the F100s. Again, though I can use all those delightful ai lenses with the F4s. Your decision either way.

 

[copake_ham]

I was little weary posting here at first, but I'm happy I did. It would seem that there is a genuine desire to help strangers here and I truly appreciate all the replies.

I also appreciate the recommendations and advice as far as MF is concerned. I'm sure I'll be coming back to this thread at some point in the near future, depending on how much of a craftsman I turn out to be. I have two, nonworking Minolta bodies and I'd like to see if I can salvage a working camera out of them.



That's an incredibly generous offer and it definitely interests me, but I couldn't ask that of you. I ordered an F5 from KEH.com that should get here sometime Monday. I figure, if it's what I'm looking for: I'll know. If it's not, I'll return it and continue down the list of possibilities (KEH seems to have a wonderful selection for such a thing). I just wanted to say that the offer itself is much obliging.

The fact of it is, the camera comes in a distant third after the photographer, film, and development in terms of importance to the photograph. Or, this is my humble opinion of it. Either way, I'll keep posting; even if it requires I use a computer.

Andrew,

Best of all, you ordered from KEH. They are really good folk and under-rate their gear so you'll likely be happily surprised how good the condition is!

Enjoy!

 

[gr82bart]

I didn't read the entire thread, but FWIW, I have three Nikon F4's - two F4e's and one F4s. I've had all three since university or thereabouts. I love them. Just took one out lately for a nostalgic joy ride as I haven't really touched them since I bought my Hasey, Nikon D1X and D2X. All the cameras have MF-23 backs and I have four SB-24's and two SB-26's for them. I only have very fast AF-S lenses and I don't find the reports of slow focusing a problem with these lenses.

I've never owned an F5, so I can't compare. I'm sure it's a great camera too. One issue I do know is the rubber armour of the F5, like all the later Nikons - the D1's and D2's as well - have a tendency to fall off after a while. So I've heard.

Regards, Art.

 

[Andrew West]

It has arrived and, I'm happy to say, in perfect condition. It definitely feels sturdy ("built like a tank" as it has been claimed) , but I wouldn't describe it as overly heavy. Unfortunately, I can't comment much beyond that as I haven't had the chance to take it on a real test drive but I intend to do that within the week (new film is in the 'fridge). The only problem I have right now is the lack of a paper manual (or cheat sheet). Is there any way I can order the manual (not an eBook of the thing) without running through the gauntlet that is eBay?

Andrew, the offer still stands...you will already have an F5 to compare against the F4s. Would not have offered if it would have been an imposition. These are the kind of folks here on APUG. The F4s was the first AF Nikon I owned and I will always treasure it, but it won't keep pace with the F100s. Again, though I can use all those delightful ai lenses with the F4s. Your decision either way.

It's much appreciated, and I really would like to. Possibly, once I've familiarized myself better with the F5, I'll see if there's anything I can send as collateral. All I can think of at the moment is a few Minolta lenses I've saved for the day I have a working camera on which to mount them but that really isn't much in way of insurance.

I much appreciate all the help and feedback. I'll have to subscribe once I have those test shots; the gallery is a brilliant idea, I do believe.

 

[gr82bart]

Andrew,

Go to http://www.Nikonians.org best resource for Nikon owners on the web.

Regards, Art.

 

[dickie vaara]

F4s....all the way. Solid, reliable, a workhorse that will never let you down, reasonably priced (used, finally), compatible with any accessories. How fast does the AF have to be, anyway??
I have two Canons, only by choices I had to make earlier because of $$. The next one is an F4s....period.

 

[Soeren]

Andrew
Another source of info on the F5
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/NikonF5/index.htm
Cheers
Søren

 

[Jeffrey A. Steinberg]

I have both and much prefer the F4s. I can't tell you why. It just feels better in the hands.

The only problem with the F100 is that there is no manual rewind knob. I am not sure what happens if it doesn't rewind for some reason. That always scared me.

 

[BobbyR]

I have both and much prefer the F4s. I can't tell you why. It just feels better in the hands.

I kinda-sorta agree.
I have both a F4 and a F5 and I put my only auto focus lens on the F5 and the rest on the F4, which has a kinda-sorta in-focus indicator that I use and it works.
Bobby

 

[HerrBremerhaven]

About a year ago, I was offered an F5, at a price very near to what I could get an F4S from KEH. After only a short time, I decided on the F4S. One thing I like is that you can see all the settings without powering the camera on. Other than that, it is well balanced, despite the weight.

If you will only be using autofocus, you might find the F5 to be a better choice. If you want to mostly manually focus, I would suggest the F4S. Honestly, there is little to no difference in the metering, and you actually get a few more options using non-chip (no electronic sensor) lenses on the F4S.

I shoot more 4x5 now than 35mm, but when I needed to shoot 35mm, the F4S is the first body I grab. I also have the waist level finder, and several different focus screens to choose; accessories can really improve your shooting options.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

 

[Erik Petersson]

Someone mentioned the EM. It was my first love, but it was robbed from me on the Moscow underground a couple of winters ago. Great for walking around with, as it is small and looks amateurish.

 

[Nikon Collector]

If you guys look at the date, I think He's made his decision by now

 

[MartinCrabtree]

I dunno,some people really take their time.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

I don't have a Nikon F5, only the F4. But, if you go here, you will find an answer. What you are looking at are the numbers for viewfinder magnification and eye relief. They'll give you an idea how big the viewfinder is.

 

[destroya]

if you dont want to click on the link above, to my eyes they seem to be the same. would guess 100% viewfinder in each if im not mistaken

 

[narsuitus]

What a great old thread.

Nikon F5 prices have dropped so low that I was considering buying one if it offered features I could use that were not provided by my F4 bodies. Based in the information in this old thread, I decided to continue relying on my F4 bodies because they work better with the older manual focus lenses that I own.



Nikon F4 and Nikon F4s by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[pentaxuser]

It is reading old threads that set you wondering about "old members" Copake_ham who signed himself as George was a useful contributor to this thread. If anyone had asked when I last saw him here I'd have said 4-5 years ago but it was 2008

Time passes very quickly. He had made a lot of contributions in a very short period. Anyone know what happened to him?

pentaxuser

 

[MattKing]

Anyone know what happened to him?

The fact that his "status" doesn't show as either member or subscriber (or anything else for that matter) is a clue .

 

[ac12]

oops, did not look at the OP date.

I have the F4. I removed the lower battery pack, and replaced it with the smaller pack in the grip. This was to reduce the weight of the F4.

 

[Johnkpap]

The Nikon F5 is the one.....Fitted mine with a 24-120 D lens, this combo works a treat for me, for general everyday photography it is great

A f5 is no heaver than a F2 with a MD2 and batt pack, the metering is very very good:- stick the thing in full auto, shoot a roll and you get a perfect set of negs all exposed the same.

The only bad points are that it uses batt power when turned off, standard alkaline don't last long you need to use lithium batt's and take out the holder when not in use, when buying one make sure the batt holder is not corroded as they are no longer available new from nikon

Johnkpap

 

[Chan Tran]

The Nikon F5 is the one.....Fitted mine with a 24-120 D lens, this combo works a treat for me, for general everyday photography it is great

A f5 is no heaver than a F2 with a MD2 and batt pack, the metering is very very good:- stick the thing in full auto, shoot a roll and you get a perfect set of negs all exposed the same.

The only bad points are that it uses batt power when turned off, standard alkaline don't last long you need to use lithium batt's and take out the holder when not in use, when buying one make sure the batt holder is not corroded as they are no longer available new from nikon

Johnkpap

The problem with battery is unique to your F5 right? My F5 doesn't have the problem. I could put a set of alkaline batteries in there for a year and they are still good. I does use battery power but very little.

 

[pentaxuser]

I am glad that this may be a problem of serious battery run down which is unique to Johnkpap and hope that Chan Tran's experience may be the normal one. I must admit that until Johnkpap's post #47 I had never heard of this issue with a F5. Anyone else experience this battery rundown with a F5?

Thanks

pentaxuser

 

[GarageBoy]

If I had the $$$ - it'd be F5 and F6 combo for me. I like the F4, but the grip was fat, and the camera was loud - if the F4 came with F3 style manual advance, I'd buy one new

 

[Alan Klein]

I still have my Nikormat FT3 but haven't used it in years having stuck with medium format. But the weight is getting to me and I'm thinking of messing around with the lighter 35mm Nikormat. How does it line up with the F4, F5 and F6? Should I bother considering these against the Nikormat?

 

[Chan Tran]

I still have my Nikormat FT3 but haven't used it in years having stuck with medium format. But the weight is getting to me and I'm thinking of messing around with the lighter 35mm Nikormat. How does it line up with the F4, F5 and F6? Should I bother considering these against the Nikormat?

Depend on what you need it may not be much different.
1. You don't have high speed motor drive up to 8fps with the F5 and F6
2. You don't have matrix or spot metering.
3. You don't have TTL flash.
4. You don't have other kind of viewfinder like waist level or sport.
5. Your viewfinder is good but not 100%
6. You can't change the focusing screen.
7. You don't have DX features on the F4, F5, F6.
9. You don't have or can add a data back.
Can't think of all the features but there are many yet few are extremely important to me.