Why Would One Bash the F5?...and How Does it Compare to the F100 and 1v?

tony lockerbie · Nov 21, 2009

The F100's are brilliant to use, a little fragile though, I have broken the back hinge on both mine over the years, and I have had various other problems. They were used heavily for weddings etc., so I probably can't complain. Now have an F5, stopped doing weddings (go figure) and this camera is beautifully put together, but is HUGE.
For day to day use I do prefer the F4, easier to use all my Ai and pre Ai lenses on it, and it still has that great metering.

johnnywalker · Nov 21, 2009

What advantages does the MB-15 give the F100?

tony lockerbie · Nov 21, 2009

Nicer grip, faster drive, longer battery life and vertical shutter release.....camera just seems nicer with it.

keithwms · Nov 21, 2009

Well I almost never use my MB15 on my F100. I could probably part with it quite happily...

dwdmguy · Nov 21, 2009

glockman99 said:
Dang...How many times, through the years have I done the same?...Sold or traded a camera (or lens) off, only to end-up with another one of the same, not too long after...Too many to count, I'm afraid.

I thought I was the only one an it was a deep dark secret. THANK YOU!

Chan Tran · Nov 22, 2009

johnnywalker said:
What advantages does the MB-15 give the F100?

To make the F100 as big and heavy as the F5 which one didn't buy because it's big and heavy.

johnnywalker · Nov 22, 2009

Chan Tran said:
To make the F100 as big and heavy as the F5 which one didn't buy because it's big and heavy.

I suspected as much

lightwisps · Nov 22, 2009

I have owned the old Nikon F, the F2 the F3, the F4 and now have a couple of F5's. The F5 is the most amazing camera I have ever owned. The metering system is almost impossible to fool. If you want to go fully manual, that is no problem. Or any thing in between.

Yes it is heavy as a tank, but I have found that very handy for keeping it stable when shooting at slow shutter speeds. Its tank like body also saved one of mine.. The strap came apart on one of mine and it crashed down to the road which was covered with a thick coat of ice. No damage at all, except for the load in my shorts.

Don

FilmOnly · Nov 22, 2009

Indeed, I was very close to purchasing an F5--simply for its heavy, tank-like build. I, too, find it much easier to keep a heavy camera stable at slower shutter speeds. A nice, soft shutter release helps, too.

JohnArs · Nov 22, 2009

The F 5 was the last really Pro cam Nikon did for a long time till the D 3 and D 3X came out!
The 5 has 3 different viewfinders if you find them somewhere!
But I get older and so I like to get less wight in cameras, so I would take the F100 which I also have!

Cheers Armin

removed-user-1 · Nov 22, 2009

I've always wanted an F5 but never had the opportunity to use one. However, this past summer I took both an F100 and a D300 to Costa Rica and Panama and I have to say that the F100 got more use than I thought it would. I ran out of film very quickly. If I could do the trip over, I'd leave the digital behind and take a brick of film and the F100.

Colin Corneau · Nov 22, 2009

I've owned an F3, F4 and F5.

The F5 is a very good camera. As has been said, its size is pretty big, but it's designed well enough that it rests really easily -- I never had a problem with that.

The main advantage is its metering. It's still one of the most accurate, hard to fool meters I've ever used. When I shot with it at a daily newspaper, I often left it in Aperture priority and never worried.

Its autofocus is good too, but I'm not sure how much of an issue that is with you. Frankly, for most purposes it's indistinguishable from the F100 -- I only ever noticed a difference when shooting a LOT of fast paced sports...its servo focusing is also still one of the best I've ever used.

pentaxuser · Nov 23, 2009

Colin Corneau said:
I only ever noticed a difference when shooting a LOT of fast paced sports...its servo focusing is also still one of the best I've ever used.

To be fair to Ken Rockwell, he makes the same point but sort of damns it with what may be exaggerated praise by saying that its autofocus is so good that you'd better have top quality Nikon lenses on it rather than 3rd party lenses which in the long term might not stand up to the speed with which the F5 will wrench the lens around to the correct focus and its speed of correction if its pointed at another object at a different distance.

Sounds like the camera for the Isle of Man TT races for shots of bikes at 150mph on roads and bends that are probably unsafe at half that speed.

pentaxuser

Colin Corneau · Nov 23, 2009

Considering most Nikkor lenses well suited to fast paced sports shooting are ultrasonic/silent wave motor, this isn't really an issue.

Again from my experience, 3rd party lenses fall apart from constant use sooner than brand name lenses...seems to be a durability issue there, but that's just my take. YMMV of course

Christiaan Phleger · Nov 24, 2009

The thing that really keeps me off the F5 love train is the lack of Matrix metering for Manual lenses. The F4 has it by an ingenious system of using a post that every Ai lens onwards has, to move a lever inside the F4. Yes, its something else to move and build and cost and such, but it works so well and fast on the F4, and makes some of the treasured legacy Nikkor lenses work without restriction, even in tricky TTL flash. I've even modified some former NAI lenses to not only meter but also correctly trigger the lever for Matrix. The fact that Nikon had to include a type of lens coding in the F6 proves my point, lots of pros use Matrix Metering and don't want to give up the older lenses. The F5 switches to Center Weight unless you chip the lens.

Ihmemies · Nov 24, 2009

All nikon F series pro cameras are good, it's just up to a personal preference. I own F4 (altough film advance is broken now) and F5 and both are excellent cameras. If size and weight is not an issue you can't go wrong with either - with a caveat. F4 is mainly for manual focusing, F5 for autofocusing. I also like the traditional controls on my F4 a lot more, especially the AE lock button is extremely nice and I wish every electronic Nikon camera had one. Apparently you can configure modern digital cameras' function buttons to do the same job...

I've been considering buying another F4 since repairing old cameras doesn't seem to be feasible these days, but haven't gotten around to do that yet. Preferrably one with the small MB-20 battery pack so I could go a bit lighter instead of the massive MB-23.

FilmOnly · Nov 25, 2009

Many of you have posted positive comments in regard to the F4. I had an F4 briefly. The large size of a camera did not bother me. I parted with the F4 not because of its size, but for two reasons:

1) I prefer the build of the F3 (less plastic)
2) I did not like the flaking away of the plastic in the area of the F4's lens mount

Otherwise, the F4 would be my IDEAL camera. It is a heavyweight, and will work with non-AI lenses.

Nicole · Nov 25, 2009

I love my F100. The less bells & whistles and packaging and... the better. I suggest you rent/hire/borrow them both for a week each, give them a good workout and then make up your mind which one fits your hands, style and workflow best. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

nsouto · Nov 25, 2009

And don't forget:
if you want a F100-weight-and-size camera that works as good as a F5, get a F6!
It also meters as well or better with AI-s as an F4.

zenrhino · Nov 25, 2009

I like the tankiness of the F5. Its solid and fits my hands and its heavy enough to keep my hand steady.

Ill move (up or down, depending on who you ask) when the ZF.2 lens comes out and get an F4. All the great stuff from Nikon plus a manual focus Zeiss lens? I am so there.

IloveTLRs · Nov 26, 2009

The only bashing I've heard is that it eats batteries (eight AAs, if I remember correctly.)

Also my friend said that AF was so fast he was surprised it didn't rip the lens right off the camera.

In other words, I have heard nothing but good things about the F5.

clayne · Nov 26, 2009

FilmOnly said:
I will now lose the whole holiday weekend, as the F100 is set to arrive here on Wednesday. I do not know why people use UPS for coast-to-coast shipping. Their service does not compare with Priority Mail, and for small packages, the cost is virtually the same. Thus, for smaller items, it just does not make sense. Via the USPS, I would have had the package on Monday or Tuesday. I sometimes even receive things *next day* via Priority Mail or First Class. I am currently scrambling to find another MB-15, but the prices are high...

How will you lose the entire weekend just because this piece of new gear hasn't arrived? Master what you already own. It's not holding you back.

zenrhino · Nov 26, 2009

IloveTLRs said:
The only bashing I've heard is that it eats batteries (eight AAs, if I remember correctly.)

Also my friend said that AF was so fast he was surprised it didn't rip the lens right off the camera.

In other words, I have heard nothing but good things about the F5.

And if you use the lithium AA's they last longer and weigh about 1/3 as much as alkalines. (Yeah, they're more expensive, but thankfully my wife gets a good discount on them through work)

DanielStone · Nov 26, 2009

so just to clarify, for myself, and any others that might look into this:

I'm looking at trading up my f100 for an f5. I've got big hands, and I have never had a bad experience with and F5. besides, I really want one (real reason afterall)

the guy I might be trading up with(his f5 for my f100+some cash or film) has some Zeiss(newest generation nikon mount) lenses he's been thinking of selling.

will these work in matrix metering mode on the f5? or are they all dumb to the world, like the non-ai lenses(which I love for bokeh and that flare when shooting somewhat backlit)

-Dan

FilmOnly · Nov 26, 2009

clayne: you are absolutely right...I need to master what I own. I have plenty of fine pieces of equipment here, and will be using them over the weekend. I believe I got a few nice shots already (this morning). I took some river/fog shots in both color (400 NC) and b&w (Pan-F 50).

Why Would One Bash the F5?...and How Does it Compare to the F100 and 1v?

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