Question of the Day

robdavis305 · Dec 18, 2009

Ive been out of film photography ever since the digital age came to life. I was walking the streets of gatlinburg,TN when I noticed a lady taking some pictures of the hard rock cafe. As always Im looking at cameras just to see what people are using. It was an Nikon F6 which I am not familiar with. I looked at B & H and I was floored. A film camera thats as much as a 300s. Can someone explain this to me?????????????

PatrickHMS · Dec 18, 2009

Nikon F6, a 35mm SLR, came out maybe early-to-mid 2000's. Was, and had, the latest and greatest of whatever you could put into a Nikon SLR body.

Last time I looked, they still sell for $3,000 or more. To me, that seems insane, as how much better a photo can you take with an F6 with good glass on it, than you could with a used $75.00 N90 with the same good glass?

Derrel · Dec 18, 2009

You can read a review of the F6 here by the author of The Complete Guide to The Nikon F6, Thom Hogan, at this URL.

Nikon F6 Review by Thom Hogan

Many who follow Nikon closely would tell you that this camera was made as a "statement" camera. Nikon is a very Japanese company; they re-tooled and re-made the 1950's Nikon S3 rangefinder camera some fifty years later, to be sold at an initial price of roughly $5,000 per camera as an homage to their roots. Nikon has a tremendous amount of pride in its engineering prowess and its capabilities as an optical design firm,and they have previously undertaken production of "statement" products that were "doomed" right from the start,with almost zero chance of success in the commercial marketplace, like the original 200-400mm f/4 Ai zoom lens--as a statement of their engineering prowess and their capability. Nikon as a company has a lot of pride of a type many western companies do not consider worth taking risks to satisfy.

Take for example Sigma's 35-pound, green, 200-500mm f/2.8 lens; that is not a "seller", it's not been done to make money--it's about proving Sigma's capability. The Nikon F6 was created for similar reasons.

I only know one,single guy who bought an F6....and all he does is rave about how awesome it is. Keeps trying to convince me I need to buy one...

Big Mike · Dec 18, 2009

Yup, the F6 was basically the pinnacle of 35mm film SLR cameras. Nikon & Canon had been fighting it out to have the best pro level 35mm SLR camera but when just about everyone started going digital, the film race was mostly abandoned. Nikon, however, decided to put everything they had into their the F6, just to make certain that they were king of that hill for a long time.