Nikon F4 or F5

Junior897 · Jul 9, 2009

That is my question. Should I buy a F4 or an F5. As I am getting back into film in a big way I am looking at them. I really am only looking at the F4 because they were coming out when I was in school and I lusted for one of them. From a pracitcal side I think the F5 is the better choice.

Are there any lens compatibility issues between them. I was looking at another site, and it mentioned modified F5s not straight out of the box F5s.

bhop · Jul 9, 2009

Personally, i'd go F100. It's got most of the features of the F5, but is smaller and lighter. If you want you can add the grip for more power. But then, if you're shooting with manual focus ai/ais lenses, the F4 might be a better choice since it matrix meters with them, while the other two don't. You also might consider the controls too. F100/F5 have controls similar to modern D cameras, while the F4 has oldskool knobs and switches.

I also have F4s lust. It was new when I was in school too and I thought it was the most beautiful camera, but I couldn't afford it. I could get one now, but I have too many cameras as it is...

compur · Jul 9, 2009

Junior897 said:
Are there any lens compatibility issues between them.

There are some lens compatibility differences between them, particularly
with older lenses.

See the chart here.

I think the main difference is in using non-AI lenses.

There is also a big difference in price.

Junior897 · Jul 9, 2009

Nikon was about the only game in town back then. The Canon EOS 1s were starting to show up, but if I remember correctly only one guy had a couple. The school also had a digital camera back in 1993. It was a F3 with a digital back on it. If I remember correctly someone told me the back was somewhere in the $12,000 range.

I really fell in love with the F4 when I got my 80-200 f2.8. It and the loaner 300 f2.8 were the only 2 lenses that I used that were AF. Also AF was pretty new, so if you were any good you could out focus the autos by hand. After someone apparently decided they needed my gear more than I did, I almost bought all Canon, but I was so disgusted that I just gave up photography all together.

Thanks for the link. It does shed a little light on the subject. My guess from a quick glance is that I need to stick to AF-D or newer lenses, but away from any lens that has DX on it.

Sachphotography · Jul 10, 2009

Junior897 said:
Nikon was about the only game in town back then. The Canon EOS 1s were starting to show up, but if I remember correctly only one guy had a couple. The school also had a digital camera back in 1993. It was a F3 with a digital back on it. If I remember correctly someone told me the back was somewhere in the $12,000 range.

I really fell in love with the F4 when I got my 80-200 f2.8. It and the loaner 300 f2.8 were the only 2 lenses that I used that were AF. Also AF was pretty new, so if you were any good you could out focus the autos by hand. After someone apparently decided they needed my gear more than I did, I almost bought all Canon, but I was so disgusted that I just gave up photography all together.

Thanks for the link. It does shed a little light on the subject. My guess from a quick glance is that I need to stick to AF-D or newer lenses, but away from any lens that has DX on it.

Yeah.. Most def do not buy a DX lens. It is made for the smaller sensors on digitals cameras. Basically it would suck very bad. lol

bhop · Jul 10, 2009

Yeah, not to get off topic, but a dx lens on a film body leads to vignetting like so..

Sw1tchFX · Jul 10, 2009

agree with the F100, the F4 and the F5 are pretty large bodies, the F100 can do most of what anyone needs, and is lighter on the wallet.

djacobox372 · Jul 11, 2009

You sound like a nostalgic sort of person, so an F4 may be a good choice for you.

The only problem with the f100, and f5, is that they look and feel almost exactly like a modern day digital SLR.

Junior897 · Jul 14, 2009

I think I will pick up an F5 then a F4 later.

I have gotten my hands on the F100 it just didn't feel good in my hands.

Junior897 · Aug 5, 2009

I picked up the F5. I am now having a little problem though. It was working fine with my Tamron 28-75, but now dosen't want to focus. Is it possible that I have changed some kind of setting on it? If I slap another lens on it it seems to work fine. The thing that makes me think it is the camera is that the lens works on 2 other bodys just fine. Any thoughts?

bhop · Aug 6, 2009

Did you hit the focus select lever on the front accidentally and set it to manual?

Junior897 · Aug 6, 2009

bhop said:
Did you hit the focus select lever on the front accidentally and set it to manual?

I double checked that first thing. I even moved the switch on the lens, and body. The part that confuses me is that I can take the lens off of the F5 and put it on another camera, and it will focus fine.

bhop · Aug 6, 2009

Does the Tamron have a switch for af/manual? I've accidentally flipped that on my 17-50 and freaked out before.

compur · Aug 6, 2009

Many newer Nikons will not fire if the body is set on a program exposure mode
and the lens is not set at its smallest aperture.

Try either setting the lens to its smallest aperture and/or changing the body
to a manual exposure mode setting.

Junior897 · Aug 6, 2009

It does have a switch on it, but it stays on AF.

I will try too clear it up a little. I have 2 cameras F5 and D100. I put the Tamron 28-75 2.8 on the D100, and it works fine, and will focus like it is designed to. I take the lens off, and put it on the F5 and sometimes I will get a little movement of the focus ring, but it will not focus. All I get is the orange arrow down, and the two red arrows in the view finder. I can take the 28-75 off and replace it with my 18-200 Tamron, and the camera will focus fine. The thing that has me confused is when I first got the camera it would focus with the 28-75 just fine. When I press on the shutter button I hear the body sort of click like it trying to do something, but nothing happens.