NikonWeb.com

Any F4 Nikon owners here. I am wondering how they like theirs, and if they can direct me to some reference to read up more about it. Thanks,

-Chris

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AllNikon:
http://allnikon.proboards86.com

D200 Owner
Work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pepe83/

Hi there and welcome to the vintage Digital SLR forum!

There are better forums to discuss old(er) Nikon film bodies, but I'm a long time F4 user myself, so I'll try to answer your question.

There are mixed opinions about the F4 (as with other models), but I personally think it's one of the "best" Nikon cameras ever made. I used the F4 professionally for several years, and it never let me down. Being a professional camera, it's obviously very robust and reliable. Like other F bodies, it's built like a tank. Its autofocus is relatively slow compared to later models, but unless you shoot fast action/sports it's hardly an issue (I mostly used manual focus lenses with mine).

Compared to a digital SLR, like the D200, you'll be amazed to see the large viewfinder image. Impressive.

One of the best online sources of information (both for the F4 and most other Nikon equipment) is the excellent Photography in Malaysia website:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/ha ... /index.htm

In the digital age, you can now get F4 bodies for ridiculous low prices. Considering value for money it's probably one of the best cameras you can buy today. Just make sure that you get a nice, preferably amateur-used body. Good luck!

To get this thread back on topic, did you know that NASA made a special, highly customized digital F4 version? More info: http://www.nikonweb.com/nasaf4/

Jarle

Hi, I agree with the webmaster that the Nikon F4 is one of the best AF camera's Nikon ever build. I work with it since it came on the market and never had problems. The best feature of the camera is that it is the last professional Nikon camera which takes all Nikkor lenses with an F-mount, without modification. I'll never sell mine just for that reason.
Regards,
Nico

some have called the F4 the best manual focus Nikon F ever
Kiu

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Lets talk Nikon

The Malaysian site is really great. The site needs a design makeover, but the content is the best on old Nikon stuff.

I bought an F3 this summer, and I'm very happy with the results. A Norwegian photo store dumped a lot of high quality films (for portraits, mostly), and used on my F3 the results were good.

Just curious: I've heard a lot of good things about the F4, but a lot of people seem to hate it too. Why does the F4 cause such controversy?

-åsmund

I really don't know, but here's one possible explanation: The F4 was Nikon's first professional autofocus camera, it came with a built-in motordrive and doesn't have a film advance lever. Many people didn't care for such features. The cameras was, in many ways, Nikon's first modern, high-tech pro model. Cutting edge technology will always cause some controversy.

Jarle