I love my Nikon F4. It’s heavy, but I’m used to it coming from using a Nikon D700&800. I used to have a Nikon FM-10, but the F4 is hands down the best film camera I’ve ever used.
The F4 is fantastic. I've become really fond of the design & feel of the F3 over the past year but the reality is the F4 still has more things I like packed into one camera out of any other film camera, and I've tried a ton now. Thank you for watching and commenting! Much appreciated.
I actually sold it before I ever got it CLA'd. A lot happened last year that made me rethink my film shooting. Sorry I couldn't help in this situation. There was a place I was looking at sending it too. Let me see if I can find it.
The f4 has always been a dream camera of mine even before I was super into photography, it just looked so cool to me. Now that I own one, I absolutely love it. Such a great platform
When I was 14 years old, around 1991, the school photographer was visiting for the day and he had an F4 around his neck-I will never forget seeing that camera for the first time. I was in love with it IMMEDIATELY. He saw how big my eyes were so he took it off and practically tossed the camera to me and told me to take a few snaps with it! From that day on, I KNEW I was gonna be a photographer and someday have an F4. Today, I am STILL a photographer and I have TWO mint condition F4’s, both late models with serial numbers starting with 260-meaning they are some of the last F4’s to be manufactured, and they look FLAWLESS. I still get excited by the F4, such a beautiful camera. I use them mainly with manual-focus, Ai-S lenses which look and function beautifully. I get matrix metering with manual glass and an electronic rangefinder for checking focus! It’s really the best tool for manual-focus, film shooters. The metering options alone are enough to convince me.
As I'm not a pro any longer, today I prefer the F801s to the magic F4 which is indeed a very powerful camera - the 'Camera of the Year' when released. Maybe its AF isn't up to date, but I never missed AF because as a designing and not kalaschnikow-shooting photographer I prefer focusing very decidedly according to my own preferences without having to struggle with AF locks. Concerning the F3: phantastic with the MD-4 and in this combo best handling ever, I agree. But without this MD-4, the F3 is too small for my hands, and I cannot see any progress compared to the F2; so the F2 is my favourite.
I had an F4 , but it didn’t fit comfortably in my hands. It wasn’t about the size or weight. I also have a F5 and it is great. I carried the F4 for a year daily and it just wasn’t for me. I ended up giving it away.
I just got an F4 again! I've had three but this one is one of the last F4 bodies with a high serial # 2617xxx. BTW the F4 is lightyears ahead of an F3. One issue to look for in the F4 is that the shutter lever in the lens compartment goes all the way down when shooting beyond f/11 -f/22. Sometimes when shooting at a high f/# the lever doesn't activate the aperture far enough thus over exposing your pics.t
I owned an F4s and although I liked its features and capabilities, I ended up selling it because it was just too big and heavy for me. To take its place I bought a 8008s body. It's ugly as sin but it has similar features to the F4 and it fits me better.
It is a heavy camera! I totally get what you're saying. The n8008s is a great camera too! I actually have an n8008. I've always liked the n8008/n8008s. I'll make a video about that camera soon. Thanks as always for watching and commenting Russ!
I'd like to see you make the most of out the F4 by using your favorite lenses, filters, various kinds of photography, compaire photos between the F4, DSLR and Mirrorless in pre and post photo editing. That would be awesome to see.
Good video. It'll be interesting to see f4 vs f3. But why the f4 and not the f5? It has better autofocus and can still be repaired in official nikon centers. Buy the way they are much cheaper than mechanical f-cameras in the same condition. I saw f4 kit for 250$ with flash in great shape. Everything in boxes with manuals. This is just nothing for the flagship professional camera.
I'm sure the F5 is an awesome camera but I got this F4 at a perfect price for me so I decided to pick it up. I do love the shutter speed dial and other design elements of this. I'll try an F5 someday but eventually I'm going to add an F6 to the collection. I like that you can get the F6 without the vertical grip, so it makes it a little more compact. Maybe eventually I'll just have them all lol. Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
I had both. The F4 was slippery and it bugged me. I miss the F3 but sold it to get my F2 soverized. My F2 eye level is always mounted with the 25-50 f4 ais.
Personally, I owned 2 models of F3 & 2 models of F4, all in very good conditions. I bought them on eBay with very nice Nikkor vintage lenses. I choose one or the other according to my mood of the moment and I adore them equally. 👍
I can definitely relate to what you're saying. The reality is my mood and preferences change as well. They're both great cameras. Thanks for watching and commenting! Much appreciated.
Love to try an F3 but worry about lens compatibility. I have a Nikkormat FTn with pre-AI glass and an F4, F5 and D700 all with auto-focus Nikon glass and it seems none of them are really compatible with the F3 from what I can tell.
Hey Anthony, you should be able to mount and use Pre-Ai glass on the F3. It has the tab that you can flip up, so you should be good. It sounds like you have a great set of cameras, btw. I still would love to give the D700 a try. Thanks for watching! Let me know if you give the F3 a try.
Also the F4 handles non-AI lenses as it has a flip back tab similar to FM and F3, etc. Of course you're metering in stopped down mode. I have 2 F1 and 3 F2 bodies also... I will probably add an F3 someday just to try it out. I don't mind the bulk and weight of the F4. I have the MB-23 on it so it is big, but I also have a MB-20 if I want to go smaller.
The FM3a is out of my budget at the moment. I got both of these F3 and F4 for between $150-$220 and the FM3a is significantly more expensive. It seems like an amazing camera though so hopefully someday I’ll pick one up.
@@CraigBergonzoni You Americans have the edge. Usual price for those cameras here in Europe is higher than that, but in EUR instead of $, so almost double the price...
They are all essentially the same camera with just different vertical battery grips. The 4e is the largest grip. The 4s is more common. The standard 4 just has the MB-20 grip which is what I have in the video. You can get the 4 with the MB-20 and replace the grip later. They're interchangeable. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have anymore questions! Thank you for watching and for your comment!
Those are great cameras too and have owned them before. I just knew I eventually wanted to add a F4 back to my collection and figured it would be a good time to do so. Eventually I’d love to get a FM2 and or FE2 in good condition again just to round things out.
Good video. The F4 is nice, and I have been choosing between the two. But the size is the main reason I went for the F3. I have an F100 as well for all the automatic stuff, and even that is much bigger than the F3. Maybe, if I find a good F4 for a reasonable price, but it would be mostly for shooting at home - and for the collection.
I have similar feelings about the F4 compared to the F3. I love the smaller size of the F3. But I do appreciate all of the features the F4 has to offer.
I love my Nikon F4. It’s heavy, but I’m used to it coming from using a Nikon D700&800. I used to have a Nikon FM-10, but the F4 is hands down the best film camera I’ve ever used.
The F4 is fantastic. I've become really fond of the design & feel of the F3 over the past year but the reality is the F4 still has more things I like packed into one camera out of any other film camera, and I've tried a ton now. Thank you for watching and commenting! Much appreciated.
Where did you send your F3 to get CLA’d and how did it turn out?
I actually sold it before I ever got it CLA'd. A lot happened last year that made me rethink my film shooting. Sorry I couldn't help in this situation. There was a place I was looking at sending it too. Let me see if I can find it.
I agree on with you on the Nikon F4. While it is heavy it’s still a great camera. I acquired one myself from my son actually.
Awesome! ;)
The f4 has always been a dream camera of mine even before I was super into photography, it just looked so cool to me. Now that I own one, I absolutely love it. Such a great platform
That’s awesome you have one! It’s an amazing camera. I’m happy I bought one again.
When I was 14 years old, around 1991, the school photographer was visiting for the day and he had an F4 around his neck-I will never forget seeing that camera for the first time. I was in love with it IMMEDIATELY. He saw how big my eyes were so he took it off and practically tossed the camera to me and told me to take a few snaps with it! From that day on, I KNEW I was gonna be a photographer and someday have an F4. Today, I am STILL a photographer and I have TWO mint condition F4’s, both late models with serial numbers starting with 260-meaning they are some of the last F4’s to be manufactured, and they look FLAWLESS. I still get excited by the F4, such a beautiful camera. I use them mainly with manual-focus, Ai-S lenses which look and function beautifully. I get matrix metering with manual glass and an electronic rangefinder for checking focus! It’s really the best tool for manual-focus, film shooters. The metering options alone are enough to convince me.
As I'm not a pro any longer, today I prefer the F801s to the magic F4 which is indeed a very powerful camera - the 'Camera of the Year' when released. Maybe its AF isn't up to date, but I never missed AF because as a designing and not kalaschnikow-shooting photographer I prefer focusing very decidedly according to my own preferences without having to struggle with AF locks. Concerning the F3: phantastic with the MD-4 and in this combo best handling ever, I agree. But without this MD-4, the F3 is too small for my hands, and I cannot see any progress compared to the F2; so the F2 is my favourite.
I had an F4 , but it didn’t fit comfortably in my hands. It wasn’t about the size or weight. I also have a F5 and it is great.
I carried the F4 for a year daily and it just wasn’t for me. I ended up giving it away.
Understandable! Everyone has slightly different preferences on a camera feels to carry and shoot with.
Gave it away? Dam I wish I knew you
Bravoo Italia ! Viva Italia !
Comparison : FM3a vs F3, please. Thanx.
I just got an F4 again! I've had three but this one is one of the last F4 bodies with a high serial # 2617xxx. BTW the F4 is lightyears ahead of an F3. One issue to look for in the F4 is that the shutter lever in the lens compartment goes all the way down when shooting beyond f/11 -f/22. Sometimes when shooting at a high f/# the lever doesn't activate the aperture far enough thus over exposing your pics.t
Great info! Thanks! And congrats on your F4!
I owned an F4s and although I liked its features and capabilities, I ended up selling it because it was just too big and heavy for me. To take its place I bought a 8008s body. It's ugly as sin but it has similar features to the F4 and it fits me better.
It is a heavy camera! I totally get what you're saying. The n8008s is a great camera too! I actually have an n8008. I've always liked the n8008/n8008s. I'll make a video about that camera soon. Thanks as always for watching and commenting Russ!
Many people love the F4 but compain about it's size. I have a solution. Use really, really big heavy glass. You'll stop thining about the camera!
lol Good solution! ;)
I'd like to see you make the most of out the F4 by using your favorite lenses, filters, various kinds of photography, compaire photos between the F4, DSLR and Mirrorless in pre and post photo editing. That would be awesome to see.
Thank you so much for watching and for the feedback!
@@CraigBergonzoni You're very welcome
Good video. It'll be interesting to see f4 vs f3. But why the f4 and not the f5? It has better autofocus and can still be repaired in official nikon centers. Buy the way they are much cheaper than mechanical f-cameras in the same condition. I saw f4 kit for 250$ with flash in great shape. Everything in boxes with manuals. This is just nothing for the flagship professional camera.
I'm sure the F5 is an awesome camera but I got this F4 at a perfect price for me so I decided to pick it up. I do love the shutter speed dial and other design elements of this. I'll try an F5 someday but eventually I'm going to add an F6 to the collection. I like that you can get the F6 without the vertical grip, so it makes it a little more compact. Maybe eventually I'll just have them all lol. Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
I had both. The F4 was slippery and it bugged me. I miss the F3 but sold it to get my F2 soverized. My F2 eye level is always mounted with the 25-50 f4 ais.
Sounds like an awesome F2 setup you have there! I get what you mean about the F4 but it doesn't bug me that much. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Personally, I owned 2 models of F3 & 2 models of F4, all in very good conditions. I bought them on eBay with very nice Nikkor vintage lenses. I choose one or the other according to my mood of the moment and I adore them equally. 👍
I can definitely relate to what you're saying. The reality is my mood and preferences change as well. They're both great cameras. Thanks for watching and commenting! Much appreciated.
@@CraigBergonzoni Thanks Craig. 👍
Love to try an F3 but worry about lens compatibility. I have a Nikkormat FTn with pre-AI glass and an F4, F5 and D700 all with auto-focus Nikon glass and it seems none of them are really compatible with the F3 from what I can tell.
Hey Anthony, you should be able to mount and use Pre-Ai glass on the F3. It has the tab that you can flip up, so you should be good. It sounds like you have a great set of cameras, btw. I still would love to give the D700 a try. Thanks for watching! Let me know if you give the F3 a try.
Also the F4 handles non-AI lenses as it has a flip back tab similar to FM and F3, etc. Of course you're metering in stopped down mode. I have 2 F1 and 3 F2 bodies also... I will probably add an F3 someday just to try it out. I don't mind the bulk and weight of the F4. I have the MB-23 on it so it is big, but I also have a MB-20 if I want to go smaller.
Why not the FM3/A? I know, it's much more expensive, but that camera shall be practically new. And on top of that, it's much more similar to the F3...
The FM3a is out of my budget at the moment. I got both of these F3 and F4 for between $150-$220 and the FM3a is significantly more expensive. It seems like an amazing camera though so hopefully someday I’ll pick one up.
@@CraigBergonzoni You Americans have the edge. Usual price for those cameras here in Europe is higher than that, but in EUR instead of $, so almost double the price...
What is the difference between 4E and 4S
They are all essentially the same camera with just different vertical battery grips. The 4e is the largest grip. The 4s is more common. The standard 4 just has the MB-20 grip which is what I have in the video. You can get the 4 with the MB-20 and replace the grip later. They're interchangeable. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have anymore questions! Thank you for watching and for your comment!
so did I my second but A F4 not a F4s
Nice!! I'm really happy to have one back in my possession.
Why not look at prosumer Nikons like a FM or FE?
Those are great cameras too and have owned them before. I just knew I eventually wanted to add a F4 back to my collection and figured it would be a good time to do so. Eventually I’d love to get a FM2 and or FE2 in good condition again just to round things out.
Good video.
The F4 is nice, and I have been choosing between the two. But the size is the main reason I went for the F3. I have an F100 as well for all the automatic stuff, and even that is much bigger than the F3. Maybe, if I find a good F4 for a reasonable price, but it would be mostly for shooting at home - and for the collection.
I have similar feelings about the F4 compared to the F3. I love the smaller size of the F3. But I do appreciate all of the features the F4 has to offer.