The Nikon doesn't 'feel' right?

100% with OP, with typhillips and maggieo.

IMHO, switching from a Canon or Bessa or Leica RF to a Canon F-1 or Minolta SR is less problematic.

My reason:
particular problems have arisen with Nikon SLR lenses having the "wrong" direction moving their aperture ring. Of course, Pentax lenses also have the wrong direction ;-)
 
I shot an Ftn, FM2n, an F100 and a D300.

No they do not feel like RF's at all.

No, they don't feel awkward either, at any time.

Never could get the hots for an Olympus. Some feel its build quality is not up to the Nikons, I felt them to be flimsy. The on/off switch and the reverse dial-switch that rotates opposite from a Leica never failed to irritate me.

Someday I will have a Nikon F with a non-AI 28mm lens on it, the true sixties photo journalists tool 🙂
 
F3HP a beast? Feels trim and cozy to me. Love the feel of a Nikon F. Battered a number of them over the years. Just wish the shutter button was a little more toward the front of the camera. Although I shoot Canon dSLR's, the Nikon F100 is what I consider the "totally evolved" film SLR. Feels great in the hand. RF's tend to be too small for my hands without a grip of some kind. The M5 is actually the most comfortable for me to hold.
 
F3HP: bought it for my daughter for her 16th birthday and I have never been allowed to use it, just hold it. It feels great, the most Leica-like solidity. I use OMs but find the body too shallow for comfort. Giugiaro designed the F3 exterior. Not a beast.
 
Keith said:
I know one thing that does feel good in my hand ...





















... my D700! 😀

Which pleasantly surprised me actually ... the ergonomics are very good for a bulky camera and definitely defy it's size.
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I actually really liked the feel when I borrowed a D200 for club photography [needed digital], a much better feeling in hand than my N90s.
 
Yes. As an F3HP user for 20+ years, but not having used it since I got my first rangefinder 6 years ago, I found it top-heavy and it didn't feel "right" to me either. So last year I sold it and the lenses. I use a Fuji S5 which is a D200 with a Fuji sensor and that feels OK for some reason. Maybe it's the weight distribution.
 
S5 is one of the best digital cameras outthere, as S3 was (same sensor), and it's incredibly light too... A joy to use... I have traveled and worked with it for years without a single problem. With a good Nikon lens, its RAW files at ISO100 and 400 for skin are just unbelievable: after digital printing they look like film more than any other sensor I have tried.

Cheers,

Juan
 
typhillips said:
I'm with Marko. Although my wife's old F3 HP is a fine machine indeed, it is a beast and it feels like it after I've been shooting with an M. I recently picked up on OM-1, however, and have no such complaints, even if the build quality isn't quite up to F3 standards.
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I disagree completely. The OM-1 is horrid when it comes to comfort. Its all sharp edges and small areas for your finders. Olympus "fixed" some of these "errors" in the later OM-1n by softening some of the sharp edges, but the cameras still don't handle nearly as well as an F3. OM's in general are great to carry but not the best when you get them to your eye.

I've always felt that the F3 was be best handling and most comfortable non-motorized SLR. True, its bigger and heavier than the OM's, but it is vastly more comfortable (the point the OP mentioned)
 
I felt Leica R9 balance very well in my hand but too conspicuous, hence I didn't buy it. If I were to collect one last film SLR, R9, Canon F1N, Nikon F4s will be on the list. Then again, Hasselbald fits better in my hand and looks very fashionable.
 
mervynyan said:
I felt Leica R9 balance very well in my hand but too conspicuous, hence I didn't buy it. If I were to collect one last film SLR, R9, Canon F1N, Nikon F4s will be on the list. Then again, Hasselbald fits better in my hand and looks very fashionable.
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Well how about we start a thread about what looks "fashionable"? Anybody got a camera shaped like a poodle?
 
MarkoKovacevic said:
I probably just need to sell it and get an F3. It's probably not the SLR, its the computerized stuff.
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I had two F2AS's and three F3's: F3 non HP, F3 HP, and F3P.

I recently culled down, but I still have the three F3's. One because they were abundantly cheap bought the non HP for less than $200.00 recently with a MD-4 motor drive in minty condition. Seems that the durability of F3's has created an oversupply and very cheap prices.

I also decided to keep the F3's because of some of the great Nikon glass. I have also kept a 24/2.0 AIS, 35/2.0 Nikkor-O single coat, 55/2.8 Macro and all the accessories for slide copying, and a 105/1.8 AIS for portraits.

With three bodies and only four lenses there is not a lot of lens changing.

A AH-4 hand strap BTW is a cool accessory.

Nikons are great cameras and paired with glass they make a great compliment to my RF gear. A SLR offers its own flexability. The key is to exploit its nitch in terms of your RFer.

The F2AS's BTW were in need of maintenance. I changed all the foam seals, but they were in need full CLA's.

Calzone
 
As far as comfortable in the hand goes, for me the r8 and r9 where great. Too noticeable? no more than any other camera. This whole thing about trying to be invisible with a camera I don't get. Makes no difference if it's a p&s or a Hassleblad. People still know you are taking a picture. The sound is to me what attracts attention but unless you are at a piano concert or in church etc, it doesn't matter either. The D700 is just right for my hands, more so than my old f90x but I think the change to a more prominent hand grip did that. The older Nikon's just have an indestructable feel to them which of course has been proven over time to be true unless they are shot at or run over! I must admit I don't really think too much about it when switching between my cameras. Aperture rings, focus barrels and shutter dials have their differences but 5 mins and I know what's what. On first pick up it's more of a niggle that I turn something the wrong way but really, if that's enough to set someone off then stick to one camera. My favorite is the D700 for it's logical and easy thumbwheels. Next goes to my M6 and I even turn the shutter dial the right way to light the led's! Then it's my F2's and F. Once you have used a later post f90x Nikon you don't even need a manual as pretty much they all work the same. I've never read my manual. Along the way I had D60, F90x, D70, D100 and then the 700. Simply not an issue. If you don't like it SELL IT!
 
No, ZI or 1Ds3 are both fine. The 5D feels less comfy than the 1Ds3, but that's probably because it gets less use not the camera itself. There again, I'm not fussy - I was quite happy with my ricoh GX200 until I left it on a train

Mike
 
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