Nikon F6 ... time to move?

[Spleenrippa]

I'll throw my vote in for the F5. It's tough enough that you could beat a man to death with it and then use it to take pictures of the grisly crime scene afterwards.
Not that that was my first thought after getting mine or anything...

 

[_goodtimez]

I would go for an F4S instead. They are super cheap and perform like champs.

 

[dave lackey]

Keith,

An F100 can NOT do what an F6 can do. Only an F6 is an F6. Go for it.

From someone who knows, life is too short and fleeting. Regrets should not be part of those handfuls of days left. That is why I have the M3. My life is richer for having made that trade...thanks to Jon.😉

 

[rover]

Have to sell the OM stuff if you do this.

 

[gavinlg]

Have to sell the OM stuff if you do this.

Heh.. that won't happen. The f6 may be suave but it doesn't compare with an OM kit in certain ways...

 

[Frank Petronio]

Seems that a nice F6 and professional G lens would go a long ways towards solving that Leica-lust problem.

I've been considering it too, although I suspect the biggest reasons over an F100 are simply tactile and pride - nothing unfamiliar with Leica users. I would really like to hold one in my hands to know how much better it feels....

FWIW, I can't outshoot an F100, it hasn't hindered me in anyway. I don't want to shoot sports with 35mm film so I don't need a faster drive or anything like that. I'm sure the F6 metering and AF are better but the F100 is certainly good enough.

If you do dabble with an F100 to test the waters, look for a later one >216xxxx serial number that has the stronger rewind forks. It should also have intact plastic back latches and, most importantly, a non-tacky rubber covering, especially on the back. Two out of the three "minty" ones I bought in the $150-$200 range were tacky as glue. The damn plastic backs are crap.

It's really a shame Nikon didn't spend $5 more and make the F100 perfect.

Cameraleather should offer a reskin, although it would be thinner.

I fear all of the >1995 Nikons with their nice rubber backing eventually get this way, including F6 and D3x bodies. It's one of the things that puts me off the purchase - I expect the electronics would last 20 to 40 years but the silly rubber only 10. Even 2005-era D200s and D80s are getting sticky. And so if you need to get talked out of your F6-lust, remember this ;-p

On the other hand... a F6 with the newer 1.4G prime lenses would be pretty amazing, I doubt anyone has shot 35mm with better lenses.

 

[Keith]

Have to sell the OM stuff if you do this.

That won't be happening ... in fact I just bought an OM-4 from FrankS!

I swore to myself I wouldn't double up on an SLR system but unfortunately it's not looking like it's going to work out that way. I blame the awsome D700!

😀

 

[dave lackey]

That won't be happening ... in fact I just bought an OM-4 from FrankS!

I swore to myself I wouldn't double up on an SLR system but unfortunately it's not looking like it's going to work out that way. I blame the awsome D700!

😀

No, don't blame the D700. Put credit where credit is due. The F6. My F5 and use of the F100/D2H/D2X/D3 ad infinitum...are NOT F6 cameras. If only for a month, I would love to use the F6 because it is the F6. The same with the M3... there was simply no choice but to give into the M3. So, what the hell are you waiting for??? Foreplay is over.😛

 

[FrankS]

I used my F100 yesterday with manual focus primes. It really doesn't do anything that my 801s/8008s camera can't do (with manual focus lenses), and these sell for about $30 these days.

Get the F6.

 

[jsrockit]

Do you really have the need for a film Nikon body? Seems to me that you like high ISO for most of your work and the D700 kills for that.

 

[Keith]

Do you really have the need for a film Nikon body? Seems to me that you like high ISO for most of your work and the D700 kills for that.

If I get the 24-70G zoom and possibly the 24-120 ... along with the two Zeiss primes I already have I'll have all the digital kit I need for near any job they throw at me! (aside from sport ... not my thing anyway 😀)

I also want to be able use these lenses with my prefered personal medium which is film ... and the F6 because of it's abilities with any F mount lens you put on it is definitely the logical choice ... funds permitting.

A prime needs to be chipped to work completely effectively on an F100 but not so on the D700, or the F6.

 

[Frank Petronio]

Well with an AIS lens you still get manual and aperture-priority, what else is there worth messing with?

 

[kshapero]

I'll just leave this here...

My Nikon Knees are wobbly. Sweet!

 

[Timmyjoe]

Keith,

Do whatever you need to do to acquire that 24-70G lens. I LOVE that lens and use it about 90% of the time I'm working (photojournalist) with my D700. My film body is an F4S, which doesn't have all the bells and whistles as the F5 & F6, but it's a tank and gets the job done.

Buy whatever film body allows you to have the funds for that 24-70G lens.

Best,
-Tim

 

[shadowfox]

Keith,

I may be wrong, but this post sounds like "rallying for support" to satisfy GAS.
If you really need a film body to share the lenses, a $200 F100 would do just fine. An F6 will put a much larger dent in your wallet while the end result would be just the same, exposed rolls of film.

But I understand the power of GAS, just don't confuse it with your real need, is all I'm saying 🙂

 

[Bobbo]

Do whatever you need to do to acquire that 24-70G lens. I LOVE that lens and use it about 90% of the time I'm working (photojournalist) with my D700. My film body is an F4S, which doesn't have all the bells and whistles as the F5 & F6, but it's a tank and gets the job done...Buy whatever film body allows you to have the funds for that 24-70G lens.

+1 to this all the way. Glass is far more important. If it's a choice between the 24-70 or the F6, get the lens. An F5 or F100 will be able to use it the same way (not so for older cameras, especially if you use anything with VR)

I'd rather put the $200 into an F100 and spend $1,800 on film (at $2.59 for Arista-rebadged Tri-X, that's almost 700 rolls of film) rather than $2,000 into a film camera which will do almost all of the same thing, but no film.

Speaking of increased costs, the F6 also uses a pair of lithium batteries. F100s take plain-old AA's (including lithiums, alkalines and most importantly, rechargeables). So you'll spend quite a bit more on batteries, as well.

I'm not saying the F6 isn't a fantastic camera, it's just that the price gap is sooooo big for not all that much of a difference (AF is already great, metering is fine, etc.). Price-wise, it's the same gap as that between a de-chroming IIIc and a used M8, where one is definitely better/faster/easier to use than the other. There's not the same performance gap with the Nikons.

 

[yossarian123]

Keith,

I may be wrong, but this post sounds like "rallying for support" to satisfy GAS.
If you really need a film body to share the lenses, a $200 F100 would do just fine. An F6 will put a much larger dent in your wallet while the end result would be just the same, exposed rolls of film.

But I understand the power of GAS, just don't confuse it with your real need, is all I'm saying 🙂

Isn't GAS support roughly 90% of the posts here and most forums?

And a Bessa takes exactly the same shots as an M....but given a preference people will still take an M body over a Bessa any day of the week.

The F6 is not an F100 and it's not an F5. The build quality is way better than an F100 (plastic rewind fork?? c'mon). The AF is improved over the F5, it's smaller, it's lighter, better ergonmics, it stores the last 50(?) rolls of film data - accessible either through an MV-1 or through the LCD in the back (instant EXIF). Matrix metering with AI lenses, I could go on - the F6 takes everything that was great in the previous F lineup and puts them into one amazing package.

I was on the fence myself until I just pulled the trigger. Now I see what the hype is all about.

 

[wjlapier]

I sold it to fund GAS (i.e. other gear). In retrospect, I should have kept it :bang:

I'm still enjoying "your" F6 😉

Keith, I have D700, F6 and F100 ( F3 too ). For most things I shoot the F100 is more than capable. Meter is excellent. Flash works very well with the SB-28 in P mode 🙂 The F100 with the 28-105 AF-D is an awesome combo. I bought Jon's F6 purely because it was the last great Nikon film body. I owned one before, sold it, and regretted it. But, I don't use the F6 to it's fullest capability, and it sits unused for the most part.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Try at least the F5. I'm not saying buy it. Just give it a try. I frankly didn't understand why was it that Nikon put out a new film body after the F5... when they could simply have updated the F5 instead.

BTW, I have one of the variable aperture 24-120 (the VR type) and the AF-S 24-70, and my F5 has handled both of them flawlessly.

 

[kubilai]

F6 before F5

F6 before F5

In film era, F5 was used by pros, night and day and generaly suffered intensive usage.
At the begining of digital time, many F6 have been bought by amateur and receveid more cool treatment.