Ouch don't hit me - Nikon F4

kshapero said:
I am getting weird these days. I just bought a Nikon F4 (compact version, which means it only weighs 2.5 lbs). Anybody use it with manual focus lenses?
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Yes! Mine has one of those grid focusing screens that I like so much. I use it with 2/28, 1.8/50 and 2.5/105 Ai-S Nikkors and a 8/500 T2 Beroflex. I think it's the perfect SLR camera for MF lenses -- when you don't mind the weight and the size. But if you do you also wouldn't want to carry the 8/500... 🙂
 
Yea, it's just great with manual focus lenses! I always thought I would just stick with my beloved F's and F2's, until I acquired my F4 a couple of years ago. It may be my favorite film camera right now. I recommend the F and P screens for all around versatility and ease of focusing with old Nikkors; while you're at it, throw in a B or E too. Got mine with the MB-21, but I picked up an MB-20, and then got a second one, just in case I came across another nice F4 with a high serial number. 🙂
 
I had an F4s briefly and although it was nice it just felt cumbersome and didn't feel intuitive. It felt like a mix of old school Nikon mixed with bits of the newer cameras which of course it is but having got so used to my D700 it just didn't feel right.
I subsequently bought an F100 and F5 and feel much happier with them.
The F4's will matrix meter with the old lenses if that's important to you which the F5 will not.
The F5 feels a lot more comfortable to carry around than the F4s did.
I think the F4 is the ultimate old school Nikon but for a/f cameras the F5 is great. The meter is the best I've used with film.
 
kshapero said:
Ok battery question: 1. Can you use any other AA's batteries besides alkaline?
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Pretty much any 1.2-1.5V AA (plus the rechargeable block for the MB-23 and anything you can wire up to the MB-22 or MB-23 external inputs).

The MB-21 has a battery gauge with alkaline and NiCd marks, and the latter has proved to be accurate for NiMH as well (Nikon originally advised against NiMH as they were too low current, but current ones are a match for the best late eighties NiCd AA's). The MB-20 way of checking batteries (by way of the self timer control light) does only work with alkalines - while it works fine with current NiMH (at least with Eneloops), you cannot determine in advance how soon the batteries will fail.
 
L. M. Tu said:
Yea, it's just great with manual focus lenses! I always thought I would just stick with my beloved F's and F2's, until I acquired my F4 a couple of years ago. It may be my favorite film camera right now. I recommend the F and P screens for all around versatility and ease of focusing with old Nikkors; while you're at it, throw in a B or E too. Got mine with the MB-21, but I picked up an MB-20, and then got a second one, just in case I came across another nice F4 with a high serial number. 🙂
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I read that the J or K screens were ideal for AIS lenses. Oh, and BTW how hard or easy it to change screens?
 
The Nikon F4...I have two...
One is the F4e (MB-23) with the MF-23...this one is a workhorse and mostly has the 180mm AF mounted on it...
The other is a F4s with the DW-20 (Waist Level Finder)...mostly using MF lenses on it...
With the DW-20 all you have is Spot Metering since there is no meter in the finder...
As far as screens go the F4e has the "E" screen and the F4s has the"K"...
I just put a "J" screen in another Nikon body and love it...I'm looking for another "J" screen for a Nikon F body I just got...I don't really care for the split screen...micro-prisms work better for me...
The F4 is a great camera and feels good in your hands...my only beef with it is when the batteries start going bad the focusing hunts and doesn't lock on as fast as it should...sometimes I'll miss the shot due to this...
You can find them for a decent price these days, just do your homework before you buy...some of them have been beat up but there are still very nice ones still out there
 
Really regret selling mine. For a Nikon F SLR, it's one of the best IMHO -- the matrix metering on old lenses and the focus assist arrows are just so smart.

Meter is super accurate, too. I only got rid of mine because I have too many Nikons already and wanted to gradually move to smaller bodies.

Terrific camera all around, and quite inexpensive these days.
 
I recently converted mine from an "s" to the regular F4. I trolled KEH for a while looking for an UG condition F4, then eventually saw one for $100. Bought it, then stripped the MB-20. $100 for an MB-20 is a pretty good price, damned things are very hard to find on their own.

And it's definitely the best film Nikon for manual focus lenses (best overall goes to either the D3 or D700). I've got a "P" screen (? - I can't recall the name of the screen - it's the one with a diagonal split prism) on it and it's just superb.
 
Reading the title reminded me of a story from the early 1990s. Covering a strike/blocade abroad, a colleague and myself were approached by an angry mob. Things became ugly when a drunken guy started to wrestle with my colleague. I seriously considered hitting him in the head with my F4, but fortunately my colleague managed to tear himself away. We got into our car and drove away. A pretty scary experience.

To answer your question: I used the F4 with both MF and AF lenses, but mostly manual focus, with a type P focusing screen. The F4 is a great camera - one of Nikon's finest. Enjoy!

Jarle
 
If you have N-Ais, Ai, AIs, AFD, AF-s (G) Lens, this the Nikon to have, it works with all of them. Besides is the last Right Knob body. A Great Lady!
 
Great camera. I used one whilst on a gig with some old folks on a rocking bus. I was very concerned that if it swung in an unexpected way it might have hit one of them when I was standing and shooting. Sure is a weighty camera but marvellous.
 
What I like about the F4 it was one of the last cameras that you didn't need instructions to use everything is where it should be. Someone mentioned in previous post about changing the grip the reason its hard to get the small grip is when they were new in the USA the only ones available were F4s and F4e (maybe f4 was special order) but in europe the F4 was also available.
 
I don't own any manual focus Nikkor lenses, but i use the AF-Nikkors I have on my F4s in manual focus mode only. The AF sucks on it, and isn't very accurate on mine, I think it needs repair because it worked better when it was new 17 years ago. I have the K screen, split image and microprisms, makes manual focus a breeze.
 
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