Of those choices, unless you need the pro features of the F4 or F6,
I would buy one FM2 and one FE-2
both are much smaller and CLE like
and use the extra $ to buy more classic cameras
JoeLopez
Well-known
Two different animals really.
Having used a N2020 and N8008s, personally I find that genre of SLR loud and slow. I'll keep my F3 personally.
I've never used the F4 but from what I hear/read it is a great camera. For what it sounds like you are looking for, I'd take a F4 and a LOT of film over the F6 personally.
Having used a N2020 and N8008s, personally I find that genre of SLR loud and slow. I'll keep my F3 personally.
I've never used the F4 but from what I hear/read it is a great camera. For what it sounds like you are looking for, I'd take a F4 and a LOT of film over the F6 personally.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
Ok, here it is. Having used those cameras for years doing street photography i have reached these conclusions.
With the 50mm lens the F4s is as good as the F90x. AF-wise, i prefer the F4 over the F80 any time. The F90x feels slightly quicker because of the newer electronics - there is no time lag between pressing the button and start rotating the lens.
With the 28-70 lens, the F4 is much faster than the F80 and as quick as (or quicker than) the F90x. Of course the F5 is quicker than all of them.
Here is the video: https://youtu.be/nQM6bTDH-o4
With the 50mm lens the F4s is as good as the F90x. AF-wise, i prefer the F4 over the F80 any time. The F90x feels slightly quicker because of the newer electronics - there is no time lag between pressing the button and start rotating the lens.
With the 28-70 lens, the F4 is much faster than the F80 and as quick as (or quicker than) the F90x. Of course the F5 is quicker than all of them.
Here is the video: https://youtu.be/nQM6bTDH-o4
narsuitus
Well-known
dtcls100
Well-known
Actually, the Nikon F6 works with all AI lenses with full matrix metering in all metering modes but shutter priority mode (don't think the F4 works in shutter priority mode either with manual lenses as there is no way for the camera to automatically change the aperture). You also can have the F6 modified by Nikon to accept non-AI lenses too!
Overall, the F6 is plainly the way to go if you want the ultimate 35 mm film camera (I have 2).
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
I recently bought a Nikon F4 for use with my manual focus Nikkor lenses.
By comparison the F100 is relatively rather compact.
Bought used today it is a lot of camera for the money.
Chris
By comparison the F100 is relatively rather compact.
Bought used today it is a lot of camera for the money.
Chris
Steve Bellayr
Veteran
The Nikon f4 is a very heavy camera with the motor drive which is the reason I seldom use it.
Huss
Veteran
It works with Ai/s lenses in shutter priority mode too. You have to program the custom lens selection, then pick the appropriate one for the lens.
I would not call it the ultimate 35mm film camera. I would call it the final Nikon film camera. I actually prefer the feel and handling of my F3p w/ MD4 motordrive over my F6.
ColSebastianMoran
( IRL Richard Karash )
First, who is going to use the F4/F6? And who is to use the N2020?
Second, for a really good AF body, I like the F100. Also dirt cheap.
And, as our bartender suggested, if you don't need AF, then the compact Nikons are great. When they came out, I stopped using my F2 entirely.
Second, for a really good AF body, I like the F100. Also dirt cheap.
And, as our bartender suggested, if you don't need AF, then the compact Nikons are great. When they came out, I stopped using my F2 entirely.
Chromacomaphoto
Well-known
I found the f4 with a nifty fifty nikkor 1.4 af still makes for a really great camera in this day and age. Heavy to walk around with though depending on what power options/packs you have it configured with. Recently found not one but TWO brand new F6's for sale at a local dealer here in Bangkok and we rarely see them here new in boxes (not old stock NOS). I almost wish I hadn't stumbled over them as I am quite tempted by the idea also, would be a great time to grab them whilst they are still out there new.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
The F4 will absolutely work in all M, A, S, P modes with Ai and AiS lenses. It won't give you matrix metering with Ai lenses so it defaults back to centerweighted, just like the FA does. If the FA does it, the F4 does it faster.
Phil Forrest
Phil Forrest
Archlich
Well-known
It's weird that we could carry on this discussion at all. If you just want a F4 or F6 we could certainly compare their merits, but "replacing" a CLE with these 2 lbs SLRs? It's quite hard to see what you're after because they are so very different cameras. Thus even someone figures the F4 or the F6 being "better" than the other in some way it may not fit your need at all.
So why not something lighter? The N80? The F100 (fitted with a K3 screen)? Cameras from other makers? AF cameras that are not SLRs? Just too many options out there. What is it in a camera that you really need as a "replacement" of the CLE?
So why not something lighter? The N80? The F100 (fitted with a K3 screen)? Cameras from other makers? AF cameras that are not SLRs? Just too many options out there. What is it in a camera that you really need as a "replacement" of the CLE?
Agiknee
Documentarian
I have a F4 with an 85mm AF, 50mm 1.4 AI-s, 135mm 2.8 AI-s that I'll trade straight up for your CLE w/40mm
DMA1965
Established
You are basically asking if it makes sense to replace your sports car (CLE) with a fully loaded 4x4 pickup truck (F4 or F6). Either will accomplish 99% of what you need them for. The Nikons are designed to handle rough usage much better. The F4 is probably the most solidly built fully electronic camera ever. For less than $200 today you can buy one and rest assured it will outlive you no matter how rough you treat it. If it breaks down (I personally have never heard of this happening to anyone I know that has one) then just buy another one. If the CLE breaks down good luck getting it repaired for anything close to $200.
Ultimately it comes down to if you are okay lugging around a 4x4 pickup truck. It is handy, solid, and reliable, but certainly not sleek and stealthy. I personally like having both.
Ultimately it comes down to if you are okay lugging around a 4x4 pickup truck. It is handy, solid, and reliable, but certainly not sleek and stealthy. I personally like having both.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
Well, I wanted to say this for a long time. I haven't seen the superiority of 3D colour matrix on my F5 over any other camera I have. I had to send it for calibration and still no superiority. To be honest, the b&w films I shoot with the F4 seem to be easier to scan and print. Never shot slides though but with b&w print film the 3D colour matrix makes no difference to me.
Timmyjoe
Veteran
Had an F4s for many years and currently have an F6. The F6 is "better in every way" except for the one that drives me batty. I've got a little over a half dozen AI'd classic Nikkors that I love to shoot. On every F I've owned (F, F2, F3, F4s, FM2N) I could just change lenses and keep shooting. On the F6 I always have to stop, go into the menu (which is really hard for my 61 yr old eyes to read) and enter in the lens value before I can start shooting. This drives me nuts, and slows me down. Not sure why the F, F2, F3-HP, F4s and FM2N can all use the lenses with no "lens data input" but the F6 cannot.
Best,
-Tim
Best,
-Tim
Huss
Veteran
Tim, you don't have yours set up so that after you initially choose all the Ai-S lenses and save them, you select them just by pushing that little button on the bottom right of the lens mount?
What bugs me about the F6 (and another thing!) is that if you store it w/o batteries - as you should - it forgets it's memory settings after a few weeks (I forget how long). Obviously not an issue if you use the camera a lot, but when you have many in rotation it happens.
Then u have to dive into that awful, unintuitive menu system to reset everything. With an F4 (or my favourite Nikon the F3), no such nonsense.
Timmyjoe
Veteran
Hey Huss,
Well, since this is the first I've heard of it, I guess I'm gonna have to say mine isn't set up like that. So this means I'm gonna have to sit down and spend half a day reading that darn manual that came with the camera. Does this also work on non-AI lenses that have been AI'd, or only lenses that came from Nikon as AI-S?
Best,
-Tim
Well, since this is the first I've heard of it, I guess I'm gonna have to say mine isn't set up like that. So this means I'm gonna have to sit down and spend half a day reading that darn manual that came with the camera. Does this also work on non-AI lenses that have been AI'd, or only lenses that came from Nikon as AI-S?
Best,
-Tim
Huss
Veteran
Yup.
In Nikon's initial press release they bragged about the "3D Color Matrix Metering". With appropriate AF lenses, they claim that it based exposure on what is in focus i.e. the subject. Because the camera with appropriate lens reads the distance of what is in focus.
Except that this does not work at all. You don't even have to take a pic, just point your camera at a back lit subject, focus, then watch the exposure values change as you switch between spot, center weight and "3D Color Matrix". The latter acts just like any old avg pattern.
Nikon has improved it by quite a bit with its modern DSLRs, but you still are never sure as to how it will behave, so I favour patterns that you know what the bias is.
Anyway, back on topic. Was this thread about getting a camera for Dante to use, or his 8 year old kid? Cuz if it was for the kid, no way would I ever get them a heavy expensive camera that is overly complicated. Just get any basic AF film camera. Cheap.
Huss
Veteran
Tim.
I'm here for you. I just happen to have my F6 manual by my computer all the time (for when I forget what the ... does). And here is the page (really starts on 144):
And as a bonus, this is how you set the AE-L to stay locked for as many exposures as you want, until you unlock it by pushing the AE-L button again or turning off the camera. Default setting is it only holds it for 1 exposure. Which is why I got rid of my F100 as there was no way to change that.
