mervynyan
Mervyn Yan
these days I'd want a digital instead of films for SLR.
Unintended consequences: considering an F6
- Thread starter Ken Ford
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nobbylon
Veteran
My F6 doesn't chew batteries and even if it did I'd just buy more.
When all is said, all these cameras do pretty much the same thing. There's no doubt that for feature set and reliability the F100 is a bargain for what it costs. I was completely happy with my F5 bu it just got too heavy.
I don't know of anyone into Nikons that if money wasn't an issue wouldn't have an F6.
When all is said, all these cameras do pretty much the same thing. There's no doubt that for feature set and reliability the F100 is a bargain for what it costs. I was completely happy with my F5 bu it just got too heavy.
I don't know of anyone into Nikons that if money wasn't an issue wouldn't have an F6.
KM-25
Well-known
Not that I doubt you but as a career long Nikon user who spends pretty much what I want on camera gear, why should I get an F6?
nobbylon
Veteran
Because as a professional photographer you are getting a new camera and not a second hand one thats atleast 10-15 years old.
Sure you could also have a bag load of F100 bodies just in case but if money is no object and you can get what you need then why not get 2 F6's for greater reliability. Don't forget a box of batteries.
I've had 2 F100's go bad on me out of 5 I recall having.
no 1/ drive mode dial on left top plate not working correctly
no 2/ focus point selector on rear door inop and dioptre lens fell out of it's frame
Both electrical issues were actually easily fixed using de oxit spray after a strip down. Oxidixed contacts. I glued the dioptre lens back in but it was a major PITA.
To minimise any failure is it not better as a professional to use the latest most reliable gear you can?
I have both and if I was going to the Himalaya or the jungle bla bla bla I know which I'd take. Not because it's better but because it's newer.
KM-25
Well-known
This is fair and reasonable, thanks.
That being said I will likely just stick to my combo of F100, F3HP and FM3A.
That being said I will likely just stick to my combo of F100, F3HP and FM3A.
ChrisLivsey
Veteran
They pair very well.
But no, I'm sticking with my advice, buy them all! Then decide.
I predict the F5 will feel heavy and old fashioned, and if you think the F6 is bad on batteries just wait, it won't take long, the F100 will be so cheap it's not worth selling and is handy if you want a backup maybe with a different emulsion/lens to pair up, but the F6 is the keeper, why compromise?
The battery comment above refers to the CR123 not the big, beefy, EN-EL4 you can put in the vertical grip, you know how long it lasts in a D3- I suspect an annual charge is enough for the F6 🙂
BTW I suspect some of the poor battery life reporting is under use of the camera. There is a capacitor type cell that holds settings etc the manual makes it clear it charges up from the main battery. If the camera has sat idle that is going to take some juice before you start shooting. Not saying everyone is wrong but it is a factor.
KM-25
Well-known
This is just hilarious at this point, that the F100 might be viewed as a compromise while the F6 is not.
The extra heft of the F6 might even be considered a compromise by some but not to this crowd who seems to just totally unaware of the fact that the F100 might be one of the most favorite and highly used Nikon film bodies ever at National Geographic and beyond.
One particular "Nikon Explorer" who shoots for NG favored the F100 over the then new F6 for a whole host of reasons, one was weight, the other was while traveling he found AA batteries ***much*** easier to find in a pinch than CR123A's. But all in all he found that the F6 being a film camera, not a digital, did not bring all that much more to the table than the F100 and F5 he used and even lamented the lack of a removable VF like he had on his F5. The last item was that he found LCD and what not on the back to kind of get in the way of how the camera handled when he was looking through it, thought it stuck out too much and pushed his nose in.
I should try an F6 one day I guess, but I have put thousands of rolls without fault through my "Compromise" F100 bought new in 2001 so I doubt I will find any real practical reason to buy an F6.
Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
My budget certainly isn't endless, but I've learned to just get what I really want rather than compromise because I'll end up there anyways.
That said, maybe I *should* consider an F5 instead - I currently have several F2s, a F3 and a F4e, so an F5 makes a certain kind of sense. I can always add an F6 down the road if I find that I'm using the F5 enough. Of course, if a really clean F100 dropped into my lap I probably wouldn't turn it away!
Realistically this will only be used for a dozen or so rolls per year as a platform for G lenses. I have to be careful not to get silly about it.
That said, maybe I *should* consider an F5 instead - I currently have several F2s, a F3 and a F4e, so an F5 makes a certain kind of sense. I can always add an F6 down the road if I find that I'm using the F5 enough. Of course, if a really clean F100 dropped into my lap I probably wouldn't turn it away!
Realistically this will only be used for a dozen or so rolls per year as a platform for G lenses. I have to be careful not to get silly about it.
nobbylon
Veteran
If you are only going to shoot a few rolls a year then the F100 would be the sensible choice as a mint one can be had for less than $100.
I got my F6 through an NPS contact at a discount rate otherwise I'd still have the F5. Mint F5 seem to go for $200-250. My main gripe with the F5 was the non lit focus points and the weight. The F100 feels just as sturdy apart from the rear door. If you are going to use a vertical grip all the time then i'd take an F5 as they end up being the smallest out of all 3.
Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
I'm not really worried about size, I carried a pair of F2s with MD2 motors for years, and have battery grips or internal grips on three of my DLSRs.
A clean F100 probably does make the best sense - I can always upgrade later if needed. Besides, the days of $250 F6es is probably only a few years away. ;-)
A clean F100 probably does make the best sense - I can always upgrade later if needed. Besides, the days of $250 F6es is probably only a few years away. ;-)
JOneZero
Member
Another vote for 2 mint F100s.
You will not notice the jacked up super-fast AF of the F5 on the short lenses you listed. It weighs a bloody ton and the F100 viewfinder is better (IMO).
BTW the Voigtlander 58mm 1.4 Nokton is said to be spectacular. It's manual focus but that wouldn't be a problem on a film body like it is with a DSLR.
The 85 1.4 balances like a dream on the F100. On the others it's just WEIGHT -- same problem as on a DSLR.
Bottom line: given that sensor performance (/cough) is a constant on all 3 cameras, I'd go with the F100 every time.
You will not notice the jacked up super-fast AF of the F5 on the short lenses you listed. It weighs a bloody ton and the F100 viewfinder is better (IMO).
BTW the Voigtlander 58mm 1.4 Nokton is said to be spectacular. It's manual focus but that wouldn't be a problem on a film body like it is with a DSLR.
The 85 1.4 balances like a dream on the F100. On the others it's just WEIGHT -- same problem as on a DSLR.
Bottom line: given that sensor performance (/cough) is a constant on all 3 cameras, I'd go with the F100 every time.
ChrisLivsey
Veteran
I thought I had already established in a similar thread that the F100 was launched in 1999, and there were therefore five years of choosing the F100 without having an F6 choice. So indeed National Geographic shooters on film, and they were late digital adopters the D1 was 2.7 MP not acceptable in a phone today, made the best choice for five years at least. Some of them for perfectly valid reasons continued to use them after the F6 was launched.
I do wish you would try one sometime.
I haven't compromised, I own both.
BTW I have promised myself not to be drawn in again to an F100 v F6 thread, I really don't care which other shooters prefer I just wanted to offer the OP my opinion, which was try both and decide yourself, I can't be fairer than that can i?
dave lackey
Veteran
FrankS
Registered User
I have several F, F2, F3, and F4. I had a couple of F100's. They felt like toys in comparison. No doubt they are fine picture takers, but built to a price point. The single digit F's spared no expense and pulled no punches.
mervynyan
Mervyn Yan
Amen to that
nobbylon
Veteran
If they are honest! the only people advocating F100 over F6 are those that havent got F6.
I've had every F camera from the start plus F90x and F100's and the F6 is the nicest to use without question. Remove the expense and that's just how it is. If I had to pick one film Nikon then it would be F6, viewfinder, meter, silence, reliability, weather resistance etc. There's a reason Nikon came up with this camera!
I've had every F camera from the start plus F90x and F100's and the F6 is the nicest to use without question. Remove the expense and that's just how it is. If I had to pick one film Nikon then it would be F6, viewfinder, meter, silence, reliability, weather resistance etc. There's a reason Nikon came up with this camera!
chrism
Well-known
I can relate. I counted up the Leicas I have owned over the years the other day, and got 6 film M's and 4 digital M's. I'm now down to one single 1963 M2, and very happy with it.
But every time I use an SLR I come away saying to myself, "I know I got that shot and it will look the way I wanted it to." With a rangefinder I visualise the depth of field and what will be in focus and what will be blurred (fortunately I know my lenses well enough that I can do that now), but with an SLR I can see it in the viewfinder before I take the shot. Eventually I realised I prefer the SLR way of working, but I can't not use the beautiful mechanical marvel that is the M2, nor can I stop using those lovely lenses.
So, when I use a film* SLR I mostly use an F6. The Nikon lenses I have aren't even close to Leica lenses, but they are good enough for me, and circumstances dictate that there is no option of replacing them with Zeiss lenses. I do use some other film SLRs, but mostly for the fun of using them, or because they happen to come with lovely lenses.
The F6 is everything you might dream it to be. Capable yet simple, powerful and ergonomic. It is the film SLR one has to own.
Chris
*I have kept a D810 and an OM-D E-M5, but I hate using them and only do so when it is convenient.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
dave lackey
Veteran
Chris, I could not have said it better.
If I were left with only one film camera and one lens, it would be the F6. I would miss the leica bodies and lenses, no doubt. But the Nikon lenses are good enough for what I do.
The F6 camera can do everything. Not my M6. There is a reason an SLR exists. OTOH, the Leica RF cameras exist because they are exquisite. But I don't wear alligator shoes hiking. I love both but the F6 does everything I need.
ravilamir
Well-known
Buy a Nikon F6 and you'll get a Thank You note from the technician that inspected it. 🙂
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