Summary: What a magnifican camer this thing is. After owning an F3, F4, D200 and a D3, an opportunity arose to purchase a mint condition F5 for a very enticing price. I jumped on it and have hardly used any of my other cameras (Hasselblad excluded). The feel of this thing in my hand inspires me with such confidence. It has a solid feel to it but it and the weight is just right with a nice pro lens hanging off the front.. Weight of this and my D3 is not an issue for me as I am a fully grown adult, but it's no Leica M series that's for sure. It is hard to blend into the crowd with one of these babies. The custom menus setup is a bit of a dog's breakfast but I have found that I never need to use them. Nowadays these custom menus are changed by viewing the large LCD monitors on the back of the camera, but the F5 lacks this screen. I think that is what gives it the more solid feel over the D3.
The price of the F5 on the second hand market surely makes this camera the ultimate bargain in the photography world. Do not hesitate, go ahead and buy it.
Strengths: Solid feel.
Just feels like an extension of your arm, it just does everything it should, easily.
Built by Nikon.
Matrix meter - the best there is.
Fast shutter speed - put it on high speed mode, push the shutter, and watch yourself go broke.
Due to everyones 'need' to go digital, these things are an absolut bargain, hence my 5 star rating for value. When new though, much like the D3, you paid a premium for these things.
Weaknesses: No matrix metering on old lenses.
Has a thirst for batteries.
Similar Products Used: Nikon D3
Nikon F4
Customer Service: I find Nikon Australia to be very good.
Summary: Best all round film slr camera ever made! I feel very confident in any shooting situation holding this beauty because I know it can handle anything I throw at it and come up with the goods when it counts.
Super accurate metering combined with fast precise AF.
Ergonomics are superb.
Fast rewind.
Bulletproof.
Never lets you down especially during wedding shoots! makes a great film backup for when your digital gear can't hack it.
Never miss with the ultimate camera THE F5.
Strengths: Does everything very well and super reliable.
Massive range of Nikon equipment to use with it.
Beautiful matrix metering.
Fast , accurate auto focusing.
8 frames per second!.
Very tough and well built.(weather seals etc).
Cheap as chips nowadays.
Batteries last forever compared to my D200.
Weaknesses: Beats up my lenses! the AF motors are so fast and powerful it will kill any sub standard lens dead in short notice.
A bit on the heavy side, but this can be a good thing in certain situations.(windy etc).
It's so good that it stops me from going totally digital!.
Similar Products Used: F4s, F801, F90x, F80, D200.
Customer Service: Never needed on any of my Nikon gear.
Summary: I always wanted the F5 ever since I borrowed it from my friend. Why? Whatever people say, they'd change their mind when this camera is actually in their hands - it feels solid, friendly, well balanced, ergonomic and full of usefull features. I'm semi-pro wedding and portrait photographer and for the last few years I was a proud owner of Fuji DSLRs. Recently I'm using Nikon D200 and it's more than enough for my work (and it's weather sealed unlike the Canon 5D), but sometimes for my own pleasure I use film cameras - mainly rangefinders and medium format. Recently I was forced to sell my Hasselblad system and with some change left in my pocket I snapped a second hand F5 from Ebay as a film backup for my Nikkor lenses. I can't justify the purchase of for example D2X, but to ignore the low price of the F5 on a second-hand market would be a crime! This is the best camera ever! I like my cameras big and heavy, I like them with the vertical grip, I like the well sealed and rugged. Every pro knows this camera already, so there's no need to try and convince them (well, apart from Canon users), but all serious amateurs with a stash of Nikkor lenses who enjoy transparency films, should try the F5 as well, as it's so intelligent it does "point&shoot" thing as well, and it's quite good at it ;-) Anyway, where there's no need for an instant feedback or your pictures aren't going to be printed the same day, try Nikon F5 instead of a cheap DSLR, because for that £300 you will never able be on top of the game in digital, but you can be in the traditional film photography... And whoever says, that this camera is too heavy opposed to Leica M7 etc. - well, probably your Bentley is more comfortable than our Hondas too.
Strengths: - ergonomy
- build
- fast AF
- superb 3d matrix metering
- speed
- exchangeable focusing screens
- removable prism (you can fit a waist level finder)
- good value on a second-hand market
Weaknesses: - batteries
- weight and size (sometimes)
- lack of wireless flash control
- can't do matrix metering with AI lenses (like F4 and FA)
Summary: In todays digital world this camera is unique among beasts.
I'll not bore you with specs plenty are available on the net for you to see.
The F5 is superbly built and just seems to be a perfect blend of technology and simplicity. The ergonomics are perfect with a Monique body that is not overly large, but nice and robust. Mirror lock-up is a snap compared to Nikon's other pro line cameras (F6 - D2x - D200). This is the last Nikon that allows for an interchangeable view finder. If you've not used a 6x mag finder on a Nikon pro body for Outdoor work, you are missing something.
The F5s meter is excellent in all respects, but I still use Spot metering to check what its doing. There is not much else to say here, which I think speaks volumes. Its a tool you will grow to love and think more of as a faithful companion.
Too me the F5s strength is in it reliability, it just works, always. This is contrast to many digital SLRs.
Weaknesses: Likes batteries - use AA lithiums and there is not issue.
Similar Products Used: Nikon F4, Fe2, FG, D2h
Customer Service: Need it on one of my F5s. Nikon eventually ended up replacing the camera. However, I must note that I put this camera through rigorous testing that most photographers would not bother to do.
Summary: First off, I bought this camera with a camera bag, flash and several lenses, hence the purchase price being so high.
Getting a F5 was a dream come true for me. I had handled them in photography stores and liked the way it felt in my hands. While some may complain about the size and weight, I love that this camera is hand filling and solid.
The number one thing I love about this camera is the focus speed. It is phenominal how fast this camera focuses! I have missed shots before because of the autofocus being slow, but if you miss a shot with the F5, then you weren't paying attention. Since I shoot a fair amount of sports (soccer, basketball, football, track, baseball) the faster autofocus is a tremendous benefit.
The other thing I really like about the F5 is that you don't do anything by accident. It takes a concious decision to turn it on/off, rewind the film, etc. You don't have to worry about your settings being off, or the camera getting turned on when you put it in your camera bag and killing the batteries. This is a professionals camera, with professional features, and world class capabilities.
Strengths: Blistering fast autofocus
Solid - you don't worry about breaking this thing in day to day use
Handfilling - no pinky hanging off the bottom of the camera
It takes a concious effort to change your settings - nothing gets bumped on/off
Weaknesses: It gets heavy when you carry it in your backpack for extended periods - but it's worth it, so I do it!
Similar Products Used: N80
N8008
N70
Various Pentax's
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