Reliability , Metering , Control Layout ,BUILD, Versatility , Nikon Accessories , Indestructable !

NONE

Up until last year I was a die hard Canon user and used the EOS product range for commercial and Wedding photography in Northern England , I started to encounter meter problems with the EOS 5 and 10 , and as a result of forgetting my Sekonic light meter , I made a mess of a commercial job , the bottom line the EOS 5 and 10 were not reliable, I sold the Canon kit and was persuaded to visit the Quality Camera shop/Nikon Museum in Rotterdam Holland , I now own F3 / md4 , FM2n/md12 , and a mint condition F4e.

I have used the F4 in Kruger Park , Pilansberg Park , South Africa , on wildlife shoots , 52c Heat in Saudi Arabia , Snowboarding shoot in the French Alps -2c and of course in my home environment ,in the Heavy rain of the English Summer ! , the F4 has not produced one single bad frame out of at least fifty rolls , I am having to slow mysellf down as I am starting to become too complacent , it is more of a mind extension than a Camera... The bottom line is that this is the finest piece of engineering I have ever owned , the screens are also interchangeable with my F3 , As for the comments on the Sluggish AF , I totally disagree , even with the 300mmf4 , it was quick enough to track a cheetah and secure a pin sharp shot worthy of National Geographic publication (In continuous predictve mode) the one shot focus is just as quick as the Canon....

I read the reports when the F4e varient was launched , it was hailed as a 'super camera' , in a recent article in the UK the F4e was put up against the F5 , the F5 was favored for the speed of focus and the Colour metering , however it was noted that the the 8yr gap in technology only gave marginal improvements on actual results , and that was taking a motor racing shoot into account... If the F4 is used with the Nikon Silent wave lenses the focus time between the f4 and F5 was noted at an average 1/1000 of a second ....

Any Camera produced with AF after 1989 will be able to focus faster than any photographer so I do not see what all the fuss is about with miliseconds.........

I love the f4 !

Customer Service

Never Needed !

Similar Products Used:

Canon Eos 1 , Eos 10 , Eos 620 , Eos 5 , FM2n , F3, F90x

The most logical choice after the F3...more user friendly thanthe cluttered and battery-hog F5...a more rock solid investment than any EOS soon to be orphaned system (again?)...

it's an F4...it's famous...very famous...therefore it will get criticized, maligned, abused, insulted, challenged, type-casted, etc...it will always be compared to a newer model...because it is, what it IS...a BENCHMARK of camera design!

If you want to grab a piece of history and keep it for yourself, like parts of the Berlin Wall, a piece of Moonrock from Apollo 11, a homerun baseball from Babe Ruth....then the F4 is part of that history....

Customer Service

The F4 is the windows operating system of the photography world...anybody who knows photography knows what an F4 is...easily repaired by the shop...

Similar Products Used:

Canon FD, EOS Nikon MF, AF

The F4s just oozes quality and gives the user confidence Also great for building those biceps!

I bought the F4 second hand with the eyepiece missing (a common problem) and have found it impossible to obtain one from high street dealers. Otherwise no problems at all.

Without a doubt the best camera I have ever used!

Customer Service

The day I bought the F4 I was dead keen to try all the features but as I had no manual it took some time to learn the controls & switches. In particular I could not get the viewfinder to illuminate. My local dealer phoned Nikon technical(UK) to find out how to switch the backlighting on and was told that the F4 had no such feature!!. I eventually bought the HOVE book on the F4 and all became clear!

Similar Products Used:

F60, FA

Solid and indestructable camera with all the versitility of a pro-machine. Will matrix meter with manual focus Nikkor lenses (of which I have a bunch). Has a standard cable release socket and eyepiece dioptar adjustment which I value greatly. Autofocus is slow but good enough for when I need it.

Slow autofocus. I'd get something else if I did sports photography. It is quite heavy.

F4s are only available used now, but they are an excellent choice particularly for the photographer who has lots of manual focus Nikon mount lenses. Some thing of the F4 as the best manual focus camera Nikon ever made. For me it was a toss up between and F100 and an F4s (which also came with a databack) and I chose the latter happily

Customer Service

Never needed it.

Similar Products Used:

F2, F3HP, FE2, Leica M3, Rolleiflex twin lens.

Ease of use
Ergonomics and feel
Functions

A bit heavy with the MB21 speed winder. Solved with a good breakfast.

Although I miss my 8008, this is probably the best camera I ever had. No hesitation to recommend it except for beginners with smaller budgets.

Customer Service

Never needed to test it.
Overall impression is that service in Mexico is poor.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 8008, Nikon N90s, Nikon F5

Great layout of buttons and swithches without the hassle of looking into a LCD screen. Fast autofocus and very well built.

Never a problem.

Very reliable and simple. Heavy construction that makes you not to worry about the camera but only your subject.

Customer Service

No experience.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N90, Canon Elan IIe, Canon Rebel G, Nikon F5

Ease of operation,especially in program mode or ap mode

no

Best camera I have ever used

Customer Service

no need at this time

Similar Products Used:

minolta