Rugged, Full Featured, Accurate

Big and Heavy.

Great all purpose 35mm camera. If you can afford the F5 and the Nikon wave motor lenses you'll have the best available equipment on the market (I am biased toward Nikon equipment). Of course, your back will pay for it, but the results make it all worthwhile.

Customer Service

None require so far.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon: F1, F3HP, FM, FE2

Extremely rugged, very accurate metering system, excellent lens selection, very comfortable to hold

Low contrast black focus indicator is difficult to see - should have been red like in the F100.

I have owned almost every AF Nikon that has been made over the past 8 years, beginning with the N8008. I have also used Canon products frequently over the past 3 years. Canon makes a very well built camera with plenty of bells and whistles and high-tech gadgetry, but when it comes to quality and reliability, NOTHING beats a Nikon! I own the Nikon F100 (to shoot B&W film) and the red active focus indicators are extremely helpful in bright sunlight and in darkness. The F5 highlights the active focus indicators in black bold and is very difficult to make out sometimes. I lock my focus indicator to the middle position almost always, so I know where to focus, then I lock the focus and recompose. Defeats the purpose of having 5 AF zones, but it works better and quicker for me. It's not really a weakness, but a trait or characteristic of an older model camera that has been improved in newer models. Call it a "Joan or Arc" characteristic. This camera is going on 5 years old and still is one of the most technologically advanced cameras in the world. This may very well be Nikon's greatest accomplishment in its history.

Customer Service

Never needed or used Nikon service in over 8 years of photography.

Similar Products Used:

F100, N90S, N80, N70, Canon EOS 1V, EOS 3, EOS 1RS

Rugged, water resistant, BRIGHT view finder and did I mention rugged?

You cant see focus brackets invisible in darkness. Battery consumption.

Some of you might have read my Canon A1 review a couple of months ago and I talked about the abuse it took for 21 years, it finally died. I was at a loss for a camera that I felt would live up to my opinon of the A1...that is until I found the F5! Since I have had my F5, I have used a least one roll a day on it and sometimes much more. I was already used to a heavy camera after lugging around an A1 and F1 but the F5 fits comfortable in my hands and is easy to hold. I needed something that could stand up to a little rough abuse and after reading how the F5 was built, I decided it would survive me! I have read over the months people asking how water resistant it really is. Well I'm here to tell you it will take a dunking and keep on clicking. Recently I was getting all settled in on a cliff wall to take some pictures of the waves crashing on a ledge a little ways off, wouldnt you know it, a rouge wave would come in and decide to take me and the camera out. Resigned to the fact I couldnt get out of there in time, I just laid down on the shutter and kept clicking away as I was engulfed. Even totally underwater the camera kept clicking away (Some great shots!) after the wave passed, I looked at my salt water drenched F5 and decided the only thing I could do was pour a bottle of fresh water over it and continued to finish my shots for the day. The camera still works like a charm! About the only thing I dont like about the F5 is the lack of lighting for the focus brackets. You really have to pay attention to the arrows to figure out where the focus bracket is at when it's dark. So far, I think I have found a camera that will not only survive a rough beating, but take some fantastic pictures the whole time! It's a good solid camera, has all the features I require and it's one of those cameras that make others go...Wow, thats nice! If you are looking for an excellent professional camera, have the money and want something that you dont have to worry about being rough with, the F5 has your name all over it!

Customer Service

Havent had to use them and hope I never need to!

Similar Products Used:

Canon F1N (19 Years)
Canon A1 (21 Years)

The F5 is an amazing piece of machinery. The slides I took using the 28-70 and 80-200 AFS are stunning! There are no details the F5 combined with either of these lenses failed to capture when I was recently taking pictures of people playing golf. The metering and RGB meter were right on the money. The camera is feture packed and very rugged.

Price but you get what you pay for.

One incredible camera you will not regret buying. Whether you use it for manual work or AF this camera won't let you down. The tracking system is superb. I was able to take pictures of a snowy egret in flight and each frame was sharp. Now I don't want to put down people who own the EOS 1V but I've read that the tracking system is not that great compared to the F5. I've never used the 1V so I can't say but I'm just passing on what I've heard. You will probably want to take that with a grain of salt but from my experience using the nikon line I would say this is one of the best camear you can buy.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

n90s

Extremely well built and very balanced.
Excellent metering system - fast, responsive, and accurate in all modes.

None

The Nikon F5 is built to meet the demands and shooting situations of the working pro. It is a tool for extending beyond the boundaries of creative image making, without sacrificing flow and flexibility.

If you don't make your living with a camera, but want freedom of expression in your art, then look no further, the Nikon F5 is your camera.

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

Most Nikons
Most Canons

Build quality.

Very expensive, 3D color matrix has difficulties in some scenes, Metering of N90S is better.

F-5 is pro quality camera. Excellent 3D color matrix metering. Auto-focus of F-5 is blistering fast. It has world’s first self-diagnostic shutters. F-5 is very rugged camera. Faster frame advance (8fps). I own Nikon’s F-5, F-100, F3HP, N90S, F-4S cameras .I used these cameras many time. I found N90S is sophisticated performer than other F series cameras. Metering of N90 is better than F-5.F-5 is a costly affair

Customer Service

NONE

Similar Products Used:

F-5,F100,N90S,F-4S,F-3HP,EOS1V,EOS1N,EOS3

Build quality
Ergonomics
Focus speed and higher frame rate

Battery usage

Overall an excellent camera.
I don't really concern myself with all the 3D metering stuff as I have allways had excellent results from Nikon cameras so all the color pixel stuff is a bonus. I bought this camera because after owning F4s anything else felt like it had an inferior build quality. I mostly shoot ring sports for a living, the faster focusing and higher frame rate are very noticable and make my job a hell of a lot easier. Those of you like me who have been holding off upgrading your F4 will be really pleased this is an awesome piece of equipment. Also, you will not understand the complaints about weight and size. The camera feels smaller and lighter than the F4.

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

own F5
2X F4s
2X F4e
owned
F3
several F90x
FA, FM2, FE2

* Solid as a rock, and leather adds comfort.
* Unbeatable metering, though I never depend on it as I try to let my own juices flow. Combined = excellent metering.
* Fast autofocus that locks onto subjects better than my old Canon EOS 1n and the EOS 1v I tried for a week.
* All one complete body, preventing dust and other elements from entering the inside and potentially damaging electronics.
* Proper mirror lock up
* Full time display of exposure compensation and ISO rating.
* Quiet shutter compared to EOS and the F100.

* Black autofocus selection points. Mis the F100 here. But I haven't missed focus yet!
* Those who say size or weight shouldn't even own the camera, asit is designed like that for people who use the size and weight to the advantage of taking Pro pictures- not all the time in my circumstance!

I upgraded from the Nikon F100. I changed due to the following which isn't usually mentioned as they aren't exactly features but useful ergonomics that make field work easier:
* Safety lock on ON/OFF switch- tough not on the D series.
* Full time ISO rating diplayed....so I don't use the wrong ISO rating like I have done with the F100 in the past.
* Manual rewinding for silent rewinding of film. It also allows you to rewind when the batteries die.
* All metal construction, whereas the F100 has a plastic back and MB-15 feels a little week when using the AF-S 28-70mm lens.
* Full time exposure compensation display, that shows changes in exposure, when compensation is added. The F100 doesn't, as it clears the screen when adding compensation.
* Faster autofocus than F100 with AF-S lenses, though by not much.
* Colour matrix meter, though the F100's is probably just as good in 95% of the time.
* Mirror lock up. I have noticed a difference even though the F100's shutter is smooth.
* Quieter shutter than F100.
* Two groups of custom settings for different shooting situations and requirements.
* Viewfinder curtain beats the plastic attachment provided for the F100.

Overall there may be more (suppossed) advantages, but these were the ones that eventually swayed me. I kind of miss my F100, as the F5 is too big for a lot of the photography I like to do personally. Although when using the AF-S 17-35mm and AF-S 28-70mm lenses, I attract much attention regardless of the body i am using. My recomendation is to only buy this camera if you really need the strength and mirror lock up feature, or you mhave another body. If you are choosing between the two, the F100 will be a better overall camera, or will go better as a backup to the father F5. Not a camera for all. If you are unsure, buy the F100. if the f5 is for you, then you would've most likely already known before you read this review. Good luck with your selection.

Customer Service

* I had the rubber leatherette replaced free of charge out of warranty.......and I was told this is a liofetime warranty on the rubber. Well that was a relief as it isn't difficult for it to come off after heavy use.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS 1n 7/10
Canon EOS 1v 8/10
Nikon F100 8/10
Minolta Dynax 9 8.5/10

Very fast auto focus
Great for sports
On-camera metering is one of the best.
Very rugged camera

Eats batteries
Expected more from Nikon for the price
Nikon lenses are not the sharpest.

Very good camera but would have expected more from a Nikon Pro level camera for the price. The auto focus is the best...bar none. Make sure to get the correct lens for this camera. Although it uses a lon line of nikkor lens get the ones made for it. They are more expensive but worth it. The Auto focus speed is fantastic with these lenses. The cameras metering system is one of the best. Good for those times that there is no time to do manual metering....this camera gives you the best shot at getting the photo.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon
Contax
Leica
Minolta

excellent forcus speed, excellent build quality. Professional SLR, the best metering

weight abit heavy

I used the F90X for 6 years, once I hope to buy a new Nikon to upgrade. There is only 2 choice, F100 and F5. It's hard for many people to choice from. The light weight of F100 and red-dot focus screen which is advantage over F5. However, the F5 has professional build quality and wonderful 3D metering. Many people said that the 3D-metering is same as 10 segement metering, however, in some situation, the 3D-metering is far accurate than 10 segemnt metering. On the other hand, the F90X and F100 with vertical grip will weight more than 1000 g, so F5 is only 1210 g. After inserts in all batteries, there is only around 250-300 g difference. That's why i chose the F5 instead of F100. For the new F100 + MB-15, which is over USD 1200. Now I bought my F5 for second hand for USD 1300 (95% new, you must spend times to search around) with 6 months in store warranty. That is hard to beat.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 1N,IV,IN-RS
Nikon F100, F90X, F80, F70, Prona S