Some personal comments on Nikon F4

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Whatever it is, as a whole, as long as your entry price is justified - investing into an used Nikon F4 can be a smart investment fro anyone. The camera looks great but within its elegantly crafted outlines, there are some operational inconveniences to someone like me too. Personally, if I am very particular in picking on something, I would like to point out a few areas which may not be so desirable in handling.

The top of my list is still centered around the slightly oversized hand grip. Other than a tendency of imbalance of weight distribution, the tiny neck strap eyelet at the upper section on the hand grip can be quite irritating too. Overall, the decision of having the right hand section of the camera extended also hinder easy handling of the various secondary camera functions such as DOF preview, Mirror Lockup - in particularly, in situations where you need to activate both AF-L and AE-L simultaneously.

Next, the tiny film advance mode release button has been designed too small to handle comfortably and efficiently. For an instance, it is very difficult to change film advance mode with just only the right hand (using the index and middle finger at the same time by pressing the release pin while turning the dial to other settings). Frankly, it could be easier if only the right hand section of the camera be "shorten" by just 1/4" (just as the F5 and F100). Anyway, probably both the latter models have picked up from the slight flaws in the F4's design - the Nikon F5 has improved the handling greatly (it has no film advance mode setting anymore at the top of the grip), further, the release pin on top of the hand grip has been designed with a larger dimension and it is very comfortable to use). Some users have also complaint the location of the metering mode switch at the side of the standard DP-20 viewfinder is quite far apart for the photographer to shift metering system. It requires two hands operations.

Site update: Form the Nikon F4 Message Board, I have picked up some version history from the FAQ by users, click here to see some change occoured during th entire span of Nikon F4 era. "...Tim Jagielski (chaparal@execpc.com) For a listing of production changes to the F4 by serial number his site may be helpful: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/j/jnwall/html/f4faq.htm#Purchase See section 14.1, you'll have to scroll past some material that will be pretty basic for you, however, section 14.1 gives a few references to production modifications / upgrades to during F4 production from various sources. I'm beginning to approach the same aging eyesight issue as you. It seems that the F4's focus confirmation function with manual lenses may help me fool myself for a while longer. BTW, thanks for your work on the F3 site. I've appreciated your insights since I found the link a few years ago....".

However, as it was the most ideal location (also due to the F4's metering cells have been designed to locate inside the finder itself (except the case of the spot meter), but it reminds me just how convenient the Leica's operation of the metering lever to alter from its center weighted to spot metering mode. Well, as I said, this is simply picking out something from nothing and as most people do not often change metering pattern that often unless it is used for comparing a second reading in certain tricky situations, as far as I am concerned, it is acceptable.

Credit: Image courtesy of Mr. Seth Schmidt ® <shutterblade@comcast.net>. Seth operates an online used equipment purchasing website at www.UsedCameraBuyer.com. The Company also has an active Store at Ebay. Image copyright © 2003. All rights reserved.

Another areas where many Nikon faithful have splitted opinions is relating to the overall weight of the Nikon F4 - well, this is one area that I may have to agree with the opposing camps. But since the weight factor does present other advantages such as acting as stabilizer for shooting at slow speed and/or close-up works; it adds a layer of a true high quality feel and projects a sense of ruggedness. But I am not so sure whether if given a choice to redesign the camera all over again - can the excessive weight be able to trim down ? Well, as the F4 has been around here for almost a decade of so, it may sound stupid to complaint anything relating to this issue anymore here (neither anyone can alter the basic structure, huh ?). I think we might as well forget about all these negative designing flaws, just live with what it has to offer and start utilizing it as a true high quality imaging tool for your photography. I am sure Nikon has learned a great deal of all these designing flaws as many of the next generation Nikon bodies do not repeated with such undesirable specification anymore (frankly, I was puzzled why no one in Nikon has picked up these, voiced out to the designers while expect the users lived with all these flaws in its entire product cycle...).

Minus all these minor issues, the F4 is a wonderful camera by itself in terms of features, handling, quality aspect, reliability and has a great backward compatibilities. In particular, I like the automatic film transport system deployed where it is more assuring for photographers and have the lovely film window helps to provide physical confirmation of film cassette inside the camera (where previously we have to resort to conventional method of using manual rewind to ensure is there a film roll inside the camera). Further, its variable film advance modes feature reminds me of a Nikon F3/MD-4 with a variable speed adapter MK-1 combination.

<<< ---- Image from my copyright-free image collection. Malaysian Internet Resources

To many traditional MF Nikon users one of the most appealing factor of F4 is its seemingly conventional design in its layout of controls, despite it is an AF SLR camera. You can easily picked up in minutes just how to make use of this camera even if you have not use it before. Most essential features are located at where they are supposedly be like MF Nikon. The multi-exposure control modes with additional options to select a few metering system (in particular when using Matrix Metering) practically makes it a very easy and friendly camera to use, while at the same time, assuring anyone be able to achieve good exposure results - plus the added assurance, pictures will be delivered in pin sharp clarity from its autofocus function. Well, I would not like to rate it as a "high end P&S camera" as some hard core traditionalists have been calling it - but it is a product carrying with a prevailing trend in camera design during its era. Naturally, its creator will not be able to survive in such a highly competitive market place just to please everyone if the camera was simply designed as a normal multi-AE modes autofocus SLR as a successor for the earlier Nikon F3. Well, for all the faithful, one of the greatest asset Nikon has offered to them was actually providing an extensive system compatibility by enabling older MF Nikkor lenses to be able to use freely yet still be able to retain most of the basic functions. Not to mention Nikon even has designed quite a functional device to enable many of those manual focus lenses be able to transform as an autofocus AF lense, frankly, what do you expect more from them, huh ?

<<< ---- Night Guarding at entrance of Tian An Men Square, Beijing, China ... . Nikon F4 with AF AF-Nikkor 28mm f/1.4. Image from my copyright-free image collection. Malaysian Internet Resources

Errr ... anyway, this website has taken me more than a month to complete. in the mean time, as I have many other things to attend to in my companies while at the same time, I don't intend to discuss everything I like or dislike of a particular product in an opened medium simply because everyone should has its channel to express their respective opinion freely and neither I want my thoughts to influence any buying consideration over such a fine camera. So, if you have anything to express, please make use of the convenience of the Message Board that I provided to other issues relate. Thank you for spending time reading and tolerate my poor use of English in this site.

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Part I - VII: Page 1| Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 |

The Camera Body - Features | Reliability | Focusing | Metering | Exposure Control | Lense Compatibility | Interchangeable Prisms | Data Film Backs | Various Power Sources | Focusing Screens | Flash Photography | Other system accessories | Cases for Nikon F4 Series | Remote Control |

| Specification | Main Reference Map | Nikon F4 Variants
Instruction Manual: PDF (4.5M) - External Link

| BACK | to Main Index Page Nikon F4 Series Models

| Message Board | for Nikon F4 Series SLR model(s)
| Message Board | for your Nikon Optics in a shared environment
| Message Board | Specifically for Dispose or Looking for Nikon/Nikkor Photographic Equipment

| Back | to Pictorial History of Nikon SLR / rangefinders / Nikonos / digital cameras.

Nikon F | Nikon F2 | Nikon F3 | Nikon F4 | Nikon F5 | Nikon F6 | Nikkormat / Nikomat | Nikon FM | Nikon FE/ FA | Nikon EM/FG/FG20 | Nikon Digital SLRs | Nikon - Other models

Nikon Auto Focus Nikkor lenses:- Main Index Page
Nikon Manual Focus Nikkor lenses:- Fisheye-Nikkor Lenses - Circular | Full Frame | Ultrawides Lenses - 13mm 15mm 18mm 20mm | Wideangle Lenses - 24mm 28mm 35mm | Standard Lenses - 45mm 50mm 58mm | Telephoto Lenses - 85mm 105mm 135mm 180mm & 200mm | Super-Telephoto Lenses - 300mm 400mm 500mm 600mm 800mm 1200mm |

Index Page Special Application lenses:
Micro-Nikkor Lenses - 50mm~55mm -60mm 85mm -105mm 200mm Micro-Zoom 70-180mm
Perspective Control (PC) - 28mm 35mm PC-Micro 85mm
Dedicated Lenses for Nikon F3AF: AF 80mm f/2.8 | AF 200mm f/3.5 EDIF
Depth of Field Control (DC): 105mm 135mm
Medical Nikkor: 120mm 200mm
Reflex-Nikkor Lenses - 500mm 1000mm 2000mm
Others: Noct Nikkor | OP-Nikkor | UV Nikkor 55mm 105mm | Focusing Units | Bellows-Nikkor 105mm 135mm
Nikon Series E Lenses: 28mm 35mm 50mm 100mm 135mm | E-Series Zoom lenses: 36~72mm 75~150mm 70~210mm

MF Zoom-Nikkor Lenses: 25~50mm | 28~45mm | 28~50mm | 28~85mm | 35~70mm | 36~72mm E | 35~85mm | 35~105mm | 35~135mm | 35~200mm | 43~86mm | 50~135mm | 50~300mm | 70~210mm E | 75~150mm E | 80~200mm | 85~250mm | 100~300mm | 180~600mm | 200~400mm | 200~600mm | 360~1200mm | 1200~1700mm

Tele-Converters: TC-1 | TC-2 | TC-200 | TC-201 | TC-300 | TC-301 | TC-14 | TC-14A | TC-14B | TC-14C | TC-14E | TC-16 | TC-16A | TC-20E

Recommended links to understand more technical details related to the Nikkor F-mount and production Serial Number:
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-153.html by: my friend, Rick Oleson
http://www.zi.ku.dk/personal/lhhansen/photo/fmount.htm by: Hansen, Lars Holst
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/nikonfmount/lens2.htm
http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html

W A R N I N G: The New G-SERIES Nikkor lenses have no aperture ring on the lense, they cannot adjust aperture(s) when operating in manual exposure control even with certain earlier AF Nikon SLR camera models. Similarly, not ALL features provide in a modern AF-S series AF-Nikkor lenses can be utilized fully with a Nikon F4. Please refer to your local distributor for compatibility issue(s).

PLEASE NOTE Complimentary links are appreciative but it is not necessary, I have limited bandwidth here in this server... So, PLEASE don't distribute this URL to any bulk mailing list or unrelated user-groups, just be a little considerate, thank you. (The more you distribute, the slower this server will response to your requests...). I am NOT a Nikon nor Nikkor expert, so don't send me any mails, use the Message Board Instead. While the content prepared herein should be adequate for anyone to understand and evaluate whether you should invest into a used Nikon F4 pro-camera system for your kind of photography. Well, IF you like what you have seen so far, please help to perfect this site by reporting any broken links or any errors made.

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Credit: Chuck Hester, US for his patience, encouragement and help to setup the various content in this site; Robert Johnson for some of his original images on the F2H-MD appeared in this site; my ex-staff, KiaSu for his superb 3-D logo appeared in this Nikon F2 site; Marc Vorgers from Holland who generously provide me with some of his images of F2AS; MCLau®, who has so much time with me to re-edit the content in this site and not to mention buying a Nikon Coolpix 990 just for this site; Paul Armstrong (pkared@ameritech.net) for his explantion of the FF2 Slidemagic and Nikon F2 Pin Camera Keat Photo, Kuala Lumpur for providing their Nikon F2A to take some images for this site; Mr Edward Ngoh the great camera collector who provides us his collection of F2AS with MD-2; hawkeye.photographic.com for their images on the Speed Magny film backs; Sean Cranor for his image on Nikon F2 25th Anniversary Model; Ted Wengelaar®, Holland for his continuous flow of input on some of the early Nikon bodies; Genesis-Camera for granting permission to use an image of the SS-F2 camera; Mr Sover Wong, Australia for those great images of his rare F2 Gold;CYLeow ®, photo editor of the Star newspaper, Malaysia for some of his images used in this site. Ms Rissa Chan, Sales manager from Shriro Malaysia who has helped to provide some of the very useful input. HiuraShinsaku®, Nikomat ML, Japan for some of his images on various F2 models; my staff, Wati, Maisa, Mai and my nephew, EEWyn®, who volunteered and helping me did so many of the film scanning works; Hong-sien Kwee of Singapore for all the Nikon F2 Pin camera images appeared in this site; Luigi Crescenzi for many of his images on the Nikon F2 Titan; John for two of his images of the Nikon F2/T used in this site; Contributing photographers or resellers: Jen Siow, Foo KokKin, Arthur Teng, Mark Fallander, John Ishii, Ed Hassel, YoonKi Kim, Jean-Louis, M.Dugentas (Dell Corner.com.), Mr "Arsenall", Yang Zi Xiong and a few images mailed in from surfers with no appropriate reference to their origin. Note:certain content and images appeared in this site were either scanned from official marketing leaflets, brochures published by Nikon and/or contribution from surfers who claimed originality of their own work to publish in this site based on educational merits. The creator of this site will not be responsible for any discrepancies that may arise from such possible dispute except rectifying them after verification."Nikon", "Nikkormat", "Nippon Kokagu KK" & "Nikkor" are registered tradename of Nikon Corporation Inc., Japan. Dedicated to KU Yeo, just to express our mutual regrets over the outcome of a recent corporate event. Made with an Apple IMac.