f4 vs f4s

hello there

can anyone tell me the differences between these 2 cameras?is there much of an

improvement?and how would any oif them compare to a nikon f801?

From what I remember, the F4 is simply the body, the F4s has the battery grip. The improvement is like today's grips...vertical shutter button. It was THE pro camera years ago and although is a dinosaur by todays' technology standards, is still an extremely capable camera, great ergonomics, and built like a tank. The F801 was a highly-regarded camera, oft used as a pro's back-up to the F4s, and was replaced by the N(F)90s. All are still very, very capable cameras and can be had cheaply.

The F4 and F4s are actually exactly the same camera body, just with a different grip/battery compartment. The F4 comes with an MB-20 battery pack that holds 4 AA batteries and was the standard configuration sold in most of the world outside of the US. The F4s configuration comes with an MB-21 battery pack that holds 6 AA batteries and includes a vertical grip; that configuration was standard in the US.

 

Both the MB-20 and 21 were available separately so that you can change the configuration. You will not find any F4 body with the F4s designation painted on it from the factory; all of them are just called the F4.

 

The difference between the F4 vs. F801 (N8008) is somewhat similar to F5 vs. F100 and D2X vs. D200 today. The main difference is build quality. Otherwise, the cheaper prosumer model probably has 80 to 90% of the features in the top model.

 

The F4 has an interchangable viewfinder, faster film advance and can drive AF-S lenses (although its AF is very slow in today's standards). Both the F801 and F801s cannot drive AF-S lenses.

As stated, they are the same camera except for the battery holder. However, that results in a consequential difference between the two. The F4 runs off 4 batteries and is unable to operate for long periods with rechargeable 1.2V AA batteries (4.8V is insufficient). The F4S with its 6 batteries is able to operate using 1.2V Ni-CD and Ni-MH batteries just because it has 7.2V to start with. There is a little LR6/Ni-CD switch in the battery grip that you have to set depending on the battery type you are using (LR6 for alkalines, Ni-CD for both Ni-CD and Ni-MH batteries).

 

Also, the F4s has a vertical shutter release that the F4 doesn't have.

 

Why don't you consider an F100 instead? They are going very cheap now.

The only F4 body with upgraded electronics would be the F4E model.

[The F4 is one of the few 35mm camera bodies that can operate (in T mode) without a drain on the batteries. Very, very good for long, long time exposures at night.]

Gerald, can you expand on the F4E upgrade? I thought the only thing an 'E' brought to the table was yet another larger grip, the one capable of taking Nikon's own NiCds. That was a disappointment to me after the F3 and it's NiCds, as the F3 actually speeds up with that pack while the F4 slows down.

The F4E is not an upgraded model; it has yet another different battery pack, the MB-23. The F4 and F5 (as well as F6 so far) were never upgraded to a different model number such as D2X -> D2Xs during their production. (The F5 had an anniversary edition that looks slightly different but functionally identical.)

 

However, Nikon had made some minor enhancements to the F4 during its production, but the model number was never changed. For example, the later F4 samples require a double click on the viewfinder release button to remove the viewfinder so that it would be harder to drop that accidentally.

If buying a used one, there is one model improvement you should look for. Look at the top of the hot shoe. Newer models have an extra hole it it that the pin from the flash drops into to keep it in place. This is a big deal. I had an older style and the flash would move off the contacts a bit, still fire but not expose properly. Once I got a body with the extra pin hole, no porblems.

Greg - some might disagree that the extra hole is an "improvement". ;-) ;-)

 

I have read several accounts of extreme frustration on these and other forums from photographers who wound up with their SB-25, SB-26 or whatever firmly locked onto their Nikon body because the pin mechanism in the flash foot failed and would not retract. Doesn't happen very often, but when it does ...

 

Having said that it's never happened to me (fingers crossed). The upgraded DP-20 prism with the extra hole is a little harder to come by, since this was one of the very last tweaks to the F4, and was introduced on bodies with serial numbers in the 25xxxxx and above range IIRC (my F4 is 249xxxx, no pin hole).

The famous locked pin only happend with SB-25s. I've seen 3 of them very securely affixed to

the hot shoe.

The F4 (4 cell) configuration allows you to switch from horizontal to vertical formats without having to realign the camera when using the PG-2 rack and pinion for macros.

I had an F4s and as soon as I got an MB20 to convert it to an F4, the "S" package never saw the light of day until I sold the outfit. The F4 is more compact as well as a little lighter. It fit my hand better than the F4s and the extra features of the "s" --longer battery life and more frames per second--weren't something I required.

Hi Tommy,

 

I just got one of these the other day, an F4 with a serial number of 261xxx. I would try and get one with a late serial number if possible. It's a fun camera, but an F100 is probably a more practical option

Sorry, forgot to answer your inquiry. The F4 is a big step up from the 801. It allows the use of any Nikon lens ever made, and is in fact the only camera to do so among the Nikon range. You can mount the original F mount lenses from the 1950s, all the way up to the latest AFS lenses, and have metering and auto focus with them.

 

Nikon should have have maintained this compatibility with all of its cameras. In the past Nikon loved to trumpet backwards compatibility and that the mount was always supported, instead somewhere along the way some number crunchers must have been promoted to management, in positions that were probably manned by engineers in the past.

>It's a fun camera, but an F100 is probably a more practical option

 

Well said. The F4 has a few features that make it more suitable for studio and flash work, particularly in combination with MF lenses. However, its AF is primitive, most examples have seen heavy use, and all are reaching the age at which a $150 CLA is needed, even if they've been sitting in the closet unused. The F100 is a far better camera for most uses. At today's bargain prices, there's no excuse for not owning at least a dozen of these fine shooters. :)

 

Happy shooting!

@claude, that is incorrect. The camera which supports the widest range of Nikkors is the F5 with the factory pre-AI support mod(effectively just an installation of the F4's flipable AI tab). That will allow use of all Nikkor lenses which do not require MLU (while the F4 and F5 both have MLU, the lenses which require it may not necessaryily fit) and offers full support for G and VR lenses, which the F4 lacks. The advantage of the F4 over the F5 is that it will matrix meter with AI and AI-S lenses. However the F6 will matrix meter with any lens that can safely mount (but requires AI modification to mount lenses)

 

The F4 is the most capable MF body Nikon ever made, but the AF is an afterthought by todays standards.

 

I'd go for an F100 if looking for an AF body today. The F4's the way to go only if you prefer MF glass or need one of it's few features that is lacking on the F100 (mostly MLU and the interchangable finders)

Fair enough, but the F4 is still about the most wicked design of them all. I would say that in sheer over the top smoothness, only the R8/9 or perhaps Contax RTSIII can come close, and they don't have the cool interchangeable prisms. Also, the F5 is a behemoth, not option for a smaller profile body.