Anyone Using the F4 for Jurassic Photography?

 

<p>Jurassic Photography with my F4</p>

 

<p>When I go hunting, I need PLENTY of firepower, the T-Rex Rifle cal. 577. Hello! Duh? Isn’t that what everyone uses? That blistering ballistic beauty will knock a T-Rex off its ugly haunches and make it cry for momma. Better hold on because the recoil will splinter your wrists. Ha. Ha.<br>

Likewise, when I go shooting pictures, I need a bangin’ bombproof beauty that stands up to Jurassic Duty. That would be the Nikon F4---a Full Metal Jacket beast.<br>

After a few hours with a digital camera, I puke from scrolling, menu selecting, and squinting at a led screen. Then I need the real thing. That’s when I pick up my F4. It’s got everything I’ve been missing. I can glance down at its spacious deck with a switch or button for virtually every function—clearly visible. Not a single led screen! No funky mystery icons! Instant shutter response and advance, how nice. And for Post Production:---no cards, no computer, no monitors, no ink jets. Hooray—Onward to the Darkroom!</p>

<p>I don't have an F4, but that really makes me want one...</p>

<p>Just don't drop it on any butterflies, Gene.</p>

I have an F4S. It's good - very good - but... a mode switch? That right-hand grip? A fine camera, but an F3HP it ain't.

<p>Maybe some day, but first I need to upgrade to an F2 from my Nikon F and Nikkormat EL. I'm slowly working my way up the chain of updates, just a little behind some of the rest of you. ;)</p>

<p>For now, I sometimes shoot with the F4 "killer", as it was called, the Canon EOS-1 (<a href="../canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00WvBD">link</a>)</p>

<p>Around here we don't have a lot of Jurassic, but many of our trees go back to the Cretaceous period (e.g., magnolia). The population seems to be more Pleistocene, however.</p>

<p>JDM, Nothing wrong with the F---a worthy beast. And I loved the F2--back in the day before it was stolen! My insurance replaced it with the then-new F3. And so, I've used them all ---except for the F6. I found them all Jurassic-worthy.</p>

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<p>After a few hours with a digital camera, I puke from scrolling, menu selecting, and squinting at a led screen. Then I need the real thing.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I quite agree. But "the real thing" isn't the F4 (which, IMO, is the most ill thought out F series body. I'd much rather have either a 3 or a 5. It justifies the Japaneses belief that "4" is unlucky).</p>

<p>No, my friend, the "real thing" is discipline. I can set up a DSLR for a particular task and then easily go "a few hours" without having to scroll through a single menu. Heck, I can beat "a few hours", I can go "several hours". If you're "puking" from all that scrolling, and the only way for you to stop is to switch to a camera that doesn't have those things, it just means that you're too "fidgety", to undisciplined, to resist spending too much time with the menus when you're using a camera that has them.</p>

<p>It's a variation of the "you need a camera that forces you to slow down and think" argument you see all the time from someone advocating film, medium format, or larger format. Discipline is discipline: if you've got it, you can apply it to any camera in any situation.</p>

<p>Joseph, it's not about my lack of discipline! Try tramping through the Jurassic wilderness! That takes will-power and discipline. And when that T-Rex appears and you're standing there with a BB gun, Oh My Friend, you'll wish for a real camera, a film camera! Any Modern Classic will do, but a virtual camera will not! You gotta have lots of film, and a sense of humor! Or you'll be swinging from the jaws of the beast!</p>

<p>Les, Believe it or not, the deals are out there. I got mine for about $200----it was mint, and I just lucked into it. that Was three years ago. Since then, I've noticed that the whole line of Nikon F cameras has increased in price. This is also true of Rolliecord and Yashica TLR. Can't say why. Except Iford Film reported and increase of 8% in film sales last year. <br>

Maybe more people are heading into the Jurassic Wilds--and man, they need firepower!</p>

<p>Being versed with firearms I prefer the F3HP to the F4; just my personal opinion. </p>

<p>What I liked best about my F3 was the HP feature. Plus, reliability. In nearly 10 years of daily use--nothing every broke. A pretty impressive record! </p>

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<p>Try tramping through the Jurassic wilderness! That takes will-power and discipline. And when that T-Rex appears</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well, it takes something. I'm not sure it's named "Will", though. Maybe "Jim" or "Jack", or even "Mary Jane". ;)</p>

<p>Bang a gong, get it on, get it on!</p>

<p>Hey, when I'm going out for Rex, I take my Mamiya RB67 medium format. Let me tell you, it's no medium when it comes to firepower. One swing of it to its head, and Rex is history. Last year I bagged two and now have half a dozen Jurassic period shoes and belts. My wife won't let me mount the head above the mantel however. Says it's tacky. What does she know?</p>

<p>Alan, I know. It's the marriage penalty! </p>

The F4 definitely looks interesting, but I make do with the F3HP, F100 and FE2 - that covers pro, fast and small. I'm

just having a hard time deciding which to take traveling and to a couple weddings - my good tele lens is G type and I

do have a nice 28-75 lens that's AF, but my best 50mm is an AIS. And I have a good flash for the FE2 and F100 but

not the F3... Oh hell, I think I need an F4...

<p>I used digital for this. You need something light so that when the guy says,<em>'must go faster' </em>you are not too weighed down.</p><div></div>

<p>I'd like to throw the FA in here. Like all good Dinosaur-themed parks, its completely automated, and no expense has been spared. What could possibly go wrong?</p>

<p>In the second Jurassic Park movie a photographer character frequently clicks away with a Nikon F5, new on the real life market then. It comes to an end when a menacing dinosaur is nearby, thus requiring silence by the characters. The photographer clicks a shot and the camera goes into auto-rewind with a loud extended whirr at the end of the roll. The stuff hit the fan and I think that was the last seen of the F5. So if you're out there Gene, use manual rewind. </p>

<p>If I had to go Jurassic, I would use the mighty Nikon F, plain prism. No batteries required. You know how hard those AA's are to find when they run out.</p>

<p>Throw out the FM as chum, then thump 'em with The Tank.<br>

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2739/4521677387_e7f7d3e8ed.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Ah! The Beast!</p>

<p>One thing I love about Nikon is that they think of the photographer's needs more often than not. The fact that even the F6 has a manual rewind lever says a lot about how the engineers think. Yeah, I don't like body-driven focusing but nobody's perfect.</p>

<p>Not sure I had enough firepower for this one, with my Nikkormat FT-3.</p>

<p>I needed F4 grunt, because my Nikkormat Ft-3 lacked firepower.</p><div></div>

<p>Jurassic double A's are extremely hard to find out there---and getting them loaded whilst running from the T-Rex ---that takes practice! So maybe there is something getting armed with the Mighty F! </p>