Does the F4 Have Mystical Powers?

<p>I have been thinking about getting an F4 for a while now. The damn nostalgia thing, maybe. I saw one on The List That Has No Name, for a very low price. Spoke to the seller, who was looking for some lenses. Went to his house, saw the camera, made a trade. He actually came out a bit better, but I wasn't using the lenses at all. Took the F4 out yesterday with a roll of FP4 and the 35-70 f2.8. When people saw me, they actually asked me if I would take their picture! I'm pretty good at talking people into impromptu 'modeling', but having <em>volunteers </em>is not exactly usual. In fact, here in my quaint home town, folks usually ask if I'm from Code Enforcement.</p><div></div>

<p>Nice shot & nice catch. IMHO it is such a versatile camera, AF, allowing matrix metering for all lenses, and it looks like a tank. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.</p>

<p>The camera is good but ,sadly, has no mystical powers. You, on the other hand, have fantastic powers of observation and the ability to relate to people. That's a beautiful, impromptu portrait. Well done, Les!</p>

<p>Yes, it does so have mystical powers!</p>

<p>;)</p>

<p>Yup, sure does and it inherited from the F3, F2 and the F. :)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>First of all, nice shot! When the F4 first came on the scene, I was still shooting weddings with FM2 and FA bodies. I had to have one and soon learned that The F4s built strong back and neck muscles. It was the body that seemed to shake off the old idea of what a camera should be and made a quantum leap into the future for me. Have fun with yours.</p>

<p>Yes indeed - it has the mystical power of gravitational attraction, because it weighs about as much as a small planet.<br /> That excellent impromptu portrait prompted me to take a look at your portfolio. You've got some game - well done.</p>

<p>It's a wonderful camera. Some call it the best manual focus camera that Nikon has ever made. It has the mystical power that you observed, of drawing people who want to have their photographs taken. It also another power, not always appreciated by users. Aim it at the right kind of closed cocoon at the right moment, commence autofocus, and, as if by magic, some time later, just as focus is achieved, a fully formed butterfly will emerge.</p>

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<p>Yes indeed - it has the mystical power of gravitational attraction, because it weighs about as much as a small planet.</p>

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<p>Yup, I'll second that. Yes, nice snap as well.</p>

<p>all the nikon fs have mystical powers. they are so good looking in their own right =)</p>

<p>but for ppl to come up to you, it's got to be the person not the camera. lovely shot, please share more!</p>

<p>I think the Force is strong with the F4. I always need my F4s in my camera bag for a shoot. In fact it's the first camera I check before a shoot. It fits along side my D300 and a selection of nice primes. I once went 50kms for a shoot and turned around to go back and get the F4. Very Mystical indeed.</p>

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<p>Weight? Barely twenty or so Godless Kilograms. And more knobs and dials than a Forties shortwave radio. I prefer that to all the bloody menus. The N90s is a lot easier to carry--a Panasonic G3 would be even easier--but the big bear seems to make an impression.</p>

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<p>one more delete :(</p>

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<p>The F3 is the real mystical camera. In production for 20 years (1980-2000), it outlived the F4 (1988-1997).</p>

I thought all Nikon equipment has

mystical powers! I communicated with my

dead grandpa using the removes shutter

release cord :)

<p>I believe, the Nikon F4 is a great camera, but when I have seen in the first time, I frighten a way from it. Every time I seen one coming to me, I jumped a way, thinking a tractor trailer going to run over me. I have all my old Nikons, F with prism only, x2, Nikkormat, Nikon EL2, F2, F3, FM2, FE2,x2, FA, the most beautiful Nikon ever, F90X. F5. A couple of months ago, I bought a black Nikon F, ( eBay, last minute bid.) with prism, in relatively good condition, with a 18mm f/4 AI lens, ( actually, I wanted the lens in the first place) almost mint, for the whole, a C$ 465.00+ shipping. The camera needed a CLR, and the prism a new vinyl. My camera repair friend did all the work for 45 dollar. He also said, the prism itself in this condition, around 200 dollar. Hurraaa! I didn't believe my luck, the lens itself cost used mach more. Now, I have a beautiful black "F" and I'm carrying all over, loaded with B&W film, and I'm so happy with. No light-meter and after 50 years of photography, I hardly need one. It is the most sexy and beautiful camera for me, now. So mach more fun to photograph with, rather then all my digital bodies. Nostalgia? Maybe. The feel of that machine is magic for me. The only attraction I have with, my younger friends fanny look. Some of them don't even know, they have a light meter in they camera. "A" . . . aperture priority, autofocus, most of the time. Enjoy your new tool Les. Very nice full portrait and a nice warm black tone. Excellent image.</p><div></div>

<p>Just imagine.<br>

An F3, or perhaps an F4, with the sensor of the D3X.<br>

No AF, no high speed shooting, simple.<br>

$1500.<br>

Chances of Nikon doing it?<br>

Zero.</p>

<p>Of all the Nikons I've owned or handled the F4 is actually my least favourite, and IMHO the least robust of all the pro Nikon bodies. Sure it <em>looks</em> the part and weighs a ton, but the top plate is a flimsy plastic affair that can crack like an egg, and I'm not keen on having to rely on batteries to wind on and rewind the film either.</p>

<p>So no, I don't think it has mystic powers. Treat it gently Les, and happy shooting.</p>

<p>There's so much to be said about this camera. Its Italian design, its ruggedness, its feature set. It says "photojournalism" more than any other camera. The T90, RTS III, OM-4Ti are all wonderful cameras - in some ways better than the F4 - but for me, the F4s, with its wonderfully designed battery pack, is an icon.</p>

 

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<p>And more knobs and dials than a Forties shortwave radio. I prefer that to all the bloody menus.</p>

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<p>Les, amen.</p>

<p>Bela, I love your F.</p>

 

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<p>The only attraction I have with, my younger friends fanny look.</p>

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<p>Umm... maybe change that to 'funny'. :-P But you are right: many people simply want to take snapshots, and they might not even know what AV or TV means. But that's okay, it's no sin. :-)</p>

<p>Ian, I tried suggesting an idea like yours but it didn't go well with the self-appointed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_the_Major-Generals">Major Generals</a> of PN.</p>

 

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<p>I'm not keen on having to rely on batteries to wind on and rewind the film either.</p>

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<p>RJ, I might agree with the first point, but even the F6 has manual rewind as an option. :-)</p>

<p><em>“Does the F4 Have Mystical Powers?”</em><em></em></p>

<p>It must have!</p>

<p>When I took my first F4 out on its first shooting assignment, I was surprised how it attracted more attention than the larger and heavier F2 that I had been using.</p><div></div>

<p>Oh, an F4 thread and I'm late to party, as usual.</p>

<p>If not mystical, it should have some other kind of powers, I mean, for some reasons the pictures I take with it are still the ones I like the most. And I just love the way it handles.</p>

<p>And it's true, go outside and people seems to be mystified by it, everybody is now used to small, digital P&Ss so when they see and feel what a camera used to look like, they feel compelled to sense it. Good conversation starter too.</p>

<p>I tried to anchor my sailboat with one once, but found it held poorly on a sandy bottom. I'm not sure what else it does, but I'm pretty sure it just involves taking pictures and weighing way too much.</p>