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Nikon F4 vs F100: which is more silent?


Karim Ghantous

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<p>I had an F100 but sold it as I never used it. What little film I was shooting was done with a Contax RTS. The F100 is not what I would call a discrete camera. So how does the F4 compare? It's my understanding that it is one of the most silent SLRs ever made. This could come in handy. Of course a Leica would be the better choice, except that I would use the F4 with a 70-200mm zoom.</p>
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<p>I have no recollection of there being much of a difference between the two. From what I've read, the F6 would be the one to look for with regard to quiet (silent is not the right word anyway, not even a Leica is silent. Nothing can be "more"silent - it either is silent (not making any sound) or it isn't) operation in an SLR.</p>
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<p>I used both at the same time, but it has been a few years now. Like Dieter, I don't recall a significant difference in noise level between them. Neither one is what I would call discrete with respect to shutter/mirror noise or film advance. The F4 does have a "continuous silent" advance mode that is quieter than the normal single frame advance mode, but it's far from silent.</p>
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<p>The F100 was a very versatile camera...it has been described as a castrated F5 (which I don't agree with....just some differences in weight and overall versatility). My Contax RX has a reasonably quiet shutter, but the automatic film wind is guaranteed to attract attention...smooth, but definitely noticeable sound of a mechanism advancing film. I can't comment about the F6, but IF it sounds like the F5, it is a quick loud wind of the film after each exposure -but the shutter itself isn't particularly loud. The F4 is by no means anything approaching a silent SLR. It has a distinct sharp click - with a very quick wind of the film - about average noise level. If you're looking for a "silent" film SLR to use with you Nikon lenses , I suggest you think more about a manual wind body, perhaps a F3.</p>
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<p>The F4 had a silent mode, which consisted of rather slow single shot autowind, but it's wasn't particularly silent. When shooting some ballet performances in a small venue, I was way more comfortable using a manually-wound F3HP than the F4 - the trade off being, of course, giving up the F4's viewfinder display - the F3's display is useless in low light. The lads at Nikon must have designed the F3's VF "illuminator" during happy hour.</p>
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<p>I've recently purchased a Nikon N80. I haven't put any film through it yet, so I don't know how loud it is when winding film. But its shutter is very quiet. Probably the quietest of any SLR I own, including the F4. I really like the feature suite of the N80 -- it's a very versatile camera, but film wind speed is only about 3-3.5 fps. It was Nikon's last prosumer film camera. Might be worth a look. They can be picked up for very cheap on eBay these days. I think I paid about $40 for mine -- in mint condition, no less.</p>

 

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<p>of the recent nikon AF cameras, the N80 is by far the quietest of the bunch.<br /> There is not a big difference between the F100 and F4, but the F100 is slightly quieter, but not by much over the F4. Auto focus is louder on the F4 compared to the F100 with D lenses, but they are the same with modern internal focus AF-S lenses. using the CS mode in my mind makes no difference in sound, but in cold weather it keeps static charge possibility across the film down. The sound of the F4 is more impressive though. It just sounds solid, if that makes any sense.</p>

<p>john</p>

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<p>"The F100 is not what I would call a discrete camera. So how does the F4 compare?"</p>

<p>To answer this original question, the F4 is quieter. I bought an F100 coming from an N70 and was surprised at how loud the F100 was. In 2003 I bought an F4s and it has a really nice, quiet shutter release.</p>

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