Nikon F100 Almost as Good as The F6

My beautiful F6 is for sell if anyone is interested. https://www.flickr.com/gp/75969628@N05/RBU961

I bought an F100 a few months ago, after going back and forth over whether to buy it or an F5. The F6 was out of my price range, so it wasn't even up for consideration. I finally decided on the F100 because it has most features that the F5 have -- features that I consider important -- plus it's more compact and weighs a lot less. But if for some reason I miss all that weight, I can always get an MB-15 grip for it. Haven't gotten the grip yet, but I'm still thinking about it.

 

Just for the sake of full disclosure, I also own an F4 and an N80, in addition to a variety of MF Nikons. The F4 is a beast, but it has great ergonomics, so the weight isn't as apparent. The N80 is just the opposite. Very light, very quiet.

 

I haven't had a chance to put much film through my F100 yet, but I have enjoyed it when I did. AF is very fast and accurate. Miles better than the F4's, especially when I'm shooting rapidly moving subjects. All in all, I'm happy with my purchase. Now, as for the F6, I'll probably add one to my collection one day -- a clean used one, once prices have (hopefully) dropped a bit further.

I suspect that for 95+% of us reading this forum, the limiting factor is us (the loose nuts behind the cameras <grin>). That would mean in our hands, the Fxxx is as good as the F6.

 

The one possible exception would be in flash photography. The F6 uses CLS while the F100 uses just TTL. I know when I got my F100 to replace my old FTn, the flash seemed "magic". The step up to CLS, while not as great, would be observable in many circumstances, especially multi-flash.

 

Jean-Claude, that is a very nice image, but I suspect it is mostly a product of the photographer, the lens, and the film and would look the same taken with an F100 or even an F4. (Of course having a photogenic subject helps, too.)

Interesting discussion over on flickr about a technician who is able to replace the plastic catch on the F100 film door with metal parts (as it should have had in the first place): Nikon F100 Broken Door Lock | I Shoot Film | Flickr

Interesting discussion over on flickr about a technician who is able to replace the plastic catch on the F100 film door with metal parts (as it should have had in the first place): Nikon F100 Broken Door Lock | I Shoot Film | Flickr

Looks like an out of country operation with costly shipping. I hope someone figures it out here, NIKON SHOULD, for the piss poor design. I love my F100 and still use it.

My F100's door latch appears to be sturdy enough. I take good care of my gear and I suppose if one doesn't beat the camera half to death, the latch might actually last a while.

My F100's door latch appears to be sturdy enough. I take good care of my gear and I suppose if one doesn't beat the camera half to death, the latch might actually last a while.

I was of the same opinion until my baby came apart spontaneously. When it happens, you will say the same thing I would say, wtf! I was careful because I had read the same stories and thought not me I take care of my geat. The bottom line is that plastic has a short stress life. The piece in question is in tension when in use and eventually this piece will fracture. It's science. ;-)

Hmm . . . I wonder if it can be repaired with JB Weld?

Hmm . . . I wonder if it can be repaired with JB Weld?

I tried JB Weld when mine went and it didn't work. Glueing plastic, even with JB Weld, is hard. I tried, JB Weld and several types of hot glue and it just did not work. I was sick to my stomach as I really love this camera. I even looked at buying a databack, but they were hard to find and when I found one, the cost was astronomical. In the end, I bought a broken F100 from Japan and stripped it of parts, including the back. I still use my F100, but my F6 has taken most of my use. If I could find a reasonably priced metal upgrade for my F100 back, I would do it.

I just got another idea. These days, with the prevalence of 3D printers, it seems the broken part could be duplicated easily enough. Might even be able to fabricate a metal replacement using that technology?

I just got another idea. These days, with the prevalence of 3D printers, it seems the broken part could be duplicated easily enough. Might even be able to fabricate a metal replacement using that technology?

I would like to see that. I would by a metal replacement.

Whatever part you printed, you'd still need to attach it to the rest of the back, which is the tricky bit. For those of us without the required skills, I suppose the best thing would be to track down a local technician who is prepared to do something a bit out of the ordinary - fabricate the catch from sheet metal and secure it to the back, as the guy in Manila seems to have done. The photo on the Flickr thread isn't that clear, but would probably be enough for a skilled technician to work out how to do something similar. For now, I have a spare data back I managed to find at a good price. I was tempted to buy a parts body at a camera fair the other week, which was apparently trashed by battery corrosion but (unlike most of the broken F100 bodies you see on ebay) had an intact back.

. . .For now, I have a spare data back I managed to find at a good price. I was tempted to buy a parts body at a camera fair the other week, which was apparently trashed by battery corrosion but (unlike most of the broken F100 bodies you see on ebay) had an intact back.

I look for them all the time for the same reason. If I find a deal I will snatch it up. They are getting harder and harder to find cheap.

F6 isnt a real one digit F as it lacks changeable viewfinders,

F100 was known as poor mans F5

so if you want the real thing go with F5^^

F6 isn't a real one digit F as it lacks changeable viewfinders,

F100 was known as poor mans F5

so if you want the real thing go with F5^^

Well, as the end of the line for one digit film cameras, perhaps the design team thought the changeable viewfinders unnecessary or even unpopular for the narrowing market of film photography. I wonder if Nikon figured that most professional photographers would be using digital for their business and their top of the line film camera would have a different market. The F5 was a poor man's F5 until the F6 showed up. :-)

I just keep buying F5's. I have three now and will add a 50th anniversary edition soon

IMO, interchangeable finders really were a legacy from the F/F2 era where the finder contained the "brains" of the meter(or lack thereof).

 

The F3 did allow you to choose between either a high magnification, low eyepoint finder or a high eyepoint finder with lower magnification. It's a choice I appreciate having, although ultimately I sold my F3HP and kept the low eyepoint version(despite wearing glasses, I appreciate the bigger and brighter LP image). By the F4 and F5 era, you handicap the camera in various ways using anything other than the standard eyelevel finder.

 

I know that for some folks, something like a chimney finder or action finder is very useful. I'm not one of those people-occasionally I do appreciate a waste level, in which case I'll use an F or F2. I can see myself using a chimney for macro work, but don't have one-I'm not sure whether I should go for an F2 so that I can use one of the special macro focusing screens, or an F3 so that I can get metering.

 

I have seen arguments that an interchangeable finder makes changing focus screens easy. This is certainly true, and I appreciate it on Fs and F2s where I have a bunch of special purpose screens. As cameras have become more advanced, the selection of alternative screens has become somewhat limited. I would love a K or L for the F4, but they are all but impossible to find. My F5 actually came with an L, and I ended up buying a standard screen since the L "hides" the center focus point and I use my F5 almost exclusively with AF lenses. Many folks will like a grid screen(E), but if you want one for your F6 you'll likely only change it once and honestly doing it through the mirror box isn't a huge deal.

 

I like the F5, and I guess I can claim to have two of them(although one doesn't actually have a place where you can even put a roll of film :) , even though it says Nikon and F5 on the front, and can use F5 accessories like finders and screens). If I needed-and had-the additional finders for it I'd use it.

 

Aside from that, I'd argue that Nikon's single digit cameras are more about build quality, and increasingly about things like weather sealing. The F6 is a much more solid camera than the F100 or really any other consumer camera. Not that the much loved FM/FE series cameras are exactly fragile, but you can feel a difference in build quality between them and their contemporary pro cameras, and the same is true of the F6. The F6 is more-or-less a digital D2, and things like weather sealing are every bit up to the same standard as those cameras.

I just keep buying F5's. I have three now and will add a 50th anniversary edition soon

They are certainly affordable! You would be crazy not to buy bunches of them! They are great cameras and the last of their breed.

I think that Nikon might just possibly have noticed that Canon was doing just fine with its EOS-1 and its non-interchangeable finder. Seems like the pros who were using the EOS-1/n/v never missed this feature.

 

Me personally, I'm an old atavistic anachronism. I like interchangeable finders. I actually own two accessory finders for my original Canon F-1s and two for my Nikon F2s. Replacing focusing screens through the mirror box is a fiddly affair and something that isn't easily done while out in the field (I do mostly outdoor photography), whereas dropping in another focusing screen is much easier to do.

Has anyone's F5 or F6 ever had sticky rubber? My F100 is slightly tacky (not worse than my maxxum 7), but still kinda annoys me

Has anyone's F5 or F6 ever had sticky rubber? My F100 is slightly tacky (not worse than my maxxum 7), but still kinda annoys me

Don't have a F5 and my F6 is new so not yet. Most, if not all of my other Nikon SLR's got sticky. I found the easiest solution was a combination of rubbing alcohol and Armor All. First get as much off with a alcohol damp cloth. Once you feel you got most of it off, use the Armor All. Again, put it on a cloth and DON"T spray or pour it on your camera. That worked for me.

My F6 is a low-ish serial number, so I'd guess it to be probably 2004-2010 production(although I'm not sure if there's any real data correlating SNs to production date). That means it's potentially close to 15 years old. The rubber shows no sign of stickiness. I have no idea when my F5 was made, but it's also is not at all sticky, nor is my Kodak DCS620(which didn't even bother with removing the F5 badging from the body when Kodak put digital guts in it).

 

I've also not seen sticky rubber on any D1 or D2 series cameras-I have a whole pile of D1s, D1Hs, and a D1X, along with a D2H, D2X, and D2Xs.

 

It seems to me that there are two things going on-first Nikon seems to have used better rubber on their single digit cameras, and also they seem to have mostly fixed the problem that plagued a lot of 90s cameras. To the first point, as I mentioned I've not seen an F5 with sticky rubber, nor have I seen an F4 with it. By contrast, finding an N90 without it is seemingly impossible, and the N80 doesn't seem much better. The F100 at least isn't as bad as the N90-I know my N90 is pretty well permanently branded as belonging to me because it has my fingerprints basically molded in to it.

I don't know how old my F100 is, but it is showing no signs of the sticky rubber syndrome yet. Now, my N80 on the other hand -- it was a sticky mess when I bought it. A mess, because all sorts of stuff stuck to it. Took me a while to clean off all the gunk. To take care of the stickiness, I used talcum powder. I lightly dusted my hands with it, then just "handled" the camera thoroughly. The talc becomes translucent, so you don't see it. That was a few years ago, and the stickiness hasn't returned.

Very old thread, but why not? I bought an F100 following my romance with an F4. Used it without problems for years, without problems and extensive travel in India. Worked perfectly. But I could not help myself and bought an F6, which I love. Only problems is that I will never be able to use many if not most of its abilities. So now I have booth cameras and will take them both if I ever travel again. Use AF-D lenses BTW.

YOLO, Arthur(You Only Live Once). Frankly, the late vintage Nikon film bodies(N90s/F90x, F100. F6) were true gems. Their magic didn't wholly transfer into their DSLR descendants for some time.For my $, the D7200 is true to the breed. It's the last Nikon camera I bought before switching to Fuji after a rethink of what suited me and how I shot. Enjoy!