Grey market F5

i'm ready to purchase an F5, has anyone had any experience with the

grey market products from B&H?

ive been watching several F5's on an "online Auction" , they're

running about 1-$1.2K for 6 mos. to two year old equipment. i would

have thought it would be cheaper then that used.

or should i just go the 1.9K for new USA model..

any horror stories out there?

thanks

Doug

The secondhand market is simple supply and demand. I suspect the price for F5s will not go much lower than that - Otherwise why not just buy a new F100 ? Unless you have a damn good reason to buy the F5 the F100 represents the better camera.

The N70/80/90/100 although nice, are simply not F cameras. I would actually encourage getting a grey market F5. It goes through the same testing, R&D, and production that the "US" goes through (at less of a cost to you).

There's more than meets the eye in the F5.

 

It actually works - do a search on photo.net on problems with the F100. You will find quite a few stories.

 

The F5 exposes correctly with Ai(-S) lenses (and tubes and bellows) unlike the F100. It also has MLU. So, unless you have a very specific need for the lower weight or the bright markers in the focusing screen of the F100, go for the F5.

I bought my F5 last month (used for 1.2K) and did a side by side comparison with F100's and Minolta Maxxum 7's matrix metering. 80% of the time all of them showed same exposure. So the new camera's matrix metering is much better than it used to be. In 1996 when F5 came out it was a surprise. Not any more I guess. But some difficult situations F5 dominated. Back light F5 was much better than F100, but slightly worse than Maxxum 7. This is when you take a person's photo in strong backlight, F100 was under exposed and F5 and Maxxum 7 was acceptable. Maxxum 7 showed 1/3 stop more. I would say Maxxum 7 was better than F5. Night scenes F5 dominated. Except one shot everything else were perfect. Bright sunny day white subject with snow and sky background F5 was better than rest of them. F5 showed light meter's reading. F100 and Maxxum 7 were slightly under exposed but acceptable.

 

I've compared only matrix metering because I shoot birds. I wanted a camera which I can point and shoot. F5 is the one for me. If you don't need this, then F100 is good enough. (

though it's missing the MLU)

 

Good luck

I think Doug had already made up his mind on the F5 (for whatever reasons) and was merely asking for advice on B&H grey and pricing.

 

I would say tha grey market new from B&H is a lot safer than used. At least you get a one-year warranty from B&H. After that you can't get it repaired by Nikon. I think other good repair shops will work with it though.

 

As far as used, KEH has an F5 in like new minus condition for $1370, which seems a lot better deal than the online auctions. (KEH has a return policy, for one thing.)

 

If you go the used route, it might be difficult to know whether the camera was originally US or grey (or purchased overseas, which is as good as US).

 

If you do want advice as between the F100 and F5, just say the word and you will get dozens of passionate responses. You don't even have to say what you plan to use the camera for :)

The main issue you will face is that Nikon USA will not touch this camera, even if you pay them. Unlike the D1 series cameras, the F5 has been out since 1996 and there are many competant repairmen that can service the camera should something go wrong.

 

As an amateur, I would feel confident with a grey market F5. If you are pro (or aspiring) don't expect access to any of the fast turnaround from NPS, loaners or other benefits.

I think you are in the same boat as I was a few years back. New?, Used?

Gray? Used Gray? Blah... So much to think about and consider. I bought an

excellent condition used grey market F5 on E-ba-y for $800 (including an

85mm f1.8 AF Nikkor) yes, $800, but those deals are few and far between. I

had the camera checked by a service tech and everything is fine. He said the

camera has had about 30,000 exposures since new. Two years later, and

thousands of rolls, it's still going strong. I also purchased a brand new Grey

Market F5 from a reputable seller on e-ba-y, and it serves as my back up.

Again, no problems thus far. You save so much money when you buy used,

even if you do have to send the camera in for repair down the road, you saved

quite a bit initially. think about it, and check around!

In addition to the superior metering, there are a couple of points for buying an F5: Full frame viewing and prism removal for screen access. I see no reason to pay an $800 premium for a new USA model over a good "like new". There are still many places that will repair out-of-warrenty Nikon cameras. The former Nikon facility in the Chicago area will still repair, at standard rates, any model irrespective of original importer. (I bought an almost-new F5 last year for $1300 including MN-30 battery and charger.) With the Ni-MH battery, it does not seem very heavy, and with lithiums it is even lighter.

The F5 also has 'better' glue (or tape stripes) holding the camera covering on the frame.

 

The ability to have your camera serviced by Nikon USA is nil with the grey-market F5...but the camera is made by good technicians in Japan for pro use.

well folks, the only interaction i've ever had with Nikon USA is when i had my D100 firmware upgraded, all my other nikon equipment has performed perfectly. long past the warranty coverage. it appears i can buy a grey market F5 with a three year mack warranty for less then 1.7K. thanks for all your input and suggestions, also the person who suggested an F100, i felt like the F5 focused faster and i really prefered the feel of the F5 in my hand, other then that they seemed comparable...regards

Doug

Glorioski! After an F5 is out of warranty, there is no reason to have to fool around with Nikon USA. Any good camera repair shop can fix them in the unlikely chance that something goes wrong. When mine needed a CLA a while back I took it to NCS in Morton Grove where they have consistently done fine work. The man who owns NCS worked in the Nikon center in Morton Grove before they sold it out.

 

Perhaps if it was a new camera purchase I would weigh the Nikons USA option with care but not with a used product. There are too many alternatives that are just as good as Nikon USA and most of the time less expensive.

 

Conni

Glorioski??????

An exclamation of shock and surprise acceptable in the classroom. The usual things you might say would cast aspersions on your background and/or character. I also use it when I'm happily surprised. Useful.

 

Conni