david_kelly1 Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Light, rugged and easy on batteries,The F100 has been the camera of choice for Photographers like the late Galen Rowell, Steve McCurry and others who carry all their own gear and often work in harsh conditions far from power sources. My friend Gary Braasch just finished a book on global warming shot mostly in the polar regions- he left his digital gear at home and used F100s powered by lithium AAs, I don't see anything in Nikon's new lineup suitible for weeks or months in Antactica, the Congo or Tibet. What does Nikon have to offer this sort of documentary shooter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofey_kalakar Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 FM3A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Well, the F100 haven't disappeared from the market just because Nikon is not making new ones. There are still plenty on shelves and a used F100 is going for little more than $300 on eBay. Nikon is also offering support for film slrs for at least 10 years, so I don't think this workhorse of a camera is going to leave the scene anytime soon for those who really need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik_loza Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Seeing as how Nikon has just disco'd the production of most film cameras, isn't this sort of moot? Your friend (or you) could buy an F6, which it seems that Nikon will be selling for a while. Or, your friend (or you) could stock up on F100's, which are pretty readily available on the used market for about $400 if you were that worried about it. Or, buy a couple of F5's, which have a documented duty life of 1,000,000 exposures, for $500-$600. I am an avid outdoor shooter and pretty rough on my gear, though not as rough as these guys you have mentioned and the F5 (or even pro-sumer N90/F90) is as rugged as I'll ever need and not all that heavy, either. What is the reason for asking this question? I'm curious because there are so many solutions available that I can't believe a guy who puts food on the table as a photographer would worry about it. And if film was his preferred medium, he could just purchase another brand of gear if that's what it came down to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad_w Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Solar powered chargers, DC inverters and 9V chargers are all readily available. Modern DLSR battery life is excellent, generally 1000+ frames per charge. I know at least one D70 that went on a three month alpine expedition to the Indian Himalaya. Keep in mind that all the locations you list have significant infrastructure. -b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_kelly1 Posted January 15, 2006 Author Share Posted January 15, 2006 Thanks Brad for actually answering my question. I didn't realize dslrs were so economical of power. Of course I know that there are F100s and (also discontinued)FM3as in the pipeline but that's temporary. I asked in the first place because Nikon sponsored Everest and K2 expeditions for decades and otherwise positioned itself as *the* camera to take when heading out back of beyond, and now seemed to have axed its best field cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 An F6 without the battery pack on bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 An F6 without the battery pack on bottom. it is roughly the same size (probably a little more weight) than the F100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_linstead Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Just to add to David's comment: I think the fact that these cameras are still seemingly so much in service (you can click on 'image information' on the Natinal Geo. web site and more often than not it was taken with an F5 or F100 or EOS) makes the sudden retirement of film body production all the more staggering. I just bought a new f100 last june...And to add insult to injury, I had to sell my 8-track player and beta VCR to get it! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka_nissila Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Yeah, obviously it's the F6. Enjoy the extra features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_hall1 Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Well, the F6 is a sensational camera that is likely to come down in price but the subject says consider its weight. In fact consider these quick numbers Nikon F6 34.4 ounces and Mamiya 7 II 32.4 ounces... A lighter weight Nikon pro camera (going forward) ? I could see an F100 with a little sophistication taken out, or an N80 with a metal body, or an FM3A kitted with the detachable motor drive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitmstr Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 According to <a href=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1686581,00.html>this </a>there won't be any more film cameras from Nikon. That could mean cheap buys for remaining stock or...expensive buys for collectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_champoux Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I personally haven't seen big differences in build quality between the professional models and the prosumer grade. Yes, the pros have metal bodies but it's not a habit of mine to be dropping my cameras frequently. I've run some of my prosumer cameras through adverse conditions (fine sand, snow, torrential rains, freezing rain, brutal cold)and they all continued to function. I'm currently working in Antarctica and during the coldest days of the winter, the D70 was bulletproof. Granted, I haven't left it outside overnight and attempted a photo shoot in the morning but I have had it outside all day long in very cold conditions and it functioned normally other than the lcd screen being sluggish. As for batteries, I agree that the F100 seems to go on and on with one set of batteries but I've been very happy with my D70. There are ways around the power issue, tho. First, I've used rechargeables versus throw-away lithiums for environmental reasons. And, other than explorers, everyone coming to Antarctica has a power supply. For other locales, there are the lieghtweight, backpackable solar panels for recharging power supplies. Cheers, -bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_kelly1 Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 Given Bob's experience it looks like the answer to my question is "the D200." at 28 oz it's only an ounce more than the F100 and apparently made to at least the same standard, or better. Case closed, probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Giampi, the Guardian story is fluff and the worst kind of reporting. Apparently the writer didn't do any research and merely jumped off the same cliff as the web rumor mill mongerers. Read the actual press release on the Nikon USA site (and other Nikon sites): http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=130907&TICK=NIKON&STORY=/www/story/01-11-2006/0004247596&EDATE=Jan+11,+2006 Nikon says they are "reshaping" their lineup and specifically said that they will continue to carry the F6, the Cosina-made FM-10 and the 85mm f/2.8 PC-Nikkor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaius1 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 The F6 certainly gets fewer rolls per set of batteries than the F5 (I know it's not really fair to compare 2xCR123s with 8xLi AAs) but still - we're talking 10s of rolls vs 100s of rolls. I don't go out with my F6 without a spare set or two - I'll happily take the risk with the F5 if the indicator is showing full. I know there's a battery grip for the F6, but I don't trust it not to compromise the environmental seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salvatore.mele Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I have done some shooting in arctic regions (FM2N and F100, solar-charging the latter), and I would have shared David's concerns if we were talking about a no-power device to carry in hostile regions: it is worrying that those manual workhorses will not be produced anymore! However, I fail to see the problem in the F100 vs. F6 vs. digital discussion: the F100 does need some power, and even more so if you use lots of AF in cold weather, and we seem to be talking weeks or months. Now, once you can solar-charge one of these cameras, you can solar-charge them all. To me the matter is rather how much gear you can carry with you to deploy solar panels or how many spare lithium AAs you can really pack, rather than what you are going to power with them. Moreover, often you have to power flashlights, GPS's, VHF radios, satellite phones and a few other gadgets: for remote-location shooting I would believe that powering a camera is not the dominating part of the equation. A funny thought: there are already hand-chargers for mobile phones... you turn the wheel long enough and your battery comes up. For as tedious as it can look, I do not exclude you can hack something to charge your camera batteries this way as well! A final remark: once you've enough power, digital storage might have an edge in volume of gear to bring along over film storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglas_green1 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Why do you need to replace the F100? Plenty are available at great prices new, and plenty more are available in great condition and at great prices used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolan_ross Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Canon wins. I can't see such an investment in travel and photography going into the used market for their gear. The National Geographic type photographer will pick Canon for their film shooting equipment and it makes since to use their DSLR gear also. Canon is going to take it all apparently. Their is Leica for a truly rugged gear if the lens limitations will work for the photographer. Nolan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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