any replacement for the F100 on the horizon?

[stephen t]

I'm considering getting an F100, and wonder if a new replacement is

around the corner, e.g., an F200???

 

Anybody heard any rumors?

[frank uhlig]

You may have heard of the F 6? That's the one to get if you are dissatisfied with the F 100.

[gary_watson]

Get two minty F100s, a pile of film and stop worrying about what Nikon is highly unlikely to do. Better still, look for a new-ish F6 and an F100 as a back-up. You're missing too much by obsessing about such nonsense.

[john schroeder]

I would not hold my breath waiting for a replacement for the F100.

[leeblackman]

ROFL... I just got my F5 and sent my F100 to get the broken back fixed on it. And hopefully resolve the self time issue for once and for all.

 

Maybe you should get an F5. I got mine in like new condition for $500. Its a later model, and had less than 1000 shutter cycles when I bought it.

 

I'm so used the F100, that I still try to change film the same way in the F5, but it has two levers and a winder to pull up. But I still love it. Once I bought that vertical grip for the F100, a camera without one just doesn't feel right anymore.

 

I really would like to see an F200 in the future, but I think that the F6 was a supprise enough in itself. I honestly have no clue where the 35mm slr market will be in the next few years as we start to see the, to some, out-of-reach digital slrs become more reachable. There may end up being no market for the F200, or at least no enough of one to justify its production.

 

When I can pickup an excellent condition Nikon D1x for under 1k, I will probably stop shooting 35 for alot of applications I currently use it for.

[goemon]

Arguably the F100's successor is the F6.

[joe c.]

Might it not be more likely that there would be a Nikon N85 or F95; that is, a camera positioned between the current N80 and F100 bringing in the D100's AF system, the new i-TTL flash, etc.?

 

The F200 as described would be more likely to cannibalize the F6 as the others have noted.

 

I just got my F100, so there is plenty there for me to still learn and have fun with. You might enjoy one as well.

[harvey_edelstein1]

I would not be surprised if the F100 was discontinued soon. I think that it was kept alive by folks who didn't like the viewfinder and build quality of the d70 and the 4mp on the d2h. Now with the D200 here only those of us who want and are waiting for a FF Nikon dslr would be interested in the same grade level film camera. Those who want an upgrade should either get a good used F5 since they are so cheap or like me wait for a $1500 F6 new.

 

I see film Nikons really being phased out now with the D200 so enjoy the F100 for years to come as a backup for your dslr in the future and as the black and white film segment camera for your shooting. I just went thru the galleries on photo.net and there are still a lot of great black and white photos being shown. Digital only gets your work done faster not really better. I still would love an F6 and I am sure most DSLR fans would not return one if it was under their tree this morning as a gift.

[joe c.]

Of course, I was referring above to the ***D200's*** new AF system (Nikon Multi-CAM 1000) and i-TTL capabilities -- not the D100's.

[hash]

AFAIK there is no rumour of any new film SLR from anybody. This has been the state of things for quite a while that when Nikon released F6 some people questioned the wisdom of that move.

[lex_jenkins]

I can't see why Nikon would replace the F100 since it's already an excellent camera. I'm sure a couple of tweaks would be welcomed, such as updated AF. Some of us might prefer traditional foam or felt light seals to the baffles. But neither is a deal breaker.

[ShunCheung]

Essentially the D200 is the "replacement" for the F100. Previously a lot of prosumer types were still holding off for a DSLR because they were either too expensive (D2X) or not well made enough (D70, D70s, D50). With used F100's below $400 and used F5's not that much more, it is very difficult for Nikon to sell new F100's or any other prosumer film SLR, thus the recent $200 rebates.

[roman_p]

Is D200 the "replacement" for the F100??? Sounds weird and for my opinion it is nonsense.

 

When digital bodies are becoming absolute even before they celebrate their first anniversary of production and when quality of your pictures depends on numbers of pixels which are in direct proportion to thousands of dollars of investment, in this state such a "modern digital technology" doesn't look optimistic at all.

 

Thanks for Canon all digitals bodies will be full sensor within 2 years or so. From this point when Nikon released D200, it did not look to be the smart move either (not mention about the replacement of F100). I won't be surprised if in the next year we will see upgrated D200 (or D3X/h) with full sensor for the price about $4000 USD or so. But by that time Canon will introduce EOS 3D (full sensor, of course) for the price of $2000 USD. The battle rages on. Obviously in 5 years all full sensor bodies will be much cheaper. While we are waiting for 5 years we need to keep shooting and develop our photography skills somehow without wasting our money for new multimillion pixel sensors, softwares and RAM's and constantly fighting with the crushes, viruses, file corruptions, idiotic error messages, "plug and pray" and etc. And I see we need new film SLR's.

 

I strongly believe that Nikon already has F200 (or F85) ready for the production. Will we see it released I don't know. Everything depends on next move from Microsoft, Adobe or other our world rulers. And nobody is going to ask us what we really need.

 

Currently I have two AF bodies - F100 and F4S. Next year I am going to trade them for a new F6 which is going to replace both of it (I have a third body - FM3a). I am not expecting any new film camera from Nikon in this class. For those who are still waiting for a new F200 I wish good luck! Keep the faith!

 

And for all my fellows' photographers around the Globe I wish Happy New Year!

[paul_sauer]

In my opinion, F100 is as perfect of an electronic film camera as there can be -- light,

solid, high performance.

 

The FM2 is the perfect mechanical 35mm camera, which would only be improved by a spot

meter.

 

I suspect D200 is the perfect DSLR.

[Mike_R1664876643]

Stephen, my guess is that Nikon will soon come out with an F100 replacement, possibly using the D200 body to reduce R&D costs. I think Nikon sent a message with the F6 that it isn't putting all its eggs in the digital basket, at least not yet. Nikon seems to be balancing the film/digital market extremely well.

[jwenting]

As others have stated there's no need to replace the F100.

It's as close to the perfect camera as you can get and it should do well in production even 10 years from now.

Personally I don't understand the decision to create and market the F6 unless it was intended to (and failed to) replace the F5 which is similar in its segment.

 

If and when Nikon decides to pull the F100 I may well do whatever it takes to buy a second one just so I have a backup in case my F100 fails in another 15-20 years.

 

Try that with DSLRs where you're pushed into a mainly artificial upgrade path, buying a new camera every other year if not more frequently which by its very existence reduces the tradein value of your current camera to nearly nothing.

[toan_nguyen]

Why? Is there still a big enough market for the F100 replacement?

[joe c.]

Edwin Leong has provided a very thoughtful response to this discussion -- see his December 29, 2005, posting at www.camerahobby.com in the What's New section.

 

Enjoy!

[ilkka_nissila]

One reason the F5 was replaced with the F6 was because Nikon has a new flash system, CLS, which allows wireless multiple flash photography in an elegant way and 50% of wedding photogs are still using film. Also, there are lots of people who object to the built-in vertical grip which makes the F5 a heavy and large camera. The replaceable viewfinder of the F5 was replaced by a fixed, higher quality viewfinder in the F6. And the autofocus system was upgraded to the highly elegant Multi-CAM 2000.

 

The F100 upgrade would most likely be a lighter version of the F6, with Multi-CAM 2000 and CLS flash photography support but no MLU.

 

The only reason the F6 hasn't replaced the F5 is cost. I would replace my F5 without second thought if I were a bit richer. Personally the F5 is just way too big and the autofocus system is too "edgy" and primitive.

[ShunCheung]

<I>The F100 upgrade would most likely be a lighter version of the F6, with Multi-CAM 2000 and CLS flash photography support but no MLU.</I>

<P>

If Nikon produced such as camera, there would be almost no reason to buy an F6 unless you are a collector. It isn't like the F6 were flying off the shelf to begin with. The market for film SLR is dwindling rapidly. Nikon simply cannot afford to spend so much R&D resources on now a niche market. Meanwhile, they are already behind and slow on the rapidly developing digital arena.

[ilkka_nissila]

Shun, in what way is Nikon "behind" in the digital market? They've got a DSLR or two in every market and as far as I can tell they are flying off the shelves. Calumet in Cambridge got 19 D200s in the first shipment and they were all sold in advance so I couldn't even take a look at the camera. Many of my friends and colleagues are buying D50s and D70s in numbers. And without any influence from me - you know what I think about the viewfinders of these models. The ratio of Nikon vs. Canon consumer DSLRs among the people I know personally is like 3:1. They all say they bought the Nikon because it felt more solid. And look at other manufacturers who are nowhere near Nikon and Canon's market share even in consumer DSLRs. I wouldn't say Nikon is behind in any other respect but introducing primes with proper AF-S motors. (And there they're behind by 15 years or so ...)

 

I don't see a strong need for a F100 replacement - I was merely speculating what the upgrade would have in terms of features. The motivation of the upgrade? Nikon has said (in an interview discussing the D200) that the F6 will not be the last film SLR and the F100 is already quite old for a prosumer SLR.

[ShunCheung]

Ilkka, you seem to have forgotten that Nikon is only finally shipping the D200 this month, after the competition already had a prosumer DSLR well over a year. In this very forum, there has been endless complaints on the lack of a D200 throughout 2005 until the November 1 announcement, and a lot people who could not wait switched to the competition. Additionally, Nikon still has not produced any sports/action DSLR with 8 frames/sec and has more than 4MP while 8 to 12MP is required for a lot of professional work, such as stock agency demands.

[ilkka_nissila]

Yes, but the D200 is now available although you may need to wait a bit for it. I really wonder how many people really need 8 MP at 8 fps, so that 5 fps at 10 or 12 MP is not adequate. Nikon doesn't produce cameras for every specialized need. Neither does Canon, for example Canon doesn't have a 200-400/4, they only make a few manual focus lenses, they don't have a high-end small-sensor DSLR, they don't have a fast standard zoom for small-sensor DSLRs, they make wide angles which make some users put adapters to use 3rd party lenses instead of the Canon lenses. And so on.

[tassos_papandreou]

I do believe that an upgrade for the F100 will hurt the market for the F6, since there only major differences are the focusing, metering and lighting system. An upgrate of the F100 that would be a worthy replace for the F100 would have to include all three differences. Well, guess what.... that camera would also be a worthy replacement for the F6 aswell. Hence if it is marketed at 1000 or 1100 USD (which was the original price of the F100) nowone would consider buying the F6. If it's price at more than 1300 (highly unlikely), then everyone would buy the F6 instead of the F200, hense there would be now room for such camera!

 

cheers...

[wj_lee]

It seem certain that all film cameras will die out but will it actually happen? The only reason I say this is becaus of this: digital cameras tends to become obsolete within couple of years and many people are getting pretty angry at the fact that their state of the art camera becomes a dinosaur in couple of years. Of course there is nothing wrong with your existing dslr, it will still take great pictures, but their will always be the urge to to get the higher megapixel brand new state of the art cameras.

 

Something which digital cameras lack at the moment is stability and it is very disconcerting for people who want a camera that will "last". That is where I think somewhere down the line we might actually get a "digital film" wich can turn every existing film camera into a digital one. There has been a failed attempts already due to lack of technology, but that might not be the case in 10 years time.

 

On second thought, this digital film probably won't happen but we might get DSLRs where you can easily replace and upgrade sensors. This will prolong the life of your existing DSLR investment.