Nikon f 50 vs f100

[Ian Rance]

<p>Richard mentioned the sticky rear grip on the F100. I have not seen an F100 since 2012 that did not have this happen to them and it does mess up the camera. I have a rear door for mine on back-order and I don't suppose that order will ever be filled...</p>

<p>These days I would recommend the F6 as an autofocus film camera to go for. It was the very finest and can use the modern flash guns along with having the very best metering ever put in a film body.</p>

[Richard Williams]

<blockquote>

<p>Richard mentioned the sticky rear grip on the F100. I have not seen an F100 since 2012 that did not have this happen to them and it does mess up the camera. I have a rear door for mine on back-order and I don't suppose that order will ever be filled...</p>

</blockquote>

<p> With mine, the back was really quite sticky after extended storage in a camera bag - maybe the rubber isn't completely stable over time (possibly exacerbated by outgassing in a confined space), or perhaps there was some interaction with other polymers in the bag. In my case, simply leaving the camera sitting on an open shelf for a few weeks reduced the stickiness significantly, and it's now at an acceptable level, so that I'm happy to use it again. Various treatments have been suggested for more severe cases (the problem is not confined to the F100), but I haven't tried them. Odd that it doesn't seem to have affected the front grips at all - the camera back is probably where you're most likely to have an issue, either this grip 'stickiness', or dirty contacts on the multi-selector, or a broken plastic door latch. Spares may now be hard to find. It would be great to have an F6, of course, but it's probably going to be 3-4x the price of an F100. The F5 is more affordable, overlapping with the high end of the F100 price range - great camera, but larger and heavier than I'd want to carry around all day. The F80 would be another (very cheap) option - a sort of 'baby F100' that's also compatible with modern AF-S and VR lenses, though the viewfinder, AF and general handling aren't as good.</p>

[Ian Rance]

<p>Yes Richard - I noticed that too - leave the camera out of the bag and the stickiness fades. What a shame Nikon stopped selling parts or it would have been a doddle to just fit a new door.<br>

As to the F80, they are indeed excellent but something I found was they could scratch the film. There was a mod kit that was easily retro-fitted, supposedly to prevent this, however whenever I had a scratched film it was always in the F80. I liked to think it was just a bad co-incidence but other people did notice this issue.<br>

I have the F5 and agree it is a great camera. Again, before the Nikon clampdown on spares I re-rubbered mine with new panels - made a worn camera look like brand new.<br>

As to the F6, it really is a lovely bit of kit. What with the split screens available, colour matrix metering and solid in the hand feeling it is kind of a 'the only camera you will ever need'.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Hi Joana, sorry that we are drifting off your original topic. Clearly there are several different opinions, but I hope we have provided enough suggestions to help you make a good choice. The only preference that matters is yours.</p>

[joseph_krause]

<p>Hi Joana,<br>

To follow-up on what Shun Cheung recently posted about staying on topic, let me just summarize some of the points made above which I can confirm from personal experience. 1) Good lenses are more important than camera bodies and today there are many older Nikon prime lenses available at bargain prices; 2) the F100 has many of the useful features of the later film autofocus Nikon cameras but its outer rubberized cover is prone to stickiness over time and, 3) there are some great deals to be had with a bit of searching for some classic Nikon film camera: the Nikon F3 is a reliable camera that I still use today. Good luck with film! </p>

[pete_s.]

<p>I have a F50 too and I think you should also consider the F80.</p>

<p>The F80 is newer than the F100. It doesn't have the same solid build and lack some features compared to the F100. But on the other hand it is a much, much lighter camera to carry around. About the same weight as the F50. And still very capable.</p>

<p>The F80 is a lot easier to use than the F50. It's handles the same way as most modern digital enthusiast cameras like the D7200 and D610/750.</p>

<p>It will probably be a lot cheaper to get than the F100 I believe. I didn't pay much for mine and did often use two cameras so I actually have several F80s. It works fine with modern hot shoe flash units up to SB600 and SB800 but not the newer SB700/710/900/910 I think.<br>

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/filmcamera/slr/f80/</p>

 

[tom_boston1]

<p>The F100 is $100 USD at keh.com - They don't seem to carry the F50 or F80. That should tell you something about the relative value of the bodies.<br /><br />I had the F100 sticky grip problem too. I thought I was brilliant cleaning it by wrapping the surfaces with clear shipping tape and "peeling" off the stickiness. But maybe taking it out of the box was the only thing that fixed it.</p>

[pete_s.]

<p>Tom, the F50 and F80 is called N50 and N80 in the US. The cheapest N80 on keh.com is $23. I only found the F100 for $199 at keh.com.</p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<p>About 15 years ago, back in year 2000 or so, the F100 was a US$1000 film SLR, new, and the N80 about $300. Today, the price for those film SLRs is almost negligible. If the OP is sensitive to cost, I would pay attention to film and processing cost. When you shoot 10, 20 rolls, it'll easily exceed the cost of the camera body. Another thing to keep in mind is that the F80/N80 uses two CR123A batteries. When you buy a few batteries, it'll exceed the value of the F80/N80 camera body today. That is partly why the N80 is not very desirable now. The good thing about the F100 is that it uses 4 AA batteries, very convenient.</p>

[pete_s.]

<p>Usage of film is way different today than it was 15 years ago. Today B&W is king and that's also what the art students use here. The film is processed by the students just like most shooters process their own B&W film as well. It's not about burning lots of rolls, shooting sports with high fps or taking every possible family snapshot to put in an album.</p>

<p>I do understand why you mention batteries though, because the F100 is a battery hog. The N80/F80 is however not - you'll get at least 30 rolls out of a set of the tiny lithium batteries it uses. You'll get about 12 of them for $10 with free shipping so $10 for 300 rolls is not a cost at all.</p>

<p>And I wouldn't call the F100 desirable today. No, for the typical B&W shooter I think it's the manual focus cameras like the FM3A that are desirable today. That and a couple of nice AI or AI-S lenses. But to horses for courses :-)</p>

[Richard Williams]

<p>When I was using the F100 heavily, I always bought lithium AAs. Nikon claims 40-110 rolls of film (depending on exact usage) from one set of these batteries at 20C (less in the cold). I think I typically got dozens of rolls from a single set, but always kept spares handy - the 'fuel gauge' goes quite quickly from half-full to empty. I can see the attraction of the full-on analogue experience (those K1000s beloved of photo schools probably still have a few years of life in them), but of course it can also be handy to have something that works the same way as the dSLR you probably also own, with all the convenience of fast AF etc.</p>

[dweezil]

<p>Guy's really! The F80, while being able to use newer lenses is no real substitue for the F100. I've used both and there is no comparing.<br>

For AF the F100 is a beast where the F80 is a snail. Even the F4 focuses faster. As for batteries, the F80 uses the expensive cr123 batteries or you sould get it with a battery grip. I do not know where you get it from that the F100 is a battery hog but mine is doing fine for months, and any sensible person should use using rechargeable batteries by now. <br>

As for cost, yes the F100 is a bit more expensive but for around 250 € you should be able to get one that is in great shape.</p>

 

[Richard Williams]

<p>I don't disagree that the F100 is definitely preferable. I went from the F100 to the D70, which has the same AF module as the F80, and the difference was obvious (the central cross sensor is actually pretty good, but the side sensors tend to hunt). On the other hand, an F80 today costs less than a decent media card, and it's also smaller, lighter and quieter than the F100. I do prefer AA batteries, but even in Europe you can pick up packs of (e.g.) ten major brand CR123s for £11 on Amazon UK (probably enough to put 150 rolls of film through the F80, which takes 2xCR123) so the cost of the batteries is trivial compared to the other consumables.</p>

[glen_h]

<p>I also recommend that you look at the FM and related cameras. They have view screens designed for manual focus, and are otherwise fine cameras.</p>

<p>My most recent camera is an EL-2, I believe what came before the FE. I also have an FT3, just before the FM. Both seem to work just fine, and are very affordable.</p>