robert_williams14

Hi guys. Just found two of them in box. One sems to be brand new, while the

other has seen light wear and is in overall excellent condition. As you know,

these are impossible to come by. I just got lucky and found three in a

mom-and-pop store. Kept one for myself. I am going to list them on the big

auction site, but wanted to give my friends in the Forum first dibd. Email me if

you're interested at jaqdripper@aol.com and we'll work out a deal.

Cheers.

Rob

Never bought demo from Cameta but bought a brand new F5 when they bought up all of Nikon's inventory after the F6 announcement, and dumped them on Ebay. I think I paid $860 for a BRAND NEW BODY WITH USA WARRANTY! Super deal. I have also bought several viewfinders for my F5s and data backs, etc. without ever having a problem. Good merchandise. Recommended.

Rob

Walter -

Yes, but we're talking $3499 FOR A DEMO.

R

Eric -

Ironic indeed. When it was available no one wanted one. I read somewhere that they were only making a thousand or so of them a year prior to its discontinuation. Now everyone and their Grandmother desperately needs one. Glad I got mine when I did, but you got a slightly better deal than I did.

Rob

Juanjo -

Agreed, but if they are asking $3499, it means that lenses have probably sold in the past for $2500, $2900, $3000 and so on. Supply and demand dictates that the rarer and more desirable something is, the higher the price will go. It just astounds me that it has gotten so high!

Rob

I just saw on the big auction site that a dealer, Cameta Camera is selling a

DEMO 28mm 1.4 and the asking price is $3499! How can this be?! Is anyone crazy

enough to spend three-quarters the amount odf a 300mm 2.8G AF-S II on this lens?

I feel damn lucky I bought one before they were discontinued. And here I thought

the $1799 I paid for it was a lot!

Rob

Edward -

The lab I use, A&I isn't a "mini-lab," but rather is one of the largest professional labs in the US. I was told that the high resolution drum scanner they use there is a machine that costs ten of thousands of dollars. Can I really expect to achieve the same results as A&I yields with either of the two Nikon scanners??

Scanning time isn't one of my main concerns, as I usually promise a turnaround time of a few days to my clients, which has never posed a problem. I have done many thousands of headshots in the past several years, and in not one instance did I wish I was using digital for the initial image-making. I have three F5s that I simply adore, as is the case with using film in general.

I own a D2X which I use for a lot of non-vocational things (Formula One races, family photos, et al.), but I find that when I am using my F5s while working, the restriction of only having 36 chances per roll to catch that perfect ephemeral moment, forces me to shoot better. There are far fewer throw-aways, and the percentage of keepers is higher. I do not blast through shots at 8 FPS, but instead, take my time with each shot. With digital, there is less of a constriction, and therefore I find myself "covering" everything, knowing that I have a virtually unlimited number of shots. In terms of saving time, shooting film is actually better for me as there are less shots to go through at the end of the day.

To all -

So far, the consensus seems to be that the 5000 ED is the scanner for me. No one has definitively told me that the resolution, contrast and overall quality of scans is exactly the the same between the two models when scanning 35mm. Can someone confirm or refute this for me?

Thank you all!

Rob

Hey folks.

I am a pro specializing in headshot photography and portraits. As a 35mm film

hold-out, I typically have my shots scanned and burned to a CD at the A&I Custom

Lab here in Hollywood, so as to allow me to utilize my Aperture, Capture NX, and

Photoshop CS2 apps for image processing and retouching.

Recently, I have been toying with the idea of purchasing a Nikon Coolscan

scanner, as over time it will save me a great deal of money normally spent on

A&I's services.

I have done some reading on the net, and narrowed my choices down to the

Coolscan 5000 ED, and the Coolscan 9000 ED.

What I can't seem to find is an explanation for why the 9000 ED is double the

price of the 5000 ED. I know that the 9000 ED handles multiple film formats (I

only shoot 35mm, so this isn't that important a feature for me) whereas the 5000

ED only handles 35mm. But aside from this, does the 9000 ED produce BETTER scans

than the 5000 ED? I am willing to pay the extra cash on the 9000 ED if it will

yield better results for me, but not if the extra cost is solely due to the 9000

ED's multiple format capability.

Can some truly knowledgeable folks kindly help me to understand the differences

(if there are any) in terms of the performance of each unit when only scanning

35mm film?

Is the 5000 ED incapable of handling a strip of film? Does the 9000 ED yield a

higher resolution scan? What are the other performance oriented differences

between the two that I should be aware of?

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Rob

Response to compelling reason for an F4?

Short answer: There are none, when mint F5's are selling for less than a quarter of their original price.

Long Answer: You can take all the above points from clearly biased owners of the F4 and take into account all of the nonsense about using AIS lenses with the F4 in Matrix metering mode; or you can believe me, an F4s and F5 owner, when I say that unless you do have a large collection of AIS lenses, there is very little to justify the purchasing of an F4 or any of its variants over an F5.

On the rare occasions that I use my F4s, it feels like a DINOSAUR compared to my F5. In terms of Meter accuracy, FPS, durability, ruggedness, ergonomics, modern lens compatibility (the F4 has only very limited compatibility with G type lenses, which is all Nikon is likely to produce in the future), system components and MOST NOTABLY autofocusing, the F5 wipes out the F4 entirely.

Remember, the F5 is the result of close to TEN YEARS of technological advancement over the F4, and when you actually use the cameras in a side by side comparison, this is clearly evident. Of all the F series cameras, the F5 made the biggest technological leap from the preceding model.

As for the common chime of F4 defenders that "you can make the F4 smaller by using the smaller battery pack" and "the F5 is too big and heavy" I suggest to you that the F5 is no bigger than, and only slightly heavier than the D2Xs and D2Hs, yet somehow no one ever levels those points when discussing those two bodies.

Yes, the F6 has some evolutionary changes in it that make it superior in some ways to the F5 (but in other areas the F6 actually devolved behind the F5, most notably in the lack of removable finders, etc.), the F5 has REVOLUTIONARY changes in it beyond the F4.

There is a reason why it is often touted as being the best 35mm camera ever made: Because it is true.

Rob

Thanks all, but still no luck. Even Gray's struck out.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Rob

Looking for one of each new in box. Have looked everywhere on the net and the

big auction site. Does anyone know where I can find them?

Thanks,

Rob

Hi folks.

I use a trio of F5s along with SB-80DX flashes.

I was wondering if the SU-800 commander unit would work for me; enabling me to

not have a SB-80DX master on the camera's hotshoe. I often use an SC-28 remote

cord on the hotshoe for the same ends, but it would be very helpfull to have the

commander unit on the camera, and my SB-80DXs all slaved. Is this possible? Is

the SU-800 compatible with my F5s? With my SB-80DXs? Or is it solely compatible

with CLS and iTTL cameras and flashes such as the F6/D2xs/D200 and SB-800s and

SB-600s?

Thanks,

Robert

Mac -

So you're saying the only difference is what type of flash you use? If that's the case, I guess that I should go for the SK-6, as I have an SB-80DX that I use with my F5.

Thanks for the info.

Rob

Adorama prices them about thirty dollars apart, but for the life of me I cannot

see any differences in the specs or photos of the items. Does anyone know the

difference?

Rob

Just a slight correcction to Shun's input: The F5 Has 1005 pixel 3D color matrix metering, adjustable centerweight, and spot with the standard finder, spot only with the DW-30 and DW-31, and spot, centerweight AND 5 segment matrix metering when used with the DA-30 action finder.

Rob

It never ceases to amaze me that people will buy a $1700 camera and then want to cheap out on the lens! You should be buying into Nikon FOR THE GLASS. Nikon is one of only TWO manufacturers that melt their own glass to their own specifications. Glass is still the major determining factor in the quality of the photos you take.

I'd raather have a Nikon D80 with a Nikon 300mm F2.8 ED-IF AFS-II than a D2xs with A SigTamTokina 17-560mm F5.6-9.2 lens.

Forget the Sigma, go with Nikkors and go with God.

R

Gitzo 1588 carbon. Best Mono in the world, bar none. They are on sale now due to a new model comming in. Get one while they're still around.

Rob

Hey everyone.

I'm hoping one of you can help solve this mystery for me.

Nikon has an external battery pack for cameras called the DB-6. it uses six 1.5V

LR20 (D-type alkaline) batteries and adds power for prolonged or low-temperature

shooting.

Now, my question is, can you use this item with the F5?

The Nikon Historical Society website seems to allude to it, as the DB-6 is

featured in their F5 section as an accessory. It suggests that it can be

connected to the F5 "using the External Power Cord MC-29, whose terminal plugs

straight into the camera's battery holder." The only problem is that the MC-29

is a cord that has a battery grip for the F90/N90/N90s/F90x on the camera end.

Obviously this won't work on the F5.

The mystery deepens as B&H Photo's listing for the DB-6 says that the correct

cord for the F4 and F5 is the MC-28, but if you go to the link for the MC-28 on

B&H's website:

www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=3040&A=details&Q=&sku=800470331&is=USE&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

It states that the MC-28 "connects to the MB-23 Multi-Power High Speed Battery

Pack for the F4E to supply power from the DB-6 External Battery Pack." IT MAKES

NO MENTION OF THE F5! The picture on the listing looks similar to the F5s MN-30

NiMh battery pack with a cord extending out of one end, but I can't be sure that

this is right, since to the best of my knowledge the F4E and F5 do not have the

same packs. Am I wrong? The folks at B&H can't figure this out either.

HELP!

Thanks,

Rob

Best tripods in the world: Gitzo, no contest.

If you want to buy one tripod and have it last forever, instead of having to update it one day, Gitzo offers several species of tripods and off-center ball heads that will fit your budget and you will never need to buy another. Built like tanks! Forget Manfrotto and Slik and squeeze grips and the like. They are mostly amateur to advanced amateur products. From the cheapest model to the top of the line, Gitzo's are all built for professional use.

Check out their various carbon fiber and aluminium models (forget their basalt line, carbon is better) at www.bogenimaging.com and click on the Gitzo logo. And no, I'm not a shill or employee of Gitzo; I just feel very passionite about the photographic equipment that has proved themselves to me: Gitzo, Sekonic, Profoto, and of course, NIKON!

Good luck,

Rob

First check batteries. If that's not the problem, I would take it back. If all transport modes were acting up, I'd say the winding motor was faulty. Seeing that it is intermittant in only CS, it may be a more complex problem.

Good luck,

Rob

Ray -

I've got the Gitzo 1588 CF, and I consider it to be the best mono on the market. Light, strong, and exquisitely made. The bonus for you is that a replacement model is on the horizon, so a lot of retailers are dumping them at good prices. Robert's, for one, has dropped their price from $315 down to $249. I've already snatched a back-up 1588 from theem at that price.

You really can't do better than the 1588 at that pricepoint.

Good luck.

Rob