Product ReviewsNikon F4s 35mm SLR Film Camera Body Only

Possibly the best 35mm SLR camera ever made

A beautiful camera. Nikon's classic was made from 1988 to 1996. Though its early autofocus system was relatively primitive, it remained compatible with Nikkor manual focus lenses. The camera is just about perfect, if you can cope with its size and weight. Amazingly constructed from over 1500 parts, it's solid and very well engineered. Its shutter mechanism is far more robust that Canon cameras of that era and if you buy a 30 year old model, its much less likely to require servicing. No LCD, just manual dials. Matrix metering and a full information viewfinder and works from 6 x AA batteries. If you buy one, check that the battery chamber and grip have not been affected by battery leakage. Also check the shutter for damage and check that the viewfinder is functioning and that the camera works across all shutter speeds. A truly classic camera, that is a pleasure to hold and use. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: greenapostrophe

Nikon 4S is too unwieldy

Lovely camera, robust (near indestructible) but very heavy and unwieldy because of the MB21 grip.

The battery grip is in two parts but in practical terms you can't remove just the bottom plate, which I had expected to be able to do, and use it with just the MB20 grip, which for most photographers is probably far more usable.

However, if you are a sports photographer who needs high-speed continuous shooting and you have strong arms, the full 4S version is going to serve your requirements very well. I can't imagine it will ever let you down.
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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: yuzhayahar_0

A Heavyweight Classic

I bought an F4S new, in the late 1980s, as an F3 replacement. I loved everything about it except its weight. The shutter was very fast, great metering options and the AF (new at the time) fun. It is among the last cameras that could take almost any earlier Nikon lens. It also had a mechanical mirror lockup (at a time when I had an ancient fisheye lens that required that). Sadly, it did not age well, with its LCDs bleeding and frequent need to clean the battery contacts. For long trips I switched to an small, light FG.

By 2010, though it still looked mint, the F4S had virtually no cash value. I lent it to a friend who promptly lost it (long, dull story). Recently I was able to buy a well-worn, functional, late model F4S (on eBay) for a song.

While I shoot mostly heavy Nikon FX DSLRs these days I still use film from time to time and the F4S fits right in.

The 21st century economics of film cameras are weird. My replacement F4S came with an "E" focusing screen which just happens to be my favorite. When I looked at the remaining accessories from the original F4S I found its default split-image "K" screen. On eBay a "K" screen by itself can cost more than an entire F4S!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: monacamera-japan

Old school with new equipment

I recently bought the F4 Nikon. Why a 15 yr old film camera?
1. Wanted a Camera that will last my remaining days. The F4 promises to have longevity as well as a robust spare parts inventory due to qty sold. Camteck - great local repair shop 3 blocks from my house! ;>)
(hopefully 10yrs? - If I'd known I'd have lived this long - I'd have taken better care of myself - and my F1's!)
2. I will be using my digital cameras to calibrate my film cameras (via Mac's)
therefore using the digitals as previous poloroids could be to nail the exposures prior to shooting film. Ergo gaining superiority of film resolution (with Scan to disk) while avoiding undo expense of multiple bracketing and PPP (post partum pain) I do not enjoy retouching or computer retouching unless I get a real winner.
3. Great old lenses are available at fraction of prices.
(they still get the job done if you know what your doing)
4. Believe Film will go same way as turntables
(just like records vs CD's - there is a difference)
officianoro's will understand and cope with inefficiecies of old school/technologies.
Trust this usefull - BITRead full review...

Closest to perfect you can find in a 35mm camera

Wow - where could I possibly start when doing a review of this camera body? I guess I can only relate my own personal buying decisions with this particular camera.

I went from a Nikon FA (which finally gave up the ghost) and I had to make a long and hard decision about where I was going to go from there in terms of a camera body. I had a few requirements.

One being that I had grown use to matrix metering with my manual focus glass. That was something that I really, really did not want to give up. My other requirement was that I wanted something that had autofocus capability (certainly not a big priority for me). Thirdly, I wanted something that had mirror lockup. And finally I also wanted spot metering. Basically, it got down to the F4.

It's one thing to hear people wax poetic about using one of the F bodies. If you've never used one before, you might think that those people are perhaps influenced by the allure of a "status item". But once you've hit your finger on the shutter release of something like the F4, you will then know what they are talking about. I watched this happen with a friend of mine (who has used a 6006 for years) after he took his first exposure.

There is virtually no vibration from mirror-slap. Nikon integrated a shutter balancer device that counter-balances the "shutter bounce" movement of the gears within the shutter system. Plus, the mirror box movement is so well dampened.

The viewfinder: A delight. To some photographers who haven't had much experience with using a variety of bodies, they may never know the advantage of a good viewfinder. The finder in the F4 is clear and bright. On manual mode you can see in the range of +2 EV over and -2 EV under the "correct" exposure (which isn't available on other bodies) and the camera also has Aperture Direct Readout (something I also got use to with the manual cameras like my FA) which means you can see the selected aperture even with manual glass.

Nikon F finders also have the advantage of being manufactured from a real block of optical glass. That helps immesurably with viewfinder brightness and clarity. The F finders are also free of distortions (in most of the other bodies there is a degree of pincushion distortion put in to compensate for the typical barrel distortion in wideangles) And what is truly unique is that all of the F finders have 100% coverage. So what you see in the viewfinder is exactly how it will be framed on the 35mm negative.

The other advantage to this camera over the F5 is that it comes with three seperate power winders. The F4 was sold in the US under the F4s configuration, which had the MB-21 motor drive attachment. The MB-20 battery pack slims down the size of the camera considerably.

This camera has a number of other nice touches: DX coding, viewfinder blind, the aforementioned mirror lockup (which is good when you want to take macro shots in the shutter speed area of 1 second to 1/15th of a second) and depth of field preview. Multiple exposure is onboard. You have the choice of manual or auto rewind. There is exposure and autofocus lock switches. Probably the BEST (and least known) aspect of the F4 is that it can used AF-S. Yes - you heard that right, it can use the AF-S suerfast/supersilent focusing.

In general, you cannot go wrong with this camera if you're searching for a great manual 35mm camera that can in a pinch provide good (but limited) AF performance.Read full review...

Nikon F4, Revolutionary

The F4 was the most advanced film camera of its time. And, it is still a great camera today. Good autofocus, a myriad of buttons and functions as well as good looks. It has rock solid build quality and will last a long time. No so good things are really just one item and that is the autofous. It can hunt if the light is low or in low contrast situations. However you can manual focus easily because of the large and bright viewfinder.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: iskolar

EXCELLENT CAMERA

Fortunately for me most people dont like this camera.
I picked mine up use for 160 dollars all I can say is I LOVE IT.
Yes its a large camera due to the fact that the f4s has an attached winder.
It accepts all the old f or af lenses and can do a multitude of things like take a double exposure or the camera will let you use it as a manual F lense non auto focus 35 mm
I will end up buying another one of these just for black and whiteRead full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: mrme_82

One of the Best Nikons Ever!

This is a magnificent Nikon camera. It was the bridge between mechanical, manual focus to automatic, autofocus where you have familiar dials and switches that are completely intuitive and self-evident in purpose. You don't have to have an engineering degree and plow through multiple LCD screens where buttons and dials have multiple confusing functions. Every control is logically laid out and marked so you don't need to read a textbook to use it!!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: kehoutlet

My love affair with Nikon film cameras.

I started shooting Nikon gear with a Nikon F in 1968. I have never looked back. My two Fs and the Nikormat FTn still function perfectly and are in use even today.

This seller presented me with a dilemma: continue on using my Nikon digital camera gear OR joint a rising movement among photographers in Japan and world wide who are returning to the challenges of film camera. I chose the latter. After all, anyone can grab a digi film platform and take near perfect pictures. Film, especially B&W film takes talent. That's the challenge.

The F-4 I received is built like a tank! It is the most innovative of the F-series to date. The F-5 and F-6 bodies are basically an F-4 with a few modifications. The F-4 was a virtual break through in 35mm photography. I am not dissatisfied with anything about this camera. It has a built in motor drive, the AF is extremely fast (albeit a bit noisy but one adapts), the body accepts almost every lens Nikon has made since 1959. It is a wonderful professional platform that is priced right for anyone wanting to take a step back from digi photography and find out what "real" photography is all about.

IT is HEAVY ! Much heavier than the top end Nikon digi camera platforms. It's also extremely well built and is designed for a hard working professional photographer.

I highly recommend the F-4 for anyone desiring to bring their photographic skills up a few notches. Besides it's fun....heavy but fun. The looks I get from other photogs when I shoot at air shows, public events, etc, is priceless. More than once I have been approached by people who want to find out about the F-4.
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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: paul914944

Beautiful Camera..

I purchased the F4s AND an F5 about the same week. I am a fan of some of the older AIS Nikon lenses and the F4 does matrix metering with these which the F5 does not. I have put a few rolls thru each of these cameras now and here are my thoughts..

EVENT SHOOTING
For event shooting, where you mostly want super fast focus accuracy, easy TTL flash, the F5 with an autofocus lens wins hands down. I'm not saying you CAN'T do this type of work on an F4, it's just that it is easier with the F5 with the right lenses. Note: I don't have any silent wave Nikon lenses to try on the F4, but I've read that they focus almost as fast on the F4 as the F5. These lenses have the focusing motor IN the lens and are much quicker than the older Nikon screw type autofocus lenses.

VIEWFINDER
The interesting thing though is that I expect that I'll use my F4 maybe MORE than the F5. This is because of my particular style of shooting. I don't shoot events or weddings..I shoot mostly models and portraiture where I have lots of time to compose and fiddle with light etc. The F4's viewfinder is slightly larger and brighter than the F5, which makes a big difference since my vision is getting worse (44 years old). As a side note, I also have an F100, and even though the viewfinder is about the size of the F5, it seems easier to manual focus in the F100 than the F5. Of the 3, I prefer the F4's viewfinder. Shooting with the F4, I feel like I take the time to make the decisions on composition and light much more carefully. The F5 is more of a super high end point and shoot for me. (Note: I mostly shoot medium format, so I like taking my time shooting).

SHUTTER RELEASE
This is an area that I don't often hear discussed but vibration and the "feel" of the shutter release is very important to me. Between the F4, F100 and F5 the F5 wins. When you click the shutter on the F5 everything feels rock solid. The F4 is very good too, but not as nice as the F5. The F100 has a weird feel to the shutter release..sort of mushy and I don't really like it.

TTL Flash
I used both cameras with an SB800 testing fill flash and I think the F4 did better with manual focus lenses (matrix metering?) but both the F4 and F5 are really perfect here. Much better than digital cameras that I've owned.

Overall, the F4 is a great tool, and for current (2009) prices you should treat yourself! I anticipate using mine probably more than the F5 just for the particular types of shooting that I do...Read full review...

After a bit of cleaning, camera looks and works great.

This camera was in better condition than described, other than needing a good thorough cleaning. The mirror, focus screen, pentaprism and eyepiece had a lot of dust on them and the mirror box had some sort of small foam bits (looked like packing foam). Once that was all cleaned up, the camera looks and works great.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: robertscamera