The
Nikon F4
by
J. Ramón Palacios tell
a friend about this article
|
THE
LENSES ...
This
has been recurrently said about the F4 today: Looking
for the top of the line camera body for manual focus lenses?
Find a used F4s in good shape, get the MB-20 battery holder
to reduce its size and weight and go into Manual Focus lenses
haven.
|
Nikon
F4s with Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 AI-S
.
|
Outstanding professional photographers,
like the late Galen
Rowell, preferred the F4 -made light and compact
with an MB-20 grip- over the magnificent but heavier
F5. If you then decide to use MF lenses, there will be little
batteries use since the AF motor will not be active. To the
F4 advantages over the F3HP, of matrix metering, spot metering,
TTL flash support, higher flash sync and top shutter speeds,
you add the possibility of using AF lenses at any time if
you are not in the need of critical super fast AF action.
Before the F5
(with its RGB 3D Matrix Meter),
and now the F6, the F4 is IMO the best camera Nikon has ever
made. A bargain now for under US$700,
used, in like new to mint condition, in either F4s or F4e configurations.
Typical
recommendations of superb optics, now Nikkor classics, are:
-
| ° |
24mm
f/2 AI-S |
Some
buy the f/2.8 due to its lower price |
| ° |
35mm
f/1.4 AI-S |
Some
get the f/2 for the same price reason |
| ° |
50mm
f/1.2 AI-S |
The
f/1.4 and f/1.8 are more popular due to cost and
the 55mm f/2.8 Micro for its specific macro use |
| ° |
85mm
f/1.4 AI-S |
Same
thing here -cost- for the f/1.8 |
| ° |
105mm
f/2.5 AI-S |
I
like the 105mm f/1.8 slightly better but it is more
difficult to find in EX+ condition or above and
more expensive |
| ° |
135mm
f/2.8 AI-S |
Same
comment as above about the 135mm f/2.0, which I
like better |
| ° |
180mm
f/2.8 ED IF AI-S |
Darn
good, slightly better than the AI version |
| ° |
200mm
f/2 ED IF AI-S |
Others
prefer the 200mm f/4 Micro and the AI versions |
| ° |
300mm
f/2.8 ED IF AI-S |
Excellent,
slightly better than the AI |
| ° |
400mm
f/2.8 ED IF AI-S |
Here
you may opt for the 400mm f/3.5 P |
|
Two
very important features these lenses share:
- Luminosity
(wide aperture both for improved viewing and focusing; and
the capability to shoot under almost any light conditions)
plus
- Legendary
razor edge sharpness and excellent color rendition.
Of
course, to buy them all takes up a good chunk of money and
a lot of guts and stamina to carry them all into the field;
so choose from the list the ones you really think you must
have.
I
did select 5 out of the 10 above and had a wonderful time,
rarely missing the chance to capture the image I wanted, the
way I wanted. So, as some well known authors have claimed
before, with these lenses and the F4 you'll be "in Nikon
MF heaven". Just take a look at the gear of John Shaw
in his books, like in "John
Shaw's Landscape Photography: Professional Techniques
for Shooting Spectacular Scenics".
Nikon
obviously recognized these preferences with the introduction
of the splendid FM3A, "Where tradition and technology meet".
But with my F4s I can continue to use legendary MF optics, mix
them with AF and even with the newer AF-S lenses. With these
lenses, the F4s' AF is so fast it screams.
"G"
lenses also work on the F4, in both P and S modes. Talk about
forward compatibility! |
