| Power
needs power
The
F5 is fast, no
matter if we talk film advance or autofocus speed here. The
speed comes from four coreless DC-motors. These motors are
indeed very power hungry. You can only achieve maximum film
speed with the MN-30 accumulator pack.
| |
Martin
posing on a motorbike.
August 1999. Nikon F5, Nikkor AF 80-200/2,8D at some
135mm on the consumer grade Fuji Superia 100
|
From
my collected hands-on experiences:
"August 1st 1999. Got the Ni-Metal-Hydride accumulator
pack (MN-30) plus the charger MH-30 from scandinavian photo
today. My first impressions:
1.
Having a rough idea what's needed to produce a charger like
this, I think the small, dual accumulator charger at some
DM 580,- is well overpriced.
2.
The power supply connector on the MN-30 pack is located "on
the wrong side", i.e. on the short end of the pack which is
inside the camera when you've inserted it. This means that
you cannot charge the pack while it's in the camera, not speaking
of "misusing" the charger as a power supply. I think this
is a minus, never mind the some DM 200,- Nikon charges for
each accumulator. Of course, the tiny cables of the charger
wouldn't be much of any use for a real power supply anyway.
Nikon sells a separate "dummy pack" with a power supply for
this purpose...
All
in all, if you have a F5, I guess you also really want to
have the charger and some MN-30's, no matter the hefty price
tag: Only in combination with the MN-30 you'll reach the top
film speed and rewinding time - and you don't have to bother
about having enough batteries in your pockets either." |
