| THE
INCREDIBLE SHUTTER
The
shutter of the F4 is a technological marvel. An electromagnetically
controlled focal plane shutter capable of ultra fast 1/8000th
of a second and 1/250th sec flash synchronization.
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Taken
by Carlos
Dias from Portugal, with his constant companion, a
Nikon F4s
Picture
scanned by himself on a Nikon CoolScan III
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Built
at the Ohi plant (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo), it's dual multi bladed
blinds prevent even the slightest of leakages, even in the critical
mirror-up shooting.
The
materials, high quality and durable, ensure a lifetime of trouble
free shooting. Four of the eight blades are made of epoxy resins
reinforced with carbon fibers, the other four of a secret -light
and durable- aluminum alloy. The use of these light materials
allows for fast traveling speeds without having to sacrifice
reliability.
A
shutter balancer, made of a tungsten alloy, compensates and
absorbs the vibration due to the shutter curtain travel. A braking
system prevents any shutter bounce.
The
minimum reliability accepted for this shutter is 150,000 cycles.
I had my F4s for almost 10 years, shoot maybe 15 rolls per month
on the average (540 cycles per month), so I have accumulated
at the most 64,800 cycles, about 43% of it's rated minimum life.
At this rate I could still use it reliably -if I keep the same
pace and I am still alive- for no less than another 13 years!.
It's
incredible shutter, with innovations such as the above described
shutter balancer, hybrid shutter blades, dual curtains for light-shield;
plus Infrared (IR) cut filter, vertical-format shooting, and
Continuous Silent (CS) mode; made of the F4 indeed the most
magical of all.
Sample
informal family portrait.
My dear wife and my son
at the time of his college graduation.
Nikon
F4s, 35-135mm f/3.5-4.5 AF Zoom Nikkor, TTL flash with
SB-25 speedlight. |
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