Many professional photographer shot with the Nikon F4 and Nikon F5 in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Nikon F4 and Nikon F5 are both professional-grade single-lens reflex cameras that shoot pictures on 35mm film. The F4, introduced in 1988, is credited with being the first professional-grade SLR camera with an autofocus system and a built-in motor drive to advance the film. The F5, which went into production some 11 years later, has generally similar features housed in a larger, tougher body.
Size and Weight
By 2011 standards, the Nikon F4 is a bulky, heavy camera. With the smallest battery pack available, Battery Pack MB-20, the camera is 6.7 inches wide, 4.7 inches tall and 3 inches deep. It weighs 38.4 oz. That's before you put a lens on the camera, which could add several more pounds. The Nikon F5 is even larger. It is 6.2 inches wide by 5.9 inches tall and 3.1 inches wide and weighs 42.7 oz.
Lenses
Both cameras are compatible with nearly all of Nikon's F mount-style lenses. Both offer an autofocus system, although the F5 uses five senors to track moving subjects while the F4 uses only one and is much slower. The cameras use the Matrix light metering -- a system developed for Nikon that measured exposure instead of light by taking reading at various zones in the frame. The F5's Matrix system uses newer technology and is considered by experts to be better.
Film
The F4 and F5 can shoot with any type of 35mm film. Both cameras contain a built-in motor drive with an automatic film advance when loading and unloading. Both can rewind film automatically or manually. Both can advance film one shot at a time or in continuous shooting modes. At eight frames per second, the F5 can shoot faster than the F4, which tops out at 5.7 frames per second.
Shooting Specifications
Both the F4 and F5 operate in automatic and manual modes. Unlike digital cameras of 2011, they lack programmed shooting modes customizing the a camera's settings for portraits, landscapes and sports. Both offer the four basic modes: fully automatic, aperture priority (user selects aperture setting and the camera sets corresponding shutter speed), shutter priority (user chooses the shutter speed and the camera sets aperture) and fully manual. Both require AA batteries to power the motor drive and other electronics. The F4 needs six while the F5 uses eight.
Tags: inches wide, motor drive, Nikon Nikon, 35mm film, advance film