NIKON F5 SLR Body Only
I have one of every model Nikon F made from the FTn to the F5. I used to think that the F2 was God's gift to photography. Rock solid and mine is 30 years old and it still works fine. However, as good as it was, I would not want to go out on a magazine assignment with an old F2. The capabilities of modern AutoFocus cameras make my old F2 and even the F3 too limited especially with regard to invaluable tools like automatic fill flash, auto exposure, simple exposure bracketing and simple and fast film loading. I have an F4 too and in its day, it was a gem. But I shoot a lot of motorsports and the F4 was too slow for fast action. The F5 is everything the F4 was plus it focuses better and faster. The camera is a joy to hold (at least for my two hands) and is possibly the best handling camera I have ever used in my over 30 years of picture taking. As mentioned above, it focuses very well and very fast especially with the newer "S" lenses with the motors in the lens. The camera takes lithium batteries and they seem to last through many dozens of rolls of film not as cheap as alkaline but very convenient and much lighter to carry. The high eyepoint finder works great for me and my thick eye glasses. The controls are where Nikon has put them over the years so long-time users should have no trouble working fast with the F5. Mine has seen rugged use here and in Europe and it has never failed me. The only gripe I have is that the removable prism does let in dust but every Nikon I have has the same issue. It's simple to eliminate the dust with a soft brush or some canned air so it's a pretty small gripe. I think the Canon EOS 1V cameras and lenses focus a tad faster (I tend to use them more for my motor racing assignments) but the F5 is such a joy to use and the Nikon glass is so sharp that I look for assignments where I can use this camera. The F5 remains for now in the product line, despite the introduction of the new and more expensive F6. The F6 looks like a winner and handles well too. But its $2400 price tag and the fact that the majority of the market for a high powered pro camera has already turned to digital, makes me wonder who but a serious amateur with deep pockets will pony up the bucks for one. My final warning to you camera junkies out there is that once you handle the F5, you will not want to put it down. And that's not a bad thing.
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