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Just like selecting a pair of boots, socks or even underwear... for your personal use, everyone has his personal preference in choosing an appropriate tool, fittingly to use for the best comfort. In the case of F4, the oversized right hand grip can be quite uncomfortable for a guy like me. No doubt, as compared with the F3's slightly edged out contour, the F4's hand grip is large and supposedly be more positive in providing a firmer grip.

However, while on one hand, the large grip is good to hold but you will also need to operating the camera at the same time an that is when you will feel a little uncomfortable To be frank, in due respect it was a designer's product, probably it was not specifically designed using an Asian as a template.... <<< ---- Image from my copyright-free image collection. Malaysian Internet Resources

The hand grip is a bit large and went slightly out of proportion in terms of overall weight distribution. Well, I may have skipped a generation of F4 primarily due to the initial impression I had many years ago, but when I finally got hold of a Nikon F4 from my partner a month ago to prepare this website, I still has the same reservation over this particular section in the F4's design (my partner reckons he uses a much lighter and built-in flash featured F401 more than the F4 - because the palm of his hand is a little too short (or rather the grip is a little too far to hold the camera steadily). The right portion of the camera defies a little basic rule of good human engineering design (if you are not convince, just have a hand on the F5, the 1/2 inch shorter on the F5's hand grip makes a world of difference in terms of operating comfort of a camera...

Well, despite of what I had commented earlier, this camera has a smooth curves and surface at every corners; contoured dials and operating operating parts - its shapes, touch, the feel is first class, fits perfectly in your hands - but within all the perfection the F4 presents, I do feel a few small sections have been designed a little too extended in width - interface between camera and photographer is somehow a little stressful where you have to really stretching out your fingers to execute some of the controls. Anyway, as all these are attributed to essential housing of an adequate power supply with its 4x AA-type batteries design's hand grip -which means to say, it needs a little compromise somewhere.

Credit: Hibiscus, National Flower of Malaysia Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis Family: Malvaceae or Mallow family Other Common Names: Bunga Raya, Kembang Sepatu, Bebaru and others according to species Region of Origin: South China, hybrids developed in Florida & Hawaii (USA) Notes: Hibiscus is also sometimes called "shoe flower" (Jamaican way) as the mucilaginous flowers were used for polishing shoes in the West Indies and Bali. The blooms can do more than just decorate your garden! The pretty flowers make a colourful edible ornament for salads. Buds can be pickled or boiled as a vegetable; flowers can be stuffed, made into fritters or into tea. The Rose of Sharon, national flower of South Korea which has a strong cold-resistant characteristic may have also be a family of this flower. <<< ---- Image from my copyright-free image collection. Malaysian Internet Resources

The weight factor of the Nikon F4 is another area many photographers have complaint about. Frankly, this is not a proprietary problem of Nikon F4 as most modern high end SLR cameras now in the market are of such similar state. Simply because, regardless of whether it is AF or digital, majority of modern SLR cameras are a bunch of power-hungry beasts. Most of these SLR bodies are fully dependable on battery to power all its functions and they ought to put reliability from the power supply factor as one of the most important criteria in camera design (what good is a camera if it cannot even startup just because it has no power to take pictures ?). Frankly, it is quite bad to realize camera's manufacturers inability to resolve this issue positively (until lately ..) where all of us have to suffer this way. In terms of weight - recently, I have visited a local trade show and at the Nikon booth, they showcased a Nikon F5 mounted with an AF-S 80-200mm f/2.8D ED-IF lense with lens hood extension which makes it looks more like a telescope rather than a camera anymore ! Looking at its awesome appearance, that is not very amusing because it has made me think twice whether I can afford to own them financially and next thing that cropped up in my mind was - can I use them efficiently ?. Well, a similar Canon EOS-1v with Booster E2 shown at the exhibition which has combination of a EF zoom attached was even more impressive in this respect .. on second thought, modern photographers deserve to charge more with their services because they have to be trained part time as weight lifters too ...

A simple comparison of size and dimension between a Canon EOS-3 with a miniaturized Olympus OM-2(n) with motor drive attached. It doesn't mean the OM cannot take good pictures rapidly with its 5 fps bursting rate motor drive - except that it lacks autofocusing and multi-segments metering features .. well, but the 1975/6's OM-2(n) has a TTL OTF® ambient light metering technologies where a year 2000 camera still cannot matches in its live feed, precise metering perfection...

Unlike the Nikon F5 where Nikon concluded power consumption issue was a prime most important factor for any modern AF SLRs. This has made the F5 has to be designed as a single piece block with the power unit attached in a single piece hardware. In comparison, F4 does has its delightful touch in this respect. Just like any of the previous generation of the professional series Nikon bodies which carries a modular design, the standard F4, with its variable power sources can be configured individually or simply use it as a bare, lightweight, compact sized standard F4 - a rather quite an easy to carry package for those who are looking for maximum mobility and portability. The addition of the optional power pack MB21 and/or MB-23 is either a love or hate relationship for many Nikon F4 users. But if you are only a casual shooters who may be shooting three or four rolls a month, it may not of any significant difference but if you get to the point where you shoot ten or twenty rolls a day, then it's a great feature to enable the user to have extended shooting capability without the hassle of sensing the camera slowly degrading in film advance performance, not to mention when you intended handling sessions in extreme cold climate - after all, the camera is not specifically designed for casual shootings but rather for heavy professional usage. As a user, I think the ability of providing alternate ways of various combo unit in power supply is essential for professional applications. The F4 is intended to last and last, and Nikon just to to think all kinds of shooting possibilities. Well, what I am arguing here may not be relevant at all but purely from the perspective of a casual shooter who hates to struggle with extra weight when traveling. @#%#%, you may be starting to curse..hehe..

Well, come to think of it - Is that possible to trim F4's size and weight down to a more comfortable level without compromising reliability and all the great features it encompasses inside ? Errr. ... after over a decade since its inception, I finally saw my dreamed virtual Nikon F4 in a high performance Nikon F100 which came without a finder interchangeability feature but the little marvel can deliver an impressive 70 rolls with its AA-alkalines versus the poor 30 rolls in the F4, hmmm .... adding the fact where F4's dimension of 169mm x 118mm x 77mm (1,090g) versus F100's 155mm x 113mm x 66mm (785g). Well, I know it is fair to compare this way because the prevailing technologies during those days, it was deemed not possible for such realization and further, there are many other variable factors to take into consideration as well. The weight gain in the F4 does has one positive effect, i.e. its extra weight does balanced very well when shooting fairly slow shutter speeds, with the extra feel of a very high quality imaging tool. Anyway, as I said, if you don't intend to shoot long sessions and/or shooting in the cold, the modular design provides you with a way to strip the camera's high power pack(s) back to basic combo of MB-20 (with the Multi-Power High Speed Battery Pack MB-23 which measures 169mm x 157mm x 77mm and weighs a massive 1,400g, it can comes to a weight reduction of approx. 30% (with batteries installed, it is almost 40% !)

I think one area that most seasoned Nikon photographers would like to have in the impressive F4 features-list is a mechanical backup shutter speed to use when the camera is downed by unforeseen operational circumstances such as depleted power supply. Technically, the F4 does has a mechanical speed like the Nikon F3. Unfortunately, unlike the F3 which has a lever to trip the shutter, designed to operate under Time Exposure, it needs some bare minimum of power to ignite the mechanical shutter speed. Besides, operating in a Time exposure mode is not as convenience as with a fixed backup mechanical speed where at worst, in any situations, you can still make use a flash to take pictures or assuming the timing is 1/60 sec (just as the F3's 1/55 sec backup mechanical shutter speed). The "T" in the F4 operates electronically at the initial 32 sec. and then on, it consumes no battery power, it is a great feature for handling time exposures without worrying it drains the camera's power heavily (say if you want to leave the shutter opens for a few hours).

Personally, I miss that great feature of the Nikon F3 in the F4, although it is not entirely important in most cases, but it may prove to be a life saving function when you are engaged at remote places where inaccessible of getting even a simple alkaline cells... well, as most people are smart enough to bring spared power sources and/or using alternate supplies (such as Power Packs), or even may consider bringing a trusty mechanical backup bodies such as a simple Nikon FM2(n) for important professional assignments, this may not be an issue for smart photographers. Come to think of it, there is every reasons why those cameras such as FM2 or Nikon FM3A to be around to supplement all these electronic Nikons, huh ? <<< ---- Image from my copyright-free image collection. Malaysian Internet Resources

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Part I - VII: Page 1| Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 |

The Camera Body - Features | Reliability | Focusing | Metering | Exposure Control | Lense Compatibility | Interchangeable Prisms | Data Film Backs | Various Power Sources | Focusing Screens | Flash Photography | Other system accessories | Cases for Nikon F4 Series | Remote Control |

| Specification | Main Reference Map | Nikon F4 Variants
Instruction Manual: PDF (4.5M) - External Link

| BACK | to Main Index Page Nikon F4 Series Models

| Message Board | for Nikon F4 Series SLR model(s)
| Message Board | for Nikon F4 Series SLR model(s)
| Message Board | for your Nikon Optics in a shared environment
| Message Board | Specifically for Dispose or Looking for Nikon/Nikkor Photographic Equipment

| Back | to Pictorial History of Nikon SLR / rangefinders / Nikonos / digital cameras.

Nikon F | Nikon F2 | Nikon F3 | Nikon F4 | Nikon F5 | Nikon F6 | Nikkormat / Nikomat | Nikon FM | Nikon FE/ FA | Nikon EM/FG/FG20 | Nikon Digital SLRs | Nikon - Other models

Nikon Auto Focus Nikkor lenses:- Main Index Page
Nikon Manual Focus Nikkor lenses:- Fisheye-Nikkor Lenses - Circular | Full Frame | Ultrawides Lenses - 13mm15mm18mm20mm | Wideangle Lenses - 24mm28mm35mm | Standard Lenses - 45mm 50mm 58mm | Telephoto Lenses - 85mm105mm135mm180mm & 200mm | Super-Telephoto Lenses - 300mm 400mm 500mm 600mm 800mm 1200mm |

Index Page

Special Application lenses: Micro-Nikkor Lenses - 50mm~55mm -60mm 85mm -105mm 200mm Micro-Zoom 70-180mm Perspective Control (PC) - 28mm 35mm PC-Micro 85mm Dedicated Lenses for Nikon F3AF: AF 80mm f/2.8 | AF 200mm f/3.5 EDIF Depth of Field Control (DC): 105mm 135mm Medical Nikkor: 120mm 200mm Reflex-Nikkor Lenses - 500mm 1000mm 2000mm Others: Noct Nikkor | OP-Nikkor | UV Nikkor 55mm 105mm | Focusing Units | Bellows-Nikkor 105mm 135mm Nikon Series E Lenses: 28mm35mm50mm100mm135mm | E-Series Zoom lenses: 36~72mm75~150mm70~210mm

MF Zoom-Nikkor Lenses: 25~50mm | 28~45mm | 28~50mm | 28~85mm | 35~70mm | 36~72mm E | 35~85mm | 35~105mm | 35~135mm | 35~200mm | 43~86mm | 50~135mm | 50~300mm | 70~210mm E | 75~150mm E | 80~200mm | 85~250mm | 100~300mm | 180~600mm | 200~400mm | 200~600mm | 360~1200mm | 1200~1700mm

Tele-Converters: TC-1 | TC-2 | TC-200 | TC-201 | TC-300 | TC-301 | TC-14 | TC-14A | TC-14B | TC-14C | TC-14E | TC-16 | TC-16A | TC-20E

Recommended links to understand more technical details related to the Nikkor F-mount and production Serial Number:
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-153.html by: my friend, Rick Oleson
http://www.zi.ku.dk/personal/lhhansen/photo/fmount.htm by: Hansen, Lars Holst
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/nikonfmount/lens2.htm
http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html

W A R N I N G: The New G-SERIES Nikkor lenses have no aperture ring on the lense, they cannot adjust aperture(s) when operating in manual exposure control even with certain earlier AF Nikon SLR camera models. Similarly, not ALL features provide in a modern AF-S series AF-Nikkor lenses can be utilized fully with a Nikon F4. Please refer to your local distributor for compatibility issue(s).

PLEASE NOTE: Complimentary links are appreciative but it is not necessary, I have limited bandwidth here in this server... So, PLEASE don't distribute this URL to any bulk mailing list or unrelated user-groups, just be a little considerate, thank you. (The more you distribute, the slower this server will response to your requests...). I am NOT a Nikon nor Nikkor expert, so don't send me any mails, use the Message Board Instead. While the content prepared herein should be adequate for anyone to understand and evaluate whether you should invest into a used Nikon F4 pro-camera system for your kind of photography. Well, IF you like what you have seen so far, please help to perfect this site by reporting any broken links or any errors made.

About this photographic site.

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Credit: Chuck Hester, US for his patience, encouragement and help to setup the various content in this site; Robert Johnson for some of his original images on the F2H-MD appeared in this site; my ex-staff, KiaSu for his superb 3-D logo appeared in this Nikon F2 site; Marc Vorgers from Holland who generously provide me with some of his images of F2AS; MCLau®, who has so much time with me to re-edit the content in this site and not to mention buying a Nikon Coolpix 990 just for this site; Paul Armstrong (pkared@ameritech.net) for his explantion of the FF2 Slidemagic and Nikon F2 Pin Camera Keat Photo, Kuala Lumpur for providing their Nikon F2A to take some images for this site; Mr Edward Ngoh the great camera collector who provides us his collection of F2AS with MD-2; hawkeye.photographic.com for their images on the Speed Magny film backs; Sean Cranor for his image on Nikon F2 25th Anniversary Model; Ted Wengelaar®, Holland for his continuous flow of input on some of the early Nikon bodies; Genesis-Camera for granting permission to use an image of the SS-F2 camera; Mr Sover Wong, Australia for those great images of his rare F2 Gold;CYLeow ®, photo editor of the Star newspaper, Malaysia for some of his images used in this site. Ms Rissa Chan, Sales manager from Shriro Malaysia who has helped to provide some of the very useful input. HiuraShinsaku®, Nikomat ML, Japan for some of his images on various F2 models; my staff, Wati, Maisa, Mai and my nephew, EEWyn®, who volunteered and helping me did so many of the film scanning works; Hong-sien Kwee of Singapore for all the Nikon F2 Pin camera images appeared in this site; Luigi Crescenzi for many of his images on the Nikon F2 Titan; John for two of his images of the Nikon F2/T used in this site; Contributing photographers or resellers: Jen Siow, Foo KokKin, Arthur Teng, Mark Fallander, John Ishii, Ed Hassel, YoonKi Kim, Jean-Louis, M.Dugentas (Dell Corner.com.), Mr "Arsenall", Yang Zi Xiong and a few images mailed in from surfers with no appropriate reference to their origin. Note:certain content and images appeared in this site were either scanned from official marketing leaflets, brochures published by Nikon and/or contribution from surfers who claimed originality of their own work to publish in this site based on educational merits. The creator of this site will not be responsible for any discrepancies that may arise from such possible dispute except rectifying them after verification."Nikon", "Nikkormat", "Nippon Kokagu KK" & "Nikkor" are registered tradename of Nikon Corporation Inc., Japan. Dedicated to KU Yeo, just to express our mutual regrets over the outcome of a recent corporate event. Made with an Apple IMac.