p.1 #1 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
Hey folks, I'm after a Nikon AF film body that will also work with G lenses (currently 18-35, 50/1.8) and is good enough to manual focus as well (50/1.2 and I've got my eye on the CV 58/1.4 too and may revisit the ZF50/1.4 too). Yes yes I know, I want everything.
I had a F5 and F100 and I don't want to down that weight and size. The F80 is the obvious choice for G lenses but is it any good to manual focus a fast 50?
The other choice that looks maybe better for manual focus is the F/N90? What do people think about it? G lenses seem to work, if with a bit of faff...?
Or should I really go back to the F100? F6 is out of budget.
p.1 #2 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
Are you okay with manual exposure (no metering) with non-CPU lenses? Then the F80 or F65 would work. The focusing screens are not ideal for manual focus, but you get the green dot indicator confirming focus, even with manual / non-cpu lenses.
AFAIK the F6, F5 and F100 are the only bodies that fully support both G and Ai / Ai-S lenses (in terms of metering, aperture priority, etc)
p.1 #3 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
I have no idea about autofocus cameras for film, but the mention about focusing screens reminds me that I replaced the (natively interchangeable) focusing screen in my Nikon FE (manual only, of course) with a 100% matte screen vs. the OEM installed micro-prism split. Again, not sure how this plays with AF bodies, but I found the 100% ground glass to be a gem for the SLR, in the way focus would just "pop" in place when I was on it. Just planting a seed regarding focus screen swaps, in case it has value for ya.
Again, no idea about AF bodies ... just remembering that within the Nikon system.
p.1 #4 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
You might want to add the Film is not Dead forum. There's a big contingent of Nikon shooters past and present waiting to give you their opinions down there.
Personally, I went with the F100 when I was shooting Nikon because it worked well with everything but E lenses and I liked the OVF.
p.1 #6 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
fjablo wrote:
Are you okay with manual exposure (no metering) with non-CPU lenses? Then the F80 or F65 would work. The focusing screens are not ideal for manual focus, but you get the green dot indicator confirming focus, even with manual / non-cpu lenses.
AFAIK the F6, F5 and F100 are the only bodies that fully support both G and Ai / Ai-S lenses (in terms of metering, aperture priority, etc)
Ah forgot about the metering. So looking at some youtubes and it looks like the N90/F90 will work with G lenses...kind of. And supports metering with AI. I mean I'm ok with manual metering with my Sekonic etc but would rather not if I can avoid it.
My main issue is the focus screen. Anyone have any experience with the N90/F90 and manual focus. I need to look up what screens they made for the F80/90.
p.1 #7 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
The N80's viewfinder is not great for manual focusing, plus it won't meter if you use non-CPU glass. The F4 and N90 can host G lenses, but you're only going to get shutter priority or program mode. I've shot my F4 this way, and it's not really great. Also, the N90 is apparently a few grams heavier than the F100, which makes the compromises seem even less compelling.
So if the F5 is too big and the F6 is out of budget, the F100 makes sense.
p.1 #8 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
panos.v wrote:
Hey folks, I'm after a Nikon AF film body that will also work with G lenses (currently 18-35, 50/1.8) and is good enough to manual focus as well (50/1.2 and I've got my eye on the CV 58/1.4 too and may revisit the ZF50/1.4 too). Yes yes I know, I want everything.
I had a F5 and F100 and I don't want to down that weight and size. The F80 is the obvious choice for G lenses but is it any good to manual focus a fast 50?
The other choice that looks maybe better for manual focus is the F/N90? What do people think about it? G lenses seem to work, if with a bit of faff...?
Or should I really go back to the F100? F6 is out of budget.
p.1 #9 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
I know it's out of budget, but the F6 is absolutely fantastic to manually focus lenses, even ignoring the green confirmation dot. It's why I was so mad at the Df - absolutely awful manual focus accuracy - even though Nikon showed they could do it w the F6.
As others have mentioned, as the F/N80 does not have an aperture feeler, it only works properly with chipped lenses. Playing with mine manual focus, the green dot confirmation is good but you really need to use that as the focus screen itself is not great. I justed tested it with a 50 1.8g and the ZF.2 50 1.4.
The screen is just a bit dim
p.1 #10 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
The N80 is cheap and has no focusing screens. Get the F100 if possible or maybe an N90s, but you lose the G functions. The N90 doesn't have the 1/3 stop manual shutter speeds that the N90s has. I think that N90s was also marketed as F90x in some regions. The "s" has relatively better AF, such as 1994 AF was better than 1992 AF.
p.1 #11 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
RustyBug wrote:
I have no idea about autofocus cameras for film, but the mention about focusing screens reminds me that I replaced the (natively interchangeable) focusing screen in my Nikon FE (manual only, of course) with a 100% matte screen vs. the OEM installed micro-prism split. Again, not sure how this plays with AF bodies, but I found the 100% ground glass to be a gem for the SLR, in the way focus would just "pop" in place when I was on it. Just planting a seed regarding focus screen swaps, in case it has value for ya.
Again, no idea about AF bodies ... just remembering that within the Nikon system.
MF of some screens was worse on the AF bodies than the MF bodies. Nikon decided to compromise on brightness over accuracy since the over 1/3 of the light from the semi-silvered main mirror had to go to the secondary mirror and AF module..
p.1 #12 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
Desmolicious wrote:
I know it's out of budget, but the F6 is absolutely fantastic to manually focus lenses, even ignoring the green confirmation dot. It's why I was so mad at the Df - absolutely awful manual focus accuracy - even though Nikon showed they could do it w the F6.
As others have mentioned, as the F/N80 does not have an aperture feeler, it only works properly with chipped lenses. Playing with mine manual focus, the green dot confirmation is good but you really need to use that as the focus screen itself is not great. I justed tested it with a 50 1.8g and the ZF.2 50 1.4.
The screen is just a bit dim...Show more →
Just gonna go ahead and second this nudge towards an F6. Do it!
p.1 #13 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
fjablo wrote:
Are you okay with manual exposure (no metering) with non-CPU lenses? Then the F80 or F65 would work. The focusing screens are not ideal for manual focus, but you get the green dot indicator confirming focus, even with manual / non-cpu lenses.
AFAIK the F6, F5 and F100 are the only bodies that fully support both G and Ai / Ai-S lenses (in terms of metering, aperture priority, etc)
I know that's the case with the F6, I'm not familiar with the F5, and your statement doesn't apply to the F100. Its matrix metering only works with AF Nikkor lenses; for all others, only center-weighted metering is available.
p.1 #14 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
panos.v wrote:
My main issue is the focus screen. Anyone have any experience with the N90/F90 and manual focus. I need to look up what screens they made for the F80/90.
I once looked through the viewfinder of an F80 and didn't find it that great.
The focusing screens of the F801(s), F90(x), and F100 are indistinguishable in practice; I had all three side by side. Because their viewfinders are, in my opinion, truly excellent, manual focusing worked very well. However, my eyesight was relatively young back then; today, focusing without a focusing aid would be much more difficult.
And that brings us to the problem. Nikon itself doesn't offer focusing screens with focusing aids for the aforementioned cameras.
But they do exist for the F6, but these are likely to be difficult to find today:
- Typ J: Fresnel focusing screen with 5 mm microprism grid and
reference circle with a 12 mm diameter. Suitable for
standard shots.
- Typ A: Fresnel focusing screen with BriteView split-image rangefinder (5 mm diameter). Fast, precise focusing, both with clearly defined lines and blurred contours. Suitable for standard photography.
- Typ L: Like A, but with a diagonal dividing line for the BriteView split-image indicator. Fast, precise focusing, both with clearly defined lines and blurred contours. Suitable for standard photography.
Aside from the focusing aids, I personally preferred the viewfinder of the F100 to that of the F6. I can't really say why. Incidentally, the viewfinder of the F6 (like that of all other single-digit Fs) shows 100% of the image field.
It was slightly brighter and larger then that of the F100, but it seemed a little less brilliant to me.
If I were you, I'd get an F3. It's a great camera, and you can easily buy a wide variety of focusing screens for it. Plus, thanks to the removable viewfinder, you can change them in seconds without any tools.
I know you asked about an AF body. But for manual focusing, a MF body is clearly the better choice.
Theoretically, there's also the F4 (with AF), but I have no personal experience with it. Two friends of mine had one and loved it. I thought it was great in theory too, but it was too bulky and heavy for me.
p.1 #19 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
Nifty Fifty wrote:
I know that's the case with the F6, I'm not familiar with the F5, and your statement doesn't apply to the F100. Its matrix metering only works with AF Nikkor lenses; for all others, only center-weighted metering is available.
Ah yes no matrix metering with Ai-S but metering at least, so maybe not „full“ compatibility (though practically similar to what most MF bodies are capable of). The F80 doesn’t meter at all with Ai-S lenses.
Imo the best solution is getting separate AF and MF bodies and just pick one for the day. Everything else will always be a compromise in terms of size & weight or functionality.
p.1 #20 · After an AF Nikon body for manual focusing
fjablo wrote:
Imo the best solution is getting separate AF and MF bodies and just pick one for the day. Everything else will always be a compromise in terms of size & weight or functionality.
Yup. Plus it means I buy two cameras. I just bought a F65 for the grand sum of £15. I'm sure I'll get by with the 18-35 and 50G on it. The manual focus stuff can stay with the D810. I'm pretty sure I'll eventually get an F3...again. I really need to stop rotating gear like that...but the mrs won't let me have more cameras than fingers in the house.
I just bought a F65 for the grand sum of £15. I'm sure I'll get by with the 18-35 and 50G on it. The manual focus stuff can stay with the D810. I'm pretty sure I'll eventually get an F3...again. I really need to stop rotating gear like that...but the mrs won't let me have more cameras than fingers in the house. 