It’s one of the bigger reasons I moved to Nikon several years ago.
If manual focus is your jam you may be interested in switching out the focus screen for something that has a prism or other focus-aid. Be aware that like modern digital cameras, the F100 is setup to be used in auto focus. The 5-point AF system in the F100 is, in truth, more than enough even for wide-open portrait work. A 1/8000 shutter speed makes that possible in almost any situation. Everyone loves shooting Fuji 400H at f/1.4. It's nearly all magnesium (top, bottom, front, and sides (the back cover is plastic) and is designed to take a beating. The F100 feels just as well - perhaps better - built than my D800.
While It feels a little weird to say this about a film camera, the F100's features stack up to those of Canon and Nikon's current digital offerings - here's what I mean:
If auto / aperture or shutter priority is your cup of tea, the F100 has a metering system accurate enough to shoot just about any film (black and white / slide film have less tolerance for botched exposure than C41 color negative).įor more advanced photographers, or those with a little more time between shots, shooting the camera on full manual with a light meter produces beautiful, consistent images.
Several of my wedding photographer friends carry an F100 with a 50mm on full auto as a film body for capturing alternative versions of images with some Delta 3200.* * Bonus pro tip: Shooting Delta 3200 at 1600 and developing normally gives a beautiful, romantic look. Loading is effortless (as seen below), you can take as much or as little control over the camera as you like. You'll be hard pressed to find an easier camera to use, film or otherwise. My 85 f/1.4G stays virtually glued to this camera.
It also comes equipped with a surprisingly robust auto- focus system (with five points) that is capable of accurately focusing in low light conditions and with wide-open lenses. Perhaps the most important feature that sets aside the F100 is its complete compatibility with modern Nikon glass including G lenses that do not have a physical aperture control. You can effort adjust settings by spinning the dials on the grip, if back button focus is your jam that's totally an option, it's easy to switch between AF-S, AF-C, and MF with the front toggle, and the camera supports the standard PASM mode settings found on Nikon pro bodies. The controls are almost the exact same as Nikon's modern DSLR offerings and are an easy transition from Canon's. Made almost entirely out of magnesium (with the exception of the back film cover) the F100 actually, and this might get me into trouble, feels a little better built than my D800.ĭigital shooters will immediately feel at home with the F100 when transitioning from their Nikon or Canon kit. The body itself is extremely well built and feels sturdy in the hands. The F100 was, at the time, one of the best featured cameras ever made and still remains the 135 camera of choice for film enthusiasts, wedding photographers, and many fine artists.
Produced in 1999, the F100 was Nikon's state-of-the-art prosumer / high end 35mm camera, falling just under the professional F5. While there are some very similar models to the F100 from Nikon, Canon, Contax, and Minolta some of which are arguably better (in the case of the Canon EOS 1V and Nikon F6) as far as feature set and bang-for-the-buck goes it's hard to best the F100. The Nikon F100 is, without a doubt, one of the best 135 cameras out there and is, in my opinion, is the absolute best choice for a digital shooter to experiment with 35mm film.* Everything from cheap drug-store point and shoots to beautiful, bespoke-feeling Leicas, to the Canon AE-1 hipsters wear around their necks with a guitar strap. Nikon still sells two film cameras, the F6 and FM10.There are hundreds of 35mm film camera options out there.
By the way, we are finally decided to end sales for the film single lens reflex camera ‘EOS - 1v.’”Īccording to Canon’s statement, it will repair existing EOS-1v units until October 31st, 2025, although repair requests may be denied after October 31st, 2020, depending on remaining parts and inventory.Īlthough this means Canon is no longer selling any film cameras, it doesn’t spell the death of film - at least, not yet. The translated page from Canon’s website delivers the news casually: “Thank you very much for your continued patronage of Canon products. A professional 35mm SLR, the EOS-1v introduced Canon’s fifth generation of professional SLRs, and its body design became the basis for future cameras from the company, including the EOS-1D. Production of the EOS-1v - which was launched in 2000 - actually ceased back in 2010, but Canon continued to sell the remaining stock. Canon has announced that it is officially discontinuing the EOS-1v, its last film camera, as reported by PetaPixel.