Below is a commentary I wrote in a photo.net discussion forum on October 16, 2000. I was doing a Google search on my name and ran across this discussion from so long ago. At the time, the F4 was my first pro level camera, and I was in love with it. I still have fond memories of that camera, which for reasons I can't remember, I sold (and regret that now):

Fellow photographers. I have enjoyed this long discussion very much, and I'm glad to be a part of it. I've had my F4 for a while now, and so far have found quite a bit to like. I have owned mostly Nikon equipment for 20 years or so, and have used everything from an FM, EM, FE, FE2, and an original F. Plus I do some medium format.

This is my first "professional" 35mm (other than the original F), and I must say....I LOVE IT!

Commenting on the weight...well, I traded in a Mamiya RB67 with a big prism finder for this camera, so it feels like a light-weight in comparison. I agree that compared to my FE2 with its MD-12 motor it is heavier, but to me that is a GOOD thing. One of the banes of 35mm photography in general is that aggravating mirror flopping up and down, just when I am trying to get that shake-free shot. This F4 weighs about as much as my FE2/MD-12 and the sandbag I threw on top to dampen vibrations on those macro shots. Now I don't need the sandbag! Plus, I read that the mirror is counter-balanced by a tungsten counterweight. Even better! And now I find a nice little mirror lockup control. Sigh!

Anyway, on control placement...I find, having come from other Nikons that the control placement is where I would expect it to be. I love the fact that this baby has so many controls. I count 12 controls just for the right hand alone, and eight for the left. As an avowed gadget freak, there ain't enough controls, give me some more please. Seriously though, the controls all have a solid click feel to them, and seem like they will be difficult to dislodge from the last setting. I don't find it at all difficult to use the controls. I can easily set the motor drive with one hand, for instance. The exposure and focus lock controls all fall right under my fingers, as does the mirror lockup and depth-of-field preview button. I don't have particularly large hands, but all these controls seem to fit me well.

I loaded the film easily. In the older Nikons, I had to stick the little leader in the little slot and manually roll the film forward a few notches, then close the back, and watch the rewind knob while winding to make sure it moves. Then I would take the slack out of the roll with the rewind knob. But...on this F4, I stuck in the film, pulled the leader out and dropped it next to the red mark, closed the back, and held down the motor button. It stopped right on frame one, ready to shoot. Could that be any easier? If a person wants anything easier, they should switch to an Advantix drop in film type!

I am a computer consultant by trade, so I appreciate a good hunk of computer equipment better than most. This F4 is a cool package in that respect too. It is very computerized...19 automatic multiple bracketing exposures with the MF-23 back. Matrix, center-weighted, and spot metering with an easy switch movement (Not too easy so as to move by brushing it, I tried!), electronic shutter, manual metering, shutter and aperture priority modes, standard program mode, and high-speed program mode. It uses analog controls very effectively to manipulate its very digital internal systems. I appreciate that. Everything feels so smooooth.

The one thing that could be improved is the viewfinder. I suppose that it isn't quite as convenient as my FE2's, but it makes up for it by giving me a light switch that lights the meter up at night. I don't like looking from top to bottom of the finder for metering info. But, I guess since this thing has multiple prisms available, I could find one that suits me better.

I have a bunch of old favorite Nikkor AI lenses that are still very functional on this F4. I like that a lot. I have one older 50mm F1.8 that is so sharp that it scares me. I can still use it on this camera. I've never had Autofocus before, so...I can't be a good judge here, but, I do like the autofocus so far. It doesn't seem at all slow to me. I point it at something and it seems to focus very quickly, much faster than my forty-two year old eyes could do alone, anyway. I put it in continuous focus mode and it seems to find what I am looking for very quickly. I noticed that it prefers lines to focus against, and not wide blank areas, but, man...I can't focus well on wide blank areas either.

Maybe Canon is faster, but I don't like plastic. I like this big sturdy aluminum frame. In fact, here in the Great Smoky Mountians in Tennessee, we are not allowed to carry guns on long hikes. I once heard tale of a fellow who used his F4 to fend off a big black bear. I don't know if I believe that tall tale, but...other than a big rock, I can't think of a better "legal" defensive weapon against bears, elves, pigmies, trolls, or other creatures of the night mountain air here in the Smokies.

So if you are ever in Cades Cove in the Smokies, and see a funny computer nerd guy with an F4, being chased by a bear...it'll probably be me, and I'll most likely have some great shots to show for my efforts too! It actually happened once, but that was with an FE, and is another story. Would you like to see some of the pictures?

Hey, if you like Canon, go buy one; me...I'm a Nikon guy, and my F4 is, as one of the local bears might say, juuuust right!

-- Darrell Young, October 16, 2000