Nikon F100

I have had 4 F100s, each with problems. The problems were as follows:

1. underexposure by about 3/4 to a full stop

2. consistently undershot when focusing (i.e., focused slightly in front of the subject)

3. consistently rewound film in the middle of rolls

4. (my current body): focus selector (thumb pad) stopped working

Thats 4 bodies, 4 malfunctions. None of them saw more than 100 or so rolls or film. None were dropped or otherwise abused. The first body was bought when the F100 first hit the market, and the most recent one was bought around November, 1999. As far as I can tell, Nikon has got some serious quality control problems concerning this camera.

I've had my F100 for nearly a year now, and I love it. The autofocus is good enough to keep up with college basketball and volley ball games, and more than adequate for everything else. The metering is spot on and it is very rugged camera. The best part is probably the control layout. Everything is where it should be - I can change almost all settings without taking my eye away from the viewfinder. My few gripes consist of: 1) can't change the aperture while the lens is stopped down, 2) no provision to leave the leader out ( I know, get the software). That's it. If autofocus is your main concern, get the EOS 3. For everything else, the F100 is superb.

Steve, Sorry to tell you, but the only way to get the film leader to stay out is to take the body to an authorized Nikon service facility. This is NOT something that can be set via a custom function and/or via the Nikon Software program (Photo Secretary). This is also the case with the Nikon N90s and F5.

After reading Ron's comments, I am REALLY glad that I decided to go with the F5 instead of the F100. I would have definitely been saying "I should have bought the F5!".

I really like the handling of the F5 better than the F100, with respect to how it fits into my hand (I have smaller hands). The F100 has a more pronounced rear ridge that your thumb has to get past to change the selected focus area. The F5 wasn't as pronounced and thus made it easier to operate, for myself and my wife. The additional features also made it worth the extra money (I paid $2000 for the USA version). The F100 is definitely a nice body, though its not a replacement for the F5 (nor was it intended to be!).

I purchased my Nikon F100 in September of 1999 at B&H in Manhattan to replace a for-me-essentially-non-negotiable N70 with something more direct and possessing of greater solidity. I enjoyed the pictures I produced on the N70, but found the interface distracting - getting the settings down on the fly is a drawn and distracting process with the N70. I wanted something closer to my beloved, trusty and (IMHO) near-perfect FE, but with autofocus and modern metering.

While I had dreamt of purchasing an F5, I was largely undecided due to A) the F5's substantially higher price, B) its greater heft and C) my self-assessment that as a photographer I am unlikely to need the 8fps autofocus lock-on, built-in vertical shutter release, central a/c, power windows etc. provided by the F5. I am not photographing Jai Alai, autoracing or the wing motions of hummingbirds. I even LIKE "accidental" and blurry photos some, if not much, of the time.

Still, before approaching the sales counter, I made sure that I came equipped with extra money "just in case" I HAD TO HAVE the F5. Switchable viewfinders notwithstanding, I am happy with Nikon's "standard" finder and doubted very much I would find true cause to change to any of the F5's alternates: life's too short and I am not a professional photographer, but a serious and increasingly enthused amateur. The F100's illuminated red focusing/spot squares seemed to make much more sense, as well; it should never have taken Nikon 4 years to figure that one out.

I asked to see both cameras. I ogled the F5. I fondled the F5. I had read the reviews. I had borrowed a friend's F5 for a week. I appreciated Moose Peterson's thoughts on the matter of the F5. I liked the potentially more solid back of the F5. I liked and had committed the F5's spec sheet to memory over the course of several weeks' worth of obsessive literature perusal. It is a fine camera. A lovely camera. And that oh-so-delicious RGB metering. I had never used an F100. But hadn't I used zoned matrix, centerweighted and/or spot metering before and been perfectly content? I had. So I bought the F100.

Yes, I do have some gripes about the F100. Namely, adjusting aperture via the aperture ring (after all...) should not have to be a custom function when shooting in AP mode. As in the past, I find the matrix meter easily fooled in backlit conditions - it does not seem to be all that much of an improvement over the N70's matrix. Mostly its fine - if I stick strictly to it, the camera exposes properly about 85% of the time, but much less so under backlighting; my advice is to bracket or use spot when this becomes a factor. Also, the non-metal back could be a point of concern even if it does save a bit of weight and lower the price; it feels sufficiently strong and I doubt if I shall run it afoul early - if ever, but still... These complaints are quite minor and are probably more indicative of my native conservatism than of any true shortcomings on the part of the camera itself. I would have to say that this camera was the perfect buying decision for me. All of the controls were easily learned within a day, with the exception of the custom functions - the only one I really use is to change exposure compensation to a half step from a third (CSM 2).

This camera feels better to me than any other body I have used in the past, even if the F5 is a close second with arguably better metering under certain conditions. Just like the F5, when I pick up the F100, it feels like a part of my body. Perfect grip, easy to hold vertically, balanced at rest - completely natural. But unlike the F5, by the end of a long day the F100 doesn't feel like the part of my body which hurts. Great camera.

My brother bought an F100 a couple of months ago. He's been nice enough to let me use it whenever I want. Well, after shooting 5 rolls, I noticed 2 problems with the camera:

1. The display in the viewfinder occassionally goes black. I would have to turn the camera off and on again to get it working.

2. The AF pt selector also intermittently "locks" up and leaves me stuck with one AF pt.

I use nothing but Nikon lenses with this camera. Problem #1 is not a major nuisance. But problem #2 is quite a pain. It forces me to recompose more than I want to....kinna defeats the purpose of having a multiple AF pt camera. I know of a couple of other F100 users who are having the SAME problems. Nikon has yet to admit to this. But they're having serious QA problems here. I'm not very impressed with this camera.

I have an f100, and it is a great camera, albeit not as good as the f5, it holds its own against it. The focus is very fast with my af-s zooms, and the flash system is great. When i get my d1's, i will keep the f100 and my old f3, and sell my f5. BTW, it is far from unsuitable for photojournalists, several pulitzer prize winners that i work with use them exclusivly

Hi, a year ago I decided that I needed a new camera - I was out of fun using the F801s with the F601. (I use the Lowepro Phototrekker and so I have two main-boddies) There where too many differences (in AF, viewer, flashynchro-speed, energy and so on) between these two cameras. I finaly had to decide between the F100 and the F90x. The decision wasn't easy and I have to say that the F90x was the perfect solution. The most important arguement was not the price but the interfaces of the two cameras. Knowing the F601 & F801s Interfaces it is just easy to use the F90x. And - of course, there is the price. But what can the F100 do the F90x cannot do. O.K. - there is the better AF - and the F100 just looks better - but that's not worth the additional money. Because, when do you really need the AF - if you are taking sports. I don`t do this mainly - except rowing pictures but there usually I focus manually because this is the easiest way to get sharp pictures. For me, there is an other reason against the AF: the lenses: Even the AF of the F801s can focus my 18mm lens quickly. The same is mostly through with my Sigma 28-70 2.8. For sure, the F90x AF is much more faster and this the F90x is my first camera where I can use the AF in C-Mode. But where I would need a fast AF, the lens is too slow. I meen this for the Sigma 70-210 2.8 APO. Here, the AF really slows down - because of the lens. But I see that the same is though with the older Nikkors 80-200 2.8. So, think the F90x is nearly as well as teh F100. May be, I would see this different if I would use an F5 - then I would use the F100 as back-up body because of the same interfaces. I even don't know how I would decide not having a F801s and a F601 also in my Phototrekker. But under these circumstances, I don't see the F100 is much better than the F90x. Finaly: Some of you say the F90x is not robust enough, but: Don't you have a hamer for putting nails in the wall - do you really have to take your Nikon?

I bought the F100 about 7 Months ago and was not too sure about the improvements over the F90x, the AF felt a bit strange so I took it to the local Nikon service centre. The guy there told me to quit worrying about it and just look at the focus dot next time I used it. So I did and was surprised to see that it was always in focus...that's the trick you see, it's always in focus such is the slickness of the AF system. It takes some getting use to! The reviewer got it right the F90x has very powerful motors and can out focus ( with a speedy lens)anything on the market but it lacks the sheer lock on and the sensitive AF capabilities of the F100. Even the F5 cannot really match the f100, though to the inexperienced the AF appear similar in both, that said the F5 has been much improved, it's a much better machine than in 1996. As for the matrix metering, it's an act of faith, you believe in it and it will come up trumps, but question it and you are better off using your own expertise. I do bracket regularly when I wish to take no chances but in nearly all cases the matrix wins out, so now I budget to waste film, cos I still take no chances in many situations, but when I have to I know I stand an outstanding chance of 'getting away with it' even when using the best slide films. Where the metering falls down, though it's not really a weakness, is when the exposure obviously requires a different meter, like centre weighted or spot, but it's so obvious that I cannot really call this a weakness. As for back light underexposure, most people I know, do not have this problem, but in most cases the problem is one of composition, the matrix and database algoritms are very'dead on', a small misalignment in compostion can change in values, but this I view as a good thing. There is two things worth mentioning, the F100's grip is not used as battery cover and therefore cause a weak point in camera's rigidity and you can use depth of field preview and AF lock together( think about it), you cannot, for instance, on an Eos3 and there is no CF to correct this weakness. There are many other instances where the F100 scores over its rivals and its reliabilty has not been in doubt for me, not a single problem, same for the F90x.

An excellent review, I only wish there were more honest reviews like this one. I have two F100 and they have been very reliable and have taken a lot of abuse, but the metering on both cameras are not foolproof and can give some odd results. However, I have to say that I almost exclusively use matrix metering because it does achieve a very high success rate, for me at least. Compared with some of the rather Darth Vadar-ish looking cameras coming onto the market, this is one very sweet camera.

I bought the F100 after a financial windfall to replace the F90 I used as a back up body to my F90X. For me the expected better AF performance was the main reason to consider the F100 over the F90X, I don't need the extreme ruggedness, 100% viewfinder and MLU of the F5.

As stated in the test the camera fits better in the hand than the F90X, and built-quality is confidence inspiring. I haven't had any reliabilty problems with it, as I haven't had with any of my Nikon's over the last twenty+ years, but after reading all the negative feedback I get the impression that either I've been lucky or the camera isn't as big a lemon as is sometimes said. There has been a problem with the powerconsumption in the earlier models, which is relatively always high compared with a manual body, due to something with the rewind fork, but the importer (INCA in the Netherlands) replaced it and upgraded the software for free before I had noticed any serious problems with it.

Initially I was quite dissapointed in the AF performance, which seemed slower than that of the F90X. One year later I must admit I have grown to like my camera. I found the Dynamic AF to be the cause of my problem, and with it switched off, the hesitation ( and consequent slowness) the camera has, due to the choice of focus area it has to make with Dynamic AF, dissapears. After modyfying the AF selector pad operation with the CSM functions (sequential instead of random), the AF now allows me to shoot in the intuitive way I had hoped it would allow me to. Even under the most challenging condition, like badly lit fashion show with a lot of unexpected 'artistic' backlighting I found it to perform reliable.

So my experience is that it is an improvement over the F90X, though the AF is not as good as the hype makes it (as goes with most camera's). Built and quality are up to standards, handling and ergonomics are a logical extention of the tradition Nikon started with F801, F4, F90 etc and make the upgrade from the older bodies fluent. If you have the money go for it, if you're on a tight budget do consider the F90X.

Paul K

I've had this camera for a couple months now. IT IS GREAT. Autofocus is fast and all my exposures so far (about a dozen rolls) have turned out crisp. If you're thinking about getting theis camera, just get it, you won't be dissapointed. But WHY oh WHY can't I program it to leave the leader out? I would write all the good qualites about this camera but i really don't feel like writing pages and pages. EVERYTHING ABOUT THE F100 is great. Anyone who says otherwise probably never tried this camera.

I found this site by searching for reviews of the F100. I was curious to know what other people thought of it, especially in comparison to the F5 and N90s. I got my F100 about two weeks ago. It is the first new camera I’ve purchased in about 10 years, and my first autofocus camera. Here are my impressions:

It fits my hands almost perfectly. The only camera I have that compares is my F2 with the MD-3 motor drive, and the F100 is a lot lighter. All I need is a hand strap.

The controls didn’t take more than a couple of hours reading the book, with the camera by my side, to become accustomed to. I don’t say that I’m an expert, but I basically know where everything is. The reason that I invested in Nikon rather than Canon, was the fact that I could pick up an F2 and figure everything out immediately. I couldn’t do that with the Canon F-1, so I bought the Nikon F2.

Exposures in matrix mode seemed to be about 2/3 of a stop under. However, after scanning several negatives into my Nikon Coolscan III, I found that they were almost dead on. It was the printing of the prints that was slightly dark. By the way, I didn’t do any corrections to the scans, just printed them on my Epson Photo EX, and compared them to the original prints.

I used both an autofocus and a manual focus zoom lens during my initial tests. The autofocus lens shots were in good focus, while the manual lens shots were not quite. I attribute that to my eyesight. I’ll use the focus indicator in the viewfinder more with manual lenses. I’ve used both an “A” screen and a “B” screen in my camera bodies. I find that I need the “A” or “K” more now with the manual bodies.

With the rebirth of the rangefinder camera (Konica, Contax and Voigtlander), I feel that I need to take my SP out and do some shooting. Maybe I’ll take both the SP and F100, like the old days, and do some shooting.

Thanks for a great site.

Ed Lake

Perhaps I didn't read far enough down in the comments but I didn't notice the one thing that attracted me to the F100, the built-in diopter correction. This factor alone steered me away from the N90s and the price tag kept me away from the F5. I use my camera as my profesion, this enables me for Nikon's Profesional Services so any problem I may have is trivial in the sceme of knowing when something is in focus or not.

Yeah! That's it! No wait, why doesn't Nikon just give their products away? Put me first on the list. I would like a 300mm f2.0 lens, Coolscan 2000, D1 camera, and F5 camera.

I recently bought an F100 to my photographic arsenal, spending about 2/3 the price of F5.

First of all, I can feel the kind of hand feeling of F5 when holding that F100. It is a perfect Nikon that fills the gap between F5 and F90X. Indeed, I am not a professional photographer, only take some portraits or nightviews during holidays. For a amateur like me, I think F100 is best for me.

It is quite heavy, at first. However, this weight can help me erase the shaky photos produced by me. Although it doesn't have 3D Colour Matrix, I think the other functions can already satisfy my needs. 1/8000 shutter speed, the fine division of shutter speeds and aperture values, well- done illumination of the LCD display, electronically-controlled depth of field preview, and the high speed powerful focus speed......All these help me take great pics.

I also bought a Nikkor 28-70mm f2.8 ED D IF S Lens too. Although it is more expensive than that F100, it deserves! The image is sharp, vivid, colourful, with little distortion, clear. The most important thing is that it can focus very quickly and quietly, and stop when the image is clear. I dont know how Nikon designs and makes this lens, but I think the quality is the most important, not the process of making it.

The last thing I wanna talk about is the newly-introduced Kodak Max 400 film. It is HORRIBLE! I mean......not the colour, but the coarse- grained resolution......very large points on the photos......DON'T USE IT!!!!!!

D*mned right, Ian, you say "Nikon has lost touch with the real needs of photographers."

Back in 1990, my EOS 630 performed better AF than my F4s. I have not much complaints for F4s which is the only AF SLR with traditional control, problem is that AF Nikkors just can't perform as fast as Canon EFs.

AF is just one issue. There've been 4 versions of AF Nikkor 80-200/2.8. I have the 2nd generation, it's hard to work on a tripod, but I refused to adapted the 3rd generation when it came with a tripod collar - I knew sooner or later they would build in a motor. NOW THEY HAVE AFS 80-200/2.8 with built-in silent wave motor!!!

I know Canon EF is not compatible with FD, but when they gave up FD system for EF mount, they made a quantum leap. While Nikon always emphasize their backward compatibility, the compatiblity isn't really that good. One get confused about AI, AI-P, AI-S, AF, AF-I AF-S¡KNikon products are built durable, but the longevity isn't that good as they are always correcting the wrong decisions made in designing previous models..

I love F, F2, F3, F4, F5, F100, D1, they all look sexy. But I'll keep just F3, F4 in my collection, I don't care whether F100 is better than EOS3, or F5 is better than EOS1V, until the day I feel Nikon have as good vision as Canon's.

I recently purchased an F-100 at Pitman's Photo in Miami. I ended up returning two different f-100 due to the same problem: The AF will lock up. I have elected to try a third f-100, but I find it weird to have such bad luck, or nikon isn't telling us something.

I found this review to be very unbiased and realistic with my experiences with my F-100. Though having read all of the comments regarding some peoples bad experiences with owning this fine camera, I can only say that mine has always performed up to and exceeding my expectations. As far as other preferences as far as makes....therefore Canon....etc...Thats why they make chevy's...Fords...and Dodges...Everyone will have a personal choice on the different features offered by different manufacturers....But my experience with the F-100's autofocusing...metering and other features has always brought me the results I have come to expect from the quality of the Nikon line...Of course with the exection of Matrix Metering which can be confused in certain situations with any camera system...In my book the F-100 gets a thumbs up for durablity...dependabilty..and ease of use with a short period of getting familiar with the controls...Made the F-100 an excellant addition to my camera family.

i have been using my f100 almost for a year, now. and guess what happened to me last month? my AF point selector stopped working and i am stuck with my right focus point active which is just great. we should do something about this common problem!

Loved the review and it only affirms that no camera is perfect. I have the F100 and would not trade it for anything. I am a serious amatuer and own the F3, F90x and the F100. Each bring something to the table but the F100 is rugged and it performs like a champ for me. I have never experienced any of the problems mentioned above. I use the F100 a great deal and with the MB-15 speed grip, it is an awesome camera! As far as Canon versus Nikon, it is all moot. If you want a Canon, buy a Canon. If you want a Nikon, buy a Nikon. I am old enough to remember when Canon was just a play camera. Now, it is a great camera. You have to decide what you want and what you will pay for it. I chose Nikon and have never looked back. Some will choose Canon and never look back. To each his own. I will say to those who knock the F100, I am surprised. It is a rugged camera and if I experienced those problems you mentioned, I would take it back to the dealer ASAP.

Several users complained about the AF selector (or thumb pad) that stopped working. It happened to me too during a trip in the desert where I continued to shoot in spite of terrible weather conditions: a dust storm followed by rain. The camera ended up covered with a very thin and sticky layer of mud, and the AF selector started to work intermittently before staying definitively stuck on a position. Back home, I tried to fix it myself and popped the thumb pad off the camera. Big mistake! I could clean up the contacts (apparently made of conductive rubber) and get the thing to work again but the thumb pad wouldn't hold in place again. I brought the camera to a repair store today and I don't know how much that's going to cost me.

So my advices are: 1) To avoid that problem, keep the thumb pad clean. If you shoot in a dusty environment, cover it with plastic foil and some tape. Clean it up regularly with an air spray. 2) If it gets stuck, don't force it, try a good cleanup first. If it still stays stuck, the thing I would do is to keep the thumb slightly up with a small blade, pour one drop of water or alcool under each of the contacts, blot with thin cloth or tissue, blow with the air spray, repeat several times and let it dry. It's all plastic and rubber underneath, so I wouldn't be scared to put a little bit of liquid. The only part in metal is a blade which is used as a spring for the Lock switch.

Of course, if your F100 is still under warranty and if you can go without it for 6 weeks (!), send it back to Nikon for repair and maybe, maybe... if they get enough cameras back for that problem, they are going to do something about it in the next version.

So far, it's been my only problem in 18 months and I took it on motorcycle trips with temperatures ranging from 20 degrees to 110. I just love it, Matrix 3D and Flexible Program work wonders for me 90% of the time; manual mode and a little bracketing do the rest in tricky situations. I wanted an indestructible P&S that could accept amongst the best lenses in the world and I'm sooo glad the F100 was around when I went out shopping for a new camera. I was hesitating to buy a mechanical FM2 or F3 as a second body but all things considered, I think I'm going to take another F100.

I am considering purchasing an F100, but after reading about all of the autofocus zone selector problems, I am not so sure. I recently tried an F100 at my local camera store and noticed that the zone selector had stopped working properly. This was a brand new camera that had just been delivered to the store. The salesperson claimed that he had not seen this problem before, but now I am more concerned than ever. What are the odds of trying only one new camera and seeing the problem within 5 minutes. From this experience, the problem does not seem to be dirty contacts. It seems to be a quality control problem or a basic design flaw.

I would like to try to determine if this problem is mechanical (thumb switch) or software. Can someone please answer these questions:

1) Is the problem intermittent? 2) If you remove the battery pack and then re-install it, does the problem go away for awhile? 3) If you turn off the camera and then turn it back on does the problem go away (probably not)? 4) Does the problem occur even if the camera is intentionally locked on one focus zone? (Does the zone move to a different zone?) 5) Does the problem seem to happen more often under certain conditions? 6) How frequently does the problem occur, or is it permanent once it does occur? 7) If you send the camera with this problem to Nikon, what happens?

I think answers to these questions will be very interesting to anyone owning or considering buying an F100.

I've had the f100 since spring and it's great. I use it mostly for street, sports, and portrait photography. The f100 is the perfect camera to own. NOW... to all you with the "my autofocus selector gets stuck... ohhhh nooooo" problem.... maybe this is what's reall wrong: When you don't press a button for a while, the viewfinder display turns off, now if you had the middle auto focus selector selected (for example), it still shows on the top LCD display BUT if you try to change the selector you CANNOT until you either lightly press the shutter release button or press AF ON. And until you lightly press the shutter release button or AF ON, pressing the AF selector button will not cause ANY change in the viewfinder, i.e. no selectors will light up. THis is not a problem, apparently the f100 was programmed to act like this. If the problem is mechanically (which it seems), just get it cleaned.

In response to Kim: my problem with the focus selector started because I got caught in a dust storm. There was a very thin layer of mud which dried out and stuck like white paint all over the camera, it took me 3 hours to clean it up: not the kind of weather conditions you are likely to see everyday. The repair for breaking the selector cost me $60 but at least I know how to clean it up correctly without breaking anything, should I be caught again in a similar weather. BTW, the inside of the camera was perfectly clean.

Now, like Rayan wrote, the focus selector is active only when the meter is on, which is something you probably missed if you were trying the camera at the store for the first time.

After I pointed out the problem to the salesperson, he had the camera checked out by their service technician, and they determined that the focus zone selector was defective. Therefore, in this case it does appear that there was a real problem and it had nothing to do with dust, etc. I'm still concerned about the quality control on the F100.

The focus selector problem is something which I had experienced in the first week, and there is an EASY fix to it.

Open up the camera back and clean the gold contacts that you can see on the edge on the camera body and the opened back - a dab of isopropyl alcohol on a cottontip and gently wipe them.

Better still, if you have contact enhancer, apply a teensy, weensy bit on both the pins and the contacts.

Did the above and have not had any problem with the focus selector for the last 10 months.

Nikon F100 has a +2EV to -2 EV (4 EV range) analog display which is not enough range for a B/W film-- even for perhaps a color negative film. It is definitely better than N90 (which has 2 EV range!), but same as 8008s! Hopefully Nikon will make it same as its competitors (Canon EOS1 has a range of 6 EV), or perhaps even better.

The point is not that the camera lacks anything in its automatic modes, but if I am shooting manual, I like to check the exposure range with moving shutter-speed or aperture dial as little as possible.

I have owned my F100 for over one year now and I must say this marvel of photographic engineering still never fails to amaze me. I wouldn't hesitate to smack somebody in the face with it due to it's heavy duty construction. Autofocus operation is breathtakingly accurate and extremely fast. Many people that own F5s have told me they should have bought F100s instead. To me, that's saying quite a lot. BITCHIN CAMERA!!!

Having fondled the F100 in my local camera store a couple times, I'd like to add that the best thing about the F100 is the feeling when you hold it and click off a couple shots. The body fits the hand like a glove; the finder is bright and sharp and kind to people wearing glasses; the noise made by the shutter is gentle and exquisite (eat your heart out, EOS-3 and EOS-1v!).

For my tastes, 5 years ago it was Nikon for lenses, Canon for bodies. Now the situation seems to be heading the opposite way with Nikon putting out a camera like this. By the way, F80 is also a step in the right direction though the F80's inability to meter with manual Nikkors is regrettable for me.

In any case, I think the F100 is a classic already. Right up there with EOS-1n and FE-2.

I purchased a Nikon F100 in January 2000 and I can reconfirm all the praise it has garnered from other users on this page. I estimate that I have shot 150+ rolls of film through the camera. I find it a very satisfying camera to use. My only problem with the camera functionally, is that I do not fully comprehend the subtleties of the 6 autofocus options. I only use option 1(portraits Stills & product photos), 2(snap shots),4 (for panning action shots) and 5 (action Photos where focus tracking is required). 3 seems to be the same as 1 and I can see no need for 6.

I own an FM and an FM2n, 23 AI/AIS lenses and 4 auto focus lenses for the F100. Some of the AI lenses I have had for 20 years or more and they are still functioning perfectly. I also own a Pentax 6 x 7 with 4 lenses as my medium format camera (lanscapes Portraits and aerial photography) and a Toyo 4x5 field camera.

I started to experience the auto focus zone switch problem on the F100 in December while in Colorado. It has been intermittent, and at first I thought that I had set something wrong in the custom options. The problem got worse with time. Last Saturday 14 April 01, while on an assignment and with the camera about 3 months out of warrenty, the auto focus zone selector started working so erratically that the camera would not focus consistently. I could futz with it and get the focus zone where I wanted it but the next time that I touched the shutter release the complete zone display on the top deck would change. When this happened the focusing motor would drive the lense to either the infinity position or to the closest focus position and then lock up. I used the FM2n to finish my work.

I rely on the auto focus camera for my work because of failing eyesight and I have gotten so used to it that I purchased a new F100 on Saturday evening 14 April from Pete's Photo World in Cincinati. The faulty one is on its way back to Nikon in New York. I was/am an engineer by profession and have been an active photographer for most of my life and have occasionally made a few bucks on assignment on the side. I feel that I know a little about what constitutes reliability in a camera. My confidence in the F100 is severely shaken and yet I purchased another one, go figure that out. If the General (my dear wife) finds out I'll be sleeping in the car !!

I'll keep everyone posted on how Nikon handles the situation

I am a proud owner of F5 and recently I bought my dad the F100 for his 60th birthday. My dad and I were so excited about the F100 at the beginning but starting to question it's quality. 1) On the middle of my second roll of film, the camera started to fail on detecting the DX code of the film. I had to manually set it to the correct ASA. It seems to work fine after putting in a third roll of film. Bad film or bad camera? I don't know. 2) On both rolls of film, most of them appear to be about 0.7 ~ 1.0 under exposed. It wasn't even any tricky lighting situation. I am not sure if I shuold recommend it to other? Hope to hear more from F100 owners.

Well friends and gentle folks, Nikon has repaired my F100 at no charge even though it was 3 months out of warranty. In my previous note above I mentioned that I had purchased another F100. This new one appears to be working OK but the auto focusing on this camera is not as precise as on the original.

The service order # 140738 that came back with the camera stated that they had –

· Repaired the camera back

· Repaired the auto focus operation

· Adjusted the shutter speeds

· Adjusted the Auto Exposure operation

· General check and clean

· Cleaned the CCD.

As Stated above the camera is a little over a year old and I am left wondering if this degree of servicing will be necessary on an annual basis to keep the camera reliable. Now I have two of the beasts !! The good news is that Nikon did not even question the fact that the camera was out of warranty and they returned my F100 within 10 days. Thank you for this Nikon USA. Still, I am wondering if an anuual overhaul like this will be necessary to keep the cameras serviceable and reliable. I am also questioning if it was smart to have purchased a second F100.

The Nikon F100 is meant to be a slimmed-down, more portable version of the F5. For people who are landscape or nature photographers, this camera is terrific. It is easier to balance in your hands in awkward positions than either the N90 or N70, plus the fact that it has a terrific body. Finally, the matrix metering is uncanny and that is what makes the F100 a hot camera for its price. How bad can a camera be if it is used by Frans Lanting and Steve McCurry? Furthermore, the camera feels light enough in your hands to use fixed or even short zoom lenses and get razor-sharp images without a tripod (although the latter is suggested). Camera bodies are great, but great lenses, in the end, have more to do with crafting a great picture--and Nikon has the best. --Rick Semiatin

I purchased a F100 about one month ago and took it to Alaska. It stopped operating (no AF and no shutter release ) the day I departed from my trip (thank heaven). I took it to Nikon in NY (still under warrantee) and was told that "you broke the shutter!" Needless to say, I was livid. I have owned Nikons for some 40 years and this is the first time that something this gross has happened to me. Nikon's QA is the pits. I would never have purchased the F100 after having gone through this nonsense. Any problems like this out there?

Hello, This is a desperate request for help on how to extract justice from the Nikon Corp. regarding my F100. I bought this lemon less than two years ago and it arrived with a faulty rewind mechanism. First, it would not rewind halfway through a roll, second it was rewinding VERY slowly. I sent it back under warranty and the said they fixed it. Now I am out of warrantee, It started to just rewind spontaneously with no warning and finally quit rewinding all together. I sent it back again. They want $266.00 to "overhaul" it. I have been shooting Nikon for 16 years and have never had a problem that is such a blatant manufacturing flaw as this. I am a professional and make my living from my equipment. I am already loosing $ from this inconvenience. Any recommendations on how to proceed? I wrote a letter to some guy named Rick Houghton 3 weeks ago and have not heard back. Please respond if you have suggestions. Thanks, Paul B. Richer paulricher@hotmail.com www.richerimages.com PH#801-328-9094

Thanks to all, concerning comments on the serviceability of the F100.I have bee shooting nikons since the 60"s without problems.Now that I need AF due to the elderly eyes, I have been relying on AF.Even though I have several MF bodies I was contemplating of getting the F100 to supplement my F5. After reading these comments I can see that I will not be buying said camera. I absolutely hate problems! Thanks.

Thanks to all, concerning comments on the serviceability of the F100.I have bee shooting nikons since the 60"s without problems.Now that I need AF due to the elderly eyes, I have been relying on AF.Even though I have several MF bodies I was contemplating of getting the F100 to supplement my F5. After reading these comments I can see that I will not be buying said camera. I absolutely hate problems! Thanks.

I have had my Nikon F100 for over 2 years now. It is a lovely machine but there is nothing I have done with it that I couldn't have done equally well with my old, 100% reliable, F801 (8008 in the USA), which I traded in as part-ex. An advantage of the old F801 is that it was worth so much less I had no worries about damaging it, or having it stolen, so I was a lot more adventurous.

The AF on the F100 is better, but not so much better that it makes much difference in real life, and the selectable focus point is for me, a useless gimmick.

So I like my F100, but with hindsight I wish I had stayed with my F801. if you are in the market for a Nikon AF machine my advice would be to forget the F5 and F100, save yourself a stack of money, get yourself a second hand F601 or F801s, and spend the difference on better lenses or a big supply of film.

I thought I'd better stick up for the poor F100. Seems to be getting a bashing here of late!

Like many others here my F100 has served me without a hiccup for nearly two years of constant work. I was hesitant to buy one at first with all the complaints at photo.net, but it is human nature that more people will complain than praise. A trusted technician once told me never rush and buy the first of anything, whether a car, software or camera - let the manufacturers (and first few buyers!) sort out the bugs.

The F100 is as reliable a camera as any, and more so than most I have owned (FM-2, F3, F4, N8008, N90...).

I have read every pro and every con about the Nikon F100. As far as Im concerned If it was either my wife or my F100.Well Wanda get to packin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need and love AF, but when I'm doing a number of shots, say, in a portrait shoot, I really dislike the constant re-focussing that usually goes on. With my F90x, i reverted to manual focus.

Now with the F100, I've set it to not focus with the shutter release button. I focus using the button on the back, then I can relax and get on with picture taking. If i think that the subject distance may have altered a bit, I can decide when to re-focus with the button on the back.

It's really made a difference.

Well, nothing's perfect...But after shooting several hundred rolls in all kinds of weather, I can't complain. I shoot lots of ski racing and it's been my camera of choice for 2 winters now. I've found the AF fast and reliable, the metering understandable in it's logic and the mechanics first rate. NO PROBLEMS! It's more sophisticated than my trusty F3, but if you treat it like a fine thoroughbred, it'll serve you well. Read the manual! Shoot several test roles. Learn the metering. Keep it clean and dry. Buy good lenses and reap the rewards.

I've used the Nikon F100 for 8 months now. It's a great camera. The auto focas is fast and reliable. With all of the different programming on the camera, you can't go wrong. I bought another one, just for a backup. With Nikon's lenses and flash equipment it's a great setup. I would recommend the F100 to anyone.

I got my F100 during the summer of 1999. The following are the only problems I have encountered with it since then:

* Slows down noticably in the cold - I was shooting on Dartmoor last winter in the snow and the AF and motor wind seemed more sluggish than normal. But I can hardly complain, since I was also more sluggish than normal. Besides, I live in Plymouth, where it hasn't snowed in 10 years, and everyone keeps screaming about global warming, so I don't care about cameras that go slow in the cold.

* The rubber on the grip has started to come away from the camera - to me, this is just normal wear-and-tear, and does not bother me, more than a mild concern about water getting behind the rubber.

* AF Area Selector went wacky for a day - I suspect a bit of dust may have got in the way of one of the little metal connections between the camera back and the main body. Since then I have simply been more careful when opening the back and there has been no problem.

*A tendancy to underexpose slide film - On the odd occasion, my F100 has a tendancy to underexpose on Velvia (in my experience). Since most of my work in the last 2 years has involved working with Fuji Press 400 and 800 (both neg films), this problem has not bothered me.

* Sigma 70-200mm EX HSM lens sometimes acts up - the little plastic pin on the aperture ring of this lens is not as large as the ones on Nikkor lenses. As a result, it is possible when hurrying for the pin to slide up and over the hook on the ring cam on the camera. The effect is a camera that doesn't know what aperture the lens is at, and the lovely EE in the display screen. I do not blame this problem on the F100, but on the lens. Having said that, my F4s does not suffer the same problem since the cam on it has a larger metal catch rather than the plastic one on the F100.

* Sigma x1.4 teleconvertor for above lens - this teleconverter seems untrustworthy on the F100, occasionally feeding the camera false information and causing insane exposures at random. Again, this is not a fault in the camera.

* Slightly weaker body - when comparing the strength of my F100 and my F4s, I do get the feeling the F4s is built much tougher; whereas I would never leave my 70-200mm lens on my F100 round my neck unheld, I am happy to leave it hanging from my F4s.

These 2 cameras are always used side by side - usually with the same film in them. The result of the last three issues mentioned above is that I tend to leave the 70-200mm/2.8 on the F4s and my smaller 24-85mm/2.8-4 on the F100.

IMHO the F100 with a 24-85/2.8-4 is a wonderful combination that I very much enjoy using.

For the photographer working on neg, in a mild dust-free climate with proper Nikkor lenses, like most of the photographers I work with, my F100 is just the job.

Of course there will be horror stories, but every camera has a few bad apples - I used to love my Olympus OM2SP despite the rumours of some having nutty circuitry that drained the battery - mine was just fine. I actually know someone whose F100's shutter impacted on itself involving a hefty repair, but mine hasn't, and it won't.

I think its true what the guy above said, that there will always be more horror stories than happy ones, and I for one am very happy with my 100.

I own a F801s. Its the second one that I have. I am also an underwater photographer and have a rather expensive aluminium housing for the 801 made by Subal.

I have been thinking of upgrading from my trusty 801 to something higher up the food chain. The problem is, if I do change the body I will have to spend around $1500 on a new underwater housing as well. So my question is; should I bother? From what I have read here the metering system (my main gripe with the 801) doesn't seem to be any better on the F90x or F100. I realise that the autofocus would be better on these two cameras, and that they boast a whole bunch of other features that the 801 doesn't have, but in the reality,do you need them? If anyone has any thoghts on this bear in mind that the underwater housing that I mentioned would probably be quite a bit cheaper for the F90x than the F100. This coupled with the higher cost of the F100, ponit me in the direction of the F90x, but then again, the F100 is just oh so nice... Do the F90x and F100 weigh a lot more than the F801?

F100? Better built quality? "slightly" well constructed compaired to F4/F5? NO...

Recently I went on a trip to far east with a Friend who owned both F3 and F100. He have the F3 for years, but would like to try out the faster AF. He could't afford a F5 so he makes a comprise and purchase a F100, wrong decision..

We were photographing the old, beautiful Japn castles, my friend drop his F100 with his AFS 24-85 on the stairs. The F100 is seriously damaged.

How serious? I saw the lens hit the floor first, then I heard an ugly crack sound, oh my god... The lens is not too bad, but then a large crack are found on the body, goes from the lens mount towards to top plate. The top plate is Magnesium alloy right? Yeah, it remains as good as it was. My friend un-mount the lens, oh my god, a small crack in the mirror box, and the mirror wouldn't go up anymore, obvious the mechnism is damaged.

We managed to find a Nikon service, however they refused to repair it, because "the state is too bad to be repair". Back home we go to Nikon again and they refuse to repair, again, for the same reason. The F100 become a piece of junk, only to be scaped. Then my friend got curious enough and desperate to find out what has happened inside the camera, he disassemble it, and reveal how poorly its constructed.

Nikon advertised that F100 is constructed in Magnesium alloy body top, front and bottom. Yes, part of it. The lens mount is riveted to the body frame, and only small part of its front plate is metel. The rest is cheap plastic, especially the part the surrounds the lens mount (including the depth of field button), which broke, is only about 1mm thick. Had a friend in the plastic industry to look at it, he told us it may be polycarbon (same as EOS 1N and EOS3) but then it is far too thin to give enough strength. Have a closer look in the mirror box, plastic inside did not crack, but shatter into very tiny pieced..

My friend has taken some pictures ... Watching he dissemble the F100 is like heart break to both of us, we have been using Nikon for years, my FM, though drop for a few times is still in good order. I CAN'T believe that a camera sold in £800 (here in the UK) has such a poor design and cheap plastic construction. I am TOTALLY disappointed to Nikon.

Considering an upgrade, I am quite sure I will not buy a Nikon any more, maybe I should switch to Canon and buy EOS 3 which is £200 less, or keep my FM? I don't know...

i hsed 2 bodies of f100 and it's the great camera that i ever used like f90x, f4, f80, f3

f 100 is the best

It's fascinating to read this thread again, after wiping off the sweat and investing in an F100 about a year ago. I run around with it in the field constantly, including in sub-freezing temperatures, with a big heavy lens (the ~1Kg Nikkor 28-70/2.8) hanging off the mount unsupported. No problems, total reliability. Nikon obviously had trouble with this camera, but it seems to be over.

As many have reported, the meter is a bit "bright" (tends to underexpose). This is just another reason why every professional photographer sets the ISO on the camera manually, after testing their camera+film+processing combination. Get over it!

In my experience the camera doesn't underexpose as much as you'd think. But people are often so used to labs overexposing prints in order to compensate that when they start using a pro body (often at the same time as they start to use slidefilm or pro labs) they think that camera is underexposing when in fact what they're seeing for the first time is the true exposure rather than the overexposed version produced by a highstreet lab to compensate for the heavy underexposure produced by many lowend cameras.

I have had an F5 and F100 for over 2 years now. With the onslaught of digital cameras one could finally afford good film cameras. The F5 Matrix metering is superior and the exposure is hardly every wrong. The F100 metering is definitely less accurate but the F100 has a better battery consumption figures. There are niggling quality problem with the F100 such as the view finder is not well protected and lets dirt in (eveen though it does not impair picture quality)and as I was used to the way Nikon backs opened in my previous cameras, an FA and F4, I find the catch on the F100 back insecure and can inadvertently spring open where as there was no such chance with the FA and the "professional" F series. The F100 is less of a baby F5 than a ergonomically better consumer camera. I tend to use the F5 when it is important to get perfect pitures and F100 for "snaps" when it is advantageous not to have the bulk. Having said that, having good lenses is probably more important. And a good compositional eye even more so... Cheers, Hung Nguyen

I love my F100 and N80. Great cameras. Was disappointed to hear that someone got theirs broken. But as much as we would like to keep our equipment forever they're just tools and machines that brake no matter how much advertising tells us that they are build to endure tough situations. A Canon may be a good option for your disappointed heart but just pray that on your next drop (because if you droped it once, it's going to drop again) Leica is still in business... For those who still have their F100s in good shape, lets keep shooting!

I have a question for the group. I had a N-65 with two Tamron AF lenses; I also have a workhorse FE with several lenses. The N-65 went south, so I upgraded to the F-100. My question relates to lens compatability. I have several lenses that I use with the FE, but am concerned about using them on the F-100. These are the lenses:

Nilon Lens series E, 50mm F1.8; Nikkor-S Auto, 35mm, F2.8; Kalimar MC Auto Zoom, 80-200mm F4.5~5.6; Samyang MC Auto Zoom, 18-28MM, F4; Kenko Vari 8000S, 420mm-800mm, F8.3

I won't mind not having the autofocus capability of the camera- my main concern is not messing up the electronics of the F-100. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.