I want to sell my F5..should I?

I believe that the Nikon F5 will become known as the final state of the art camera.

Professional photographers are moving to digital at a rapid pace. I believe it is because the workflow of digital in this go-go world we live in is more compatible... Color film takes an hour to process, digitial is ready the moment the image arrives at the publisher... A bit of sharpening, some color correction and some cropping will generally turn any image into something ready for print.

So I believe film will become less common over time, but it will be around a long time... Just as paint and canvas is still available.

I am going to keep my F5. I will be doing more and more digital, but sometimes film just works better. Perhaps over time it will not be the case. But long exposures gives digital cameras trouble. Film low-light and super long exposures is well understood and the results can be dramatic.

If you could find a way to keep your F5, I think you would be glad you did.. Sometimes film is the right choice (like taking pictures of star-trails). But I understand you have a budget to keep...

Good luck!

Phil

Pixelmanipulator said:

Thanks for the ebay link. It looks interesting, but it will
probably take me a while to learn how to use eBay properly. If it
is not the high cost of D100, I will probably buy one already.

If I remember correctly, I bought my F5 many years ago at about
US1700 or so, I am pleasantly surprised to see that they can
actually be resold at US1300 to US1600!

Do you think there is any chance that F5 will become a collectors'
item one day, and sold for thousands?

Philip Graham said:

I would recommend you keep your F5.. I kept mine when I got my
D-100. I sold other camera gear to get my budget in line.

However... That was not your question

I recommend going to ebay and doing a search. A neat feature of
ebay is looking at auctions that already completed. By doing this
you can get a feeling for what your gear will sell for.

Here is a search I did that should help you get started:

http://search-completed.ebay.com/search/search.dll?GetResult&SortProperty=MetaHighestPriceSort&query=nikon+f5&ht=1&combine=y&st=0

I see the F5 selling for between $1200 and $1600.

Other ebay hints:

• Include several pictures.... Including boxes, manuals, etc
• Give a complete discription.
• Accept Paypal for payment (reduces risk on both ends)

If you do have other gear to sell... Like I sold my Nikon 990,
lenes, etc... You might find a way to keep the F5.

Good luck

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Ok I am buying the D100!

I will just have to beg, plead, cry, negotiate, and bargain for one since I have decided to keep my F5 based on the posts here. thanks guys!

I welcome other strategies!

Hi,

I think keeping at least one film body is a good idea, even for an amateur. If the film body I had was an F5, you can be sure that would be the one I kept. When I figured out that digital was going to account for 99% of my shooting, I decided to unload most of my film gear. I kept one body, an FA with motordrive, for the occaisional film shot.

After some consideration lately, I've decided to pick up two film bodies of a newer design than the older manual focus gear I had sold (the newest being an F3). One of those is an F5, as it'll function exactly like my D1H and Kodak 660.

I also figure on getting an F4 as that's the most sophisticated body (film or digital) that maintains full backwards compatability with the original non-AI Nikkor lenses. There are lots of interesting old lenses selling for very low prices these days because so few Nikon cameras have the flip-up AI tab on the aperture ring.

I see where the F4's are selling in the $500-$750 range these days. In another year, I expect to see F5's selling in the $750-$1000 range as the D100 replaces many of them.

I think you've hit onto the best strategy as it is....

Stan

Pixelmanipulator said:

Ok I am buying the D100!

I will just have to beg, plead, cry, negotiate, and bargain for one
since I have decided to keep my F5 based on the posts here. thanks
guys!

I welcome other strategies!

Click to expand...

--
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer

Pixelmanipulator said:

Ok I am buying the D100!

I will just have to beg, plead, cry, negotiate, and bargain for one
since I have decided to keep my F5 based on the posts here. thanks
guys!

I welcome other strategies!

Click to expand...

My suggestion - Sell your F5 in the 12-15 range on EBAY, look there for a clean F100 in the 700 range, or go and pick up a new N90s for 700 from B&H or Adorama, etc. Both of those film bodies offer most of the F5's capabilities and ruggedness, especially the F100, and you'll have 500-800 more to put towards your D100 setup. You'll also have film to use as you learn digital workflow. As other pros have posted, you need about 250 hours of Photoshop experience, with training helpful, before you get the most out of your images. Plus, if film bodies tank in value soon, you won't have lost much more on your F5. Just my .02 from the digital side of the fence, where wide is currently 1.6X LESS wide.

Dave

Nikon film guy from 1978-2001 (FM, FM2, N8008, considered an F100 last year before going digital)

Now: Canon D60, D30, 20-35L (only 32-56mm equivalent in 35mm!), 50/1.8 (80mm portrait lens equivalent)

if you like the f5...i think you should save money for d1x...you pay for what you get

Gabriele Sartori said:

Pixelmanipulator said:

Ok, I can't stand losing out on the digital revolution, so I am
thinking about selling my F5 for a D100.

Click to expand...

I would be very sad on selling the F5, however if for you, just
like most of us, money is not unlimited, I would probably do it. I
kept an old F301 I either sold or gave away my other bodies
(nothing comparable to the F5), if I really need to do film for
some reason (I can't see the reason) the F301 is there, but I know
it will just collect dust till the day I'm not on this earth
anymore.

The D100 rocks! Not as sharp as the D60 but sharp enough and it has
so many other neat features that everynight you'll go late in bed
because you still want to try that last trick....

Your wife may be unhappy too ;-) she will think that you have a
girlfriend and you are chatting on the internet , eventually
will go away but I don't know when, I've been with the D100 for
about a month now and I still have to spend time with her every
day, after work.

Do the switch, the time is now!

Gabriele

Click to expand...

I plan to keep my 2 F4s bodies after going digital because:

1. Compatible with the AI and AIS lenses I love (S2 won't meter them, nor will D100);

2. I still produce m ulti-projector slide shows for maximum image impact. There is a fantastic new computer-based system available from Arion (www.arion-usa.com) that makes assembling and programing these shows a snap. MP3 music, visual interface, automatic sequencing and dissolve rate calculations and much more.

3. I still hate the LCD panels, the tiny little buttons and menus of the electronic cameras. The F4s is the last of the great classic Nikon cameras with traditional controls. I couldn't imagine not having at least one at my disposal. I don't have to remember to check 15 settings before I'm reading to take the first picture, as is the case with digital.

Hi,

With the D30 and D60 you're 1.6x less wide. With the 1D or the Kodak 6mp bodies, one is only 1.3x less wide - which is an improvement. So, it depends on just which digital fence one is standing behind....

Stan

Past 35mm film SLR: Nikon F2H, FE, FA, F3
Past Digital SLR: Nikon D1, Kodak 460, Kodak 620x

Current 35mm film SLR: Nikon FA (soon to add F4 and F5 bodies as prices continue to drop).
Current Digital SLR: Nikon E2 & D1H, Kodak 660
(as long as we're listing it all)

David Nee said:

Just my .02 from the digital side of the fence,
where wide is currently 1.6X LESS wide.

Dave

Nikon film guy from 1978-2001 (FM, FM2, N8008, considered an F100
last year before going digital)

Now: Canon D60, D30, 20-35L (only 32-56mm equivalent in 35mm!),
50/1.8 (80mm portrait lens equivalent)

Click to expand...

--
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer

Stan Disbrow said:

With the D30 and D60 you're 1.6x less wide. With the 1D or the
Kodak 6mp bodies, one is only 1.3x less wide - which is an
improvement. So, it depends on just which digital fence one is
standing behind....

Click to expand...

WIDER=DEEPER POCKETS!!

Hoped-For 1DS full-frame at photokina; $6-7K will get you no compromises, at least for the wedding/portrait guys!

Dave

Stan Disbrow said:

David Nee said:

Just my .02 from the digital side of the fence,
where wide is currently 1.6X LESS wide.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Octopuzz said:

I will just have to beg, plead, cry, negotiate, and bargain for one since I have decided to keep my F5 based on the posts here. thanks guys!

Click to expand...

I think if you really need the money, sell the F5 now, before the bottom on the price falls out, then buy one again for less later. Kind of like stocks (the way people are supposed to do...not like what is going on these past few weeks with the sell offs)...sell while it is higher now, then buy lower later. The F5 is not going to go up in value, no way! If you sell it now for $1250, in 6 months to a year, you can buy it back at $750 if you decide you really need a flim body.

If $500 is no bg deal compared to the time invloved in selling it and all, then just keep it like you have decided. Personaly, I can't image having $4,000 invested in camera bodies as once you start shooting with the D100...the only way you will want to shoot with the F5 is because the D100 breaks. To have an F5 just sitting in a bag as a back up seems like a big waste. I have even been leaning toward keeping my N80 as a back up incase the D100 dies, or at least until I send it in for it's firmware update. But the N80 is no F5 wasting awya in a bag depreciating in value by the day!

Good luck with the purchase.

Drew
http://www.pbase.com/lokerd
http://primerica.itgo.com/

Hi,

All except for the compromise of using only the highest performance lenses (as in f2.8 or faster maximum aperture) in the line up once a full-frame imager hits the streets. That little requirement is going to upset a lot of people, I think, and is the reason no one other than Contax has tried marketing one up until now....

That'll mean one has to have even deeper pockets still - to buy the necessary glass....

Stan

David Nee said:

David Nee said:

With the D30 and D60 you're 1.6x less wide. With the 1D or the
Kodak 6mp bodies, one is only 1.3x less wide - which is an
improvement. So, it depends on just which digital fence one is
standing behind....

Click to expand...

WIDER=DEEPER POCKETS!!
Hoped-For 1DS full-frame at photokina; $6-7K will get you no
compromises, at least for the wedding/portrait guys!

Dave

David Nee said:

David Nee said:

Just my .02 from the digital side of the fence,
where wide is currently 1.6X LESS wide.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer

I think you did the right thing keeping the F5. I recently bought a D1x and I still kept my F5. Not too comfortable relying totally on digital. Hell, I still have my F4s and F3HP

Pixelmanipulator said:

Ok I am buying the D100!

I will just have to beg, plead, cry, negotiate, and bargain for one
since I have decided to keep my F5 based on the posts here. thanks
guys!

I welcome other strategies!

Click to expand...

--
Tphoto

F3HP
F4s
F5
D1x
SB-24, SB-28, SB-80DX
AF-S 80-200, AF 180, AF 85 1.8, etc., etc.
Hasselblad 503cw, 50 CFi, 80 CFi, 120 CFi, 150 CFi
No money, no job