I suspected as much. The pro bodies have a hair trigger.

Glad to help!

Hello again, thank-you for all your suggestions. How right you were "msmoto",it was operator error! R8R, you were spot on with with your possible cause. The vertical-shooting shutter release button was NOT locked on both cameras.I never realised that I was bumping the portrait grip shutter release! I have put a roll of film through and no problems at all. Once again,thanks.
Cheers, Pino

P.S. I now have a "problem" with an F4, but that is for my next post!

Possible cause: bumping the portrait grip shutter release. Make sure it's locked when not using it.

About Two-Button Reset on the F5:
Pressing BKT and CSM·buttons simultaneously for more than two seconds resets various modes to their initial settings.

You might also, try to deactivate the autofocus when shutter release is lightly pressed. Use the AF button to get the autofocus prior to shutter release when in this mode.

And, if none of this works... try to determine if somehow pressing the AF button also releases the shutter. If nothing corrects the problem...Nikon Service may be a resource or contact Nikon Support. Both cameras doing the same thing suggests an operator error rather than both malfunctioning identically at the same time.

I'm not sure if it's available on film SLRs, but can you do a factory reset just to make sure your settings aren't causing your shutter issues?

Hi Pino, welcome to NR. I am not familiar with the Nikon film cameras as I was an Olympus user but Can you tell us whether you have a motor-drive on there or just the mechanical button. If it is just the mechanical button, it sounds like some ageing has taken place of something non-metallic somewhere and is causing this.

Whatever, your course of action is clear - send it to Nikon for service.

On a related point - how are your light seals?

Hello my name is Pino and I live in beautiful Tasmania. I own 2 F5s which have the same problem, a hair-trigger shutter. The shutter sometimes fires without my touching the shutter button! It seems to occur randomly especially when I am rolling the camera gently in my hands. I took it to a camera technician and naturally it behaved itself and he could find nothing wrong with it but the problem persists.Has anybody encountered
the same problem with their F5? I put a roll of 24 film today and 7 shots went off without my touching the shutter button! Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers, Pino.