Nikon N90s and Nikon F100 viewfinder display differences, and more . . .

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Nikon N90s and Nikon F100 viewfinder display differences, and more . . .

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studio460

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I just won a mint-condition Nikon N90s with an MB-10 grip on Ebay, and I'm totally stoked! I read all the reviews from the usual suspects, but still ended up choosing the N90s over the F100. Yes, I know that VR lenses won't work their VR magic on a N90s body, but all of my VR lenses are 'G' lenses anyway. Plus, I've always wanted an N90, and now I have an N90s--even better!

I was at Samy's Camera in Los Angeles the other day and just stood by and watched as an older guy next to me bought a brand new Nikon F100--at that rather steep, brand-new price! I couldn't say anything about how cheap they are now, used, because the sale was already completed, and I didn't really want to piss off the sales staff. Plus, that one sales girl at Samy's is smokin' hot. Anyway, there was something I wasn't sure about the F100--one reviewer said that aperture wasn't available in the F100's viewfinder? Do I have that wrong? One reason I went with the N90s was that translucent "light bar" on the top of the prism. I'll try to research my question a bit better in a few minutes . . . I just wanted to say how excited I am to own a near-new, full-frame, totally decent, 35mm film body!

I plan to double-shoot some of my more-planned shots now. Some on my D90, and then a frame or two on my N90s on some Tri-X or something. Might even get another body just for chromes.

A couple weeks ago, in anticipation of acquiring an N90s, I picked up one of those neat little Nikon SB-23 flashes (since the N90/s has no built-in flash). Again, mint, for just a few bucks. I assume I can use the SB-23 as a TTL flash with the N90s, but I'm not sure the SB-23 supports the 'D' feature (the N90s body does support 'D' lens information). I also have an old SC-17 which should also work with it. Can't wait to slap some of my big, wide, FX lenses on it (AF Nikkor 14mm f2.8D, etc.)!

Oh, one more cool thing about the N90s vs. the more "advanced" N60, N75, or N80--the N90s has a rather decent flash-sync speed of up to 1/250th-of-a-second. Lightning-fast, compared with the surprisingly pokey 1/90th-of-a-second sync speed of both the N60 and N75, and the very old-school sounding, 1/125th-of-a-second sync speed of the N80 (though not as wicked-fast as the D70/D70s' and D40's 1/500th max sync speed).

[Admin: Sorry! I wrote this in the wrong sub-forum! Please re-locate to appropriate sub-forum: "Nikon Film Cameras." Thanks!]

Posted 2 years ago #
adamz

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need to find some AA batteries, to check the viewfinder in F100, but I'm 99% sure that aperture is visible in the viewfinder, although it's been a long time since I've used my f100

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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Thanks, Adam. I just did a quick Google "images" search, and this is all I could find: (kinda small)

Nikon F100 viewfinder (above).

Posted 2 years ago #
PB PM

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The F90X (the N90s name was only used in the US) is a great film camera, I've been shooting with mine since February. It's tough like the D300/D700, but slightly smaller and lighter. You can shoot with G lenses, but only in P mode, which is fine since you can adjust your aperture in P mode.

The best part is that rechargeable AA batteries last forever in this camera. I've had the same set of Sanyo batteries in my camera since February, with no sign of the batteries getting low. The biggest grips I have with the F90X is the small viewfinder coverage (only 92%) and the loud focus motor with non AF-S lenses. That being said, the motor may be loud, but it is lightening fast, at least as fast as the D300's focus motor.

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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PB PM said:
You can shoot with G lenses, but only in P mode, which is fine since you can adjust your aperture in P mode.

You can? I've never used 'P' mode. How does that work? Thanks for your comments!

Posted 2 years ago #
jonnyapple

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The manual will tell you exactly, studio, but basically it chooses an aperture and shutter speed based on a programmed table (hence the P), then you can move between fields in the table (combinations of aperture/shutter speed) by rolling a command dial.

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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jonnyapple said:
The manual will tell you exactly, studio, but basically it chooses an aperture and shutter speed based on a programmed table (hence the P), then you can move between fields in the table (combinations of aperture/shutter speed) by rolling a command dial.

Right. Never having used 'P' mode, I just wasn't exactly sure how to go about doing what PB PM was suggesting. Thanks.

Posted 2 years ago #
kanuck

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I love the F100 and its CSM custom button modes. So easy to use once you study the user manual and I love the F100s viewfinder. The F100 was the only film body I ever wanted. Mines banged up but I managed to buy it this way for $230. The N90s is also a lot of fun as well. You should love it studio460. Do you have a good scanner yet?

Posted 2 years ago #
PB PM

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As Jonny noted, the vary program mode is changed by turning the command dial on the back of the camera. Two clicks will start to close down the aperture, and shutter speed will change with it, as a result. You cannot change the shutter speed without changing the aperture though, and A, S and M are useless with G lenses. In spot and center weighted metering AI and AI-S lenses will meter as well.

If you find the MF-26 back for the F90s then you can also get bracketing, custom settings, long exposure data, and other features as well.

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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Thanks for the info, PB PM. Guess I'll just stick to my good ole' non-'G' lenses for film! Thanks!

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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kanuck said:
I love the F100 and its CSM custom button modes. So easy to use once you study the user manual and I love the F100s viewfinder. The F100 was the only film body I ever wanted. Mines banged up but I managed to buy it this way for $230. The N90s is also a lot of fun as well. You should love it studio460. Do you have a good scanner yet?

Yeah, I'll probably end up liking something about the F100 that will "force" me to hunt one down on Ebay, too! I do have an expensive slide scanner somewhere, but it's so old, there's no point in trying to use it (it was an old SCSI scanner). I was planning on taking my exposed film to a custom lab and having proof sheets made, then having them drum scan the ones I was interested in possibly printing. But if that starts getting too expensive, I'll probably be eyeing some new Nikon scanners soon. Any recommendations?

Posted 2 years ago #
kanuck

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Yes aren't drum scan outragiously expensive? You really have to like the shot in order to get one done. I really like the reasonable Epson scanners. The V500 and V700 seem to do excellent work. In fact, I'm hoping the V500 will be mine by the end of the summer. I am going to the dessert this summer (extreme heat I know) with my D700 and F100 with lot of Velvia so I want to scan a lot of shots. You are going to love that N90s. I really like digital and film together, and I'm glad to see people are going back to film at least a few people anyways.

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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kanuck said:
Yes aren't drum scan outragiously expensive? You really have to like the shot in order to get one done.

Yes! About $50-$100 per scan I believe, but I'm really hoping to negotiate a better rate with the service bureau since it's a "personal" job. These will be for potential gallery exhibition, so I need them to be good. I'll be spending more than twice that on the printing and mounting of each, so I'll only be scanning the ones I'm actually going to print.

Edit: I just found a drum-scanning service bureau online that has Heidelberg drum scanners. It starts at $40 for 100MB file, up to $80 for a 500MB file. The neat thing about a drum scan is their unparalleled dynamic range. They also immerse your negative into a special optical fluid while scanning to minimize any dust or defects on the film.

kanuck said:
You are going to love that N90s. I really like digital and film together, and I'm glad to see people are going back to film at least a few people anyways.

Yes! I believe I will! I've ALWAYS wanted an N90, and now I finally got an N90s, with the MB-10 (not that I'll ever use it!), all for about $100. A few weeks ago, I bought another mint-condition N90s from Shutterblade for only $47, but it was defective, and I had to return it. I haven't yet received my new N90s, but I'm excited! Now, it looks like I'm going backwards in time again, since I've got my sights on getting a Mamiya RZ67 system again--I just can't believe how cheap people are selling these things for on Ebay!

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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MODERATOR--I STARTED THIS THREAD IN THE WRONG PLACE--SORRY! PLEASE PUT THIS THREAD IN THE "NIKON FILM CAMERAS" SUB-FORUM INSTEAD! THANKS!

Posted 2 years ago #
PB PM

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Not bad fetching the camera and grip for $100. I got mine for $40 from a camera dealer, but without the grip. I love using grips, I have the MB-D10 on my D300 a lot, but I use film mostly for landscapes so I find that I don't need the grip for the F90X.

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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PB PM said:
Not bad fetching the camera and grip for $100. I got mine for $40 from a camera dealer, but without the grip. I love using grips, I have the MB-D10 on my D300 a lot, but I use film mostly for landscapes so I find that I don't need the grip for the F90X.

Yeah, isn't it great? Getting a $1,000 camera for only $40? (If you're interested, a brand-new, Nikon MB-10 is only $49 at B+H.)

Posted 2 years ago #
kanuck

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Ok for a gallery showing the price of a drum scan is no problem then. Its going to cost a lot for mounting and framing anyways as its all about the presentation for gallery showings.

Yes Ebay is wonderful isn't it? I've seen great prices on medium format cameras even especially if you know exactly what your looking for and how to run an accurate search for it.

Posted 2 years ago #

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Nikon N90s and Nikon F100 viewfinder display differences, and more . . .

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