The F5 is the best film camera ever made. The F6 is a great camera but the F5 out classes it!!

Still got an F5. Super intuitive. Super strong. Definitely make sure you have a comfy wide strap as it is heavy, about 1.2 kg. The good thing about that is if someone tries to rob you, hit them with the camera. The camera will come out the winner every time.

The last real Nikon pro film camera, The Nikon F5 is my favorite film work camera. I still have an unused one in its box. I remember wedding/event photogs back in the day all seemed to have the Bronica ETR. BTW the ETR also had an optional 35mm back.

I have two F5 bodies. When I go out to shoot I carry one with color film and one with black and white film. The idea is that I can switch film just by picking up the other body. I use them for both street shooting and for action of my daughter's basketball games and soccer matches. Great versatile camera and I can use both my D and G series lenses on the F5 body. I have mine setup with back button focus mode enabled which is handy for any type of shooting action or single frame shooting. There are two memory banks so if I'm shooting with a friend I can set it to standard operating mode and they can use it like a regular camera where the shutter button enables the auto focus. Just a great well thought out body. Nice video, thanks for sharing your experience!

What a terrific attic find ! That F5 is awesome ! I have had mine since 2012 and it is most definitely not for sale. I chose to use it when my daughter was born to take her first baby photos in the hospital as it is a dream for low light hand holding at slow speeds. Zero vibration and tack sharp.

just bought a f5 sold my digital to fund it, great camera i use it alongside my f4 great combo

You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of very generous friends. Lucky man. I used to have an ETRS in the late 80s early 90s, a full system in fact, metering prism, backs, 5 lenses, grip, etc. Sold the lot for a song at a moment of madness.

“Rapid Rewind Roger”. Now say it 3 times. Great attic find Roger. Congratulations and a special to your mate and his grand dad.

That Nikon F5 is sooo great! I'm using it very often. Fit's so well to my hands and works like a charm!

I recently purchased two of these in Excellent condition from Used Photo Pro/Roberts Camera in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was very fortunate to find these two bodies in such pristine condition. I also own 3 F100s, 2 D750s, 2 D850s and a Z9.

Hi Roger - another interesting/entertaining vlog. I've never used the F5 but I have the F4S and a variety of Nikkor lenses. These days it gets used for landscapes loaded with FP4/HP5 but when I was pro it was my favourite for outdoor portrait/fashion/glamour shoots - mainly with colour transparency film. The studio shoots were all on an RB67 ProS. Take care, my friend - see you next time.

Wow, what a haul, that will keep you busy for a while, just need some nice nikon glass!! Good luck, brilliant channel btw :)

I'm a huge fan of the Bronica etrsi 6x4.5. It's 15 exposures while still producing tons of detail. I love the modular nature as well. I've got the grip and two viewfinders. You can carry a color and bw back and don't need to choose👌

@12:49 I really like that shot, really captures the idea you were going for with the gulls

Fantastic lot you got yourself there! That Bronica is amazing. One of my all time favourite cameras. You can look forward to that one!

Excellent video mate. So pleased to see them being used. I’m still looking to see if I can find that back but I’m sure that’s everything.

I just love your sense of humor. I smile every time I watch one of your videos.

Enjoyed the video. It's brilliant in rhythm, cut and music - and humour. Thanks!

Thank you Roger. Another helpful and complete review

Really enjoyed the video as I do all your videos. The F5 has always been a favorite of mine since it was introduced here in the States in early 1997. When I worked for Penn Camera in DC I would regularly borrow the demo model on the weekends. I especially liked shooting the then re-introduced Kodak Ektachrome Infrared slide film with it since loading the camera in a dark bag could be challenging at best. I could never afford the F5 though so I waited. Three years ago I finally got my hands on one from a Japanese seller in pristine condition. I absolutely love this wheel chock with glass attachment.

I love my F5. It's just incredible

It's good to see you having some fun with some new/old Nikon camera gear. Your gear haul looks like it has a Nikon F801 a predecessor to the F90, it is a truly underrated camera and so cheap to buy. Maybe you should YT video this one next. Another 👍🏻s up from me.

Man, I just love your videos! I'm a Yank that enjoys hearing you talk about your love for 35mm photography in your gorgeous Brit accent! But, it's not just about how you say it, but also about what you say: practical no-nonsense commentary, and your sense of humor really shines. Thanks for making great content for all your fellow "shutter bugs"!

I've owned a Nikon F5 for about 15 years now, and when my boys were young and playing football I was able to capture some amazing action shots of them with this camera. Yes it is heavy and at 8 fps it eats a roll of film very quickly. So in my opinion this camera would be a great asset when shooting an event when you really have only a moment to capture a shot.

Love my F5. Bought my first one in 2008 to use for canine photography (did a lot of fund raising stuff for RSPCA etc), then got a 2nd as a backup for weddings too. I use it with my Blad for weddings...try running around for an entire day with an F5 and a 501CM! I have biceps like Arnie :-) One of my F5's was stolen in 2011 though...fortunately not the one I'd paid Nikon UK to service only a few weeks prior!

Linford Christie! That’s a blast from the past!!!

Nice attic find, I can't believe it! I use the secondary aperture especially in Aperture mode or shooting in the studio. You can go for the so-called WLF finder DW-30. And yup they are hungry in film and batteries ;) I myself got 3 of them const an arm and a leg when I got my first F5 brand new in the day's. Nice informative channel and not so over the top formal. Like it a lot, maybe next time shoot som pan 400 in xtol, very nice grain! Keep it up the channel!

Hi, I have had a F5 since they first came out. I use it for car races as well as everyday use. The 8 fps shines with the fast motion. Awesome camera

I also want that kind of Attic. 😂

I use the F5 almost daily. Fabulous camera, definitely my favorite. Find the manual online to decipher the custom function features. Yours is in beautiful condition.

I love the F5, it’s a workhorse, handle like a pro Nikon DSLR body. Slide film comes out great with its metering system. The camera is heavier and more robust than a F100, which is also a good camera, but has potential issues with the plastic film winding fork and back doors which are prone to breaking.

By loaning/giving these cameras to you, we all get to see the results. It must be wonderful to use what was arguably the best camera of it's type when it was new. Thumbs up for the Sigma lens, it looks to produce great images.

Love my F5! Put a 2.8 70-200 or f4 100-300 and then it becomes a beast. But the weight smooths out any vibrations when your panning. So superb at a motorsports venue. Though a monopod was a godsend at the end of the day😆 Cheers Diz

Thanks for sharing your experience. Good music!

I got a F5 a few weeks go and so far is the best 35mm for my needs. Great video thanks

The f5 is a nice beast!!! 👍🏻👏

I love everything about F5. It’s technologically perfect, very ergonomic and has every feature you possibly would imagine on SLR. The only thing is the weight and that’s why I can never decide between this and FM2 as a daily. If I need perfect photos (model stuff especially) - it’s always the F5. Have fun! //answering your questions: it’s unbelievably steady due to weight. I did some 1/8th shots hand held! And about that second shutter button, in static light condition (portraiture etc) I often use it when switching to vertical shots. Cheers!

😳 That F5 is a MONSTER!!!

My dream camera. Hope will get one almost brand new in the near future.

I have two bodies (one new & the other used when I bought them). They have traveled around the world with me. Always loved the experience shooting with such titans. Only regret is that film has slowly been dying away.

Great stuff. Thank you.

I still have and regularly use my two F5s, which are now 22 years old and as good as new. That model was really the last serious 35mm film SLR that Nikon ever made, since the pros had all shifted over to digital by the time the F6 appeared, and that later camera was really a semi-professional piece of kit and lacked several useful options of its predecessor, such as the interchangeable pentaprism. The F5s array of buttons take time to get used to, but are all very useful if you shoot in a variety of locations. The first of the Nikon digital SLRs such as the D1 and D2 were almost identical to the F5 as far as handling goes, but were problematic, in particular with the poor battery design. You are lucky to have that new collection of Nikons, and you will probably find that they all work as good as the day they were made!

Nice to watch your review of the awesome Nikon F5. I ordered mine right after trying it at the Photokina presentation in October 1996. I took delivery in February ’97, after four months of waiting! I still own and use it today for hobby, but I have used it semi professionally and more intensively with a whole array of lenses from 20mm up to AFS 300 f/2.8 VR and AFS 500f/4.0. My first results ever, in terms of nailing the right exposure with the 3D colour matrix metering, on slide film, were noticeable better than what I was used with my earlier Nikon F801. The subtlety of correct exposure on slide film is so beautiful to see. In the day I shot Fuji Sensia, Provia, and Velvia. And the autofocus IS fast. On the AFS 500f/4.0 plus 1.4 converter (effectively 700mm f/5.6) focus tracking helmets of drivers in racing cars at 300 km/hour (185 m/hr) at the Kemmel straight at the Spa circuit Belgium was no problem. The autofocus managed this even through heat haze or heavy rain! The VR on the 300mm is insane! When shooting a drifting open classic racing car at 1/15th sec, the VR locks on the drivers helmet and keeps it in focus, but the driver’s hands are blurred in the frame as he is working the steering wheel in opposite lock...!!! Without any doubt the quality of the Nikon glass is legendary for all the good reasons. I could compare watching slides through one and the same Leica projector to my friend’s images shot with original Minolta and Sigma glass. Mostly colour, contrast, and sharpness, were no match for the Nikkors. The F5 has a nice party trick that no one on YT with an F5 review seems to know: when loading a film you can make sure the teeth of the sprocket engage with the perforation correctly by forwarding the lead of the film with the camera back still open. Simply push the shutter release button, and the sprocket will rotate very slowly and transport the first half inch of the film lead. Then when you close the back, and again push the shutter release, the film will spool to frame number one. There is even a custom setting that will spool the film to the first frame immediately when closing the back. That saves the pro shooter a valuable one second of moving one’s finger to the shutter button. Oh yeah! The camera is built like a tank but indeed that adds a bit of weight, which has its advantage at slow shutter speeds, like you said. But I always found that people who complain about the weight don’t do much of field work of photography. When you have a couple of primes or zooms and telephoto lenses in your 10 kg or so gear bag, the difference of your F5 weighing 1000 or 1200 gram doesn’t matter very much. The problem where to keep your 20 or 30 rolls of film a day (that weighs more than 200 gram!) was more of an issue... At a service I found out that my shutter showed a moderate 72k exposures, and in all its years the glass and the camera never failed on me, ever...! Have fun.

6:55 I've gone as low as 1/8th with a 50mm lens, and the photos were nice and crispy! You NEED some nice G glass, with or without VR, since this camera supports them. I've been shooting with an F5 for almost two years now, and it's a fantastic camera! I've found that the Matrix metering works best for slide film, not so much with negatives.

That F5 is amazing and the Bornica 6x4.5 lead me to take out my Mamiya 645 and go out to shoot some frames! Thank you Roger =)

The F5 is the most comfortable camera I have ever shot with. As you point out it is heavy but the ergonomics of it make it part of your body. It is arguably the best film camera ever made though I have to give that title to the F6. Great camera.

Big fan of the F5, the only pro body F-mount that I’ve kept!

Thank's for this nice review of the F5👍 I use my F5 with the Nikon 20-35/2,8 it's great for street. Have a lovely weekend! Great channel...Abo👍👍👍

I've been photographing since 1975. Around 1998 I started with digital photography, as so called experts said this is the future. I wasn't so convinced due to slow autofocus and shutter delay. So around 2003 I was looking for a Nikon film camera. I was looking for a used F100 and was surprised how cheap they were. So I also looked for a F5. In one auction I got one for 280 Euros! And was it marvelous! Fast autofocus, solid metering. For me it was the perfect camera. This is how point and shoot should be. Got me a second one for different films. As the development and digitizing of the films went down I decided to switch to DSLR. A D2Xs was not what I expected. After a short time I switched to a D3 and this gave me back the feeling of the F5. I still have both F5, but do not use them much. I still like them but digital photography brings more possibilities these days.

Wow....cool find.

Love the f5

My dad had an f5 and I borrowed it many times. I’ve never had a camera that felt has good in the hand despite its weight. He died last year, so I sold all his gear for my mum. It’s the one thing I wished I’d have kept, and maybe his fm2, oh and maybe his....😀.

Hello Roger. I have this F5 camera ... it's great.

Nikon cameras are great. My dads old FE2 is exerlent. I think it makes him happy when he sees me shooting with it. Bronicas are nice cameras. The one i have like that is a Kiev 88. Takes real nice shots with that old soviet jankyness.

Glad you got your strap-on!

I have an F4S and I love it. I would love an F5.

Nice video, nice music, nice photo). Tnx.

I’ve just got an F5 - loving it! Feel is very similar to my D6 and most of my lens fit. Although the E series lenses do limit things a bit.

What a great haul I have the etrsi lived it literally to death at the beach twatted by a rouge wave not happy I’ve got an ETR unused for yonks tho you’re gonna love that camera looking at the subject through that ground glass is next level gorgeous. The F5 just wow wanted one so desperately back in the day I was shooting sport on a Minolta 7000 with a Minolta 300 2.8 so begrudgingly replaced the 7000 with the dynax 9 never once regretted buying that beast I love it like a favourite kid still have it and use it. Saying that when digi kicked off I went with the Nikon 1dh which funnily enough was killed by sea water you think I learn eh then replaced and still using the D3s. Will grab an f5 when one comes up tho great vid Roger enjoy that Bron 📷❤️📷

Looks loads of fun, but it'll never replace a Holga! 😅 Seriously, if you're going walkabout with such a heavy camera, I suggest you lengthen the strap and wear it across your shoulder. It occurs to me that such a valuable collection could raise a great deal of money for a good cause on Ebay or whatever. Why not suggest that to your mate? Loads of charities would be glad to take care of auctioning them. Just a thought. Keep it up, Regards Bill

I had one with the big data back...awesome camera...

The F5 is a work horse of a camera, as a photo journalist. This is a rugged run and gun type of camera. I was able to pick one one up. In excellent shape from Japan. Ilford film works fine in it. How ever if you really want strong blacks and pure whites. Try some film from the Film photography project. Get a roll of the Frankenstein film. ISO 200, 24 Exp. I did order some Cine Still B&W XX. So far 8 rolls of film through it. Waiting on the Kentmere ISO Pan 100, to come back. Prior too this Nikon I used an F3 HP with a motor drive and an FM2 with a drive. Now a days there’s a great selection of B& W film.

I just bough a Nikon F5, awesome pictures of birds, you still the best, cheers from France !

I love The F5, I own one...

The Nikon AF cameras of the 1990s had very accurate TTL flash exposure. Using a camera like the F90X for a wedding, less than one frame per roll would be incorrectly exposed. Last fall I bought a used F5 for about 10% of its original price. The best thing with this compared to the F90X, which was also available used for even less, is that Nikon F-mount "G" type lenses will work on both the F5 and the current Nikon mirrorless cameras like the Z6.

I had my bronica etrs PE 45-90 LENS modified into hassy v mount, which was also modified from a Pentax 6x7 body...

About time you got a proper camera... ;-)

Don't have the F5 but I do have a F4 and love it. Yes, it is a heavy lump to carry around but for me ,at least, the weight helps me to keep it steady when shoot birds using the 80-200. I usually use the slower speed shutter than the high speed just becasue of how fast it will go through a 36 exposure roll. For just general street photography I much prefer my F3 and one of my prime lenses like the 85mm or the 50mm. Need to find a good 24mm or 28mm, Haven't made up my mind yet as to which would be better. Sort of leaning towards the 24mm

I bought the F5 new in 2001 for $3500.00 in Canadian dollars and loved it... now you can buy them for $500.00 Canadian so I'm going to get another one. They are heavy but they are a beautiful camera to hold in the hand.

Never shot the F5 but I have a D1x that is based on the same body design (and after a quick Google search is actually around 200g lighter) and yes the heft does help reduce camera shake... I have taken solid handheld shots as low as 1/20s with a non vr lens... My newer nikon bodies (not even loose to pro bodies) even 1/60s is pushing the limits of shooting handheld without a vr lens

The F5 is the last of Nikon's interchangeable prism camera's and is an absloute beast of a camera. Yes there are lots of them about and they were used extensively by pro sports and news photographers before digital got the lions share and the arse fell out of the film market. Pro's who used the F5 generally kept their F5's in tip top condition, it's not unusual to see them on the used market with half a million shutter actuations and still working perfectly. You will know about the F801 as it was the predeccessor to your F90x, it does all the same things, just a bit slower and hasn't as many bells and whistles. Still a hell of a camera though, I have 2 of them. :)

Hi Roger ..just a quick hi ..from a ex Butlins photog...my favorite smudge tool was the Nikon FM2n ...that was moving on from the Nikkormat..FM2 was light but with the flash pack the motor drives it gets heavy ...the objective was to shot twenty to thirty rolls of 36 a night...and then we would go back and print the lot ..I preferred smudging to darkroom ..then things started to change . .got a chance to use the F5 a few times..it just had too many buttons and the Autofocus was hit or miss when we started shooting in the dark bars . So the guys ended up using the f4 and F5 for shots on the sports field...

The F5 was designed so you could either use the aperture ring on the lens or use the front finger dial to control the aperture. To use the front dial you locked the lens ring into the smallest aperture (f/22 or f/32) and then the camera controlled the aperture through the linkage with the lens. To get the aperture reading on the viewfinder LCD you had to disable the front finger dial from setting it using custom function 22. I loved mine but the value fell out of them once digital landed and I ended up doing a straight swap for a D70 which was terrible quality by comparison but was my first digital camera.

I have an ETRS, great camera.

Just got my f5 shoot some film ....wow what a beast even today it's a put film in and forget it just shoot

I carry a Nikon F5 with a spare Nikon F, one with color, the other with black and white. One battery dependent but with a phenomenal exposure meter, the other with no meter but fully mechanical.

When I absolutely positively have to get the photo, my F5 is a go-to camera. Autofocus is flawless, and meter is most perfect I own. Bought for next to nothing when people were dumping film. Cheers!

The choice between the heavy, big Nikon or the Bronica Etrs is easy. For less weight and bulk, the Bronica gives me a much larger negative. For toting it around longer, I can replace the prism by a small, but very good waist level finder. Admittedly, no automatic shutter speed. The manual grip is easy to use and smaller and weighs less. AF is not necessary for most of my shots. Get at least two film backs, and you’ll love the camera. A 120 system camera is simply quiet different from a 35 SLR. If I want small and light and max depth of field and the negative size doesn’t play a role, I use my Olympus OM 4Ti.

Have a couple of nikon. F75, F65, F60, Em, F80. All similar formats easy to use.

A dream purchase. Scary to think of shutter speed and the cost of film....

Dream find the F5 I have an F4 and F100 and F90x AF Nikon’s and a few manual ones lol and a couple of Olympus OMs too definitely need some Nikon glass

so much gear!!

The F5 is superb and dense. Nikkor compatibility spanning from AI-S to AF-S, including VR i.e. 'film IBIS'. I've been experimenting with 16mm cine film @ 8fps and now realize I can waste the same amount of 35mm film with the F5 in the same manner :p

Try some low speed ISO film through that. You’ll be amazed. Are usually shoot between ISO 65 to ISO 200. Once again pick up some film film film photography project. The blacks are a true black and the whites are pure white. With strong contrast in between. I currently use wrist straps on my F5 and D3S.

Ha ha ha ! I'm almost write a comment about holding a camera ackvord horizontally before I am watching a whole video. I do the exact same thing with my F5 and D2xs .☺

Nothing that my Minolta 7 and 9 can’t do ;) (except for the 8i/s). I’ll stick with them, less known, so less expensive and great a-mount glasses from Sony for example. At the beginning, I was torn between buying the F5 and going for Minolta. But i’m sure I would have been very happy with a F5, great camera.

Nearly identical size and weight as my d850 with vertical grip. After 60 years of neck/shoulder straps tried a black rapid cross body strap and with light wrist pressure holding camera against my R hip, it is near weightless! I wear an fm2n around my neck, a small camera bag over L shoulder and vest with sekonic meter in R hip pocket. Totally mobile, have 3 prime lenses with me. Can use all my nikon inc g lenses, zeiss and voigtlander lenses. 1/8000 allows shooting wide open in full Florida sun with no ND filter. Auto wind up to 8fps prevents me from missing consecutive shots and keeps up with my Einstein studio lights. Am trying it with tmax 400 to see how large a print I can make with the fine grained film. Still a negative 1/3 the size of my 645 mamiya.

Came out in 1996. This’s the last professional grade camera that has interchangeable viewfinders. F6 is a ‘premium F-100’ in my opinion.

The reason I have a pair of Nikon F5s? The best tool for the job is always the biggest tool for the job! As I work mostly with professional dancers and performers then the speed does come in handy, my medium format is not the quickest, my Hasselblad does around 1 frame per second, so when I have the need for speed, Nikon it is. It also balances nicely with the bigger focals. The fact that the pair are still going strong and look as good as new after all these years justifies the purchase price alone! 😊

That F5 is a great "get", enjoy!

An F5 ! You lucky bastard .

I hope this video doesn't push the prices of the F5 up any more, I've been eyeing them up for a few months now and is next on my list.

You can't trick me I know what your messy desk really looks like 😂

Man, I want to take a vacation to the Isle of Wight now

Canon and Bronica man here. Really must give a Nikon a go.

I just bought an F5 body on eBay today. I have been using an F100 for years for my action photography (trains) and I was wanting something with a faster motor drive. I first tried going with the Canon EOS-1N RS and its 10 fps based on recommendations from friends, but gave up on that idea after getting two defective ones from Japan on eBay. Years ago I tried buying a used Nikon F4, but gave up after getting two defective ones from B&H. I'm hoping the law of averages will finally be in my favor with this F5.

Proper camera 🤣, mines getting some ilford 3200 this weekend and coming to work with me for some industrial stuff.

Steve Mccaughan bought it for air shows and road racing and still use it along with a D500

Yo ! Roger !! I was loaned an F5 by a good Camera Club Mate in a huge bag with several lenses - what a WEIGHT -- i had to get a Hernia Support Belt -----

I can understand focus for still objects or trap focusing for moving thing, but what focus method and focus point di you use for the seagulls? In the olden days I would have just gone for DOF that included things or hyper focus using the DOF on the lens. What was your approach on the gulls?