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Comment by cryo32 | Hacker News Reader

Trick for the F100 is buy 4-5 N80/F80's. They weigh a lot less and if one dies you just get another one out :)

F80 would have been the perfect autofocus film camera if only it could meter and stop down manual lenses. F100 is just too heavy

You really need a specific focusing screen for manual lenses though, metering or not. The rangefinder in the AF Nikon F/D cameras is absolutely no good for accurate focus unless you really stop down hard (f/5.6+ usually). Decided to just use the AF-D lenses at the time.

Sadly it seems a lot of Nikon lenses were not designed with reducing focus shift as a priority. That completely wrecks them near their minimum focus distance on film bodies. Phase-detect AF only sees light coming from the f/5.6 direction so AF will systematically miss its target at any aperture with a different focal plane. There is no live view on film, obviously, so no on-instrument way to correct it.

I am going through this right now... I really wanted an 85mm 1.4G but according to reviews it will put focus completely behind the subject from f/1.8-f/5.6 when closer than head+torso distance. In headshots if you target the eyes it will focus somewhere on the temples. I have no idea if it really matters in real life. So I am stuck with the 1.8 G.

Edit: A focus screen with some kind of prism mechanism would let you manually focus, at least, by holding down DOF preview. Richard Haw describes cutting down and shimming off-body focus screens so it's possible. Actually now that I look it up, whoa, an off-the-shelf one exists on aliexpress ("Dual 45 degree Split Image Focus Focusing Screen for Nikon D1 D1H D1X F100 PR129")

Yeah that's exactly what happens. The 85mm 1.8G is really good enough though! I wouldn't want to fudge with focus screens - I managed to cock up a D750 doing that once. Took ages to get it right after.

Really I stopped shooting film in 2022 because of the arrival of CT scanners at airports. Fed up of arguing with people as I do most of my photography out of my home country. And it's expensive. Sold it all, bought a Nikon Z50ii basic kit in 2024 and that was so good and tiny that I sold my D850 and the rest of the F mount lenses. AF on the newer Z cameras is something special, even on the crap bodies. Haven't felt the need to buy an FX Z yet as the DX ones are so good.

Or you buy one F5. It weighs a lot more but has a decent chance to outlive you.

He’ll no. It’ll kill you carrying it (had a D3 which is same size/ weight approx).

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