This Is the Greatest Film Camera Ever Made (And None Of You Agree)

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The passage of time has not been kind to the Nikon F4. At the time of its release, it was a modern superstar, highly sought after, and bristling with modern advancements. It truly bridged the gap between classic manual-focus SLRs and modern autofocusing and advanced metering, flagship cameras.

A black Nikon F4 film camera with a Voigtländer lens sits on a green cutting mat, with a dark background behind it.

However, these days the F4 is seen as too modern to be a classic marvel but simultaneously too archaic to be an everyday-carry film camera. While the Nikon F3 has become a highly desirable classic, the Nikon F4 is seen as the redheaded stepchild among Nikon pro bodies.

A black Nikon film camera with a large lens is placed on a green cutting mat, shown against a dark background.

Well, I happen to love redheads, and this is my love letter to what I would argue is at least the greatest manual-focusing film camera of all time.

A man with gray hair and a beard stands on a city sidewalk, holding a Nikon camera up to his face as he takes a photo. Cars, shops, and trees are visible in the background along the street.

The Nikon F4: My Second Love

To give a little context, I want to talk a little about my own personal experience with Nikon cameras. My first SLR ever was a classic Nikon FE, which I still use today. I wandered the streets taking photos of everything I saw, and learned all the basics of photography and film development on that camera.

I collected a decent quiver of manual focus lenses and soon found myself shooting album covers, weddings, and more journalistic endeavors. I decided it was time to get a more powerful SLR that would still make use of my vintage glass, yet be more capable at shooting professional gigs, and I immediately fell in love with the F4.

A person sits alone at a small round table by a window, eating and drinking. Sunlight streams in, casting shadows. The scene is in black and white, with an empty chair nearby and a coffee cup on the table.

An older man with glasses and a beard is yelling and gesturing with his hand toward another person, who is out of focus in the foreground. The scene appears tense and emotional, outdoors with trees in the background.

It’s important to note that I was a young man in my very early twenties, living in London, England, with very little disposable income. At the time, the Nikon F4 was already considered an old model, being roughly 13 years old by then, but it still commanded a premium flagship price, although it was substantially less than the prestigious F5. So I saved up and found one in London, sunk everything I had into it, and got to grips with a camera far more advanced than anything I had previously used.

A Nikon film camera with its back cover open, revealing the film compartment and mechanisms, sits on a green cutting mat with a black background.

A person with curly hair smokes a cigarette, gazing intently at the camera. Light and shadow create dramatic contrast on their face. The background is blurry, with some photographs or posters visible on the wall.

Two men in formal military uniforms and hats are sitting in a convertible car, saluting as they pass by. The photo is black and white, and people and buildings are visible in the background.

What really drew me to the F4, besides its muscular good looks, was its modern technology that elevated the use of manual focus glass. Now, the F4 was an autofocus-capable body but you have to remember that at the time, autofocus was still relatively new for Nikon and, as a result, quite ponderous. The F4 wasn’t exactly a race car, even if it was designed by a race car designer. Later Nikon AF-S lenses with their more modern motors actually breathed some life back into the F4 autofocusing experience, but that is beyond the scope of this discussion.

A Nikon F4 film camera body without a lens is placed on a green cutting mat with a black background. The camera's lens mount and internal mirror are visible.

Interior of a severely burned car with melted upholstery, damaged seats, and soot covering the windows, showing extensive fire damage and charred debris inside the vehicle.

The Nikon F4: What’s So Great About It?

The first thing we should talk about is the radically different, modern body design of the F4. Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the previous F3 camera, but decided on a larger and even more modular body design was necessary for the F4. There is no denying it was large and heavy, but this was at a time when many manufacturers were building bigger, more powerful flagship SLRs.

With the basic MB-20 grip and four AA batteries, the camera weighed around 1,090 grams, and this went up substantially if you used the vertical grip MB-21 or even larger MB-23 for extra battery life and burst rates. As a side note, the F4 is called an F4S when coupled with the MB-21 grip, and an F4E when using the MB-23 version. You get a bump up in burst rate from just under four pictures per second with the MB-20 grip, and almost six with the larger ones.

A film camera with its battery compartment open sits on a green cutting mat. Several AA batteries, some inside the compartment and some loose, are visible against a black background.

A man in dark clothing stands on a city sidewalk near a fire hydrant, looking at his phone with earphones in. Shadows of tree branches are cast on the building wall behind him.

A person with a camera stands outside Le Central Brasserie under a red awning, with large cursive neon signage above and a sidewalk menu board in front. A reflection of a van is visible in the restaurant window.

A woman stands on a sloped alleyway between tall buildings, holding a camera and looking to her left. The scene is in black and white, with strong urban and architectural elements.

This large body provided plenty of real estate for customizable buttons and controls. Everything was easy to use, even with gloved hands, and the camera itself was supremely rugged in order to handle everything from inclement weather to war zones. It had a beautifully designed mirror-lockup mechanism, oversized control dials with locking switches, DX coding to automatically recognize film speeds, and an incredibly advanced mirror box system.

Close-up of a black Nikon F4 film camera showing its controls, including the AF-L and AE-L buttons, dials, and part of the lens mount, against a dark background.

An older woman smiles while standing indoors, surrounded by colorful hanging lanterns and a softly-lit, festive background.

A woman wearing a red scarf and brown outfit walks uphill on a city sidewalk, sipping from a cup, in front of a large mural of a serene face painted on a wall.

A person lies on their back on a yellow mat outdoors, holding their hands together above their chest. Their shoes and a bag are on the ground nearby, and green plants line the background.

I like the rugged exposure compensation dial and full mechanical shutter speeds up to 1/8000 second. I always enjoy the more classic ISO dial, where you can easily set the “wrong” ISO setting, whether you want to push or pull film, or just to set a global exposure compensation. You can also set a global exposure metering change on the prism unit. It also has a charming manual rewind knob, which I prefer to the more modern automatic electric rewind systems.

Close-up view of the top of a black analog camera showing dials, buttons, and a small display on a green cutting mat background. The camera's controls and texture are clearly visible.

A black-and-white photo showing the word "Persona" written in neon lights, reflected multiple times in a mirror along a tiled wall in a dimly lit hallway.

A silhouette of a person walks past a brightly lit store window displaying mannequins dressed in men's suits, shirts, and jackets. A sign in the window advertises discounts of 30–50%.

A man in a cap sits at an outdoor café table, holding a paper cup and looking to the side. Plants and another empty chair are visible, with the scene in black and white.

The Nikon F4 continues the tradition of removable prisms to accommodate a series of alternate shooting styles. The main DP-20 prism is the regular option, which gives 100% viewfinder coverage as well as advanced matrix metering to go along with the spot meter built in to the body. The F4 also returned to a standardized hot shoe rather than the yucky novel design on the F3. You also get TTL flash support with the F4, thanks to a proper hot shoe that accepts triggers and attachments universally. There is a PC sync port as well.

Close-up of a black digital camera's top controls, including mode dial, power switch, and shutter button, resting on a green cutting mat with black background.

A black and white photo of a young child standing by a fountain, partially obscured by streams of water in the foreground, with a blurred background of trees and pavement.

A woman sits on the grass in a park, covering her face with one hand while holding a phone. Behind her, there are blossoming trees, curved railings, and a modern building in the background.

A person walks across a city crosswalk holding papers, while a "No Left Turn" sign stands nearby. Cars are parked along the street, and sunlight casts a shadow over part of the scene.

You can do multiple exposures with the F4 via the small flip-out lever, which conveniently resets after every exposure. You also have the option to close the viewfinder shade so as not to alter the camera meter when standing away from the camera. There is also a handy viewfinder illuminator built-in to the camera for night time use.

Close-up of a black camera body with a vertical grip and red accent line, placed on a green cutting mat with white grid lines. The grip features a black shutter button with a small red dot.

The Nikon F4: The Best Manual Focus Film Camera Ever Made

I sold my F4 years ago, and immediately regretted it. I have this thing about cameras sitting around doing nothing; I always feel like someone should be out using them, and I’m only one man, so I often end up selling them. This was also at a time when DSLRs were exploding and I was getting deeply invested there.

Close-up of a black DSLR camera’s ISO dial, set on a green cutting mat with a grid pattern. The dial displays ISO values from 25 to 200. The image focuses on the camera’s top-left corner.

A tall, slender tree casts distinct shadows on the light yellow exterior wall of a house with white trim and decorative architectural details under a partly cloudy sky.

A group of birds perches on wires radiating from a tall pole beside a building, with a rainbow pride flag hanging below. The sky is partly cloudy.

A pigeon with dark grey and white feathers stands on a stone surface next to blooming purple flowers and green foliage.

Recently, in Tokyo, I came upon a stunningly beautiful F4 in great condition. Because of the relatively low desirability, the prices are very reasonable on this amazing flagship. I grabbed it without hesitation and decided to revisit my experiences as a young photographer, especially considering that I did hold onto all my Nikon AI and AIS manual focus glass.

A Nikon film camera viewed from the back, featuring a black body, visible viewfinder, control dials, and attached MB-21 grip, set on a green cutting mat with a black background.

A person holding an umbrella walks alone on a wet city street at night, illuminated by colorful reflections from streetlights and traffic signals on the glistening pavement.

Sunlight streams into a cozy shop with wooden furniture, a potted pink orchid, pendant lights, a cash register, and shelves displaying various items. The window offers a partial view of a building outside.

A silhouette of a person with a cane stands beneath a large archway with ornate columns, framed by trees and distant buildings under a cloudy sky.

So why is it the greatest film camera? The awesome control scheme is very easy to use under stressful situations, and the large and bright viewfinder makes manual focusing a breeze, even for older eyes. You also get focus confirmation via the AF system. Red arrows tell you which direction to focus and a green dot confirms it. This is a super helpful system when using the faster lenses.

Close-up of a black camera mode dial with various settings labeled in white, orange, and green letters, positioned on a dark background with a green grid surface below.

A man wearing a hat and jacket sits alone on a curved outdoor bench, looking towards the camera. Trees extend overhead, and a building with bushes is visible in the background. The photo is in black and white.

Two people sit on a concrete ledge near a shallow reflecting pool in an urban plaza, with city buildings and trees visible and reflected in the water; a paper boat floats in the pool.

A grand banquet hall with chandeliers, high ornate ceilings, large windows with drapes, and round tables set with glasses. Several people are preparing or setting up the room.

The advanced metering is far superior to anything that the Nikon FE/FM bodies offer and I like it much better than the 80/20 center weighted meter in the F3. The Nikon F4 was the first flagship to offer Nikon Matrix metering and, other than the Nikon FA, this is the body to go for to get multi-segment Matrix metering when using vintage glass. You get access to all the metering modes when using AI and AIS glass such as center-weighted and a spot meter, and you get access to aperture priority and full manual shooting modes as well.

Two people walk past a large colorful mural in Chinatown, San Francisco, featuring warriors, a horse, and Chinese characters painted on a green wall.

A close-up of a pink magnolia flower on a branch, with green leaves. In the blurred background, a vintage San Francisco poster is visible.

The camera is heavy and large, there is no denying that, and that fact will turn off some potential buyers. However, we take for granted modern benefits like image stabilization and electronic shutters. Back in the day, lighter cameras such as the Nikon FE were easy to travel with but could be too light and unstable to shoot with at slower shutter speeds. In fact, I almost always used the MD12 battery grip on mine to increase the weight.

A black vintage film camera with a lens, viewed from above, sits on a green cutting mat with white grid lines, against a black background.

A man in a dark suit stands on a city sidewalk next to a tree, smoking a cigarette. Behind him is a brick building with an orange awning that reads “PILATES BARRE YOGA.” A clear plastic cup sits on a post nearby.

Two people walk down a sunlit hallway with large windows on the right. Shadows and patterns from the window frames stretch across the colorful carpet, creating an intricate design on the floor.

When I first got my F4, I noticed a major benefit to shooting at slower shutter speeds when push came to shove in low light situations. The F4 not only has a heavier design that absorbs some movement but also an innovative series of counter weights incorporated into the mirror box and shutter mechanism, which effectively counters most of the mirror slap and shutter movement.

The battery grips also tend to put the camera weight directly under the hand so it’s not a strain to hold on target, and they balance longer lenses perfectly. I actually see a quality improvement on many of my final shots when using the F4 instead of the FE.

A Nikon F4 film camera with a lens attached is placed on a green cutting mat against a solid black background.

A man with gray hair and a beard is holding a Nikon camera up to his eye, appearing to take a photo. He is standing outside in front of a metal gate and wearing a light green shirt.

The Greatest Film Camera Ever Made: Give the F4 Some Love

So with the F4, you get an incredibly stable shooting platform, ruggedized for rough environments, with advanced metering and focus confirmation, and full support for vintage lenses. It’s certainly a bit of a battery hog, and practically (but not technically) needs battery power to run the shutter mechanism, but AA batteries are never hard to find.

You also get decently fast burst rates for action and sports, especially with the larger grips, and a quick and easy film loading system that has never failed me. The viewfinder is among the best you’ll ever look through and I love that the classic optical window to see the painted apertures on your lens is still present. I would argue that it would be hard to find a more capable and advanced system that suits older manual focusing lenses as well as the F4 does.

Two people stand indoors; one points at a camera while the other holds and inspects it. Both seem focused on the camera. Several people are blurred in the background in a hallway.

I really think this platform deserves more love than it gets. I admit that as a modern autofocusing body, it felt a little obsolete right out of the gate, especially when considering that this was the time when Canon pulled far ahead in the focusing department. I think the negative stigma follows the F4 to this day.

However, we need to appreciate how many iconic award-winning photos were taken on Nikon pro bodies during the 1980s and 1990s, and how many of those shots were taken on Nikon F4 cameras. As a young boy, I poured endlessly over my National Geographic magazines, never stopping to think that the photos that brought me wonder back then would have been shot on the camera I would eventually own.

A person wearing a gray jacket holds an open film camera outdoors, showing the camera’s back with the film chamber and settings display visible. Concrete pavement is seen in the background.

The F3 is still going to be the more popular camera due to its vintage cache, and the F5 or F6 are better choices for autofocus lenses. But the Nikon F4 provides a unique shooting experience and is worthy of some love for the photographers out there that really admire the Nikon AI and AIS lenses.

My main assertion is that this is the best manual focus camera that Nikon ever made and I am overjoyed to be reliving the shooting experiences that I started out my career with.

I can promise you that I won’t be selling my F4 ever again.

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