If you want a really really nice film camera, which I'm not sure I do but I couldn't pass up the chance to try it, eBay is loaded with Nikon F4 bodies under 400, sometimes under 300 bucks! (There are F5s, too, for not much more.)
OK, I got one for $155!!!
As far as I can tell so far, it's perfect!!!
I've not run any film through it, yet, but I put in some batteries and mounted some lenses to see how it fares. (C'mon, I've only had it since Thursday, and I've only had a manual since this morning!)
All I have are G lenses, three of them, and only one of those is full-frame. I think that means I can't shoot aperture-priority or full manual, because I can't set aperture on the lens. (I'm not sure it won't work in those modes, just treating wide open as the aperture setting.) It won't autofocus my kit-lens 18-55 for some reason, although it works fine with the other kit-lens 55-200 and the 70-300 ED VR, all of which are AF-S motorized lenses, not driven by the body motor. The kit lenses are DX anyway, so no intention of actually using them with this. The 18-55 at 18 is extremely vignetted, as in black corners most of the way to the center-weighted metering circle!
It seems to like my SB-600 flash, too. It triggers the flash, and seems to meter it (more flash pointed down a dark hallway than in a well-lit room, as measured by recycle time.) It also communicates focal length, zooming the flash head as I zoom the lens, and it works the AF illuminator on the flash head, and lights the flash-ready icon in the viewfinder.
The fact that it understands an AF-S lens, and G-series lenses in general, is amazing to me, because those didn't exist when this thing was new! I'm also impressed with it working the flash. My SB-24 that I had on my n8008 didn't work on my D50, so I sold it with the n8008 when I got the D50. (I wonder if the SB-24 would have worked on my D5000?) But that's the "top" flash listed in this camera's manual.
So, F4 body, with DP-20 finder (matrix, center-weighted, and spot metering,) E screen (with horizontal and vertical grid lines,) and MB-21 battery pack, for $155. Deal! :biggrin5: And if I decide I don't need it, I'll list it back up, maybe make a buck or two off of the trial period.
Didn't have a manual with it, found one here, from a guy I've found to be very handy with coming up with old documentation that you can't find any where else.