Critique Welcomed Need Prayer?

Brian Moore

Moderator
Huntington Beach, California. (Evangelists on the beach are not uncommon.)

Nikon F4 with Arista 100 film, processed in Rodinal.

I didn't have the F4 for long. I bought it from an E-Bay seller out of Japan. Shot a test roll ("Need Prayer" being one frame from that roll) and saw that the camera worked good so I gave the seller positive ratings. Second roll not so good. Shutter failed. Subsequently learned that the F4--below a certain serial number--had some shutter failure problems. Contacted the seller and explained. After some back-and-forth correspondence regarding options, he was good enough to take the camera back and reimburse me (including the cost of shipping back the defective camera). I'm sure he wasn't delighted but he was honorable. (Didn't surprise me really. I had dealt with Japanese and Japanese Americans for many years through work; always found them honest and fair-minded people.)

 
Alone in the middle of wolves, as it were. I can see him preaching in Scandinavia, around year 900, for a very, very short time.

Anyways, I am sorry to learn about your experience with the F4, which is a great camera. I do own one, and although the LCD has a small portion where it bled, I find that is a great machine and not at all old or obsolete (as some may say). I hope you'll find another one, better luck next time !!
 
Alone in the middle of wolves, as it were. I can see him preaching in Scandinavia, around year 900, for a very, very short time.

Anyways, I am sorry to learn about your experience with the F4, which is a great camera. I do own one, and although the LCD has a small portion where it bled, I find that is a great machine and not at all old or obsolete (as some may say). I hope you'll find another one, better luck next time !!
Thanks Julian. The F4 was great while it lasted (one roll) and I wouldn’t mind having another, though I’d look for a copy built later in the production run. Don’t know if it’s still the same today but at the time the F4 seemed undervalued for its build quality and features.
 
Well, for the most of the entire line of F's, Nikon cameras were pretty much revolutionary. I remember in the late 80s seeing the Nikon F4 in a magazine and dreamed for that camera for weeks. It was everything I could wish, but I knew I could never afford it. Well, fast forward to the beginning of 2000s and suddenly I bought one. It was a dream come true.

As the prices for F4 are not exceedingly dear at this time, you could probably get one in very good to excellent condition, for not more than (I would say) 200 euros, with a good lens. Anyways, wishing you good luck with this, I know what it means to dream a beautiful dream and then waking up disappointed.
 
Another fine shot, Brian. I do like those characters in the background. Were Madness on holiday at the time?!

I have an F4 in the Nikon F collection. I only bought it (also from Japan) to fill that gap and have never used it.
Thanks Pete. Funny thing about Madness,...We can visualize what they mean when they sing about "Our house, in the middle of our street." But an American friend of mine some time ago expressed confusion regarding that lyric. He had envisioned the house literally in the middle of the street,...i.e., where the cars drive. :)
 
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