C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →slr-35mm
The F4 (1988) is Nikon's first professional autofocus 35mm SLR. Modular battery grip system: **MB-20** (4× AA, basic), **MB-21** (6× AA, F4s, faster motor), **MB-23** (EN-4 NiCd rechargeable, F4e). Single-point AF, matrix metering inherited from the FA (1983), interchangeable prisms, full PASM modes. The body is Giugiaro-designed (like the F3) with a classic combination of dials and modern grip ergonomics.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
Develop 35mm film
Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
The first professional autofocus Nikon. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, eats AA batteries, and one of the best film-camera-for-money deals on the used market.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Nikon F (AI, AI-S, AF, AF-D) |
| Years | 1988–1996 |
| Shutter | 30s – 1/8000s + Bulb, electronic vertical aluminum |
| Flash sync | 1/250s |
| Meter | TTL matrix, center-weighted, 5mm spot |
| Modes | P, A, S, M |
| AF | Single-point AM200 |
| Frame rate | 5.7 fps with MB-21; 4 fps with MB-20 |
| Weight | 1,090 g (body only) |
| Battery | 4× AA (MB-20), 6× AA (MB-21), EN-4 (MB-23) |
Released 1988 to compete with the Canon EOS-1 (which was Canon's first AF pro body). The F4 introduced matrix metering to the pro line (the FA had it earlier on a consumer body) and brought autofocus to working photojournalists. Variants by grip: F4 (MB-20), F4s (MB-21, the most common), F4e (MB-23). Production ended 1996 when the F5 took over. NASA used F4 on Space Shuttle missions (STS-46 and later, alongside F3).
The F4 is the secret deal of the film-revival era. It's overshadowed by the F3 (more iconic) and F5 (newer, faster), so used prices fell to $200–500 for clean bodies — at which point you get matrix metering, full PASM, AF compatibility with every modern Nikkor AF/AF-D lens (and AF-S works in manual focus), and interchangeable finders/screens. For someone wanting modern-feeling 35mm with classic dial-based controls, it's hard to beat.
The big trade-off: it's a lump (1.1 kg body + grip + lens often hits 2 kg+). And it eats AA batteries — the MB-21 grip needs 6 of them. But that's also part of the appeal: drop-in batteries means you'll never be stranded.
F-mount, all generations. Pre-AI lenses can be mounted (the F4 has the indexing flip-up tab — most Nikon AF bodies don't). AI/AI-S meter directly. AF and AF-D autofocus. AF-S works in manual focus only. Common: 50/1.4 D, 35/2 D, 85/1.4 D, 28/2.8 AI-S, 80-200/2.8 AF-D. SB-24 / SB-28 flashes for matrix-balanced fill.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →C41
Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Nikon F4
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