Greetings to all, I am thinking of replacing my F801s (8008sin USA), bought in 1991, with a used F100. I have a lot of fine prime AIS manual lenses which can be used on it (just as I use them on the 801s) as well as some AF lenses, which I plan to get more of. I believe that the F100 first appeared in 1999? I would like to find a fairly recent example which would see me out - as people are now beginning to last longer even than some cameras. Can any kind soul please point me to a website where I can find F100 serial numbers year by year, so that I can know how old any prospect is?

204 product ratings - NIKON F100 CAMERA W/NIKON AF 28-80MM D LENS & GUIDE *PRO 35MM SLR CAMERA *MINT-$319.90. Buy It Now +$21.95 shipping. 73 pre-owned from $109.80. New Listing Nikon F100 35mm SLR Film Camera #19376E4. Number of bids and bid amounts may be slightly out of date. See each listing for international shipping options and costs.

(Dear old Google, for once, did not seem to know). And are there any special watchpoints for used F100s? I shall be financing this by selling my nearly mint F3HP -the finest manual camera ever - but not the best one for a senior citizen. Thank you for reading this. All advice gratefully received.

James Suffolk, near the North Sea,UK. “I shall be financing this by selling my nearly mint F3HP -the finest manual camera ever - but not the best one for a senior citizen.” --James Harper Maybe not but get your eyes checked and get the best glasses you can.

Shoot through your glasses if you have astigmatism or anything that can’t be corrected with a simple diopter eyepiece. Depending on your facial structure you should find shooting with the DE-3 finder, F3HP or perhaps even with the DE-2, F3 easy. The DE-2, F3 offers a slightly bigger image for easier focusing. Many eye glass wearers have a strong preference for the DE-3, F3HP. I’m not a senior citizen yet and luckily have 20/15 vision through my glasses though it’s not so good without due to astigmatism. The quality of the exam and the quality of the glasses can make a big difference so if you have not had your eyes checked in a few years do so.

If you are cool with the weight of the F5 it has a focus screen and viewfinder that is slightly better suited to manual focus and the electronic rangefinder is great. The display in the F5 is a red/green/red LED display. The F100 has a green/green/green LCD display that with practice can be used with peripheral vision. The F5 weighs 4g more than the F3 and 40g less than the F3HP when the F3(s) are sporting an MD-4 Motor Drive.

The F3 has major advantages if you do macro. That’s advantages over the F100 and some also over the F5. For a casual hike the F100 is a pleasure as it weighs just 861g with a 1” nylon strap and lithium batteries. Sometimes the weight of an F3 with MD-4, F5 or D2H/D2X is desirable.

It’s nice to have a choice. Some of us hate so see people sell their F3 but if it’s absolutely necessary. Regards, Dave Hartman. Many thanks to all for wise and useful advice and information.

Especially about the F3HP, as well as the F100 serial numbers. I know it makes sense to keep it.

Just needed someone to remind me. Think I'll keep it, get the F100 too, and sell the F801s instead. Come to think of it, I might keep that too, as it won't contribute very much to buying the F100. That's the sort of advice that shows that NAS can be a healthful psychological illness. There are certainly some increasingly interesting prices appearing for the F100. “The F100, despite it's resemblance to the F5, is *not* a Nikon professional body.” --Dave Lee This is debatable, however my favorite statement on this topic is, “An MB-15 booster no more makes the F100 into an F5 than a choice piece of road kill makes a coyote into a wolf.” Keep in mind that the wolf became all but extinct in the lower 48 states (United States) while the coyote flourished in much of it’s ancient habitat.

There seems to be a parallel here as the F5 is discontinued and the F100 is still in the catalog. Were it up to me I would have specified a titanium back for both and better sealing for the F100. Anyway the F100 is a survivor.

I don’t consider the F100 on par with the professional F-Series Nikon’s but I do consider it a professional and a serious or true amateur body. Many professionals carried the F100 as a backup to the F5 and many carried only F100(s). My F100 came with the improved rewind fork. It’s serial number is US2181xxx. I bought my F100 in November 2000.

Regards, Dave Hartman.

I have 0030478 Thanks, I just added them to the list. A bit of browsing through eBay and local used camera shop websites dug up some more serial numbers which I've also added. 005 007 007 003 000 002 008 004 005 007 003 004 006 007 005 004 0031901. Post your serial numbers folks.