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Anyone own a Nikon F5 with 300XXXX serial?
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Mar 18, 2021 21:46:02   #
wide2tele Loc: Australia
 
If you do, how would you describe it's condition?
Just curious if there are any left in anything close to very good condition or better.
I think it's very unlikely that there are.

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Mar 19, 2021 07:01:32   #
BebuLamar
 
wide2tele wrote:
If you do, how would you describe it's condition?
Just curious if there are any left in anything close to very good condition or better.
I think it's very unlikely that there are.


I have to check the serial number when I get home. I bought it in 2002. It's in like new condition, no scratch. I don't think I shot over 1000 shots with it. Adding the blank shots may be 1500 actuation?

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Mar 19, 2021 08:05:22   #
wide2tele Loc: Australia
 
BebuLamar wrote:
I have to check the serial number when I get home. I bought it in 2002. It's in like new condition, no scratch. I don't think I shot over 1000 shots with it. Adding the blank shots may be 1500 actuation?


Worth checking. I'm confident these will be the rarest of all F5's and the hardest to find in any kind of decent condition.

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Mar 19, 2021 09:08:08   #
RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA
 
wide2tele wrote:
If you do, how would you describe it's condition?
Just curious if there are any left in anything close to very good condition or better.
I think it's very unlikely that there are.

I’m curious why you ask. My F5 is #3185088. Were the earlier ones different?

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Mar 19, 2021 09:41:29   #
wide2tele Loc: Australia
 
RWR wrote:
I’m curious why you ask. My F5 is #3185088. Were the earlier ones different?


Yes, they were different. Here is a quick history:

The Nikon F5 was in incredibly high demand pre-release. The F4 was severely outdated and Canon were taking the pro market away from Nikon with their new EOS line. Nikon tried to combat this market loss by releasing the gap filling F90x/n to hold on to the pro market till the F5 was ready for release.

Due to the high F5 pre-release demand, unlike other cameras, the F5 wasn't immediately available to all photographers amateur and professional. It was first released to professional photographers only. Professional photographers around the world had to put in orders for the F5. Nikon first filled these orders before releasing the F5 to the general public.

These early F5's that went out to pros had the 300XXXX serials. These cameras were the very first Nikon F5's. Due to the need for a proper professional Nikon camera at the time, these F5's were all almost certainly put to immediate professional use. They were not purchased to sit around and be lightly used. The very first F5's would've been used, abused, worn out or resold at a later time. To find one of the very first/original F5's today in good condition, I imagine they simply do not exist.

Nikon also released the Nikon F5 as a special collectors 50th anniversary model. The 50th fetches high prices. However, there are likely still many of these sitting completely new and untouched in their boxes by collectors. The F5 that is today likely to be around in the smallest numbers, the most unique, and the rarest of them all is the F5 with 300XXXX serial.

These were the cameras that created the Nikon F5 legend.

Worth checking your serials.

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Mar 19, 2021 09:54:25   #
RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA
 
wide2tele wrote:
Yes, they were different. Here is a quick history:

The Nikon F5 was in incredibly high demand pre-release. The F4 was severely outdated and Canon were taking the pro market away from Nikon with their new EOS line. Nikon tried to combat this market loss by releasing the gap filling F90x/n to hold on to the pro market till the F5 was ready for release.

Due to the high F5 pre-release demand, unlike other cameras, the F5 wasn't immediately available to all photographers amateur and professional. It was first released to professional photographers only. Professional photographers around the world had to put in orders for the F5. Nikon first filled these orders before releasing the F5 to the general public.

These early F5's that went out to pros had the 300XXXX serials. These cameras were the first Nikon F5's. Due to the need for a proper professional Nikon camera at the time, these F5's were all almost certainly put to immediate professional use. They were not purchased to sit around and be lightly used. The very first F5's would've been used, abused, worn out or resold at a later time. To find one of the very first/original F5's today in good condition, I imagine they simply do not exist.

Nikon also released the Nikon F5 as a special collectors 50th anniversary model. The 50th fetches high prices. However, there are likely still many of these sitting completely new and untouched in their boxes by collectors. The F5 that is today likely to be around in the smallest numbers, the most unique, and the rarest of them all is the F5 with 300XXXX serial.

These were the cameras that created the Nikon F5 legend.

Worth checking your serials.
Yes, they were different. Here is a quick history:... (show quote)

In what way were the earlier cameras themselves different?
Edit: I’m a Nikon user, not a collector.

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Mar 19, 2021 10:03:00   #
wide2tele Loc: Australia
 
RWR wrote:
In what way were the earlier cameras themselves different?
Edit: I’m a Nikon user, not a collector.


The camera itself, it's features, it's functioning was not different. An F5 however with a 300XXXX serial will be rare and hard to find in 2021. These were the very first and original F5's and they began life in the hands of a pro. As with anything worth value, it's the rarity of this serial that will create high value.

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Mar 19, 2021 10:53:00   #
RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA
 
wide2tele wrote:
The camera itself, it's features, it's functioning was not different.

That’s been my understanding. All could also have been ordered factory-modified to accept non-Ai lenses, but by then I think most users had upgraded their lenses, so those modified cameras may not be too common.

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Mar 19, 2021 12:34:51   #
VTMatwood Loc: Displaced Vermonta in Central New Hampsha
 
Mine is a 306XXXX serial number, so fairly early model. it is still going strong but required a replacement of the front multi-function wheel last year. It's a little rough around the edges but it adds to the character of the camera :)

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Mar 19, 2021 16:26:15   #
BebuLamar
 
I don't think mine is 300xxxx but then is it worth more if if it has low serial number?

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Mar 19, 2021 18:12:44   #
wide2tele Loc: Australia
 
BebuLamar wrote:
I don't think mine is 300xxxx but then is it worth more if if it has low serial number?


No. The only F5's that are rare are the 300xxxx. These were the very first produced F5's, sold under special circumstance and sold to a market (professionals) that would've literally destroyed these cameras through heavy use. All other serials were sold to the mass market and are same as any other camera on the market. There is nothing unique regarding F5's with other serials. They are not the very first run of the F5 and there would still be plenty of good condition models available of every other serial.

I found a couple of owners on the net with the 300XXXX serials but they posted back in 2003. They would've been F5's purchased used. The first owner would've been a pro.
There are incredibly few owners of these serials as most of these cameras would've been worked to death. Some might've been sold off eventually as in the example above. Good possibility the pros who sold them either moved to another body or moved to digital.

Serial information can be found on the link below (scroll down the page) to put a date to your F5 assuming the site is accurate. The serials weren't all in a logical order. 300XXXX isn't even listed on the site below.

https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/NikonF5/background/index1.htm

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Mar 19, 2021 18:26:24   #
BebuLamar
 
Anyway mine is 3210305 much newer.

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Mar 21, 2021 01:38:08   #
wide2tele Loc: Australia
 
I never should've started this thread, now I'm starting to hunt! lol

Found a collector who picked this one up used in reasonable condition with not many scuffs. His website also looked very old, early 2000's so gives an indication to when it was purchased. I haven't found any trace of one with this serial since around 2003. They appear to have all disappeared.
Here are pics of the one mentioned. s/n 3009887







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Apr 20, 2021 15:56:39   #
Dean37 Loc: Fresno, CA
 
Wide2tele.
My F5 is a S/N 3160XXX, which I purchased in August 1999. That serial number list of manufacturing dates is incorrect, as it states the 3167XXX was manufactured in 2001. If I remember correctly I bought it from Adorama. Maybe I am misunderstanding the way the list works.

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Apr 21, 2021 03:25:45   #
wide2tele Loc: Australia
 
Dean37 wrote:
Wide2tele.
My F5 is a S/N 3160XXX, which I purchased in August 1999. That serial number list of manufacturing dates is incorrect, as it states the 3167XXX was manufactured in 2001. If I remember correctly I bought it from Adorama. Maybe I am misunderstanding the way the list works.

No, I don't really think the site is accurate.

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