A new SLR or not?

[apeiron]

I feel drawn to Nikon F5 and I try to convince myself that I'll use it as a second body, using F6 as first one.
But I perfectly know there is no need of a second body because I use, when rarely it happens,a Canon F1 new .
It' s rather a desire, and you know about what I'm talking about..., also considering good price now. I have to say however that they ask me about 700 euro, not a painless price.
What do you think?
Thinking over the question, perhaps it's much better if I finally decide to buy a film scanner or my first serious digital camera .
I'll willingly read your remarks,
apeiron

[Pinholemaster]

Get a second F6, or a D3.

[PhotoJim]

I find having a second SLR to be quite useful (although I've gone to extremes and have many). If cost were a serious consideration I would probably have three cameras.

Why?

1. It's nice to have redundancy in case you have hardware failure.
2. You can shoot different films (slide or print, colour or black & white, fast or slow...).
3. Sometimes it's inconvenient or difficult to change lenses (fast-moving subjects, challenging weather). Having two cameras with different lenses and the same film can be convenient.
4. Sometimes the second camera has different capabilities than the first one, and can complement the camera well. The F5 versus the F6 is not a great example of this (although the two cameras will make a good pair because of their similarity of operation), but, for example:
a) an FM2n is a lot smaller than most AF cameras and will work better in very cold weather.
b) An F70 or F80 has a built-in flash and is a lot smaller than an F5 or F6, which would make it a nice carrying-around camera for when weight and convenience are important.

Do you shoot enough for all this to make sense? I don't know. However, given the low prices of bodies, I think having another body makes a lot of sense.

If you can't justify the money that an F5 costs, getting an inexpensive F90x or F801s makes sense. They are well under a hundred dollars and will give you 85-90% of the capability of your F6.

[Sirius Glass]

I can clearly see that you are about to have an attack of G. A. S.

Steve

[BobbyR]

Does it have to be brand new?
Other wise ebay has several for sale and some are going for under four hundred dollars.
Jack's Camera whom I have dealt with has several and he stands behind his sales.
Bobby

[copake_ham]

I fail to see what the point of your query is.

If you need a film back-up camera to your F6 then you've already identified the F5 as the likely one. Although, I'd suggest a F-100 instead.

If you would rather have a digital alternative - please ask this question on another site.

[elekm]

When I was doing a lot of semi-professional work, I always carried a Nikon F2A and an FE. They both were loaded with 36-exposure rolls, and I would change film when I got a break.

So, yes, I would get a second body. These days, just shooting for myself, I rarely carry a spare body.

[mark]

Where are the Antacids. I know I had some around her somewhere. That there is a bad case of GAS.

[David H. Bebbington]

I feel drawn to Nikon F5 and I try to convince myself that I'll use it as a second body, using F6 as first one.
But I perfectly know there is no need of a second body because I use, when rarely it happens,a Canon F1 new .
It' s rather a desire, and you know about what I'm talking about..., also considering good price now. I have to say however that they ask me about 700 euro, not a painless price.
What do you think?
Thinking over the question, perhaps it's much better if I finally decide to buy a film scanner or my first serious digital camera .
I'll willingly read your remarks,
apeiron

I presume you are not using the cameras professionally, since you say yourself you don't actually need any more cameras. On the other hand, if you like a Nikon F6, I'm sure you would enjoy comparing and contrasting a Nikon F5, which is certainly nice to have, so if you can afford it, go for it! But yes, a film scanner would be more sensible (if you WANT to be sensible), since it would do something that your present gear can't!

Regards,

David

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Well, for a little bit more than 700 euros you can also get a nice used Hasselblad...