Anyone own a Nikon F5 with 300XXXX serial?
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Woodsy
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Unsure if this is a wanted thread in disguise - if so I'm afraid this isn't allowed outside the classifieds section, so the thread will get deleted by mods - or genuine general interest. If the latter, I'll check mine later, as I have no idea what the S/N is 
No, it's certainly not. The Nikon F5 with 300XXXX serial in any kind of decent condition I'm confident is the rarest of all F5's. This is why I am asking if there are any at all out there out of curiosity. If this was a wanted thread, I think it's obvious I certainly wouldn't be telling anyone this.
Sorry, should've said hi in my first post here to make things not appear so suspicious.
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Ahh, I see, gotcha
I highly doubt my F5 will qualify then!
And yes, welcome to the forum
Thanks for the welcome, appreciated. Sorry for the confusion, I never even considered that it may cause confusion.
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 The F4 was severely outdated and Canon were taking the pro market away from Nikon with their new EOS line.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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lindsay
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Mine is 3077909, an example with scratched paint on the hinge and base but fully functional with modern AF lenses. So now I'm going to have to investigate it's worth as it's not getting used and could cover the cost of my latest GAS attack maybe...
RaglanSurf
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Mine is 301**** still in great condition and to be honest it doesn’t get a huge amount of use, it’s just a bit too big to lug around all day so only get used occasionally.
lindsay
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@Nieto Whilst you are welcome to the forum, it is good etiquette to introduce yourself as an early if not first post. It is certainly poor and suspicious practice to join the forum, pounce on a five year old thread and try to sell an item when you have not yet earned the right to use the Classifieds section. Join in the discussion if you are genuinely interested, and put an ad in the For Sale section when you've earned access if you wish.
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