This is actually my second F6. The first one I bought, with a serial no. roughly 50 units lower, developed a fault as soon as the first film was loaded. It wound the film to the first frame but the frame counter was still showing "E" for empty, and there was no flashing or any indication that the film hadn't wound on properly. One press of the shutter release and the film wound on four more frames and "1" now showed. Unfortunately the electronics would not turn off after the specified time but just flashed off briefly; in effect, cycling every eight seconds. To top it off, with the switch in the "off" position, two brand new lithium batteries were totally drained overnight! It was exchanged for another without question.

I bought the MB-40 as well and got a special deal on a rechargeable Li Ion EN-EL4 and charger. First impressions: it has the best of the F5, F100 and F4 and more, rolled into one. This is the ultimate film SLR, without question. Attached to the MB-40 it feels a little bulkier and heavier than the F5, but handling is superb. The shooting data feature is wonderful (and is even more so with the MV-1) but the coolest thing is the level of compatibility with manual focus lenses.

The F6 will operate with full matrix metering when using AI or AI-s lenses; it will even display the aperture selected as long as the lens data (focal length and maximum aperture) are programmed in. This is a huge benefit compared to the F5, for anyone who continues to use the wonderful manual Nikkor lenses.

 

The F6 was an unexpected gift from Nikon in 2004, when very few people expected a new film camera to follow the F5. In the unlikely event that there's ever an F7, it's hard to imagine what would be needed to significantly improve upon the F6, aside from the obvious upgrade of AF module (which is by no means bad as it is!). As of 2017, the F6 is still being made, albeit undoubtedly in very small numbers.