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Fisher F4 or F5? New to hunting.

C

cyclerider

New member
Hello Everyone,
This is my first post and I am new to treasure hunting. I have been looking for a while now and for an all around detector I have narrowed it down to the F4 or possible the F5. The F5 is $100 more and I don't want to bite off more than I can chew since I have never hunted before. Also, if these are a little to advanced, is there something else you would recommend? I will be using it at the beach, parks, woods and just where ever. I live in PA. Any responses are greatly appreciated. Thanks

John
 
I'd recommend going ahead and getting the F5. The additional features of the F5 make it well worth the extra money and it is not that difficult to learn. Actually easier to learn in my opinion.

I couldn''t imagine not having a F5.

HH
Mike
 
I've had my F5 for over a year now, and I'd have to agree with Mike that the F5 is an excellent detector.

There is a learning curve, but the manual as I understand it has been corrected (the original manual was full of mistakes and gave the completely wrong instructions on how to ground balance) so I think it would be an excellent mid-range detector for a beginner.

John, if you have any questions or problems when you start using it, there are a lot of us who will be glad to do what we can to help. Including our F5 guru, Mike Hillis!
 
as a new person to detectors, out of the two, the F4 is easier to learn and more of a "turn on and go" detector. You may also look at the Teknetics line and the Delta and Gamma. Even the Omega 8000 is a bit easier for a newbie over the F5. The F5 is my #1 detector, but even after 3 years and 6 detectors, it took some time to understand the gain/threshold settings.

Just my thoughts.
 
I like the F2 Someone has the F2 with 3 coils and a pinpointer for a great price. The 4 inch coil is great for picking thru super hi trash zones and the pinpointing is spot on.
 
While I agree that the F4 is easier to learn, the F5 is such a better machine (much deeper, all metal TID, ground grab and manual ground balance in AM & disc) that IMHO it's well worth the extra $100. IF money is a major factor, then the F4 is a good deal and often you can find the F4 with the 11" DD (great coil), 8" & 4" concentrics for less then the price of the F5 with a single coil.
 
I am new to using Fisher detectors and purchased the F5 and like it a lot. Pros - good user interface. push button ground balance. plenty of depth and accurate target id. Cons - I don't care for it in all metal mode (at least compared to a Tesoro) and I think the extra coils are a bit pricey. I have used it for coin hunting and limited use as a relic hunter and enjoy swinging it for hours at a time. Later, I bought a F2 with extra coils and pin pointer because it wasn't much more than a single coil for the F5. I wanted to use the F2 to keep handy in my pickup. The F2 works great as a coin hunter and the 4 inch coil is great for playground hunting. The F2 is not good as the F5, but no slouch. It doesn't have ground balance, but so far I haven't seen that as a problem as a grab and go detector. When I was looking, I guess I didn't see the merits of the F4, and as I'm older the size of the display readout was better on the F2 and F5.
 
Hello Everyone,
Thanks to all that gave me a reply. I have been looking quite a bit on this site and find it very helpful to say the least. Being a newbie to the sport, with all the feedback from you guys, it just makes the sport more interesting. Now, time to buy. Thanks again.

John
 
Well Guys,
I ordered the F5. Supposed to be delivered on Thursday. Thanks to everyone for the reply's and also all the information on this site. And a special thanks to Mike Hillis. I have been going back over your posts and what a lot of great information. Thanks to everyone again.

John
 
Cal, have you used both the F4 and F5? I just bought a like new F5 and air tested it against my F4 (too cold to hunt up here just now). In an air test the F4 beat the F5 by about an inch, using the settings for the F4 (about 2/3 sensitivity no disc, Ground balanced) and F5 Disc mode, nothing disced out gain and Threshold at 2/3 full ground balanced.

I fully suspect in the field the F5 to have advantages over the F4 in various conditions and I'd like to hear your thoughts.

By the way to anyone that has an F4. There is poor information out that manual Ground balance only works in All Metal Auto-tune. This is incorrect. Set it in AM then switch to Disc and the setting is maintained. I know this from experience as well as I wrote Fisher and asked and they said it carried over.

Boston

Cal_Cobra said:
While I agree that the F4 is easier to learn, the F5 is such a better machine (much deeper, all metal TID, ground grab and manual ground balance in AM & disc) that IMHO it's well worth the extra $100. IF money is a major factor, then the F4 is a good deal and often you can find the F4 with the 11" DD (great coil), 8" & 4" concentrics for less then the price of the F5 with a single coil.
Click to expand...
 
I tossed between the F4 and F5 and finally went with F4. I have found pea sized foil at 7 inches. My deepest coin was at about 8 inches. It was a Lincoln Cent. Granted the soil here is muddy, so maybe that has something to do with it. My son is going to inherit the F4 as soon as my V3i gets here. I am looking forward to some family treasure hunting!
 
I'm upgrading from a Famous Trails to a Fisher F4. The FT is a really basic machine that takes a huge learning curve, but once used for a while, it's just not that bad. I've found lots, but the FT is limited. Looking over the stats on Kellyco's pages and reading the reviews, I've decided the F4 is a pretty good machine and I'm having trouble justifying the $100 difference based strictly on what they both offer. Still, if anybody has any specifics on the differences, I'll be glad to listen.
 
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