I've owned a few other Nikon cameras, including a Nikon F3HP. and before that a Nikon FG. A few years back, a friend sent me a Nikon N70, and I have an N60 in the camera cabinet, I gave my brother an N65 last year and he loves it. My daily driver these days is a NIkon FM2n. It's a spectacular camera. There are no auto-features. The meter is simple, but once you get the hang of it, it's very accurate. This N8008 fills a want for me, auto exposure. auto advance, and works with my old Nikkor glass.
I wasn't going to write about the N8008, A.K.A. F801, but the more I shoot with it, the more I like it. I bought the camera at my local camera shop, Dot Dotson's for $25. I was on my way out of the shop and I saw it in the glass case and picked it up and I immediately liked it.
This camera, was released in November 1988 and made until 1991. There are some negatives, and a lot of positives with this camera for me.
What I like about it.
First, I bought this camera simply because of price. It was $25, but I would not have bought it if it didn't have the exposure tab. A lot of the newer AF Nikon film cameras don't have this tab, like the N50, N60, N65, or N80. Oddly the N70 has the exposure tab. This allows me to mount most of my manual focus AI, AIs, and AI'd Nikkor lenses. Although, I have an Ai'd Nikkor-S Auto 1:2.8 35mm that doesn't engage the metering tab, this is the only Pre-AI AI'd lens that does not engage that tab..
Power is provided by 4 AA batteries. It runs fine on rechargeable batteries, but AA batteries are common enough to get anywhere. How can you go wrong with that.
The menu system is simple and logical. Hold the menu button and spin the dial on the right side.
There is a very usable manual focus assist dot through through the viewfinder. There are arrows that tell you which way to turn to get focus
It's comfortable in the hands. The camera feels great in the hands, there is a nice contour for your thumb too.
This camera is heavy. When loaded with batteries, film, and no lens it weighs in at 1.7lbs/775g. A lot of cameras were still heavy in that era. The Canon EOS 650 is 1.56lbs/707g with film and battery. And the Nikon N60 (1998) weighs in at 1.4lbs/644g.
The metering is very accurate too. It has Matrix metering that is compatible with AF-D lenses.
What I am not so thrilled about.
The autofocus is horrible. It's loud and slow and clunky. This is not a deal breaker for me. I don't really mind. I bought this camera so I could mount my manual focus lenses.
Film rewind is slow and loud. This is not a church wedding camera.
While G series autofocus lenses will mount, and shoot there is no autofocus and no way to adjust aperture. You're stuck shooting wide open.
As much as I like this camera.
This is not a perfect camera, for my uses it's just fine most of the time. I also love my FM2n, but sometimes I need fast and reliable autofocus. This is why I still have a stockpile of EOS cameras which I will eventually abandon. My goal is to cut down to a single system. Turns out I like Nikon glass more than EOS - EF glass. It took me a long time to figure that out.
While I don't plan to upgrade to the N8008s which is supposed to have improved AF, I am considering picking up an F5 to handle my AF needs. Sure, I could shoot digital, but where's the fun in that.
