Now costs very little. You can get a good one for about £100.

Effortless flash pictures and high flash sync speed of 1/250 makes this camera very suitable for wedding & social photography. Combined with an off the camera TTL flash lead, macro photography is a doodle

Very good viewfinder, compact and reasonably light in weight, very well built, takes AA cells and can use AIS lenses. Has all the features of many modern film and digital cameras.

AF slow by modern standards. Other than that not much to complain about

The AF technology used in this camera is getting very long in the tooth. The single sensor AF is adequate in most normal situations, but can struggle with fast moving action. However, anyone who buys this camera should be prepared for these AF limitations. As a picture taking machine, the results it produces are second to no other Nikon film camera. I take a lot of pictures with the flash, often for fill flash and bounced using a single speedlight. With this camera, I can leave the speedlight in matrix balanced flash mode all the time, even in total darkness and the exposures are spot on. With my F90x I have to switch to standard TTL to get the same results. This camera can also take the MB-10 grip designed for the F90x if you prefer a more substantial grip.

Customer Service

Not required

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F90x, F80 (too plasticky) FE2, D200 (fantastic!), FM2, F2 and a lot of AIS, AF, AFD and AFS lenses as well as a bunch of speedlights.

dependable, flexible, good value if you find a good one, strikes a good middle ground between the "gee-whiz" appeal of newer Nikons and the battleship toughness of older manual types

No real weaknesses, just a different set of compromises from other Nikons

I have owned my N8008s for 7 years. It has been through deserts, jungles, on Alaska backpacking trips, baked and frozen and has never missed a beat. I recommend it without hesitation. It is smart enough to do things for you and flexible enough to let you control everything if you want. I think it is a great compromise on the technology/cost continuum. There are newer models that may focus faster (I haven't tried them and can not comment) but I have never found that my pictures suffered for lack of any feature or capability.

It works as designed....flawlessly. Nikon's excellent owner's manual explains the neat seldom used features in a way you can actually understand them.

Noisy.

I inherited this camera along with the outstanding Tokina f2.8 ATX Pro zoom lenses. While I have yet to find a situation where the automation has failed to produce a technically correct picture I do accept that it is probably possible to find a freaky lighting situation where the camera might fudge. With the Tokina lenses the autofocus is ALWAYS razor sharp. Only a high dollar primary lense might do better. Since my eyesight has failed with age, I had to leave my vintage Canon A-1s behind. The 8008s has been a godsend. I cannot fault it except for it being somewhat noisier than other AF cameras of newer vintage. For an old war horse it excells at just about everything. I do mostly animal photography and the much maligned AF system has yet to fail me. It rarely "hunts" and generally hits it dead on. This is a great buy for a first auto everything camera.

Customer Service

None as yet.

Similar Products Used:

Canon A-1, AE-1, F series Nikon F2 (MF)

- good finder displays - mount/lens compatibility - spot meter - matrix meter (not foolproof, but very good) - uses AA batteries

- noisy motor drive and mirror slap - top display has no light - no vertical grip available (I've heard you can use the N90 grip, but aux. shutter release doesn't function) - no PC socket - the proprietary electric release is pricey - leader-out rewind requires modification by Nikon - can't adjust shutter speed in half-stops The power switch, I think, was poorly designed. For fast operation it's easiest to slide the switch all the way to the right, but that enables the beeper which I really dislike. (Ex: It beeps when the shutter speed is less than 1/shutter speed. I'm smart enough to look at the shutter speed and make my own decisions.) This was easily solved by gluing in a small piece of black plastic that limits the travel of the switch and prevents the camera from beeping, ever.

Excellent SLR for those who value compactness and pro-level features such as a 1/8000th top shutter speed and several metering modes. AF performance isn't great, but I usually focus manually. I bought my 8008s new about ten years ago after my EOS system was stolen. I went back and forth on the decision to switch to Nikon, but it ultimately came down to the ability to use MF lenses or add a MF body to the system, the excellent Nikkor 50mm f1.8 lens (with metal mount) and that it uses AA batteries.

Customer Service

Have not needed it.

Similar Products Used:

- N90 - Canon EOS 630 - various Pentaxes (manual focus)

DOF, Lotsa features, decent frame rate, good speed (1/8000th sec)

No mirror lockup, cost of remote release, no PC jack. AF is a tad on the slow side compaired to the F5 & N90.

This is a well built camera, full of features. I have in the past used AF cameras (Minolta 7000i, Cannon EOS 850) and hated them. So I gave them to my father and baught a Nikon F3 (used). Manual was definatelly the way I wanted to go. It gave me soo much more control and features. Then I had an accident and the broke at the time. As I was going to school for photography at the time, I needed a camera that was realiable, and I could get my hands on quick, and still allowed me to use my nikon lenses, thus I got the 8008s. My F3, has since been fixed, but realistically, it sits to the side and acts as a backup to my 8008s. Consider at one point I was running 20-30 rolls a week through it, and it still works like a charm.

Customer Service

Never, though I should get it cleaned sometime.... :-)

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 7000i, Cannon EOS 850, Cannon A1 & AE1, Nikon 90s, 6006, N65, & F4

Nikon reliability D-O-F preview Spot metering Matrix metering Fast shutter Fast flash sync speed Nikon f-mount lenses Weight

Weight Age (availability of accessories)

King of the used market. Although 12 years old now, this camera still cuts it. Yes, the autofocus isn't up to modern standards but it's plus points far outweigh the negatives. If you're a serious photographer looking for a (useful) feature-packed, tough, reliable camera and can't afford a F100 then this is the only choice.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FE, Canon A1.

Reliable and durable, AA batteries easily available and the camera does not drain them quickly at all, lots of features (e.g. adjustable self-timer), easy to use controls.

Heavier than average, AF is sometimes slow and "searches", no built-in flash.

I am an intermediate photographer, with dreams of "fine art" shots but facing the reality that most of my pics are snapshots. I agree with dclarhorn on all points. This is a solid, reliable (just got back from lugging it 71 miles through a New Mexico backpacking trip) with no problems. It IS heavy (add the Nikon 24-85 prime focus zoom) but I connected a holster-type bag to my backpack belt and the setup was comfortable and convenient. I think for future outdoor/trek photo work I will buy an N80 body and take it instead. It is ligher, and even with the bright lens, you need a flash for a lot of pictures if you use 25, 100, or 160 speed film, and lugging the full featured external flash for this puppy would be a bit much.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta SLRs

Uses AA batteries, good solid feel, spotmeter.

A bit noisy, may be a bit heavy for some.

My favorite camera (I have the "s" version). Chose it for the spot meter, faster AF than the reg. 8008, and because it uses easy-to-get AA batteries. Has a sensible layout that's very simple to learn and get comfortable with. People have said that the AF is a bit slow but when I use it with my Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 it snaps into focus. No complaints there. Like other full-featured Nikons, some may find it a bit heavy. I like the weight and it allows me to hold the camera steady when shooting at lower shutter speeds. Overall, a fine performer.

Customer Service

Never needed.

Similar Products Used:

6006, n65

Spot metering, matrix metering, balanced fill flash, slow sync, DOF preview, meters with manual focus Nikkors etc ...

Slow AF that sometimes searches when you don't want it to. Noisy film advance. I have obviously accepted these limitations

I have owned my N8008s since it was brand new about 15 years ago. At that time, the top Nikons were the N8008s and the F4 which was more than I needed. My 8008s has had thousands of rolls of film put through and has never given me any sort of discomfort. It has been completely flawless. I will never give up this good old friend even though I am gradually moving to digital

Customer Service

I never had a problem so there was no need for customer service. I wore out my 85 1.8 and that needs serviced though.

Similar Products Used:

Various manual focus Nikon cameras

uses AA Cells heavy - stable DOF preview easy to use

electric cable release - I had to buy the MR3 to use it with my mechanical cable release

I bought mine at Ebay a couple of months ago. And I'm very happy I did choose the F801s / 8008s. It gives me all I need. Very good shutter speeds (1/8000s-30s)and flash sync. 1/250 !! what do you need more?? Very reliable exposure metering. It is heavy as a brick, but I like it, I can shoot at speeds like 1/30 or 1/15 (without a tripod) and I still get a sharp photo. It uses cheap AA cells. Unfortunately it has a slow AF, for me it isn't a big problem, because I use it rarely, but one may unhappy about this fact. And one may say it is loud... yes it is.. but it isn't a problem for me. The control buttons are easy to understand, and the whole camera is easy to use. But the best part for me is the mechanical DOF preview. I cannot believe people can live without it!! I say the Nikon f801s is a workhorse that gets it's job done!! I'd strongly recommend it to all the amateurs that need some better equipment but don't have too much money. I bought my nikon together with a 35-135mm / 3.4-4.5 nikkor for 370 Euro (about 390$)and it was in mint condition.