Nikon 8008s

[gzisis69]

How is the autofocus on the 8008s ? I like a lot that it has the viewfinder of the f3hp which to me is the best viewfinder for glasses wearers. Is there a nice 28mm autofocus lens from by the way ?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

How is the autofocus on the 8008s ? I like a lot that it has the viewfinder of the f3hp which to me is the best viewfinder for glasses wearers. Is there a nice 28mm autofocus lens from by the way ?

There are two versions of the AF Nikkor 28mm f2.8. The original one is not very good; it uses the simple 5 element optical formula Nikon had earlier used on the 28mm f2.8 Series E lens. The second version of the AF-Nikkor 28mm f2.8 is the D version. It uses a new, much improved optical formula. I had one and it was an excellent lens.

 

[gzisis69]

Ah i didnt know that. It would be then great for street photography. Is the focus of the n8008s good ? I must check this combi now..

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Ah i didnt know that. It would be then great for street photography. Is the focus of the n8008s good ? I must check this combi now..

I've never used an N8008s, but I think its AF performance was supposed to be similar to the F4, which I shot with for many years. The AF is reasonably fast, but not as fast as modern AF SLRs; and sometimes it misses focus. Remember this was a second-generation AF camera. It was a huge improvement on first generation cameras like the Minolta Maxxum 7000 and Nikon N2020; but the last generation of 35mm AF cameras, like the Canon EOS 1V and Nikon F6 were far, far better in terms of speed and accuracy.

 

[DownUnder]

Nikon got quite a bit of criticism regarding the performance of the matrix system on the F801 and (mostly) the F4 in the early-mid 90s. The metering brought forward by Minolta and canon that linked the focusing points to zones was deemed more accurate.

Popular Photography did a comparison between 17 AF SLRs and confirmed it - the F801 and F4 had a tendency to over-expose (the F4 sometimes by 1.5 stops). I did my own comparison with 7 cameras (link here) and got similar results. The F90 was more consistent (within slide film latitude) whilst the F801 and F4 were within colour film latitude. The stars of the test were the EOS-5 and the Minolta 9xi. The camera that performed the best was.. ... The Sigma SA300 !

In all honesty, I love the pictures coming out of the F4. I shoot b&w and they don't need any fixing in GIMP. My experience with it is that it can deal with anything I throw at it. Same applies to the F801s, they have similar systems.

View attachment 4836295

Agree entirely. I've never owned an 8008, but I did use one, a long time ago, loaned to me by a friend. This before I lucked into a gala sale on F65s (aka N65s) in Melbourne, bak in 2005 or 2006, and ended up buying two of these (I tend to think in "pairs" with my photo gear) along with the battery grip, which cost me IRRC about AUD $270 from the Camera Exchange. Obviously they were being "dumped", whether by Nikon or another retailer via CR, I never did find out.

I reckon the bottom line with all those cheap amateur SLRs of their time, including the Nikon SLRs, was that were mostly rather flimsy but worked well - while they worked. I found that they exposed "just okay' and were best for negative films. Slides need more exact exposure and the 8008 and F65s weren't my first choice for chrome.

For all that, it's amazing how many have survived to this day and go on producing good images, but there you are.

Back to the 8008 now. I found it rather "plasticky" and somewhat too "auto-everything" for my liking. I did get some passably good images out of it with the amateur Kodak color negative films of the day, tho', so no complaints there, it served its purpose and did its (every)thing well and that for me is the ultimate goal of owning any camera. Eventually I went back to my F65s, which I still own but nowadays rarely use as I prefer the weight and solidity of my collection of Nikkormat FT2s.

Now and then just for the fun of it I scan some of my old negatives taken with those amateur Nikons. Amazing quality for what they cost and how flimsy they were.

So yes, I've used the 8008 but have never owned one. I disliked its auto-do-eerything approach to photography, but just about everybody I knew did it that way in the mid-'00s. And I then went to (and still occasionally use) the F65s. So my arguments aren't really very good., are they? Let's just call them comments and be done with it...

 

[Ororaro]

N2020/F301 is truly the best kept Nikon secret IMO

 

[rfaspen]

I once had an 8008. That one found another home years ago. My N80 stayed but only because it fit my hand better. I have no plans to let go of that guy but I wish it played nicer with any of my many AI, AIS lenses. I don't have very many AF Nikkors 🤔

 

[p.giannakis]

Ah i didnt know that. It would be then great for street photography. Is the focus of the n8008s good ? I must check this combi now..

I use it often for street work. You need to remember that the AM200 module does not have cross-type sensors so struggles to focus on horizontal patterns.

Focus-wise, the F801s is good. I took those two very poorly shot videos with my mobile. I struggled to keep the phone on the viewfinder and at times the video goes out of focus.

First video is the F801s Vs the F90x - the F90 had a moment of confusion where it couldn't focus on the towel for some reason.



And here a video of the F801s Vs the insane F5.

 

[p.giannakis]

N2020/F301 is truly the best kept Nikon secret IMO

Have you tried its evil twin? The F501.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Have you tried its evil twin? The F501.

Is that the N2000? An N2020 without AF. Nikon did that with the N6006, too. There was an N6000 that was the N6006 without the AF. I don't know why anyone bought them; you could use manual focus lenses on the AF version and there wasn't a big price difference so saving money wasn't a factor.

 

[p.giannakis]

I have owned and used all consumer grade AF SLRs Nikon released from 1986 up until their digital era. The only ones I haven't used are the F60 and the F100.

I kept the F801s, the F90x and the F70. I gave up on all others for different reasons. None of them is perfect but each one of them has its own strengths and if it is what you are looking for you are in for a treat.

The F801s is build to do it's job and does that. And does it very well. That is why pros wanted it in their bag. The F90x is basically an F801s on steroids - better but bigger and just as reliable. The F70 is a bit of a mystery for most as people can't get over the new interface. It is an excellent camera and better built than the F80. I personally like the F70 more than the F80.

The F801s is a great camera. And it is cheap. Consider it a mortal sin not to have one.

 

[p.giannakis]

Is that the N2000? An N2020 without AF. Nikon did that with the N6006, too. There was an N6000 that was the N6006 without the AF. I don't know why anyone bought them; you could use manual focus lenses on the AF version and there wasn't a big price difference so saving money wasn't a factor.

Yes, you are right, there was a non AF f601 too, I forgot about them. The American version of the F501 is the N2020AF.

Edit: now I read correctly what you wrote.
With the N2000 it was the other way around. The N2000 (F301) was out first and they put the AF on it when Minolta released the 7000.

 

[shawn]

I put many rolls though my father's N2000 (with the AA bottom cover) with a pancake 50mm f1.8. Always thought the P and P Hi modes were smart to set the bias for DOF or higher shutter speeds.

Still have the lens and camera but the mirror is stuck on the N2000.

 

[Ororaro]

Yes I meant the N2000/f301
Great machine. But I swear, that loud film advance killed the moment so many times. That’s probably the crippling that prevented that camera to reach legend status.

 

[petronius]

There is a solution: Use a Canon T70 for some time; you will love the sound of the Nikon F301 after this experience!

 

[css9450]

Back to the 8008 now. I found it rather "plasticky" and somewhat too "auto-everything" for my liking. I disliked its auto-do-eerything approach to photography...

It's easy to just turn all that stuff off and shoot manually. I even set my ISO manually since I preferred to expose my ISO 100 Fuji Provia at ISO 80 instead.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Board,

I wanted a Nikon 8008S badly circa 1993, but I didn't have the do-re-mi to purchase one. So I lowered by expectations a bit and settled for a Canon EOS Elan which I enjoyed, and is still working perfectly.

But over the years I've made a few walk away bids on auction sites and now own 2 Nikon 8008S's and they both work perfectly too. I think I have $ 50.00 or $ 60.00 in both of them, and they came with a Tamron 28-300 lens and Nikon 35-70 lens. While neither lenses are stellar performers today I can't believe I got two of them for what I paid. It actually seems to make the EOS Elan a much better bargain over time! 😉

It's time to take them all out for a spin.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[largedrink]

In 1990 I used a Canon T70 and won a Nikon F-401s (N4004s) in a photo competition. The Nikon came with the standard 35-70mm zoom.

I immediately upgraded the body to an F-801 and used that camera exclusively with the 35-70 for the next 8 or 9 years at university and travelling. It was a reliable and competent camera. I loved the big hand grip and huge viewfinder (and recall being incredibly disappointed with the viewfinder in my first and only digital SLR, a D80). Best of all was the classic motordrive sound that my friends used to mimic.

The F-801 went everywhere with me, climbing, hiking,... I sold it and miss it, but don't miss the 4 AA batteries it would chew through.

 

[Prest_400]

I have always gotten Nikon AFs from private listings. With a bit of patience, something like a F90, F801 or F80 with a kit lens is bought below 40€. Being electronic and relatively modern, they just tend to work.

The F801s I got back home was a second body that followed a F90. The AF improvements of the latter decanted me to use it a lot more, yet I still had both cameras loaded and used at the same time during a Christmas period. These are great machines, and quite a good value. Every few years I get one, as many other forumers do mention that they were prosumer cameras.

 

[Nitroplait]

Many people think the F801/s has a polycarbonate shell like the F90/x, including myself up until recently, but it is actually black coated metal.
It looks kind of cool when worn though to the silver metal, but it is very hard wearing.