Nikon N80... do you have one?

dave lackey

dave lackey

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Gasp!!

A discussion on not just an SLR, but a cheapo, bottom feeder. What in the world?🙄

Well, film is back!! At least here in the Leica Cave.

About 15 years ago, I really wanted a new N80. Never bought one because I had a perfectly good AF Nikon. It was unaffordable then but also, it seemed over the top owning two cameras that did the same thing. Materialism and lust must have been forbidden back then. I wish it were the same now!😀

At any rate, I was thinking about finding a mint N80 for those softball, baseball, football games when I want a decent AF rig that I didn't have to worry too much about it in dirty, rainy conditions.

Anyone have any ideas about the sanity of this?😀
 
The N80 has always tempted me (as an AF film Nikon) because my N90s is pretty heavy (and I believe the F100 is a similar weight to the N90s). Oddly enough I ended up with a N75 in a deal and am pretty happy with that (especially the weight factor) so I've sort of given up on my dream of an N80 for the moment. I have my FE2 for manual focus and my N75 for AF, it is a setup I'm pretty happy with.
 
The N80/F80 (which is the import) is a very good and proficient AF SLR. I used to have the F80, but sold it when I got my first F100. I see them now going for ridiculous prices... and sometimes I think about getting another, but all my film needs go into the Leica gear have.

Body is polycarbonate, lens mount takes AF-S and G lenses. Highest shutterspeed is 1/4000. I cannot recall the type of AF it has, but I believe is similar to that in the F100. In fact, given its lack of function menus, it's a kind of "light" F100... literally lighter because of its construction. If you see one, snatch it. They can go for as low as $35 now... and I paid about $400 for my kit (camera and the infamous 28-80 slow kit lens).

Best of luck! 🙂
 
Dave, I think you know I have the F80 - it's my favourite AF film camera (the other AF camera I own being an EOS300). Nice handling, AF is good enough, but sometimes I find the F80 is not quite fast enough for street grab shots. With sports where you're tracking the action through the vf, the af should be adequate. Note it only has 3 af sensors - your F6 is another class of camera altogether.

Cheers,
 
Had an F80/N80 for years-of course it isn't an F6, but it's cheap, light, has all the necessary menu's and a nice viewfinder. The possibilty to use AA battery's with the MB-16 grip is also great! A drawback is that you can't meter with AI/AI-s lenses .
 
I bought a boxed, mint F80 for $25 (and sold it for the same amount after one year).

It is a quiet, competent camera.

For the going rate on the used market, there is no excuse for not buying one and trying it yourself! (Especially if you already have some AF-D or AF-S Nikkors hanging around.)
 
As mentioned in another thread, it has one of the quietest shutters in slr-land. Very refined - just right on the grip, solid body, clean VF...it makes my Elan 7E (also very quiet!) look like an oversized pig in comparison. $35 is probably on the high side of what they go for now. Which is pretty bonkers considering what you get.
 
I had one for a short period of time. It's a great lightweight SLR, very competent, and very quiet as noted. It is quite good at auto-everything, however that was not what I was looking for at the time (I would say it is a bit soulless) and sold it shortly thereafter for the same price I paid for it.
 
I feel the same about the N65.
About ten years ago I bought a Nikon refurbished one to dedicate to my one auto-focus lens (Sigma 12~24 f4.5-5.6).
The camera has enough serious features including a metal lens mount, that it is just fine for the few occasions that I use the lens. And for about $75.00 which included a free "AA" battery grip) it was a steal.
 
I have an N80 and an F80 with battery grip and date back. Both looked like new when I purchased them but the N80 had a sticky back. A bit of alcohol and some ArmorAll Conditioner fixed that. Both work great with AF-S and G Nikkors which is what I got them for. One was $17 and the other was $22.
 
I had one a long time ago. Sold it after I got an F100. To me the only downside to an N80 is that it does not meter with AI/AIS lenses.

With bargain basement prices for most film SLR's, why not just get an F100 -- heavier but you get faster AF and AA batteries with no need for adapters, as well as full compatibility with AI/AIS lenses.
 
I bought a new N80 body 4 years ago, sealed in the box, for $70, via Craigslist. I use it with Nikon AF 28-80mm f3.3-5.6 and 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 G lenses. This and a Nikon N75 (also bought in near mint condition for $50), are the only autofocus cameras I have. Not my favorite cameras, but only because I prefer manual focus cameras without all the jazz in the viewfinder. Very competent cameras, a little flimsy, especially the battery doors (well, compared to older cameras...), but excellent results, have made many nice prints from using them. And they sell at give-away prices.
 
I've had a F80 for over 2 years now. It is almost in very good condition cosmetically, but I found out the silent motor, although very nice as it is, it is also very finicky: it likes to rewind more than winds the film forward. So, I had it starting to rewind the film after just 2 frames. Used the Custom functions to stop the auto-rewind. Still doesn't like to wind film stopping at times with Err.
So, here is a word of caution. It is the only Nikon AF I have that has that problem.
I believe it is also one of the first Nikon AF with auto-load and auto-rewind functions a la Canon.
 
Before I all but stopped using film, I changed over completely to the N80 despite owning higher end "pro" Nikon SLRs. The camera has everything except 100% VF coverage. I had about 6 of them. I found the lower end ones N70, N65 etc can't remember them all ... to be a lot less satisfying and more toy-like.
 
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