This video is a review of my Nikon N8008, quite possibly the best value film camera today. I go over every control, as well as the viewfinder on this baby F4.
a friend and coworker who had passed away in the early 90s used this camera quite alot, He went to school for photography and was always out and about shooting mostly wildlife and some street too , FX Odonnel was his name, he was a great guy and when he died in a auto related accident his parents gave me this camera, his bag and a few lenses! Ive been using mostly DSLRS over the past 10 years or so for casual , simple snap shot type pics, but Im now thinking about relearning my style using his camera! Back to film I believe is where I will be in his honor!
I just purchased a functional body with a batch of other items and wanted to see what others thought of the camera. While I own a Nikon DSLR, I chose to use Minolta bodies and MD lenses before the digital era. Regardless, the specifications ought to make the camera worth keeping as it appears my Nikkor ASP-C 18 to 55 DSLR lens will cover full frame down to 24mm; hopefully still useful on manual focus and aperture priority until I acquire additional lenses. Thanks for posting a very informative- and reassuring- video!
Nice to see this mostly unloved camera getting some love. I prefer it with the MF-21 control back. That back is amazing, and capable of imprinting shutter speed and aperture on the photograph amongst lots of other features like time lapse, bracketing and so on. My first experience of this camera was the Kodak DCS200 in the early 90's. Kodak hacked an N8008S camera body onto their digital body. I still have it, and even though it has not been used in 20+ years, it probably still works. It amazes me how most people look down their nose at the F801S and line up to get the F100, and don't realize just how good the F801S or F90X are. Can't complain, it keeps the prices of these cameras relatively low. I like your review. Probably the best I have seen on this camera.
I had a camera technician add a regular pc socket so I could easily connect studio flash. I used the camera from 84 to 2003. I still have it bout shoot mostly digital now.
You're right, the F801 is a worthy camera but a stunning bargain: 25 EURO I purchased at eBay/Germany in 2020; in 1990 it cost 1398 D-Mark without any lens. And it's my favourite analogue gear even today;-)) @philosimot
I cut my teeth on an N8008, and loved it!. I never saw a reason to spend what an upgrade would cost. But I ignored it for a bit and the batteries popped, ruining it. I picked up an N8008s as a replacement. It's got a much better autofocus, better metering, is compatible with my MF-21 data back, and is about as inexpensive on ebay and cl. (My new one was even cheaper on cl at $10. It wasn't working. But an evening of repairs, and a few parts from my N8008 got it going perfectly.)
Thank you for the excellent review , clear and to the point , well appreciated. I have just acquired an F801s here in the UK . with a crack on the top the prism . for £15 . the camera is working perfectly and I am surprised to see it is solid just like the F90x. I contemplated going for the F80 which after reading many reviews , seems all plastic , that put me off.the same as the F100 that I bought few years back it was an early model .bought before I knew about the weaknesses of the back door breaking as well as the rewind fork issues , out of fear I have never used the camera and is gathering dust on the shelf. thank you once again
I believe that back in the day more working pros used the N8008 / N8008s / N90 / N90s than the D4s for most of their work. I got my N8008s used in the late 90s from a doctor who bought it to take snap shops and found it to be too much for him. It became the star of my photo gear. My pride and joy. A little side note here, the marketing guys at Nikon must have been on the ball giving the camera the number N8008s. Take out the N and you have 8008s which looks like ????
Found this one at a local camera shop with a 50mm 1.8 for $195. A fantastic piece of kit. Nice bright viewfinder, autofocus is razor sharp and plenty of shooting options. would've bought it on the spot if i had the cash edit: I have since bought the much nicer (and more reasonably priced) Nikon N90S. It cannot be overstated how similar these bodies are.
Wowza! Happy shooting! Any tips on getting that autofocus to nail and be razor sharp? Mine tends to focus juuust near the perfect focus, but not often bang on.
Hi, thank you for the review, I bought the same camera and shot my first photos, but most of them turned out to be blurry. I shoot them on M mode, 125 ISO. I didn't look at the shutter speed though. Could you please make a video on how to shoot on different modes. :)
1) Buy some higher ISO film, and make sure you either set the camera to read the ISO from the film cartridge, or set it to the film speed. 2) start out using Program mode, and see what shutter speed and aperture the camera is recommending. Then use the program shift by adjust the settings for bokeh or blur. 3) read the online manual, if you don't have one for the camera. google "nikon N8008 manual". that should bring up a manual for you. Good luck and enjoy your camera!! It really is one of the best.
Great review! Thanks! Can feel the love you have for this camera :) In all the years how was your experience with the AF? I just picked up an F801s (N8008 with a spot meter) and i'm finding it focuses around a lot and doesn't quite nail the sharp focus very often. Hmm! Otherwise it's a great tool and could quickly become a favourite :)
this was my first AF camera. It does not compare to modern cameras, but it is fine for my photography. I don't shoot sports using it (anymore). But it was an incredible tool at the time I used it back in the Late 80s. Thanks for watching my video!
@@mdavis472000 Thanks for that. I remember looking at buying one when they were new but then I got made redundant and the money got tight. I've tried a new digital camera last few weeks but the sheer frustration of trying to take pictures is driving me crazy so I'm looking at going back to film but old age and new glasses make big viewfinders a necessity.
this is going to be my first SLR! Thanks for the run down!
a friend and coworker who had passed away in the early 90s used this camera quite alot, He went to school for photography and was always out and about shooting mostly wildlife and some street too , FX Odonnel was his name, he was a great guy and when he died in a auto related accident his parents gave me this camera, his bag and a few lenses! Ive been using mostly DSLRS over the past 10 years or so for casual , simple snap shot type pics, but Im now thinking about relearning my style using his camera! Back to film I believe is where I will be in his honor!
I just purchased a functional body with a batch of other items and wanted to see what others thought of the camera.
While I own a Nikon DSLR, I chose to use Minolta bodies and MD lenses before the digital era.
Regardless, the specifications ought to make the camera worth keeping as it appears my Nikkor ASP-C 18 to 55 DSLR lens will cover full frame down to 24mm;
hopefully still useful on manual focus and aperture priority until I acquire additional lenses.
Thanks for posting a very informative- and reassuring- video!
Nice to see this mostly unloved camera getting some love. I prefer it with the MF-21 control back. That back is amazing, and capable of imprinting shutter speed and aperture on the photograph amongst lots of other features like time lapse, bracketing and so on. My first experience of this camera was the Kodak DCS200 in the early 90's.
Kodak hacked an N8008S camera body onto their digital body. I still have it, and even though it has not been used in 20+ years, it probably still works.
It amazes me how most people look down their nose at the F801S and line up to get the F100, and don't realize just how good the F801S or F90X are. Can't complain, it keeps the prices of these cameras relatively low.
I like your review. Probably the best I have seen on this camera.
I had a camera technician add a regular pc socket so I could easily connect studio flash. I used the camera from 84 to 2003. I still have it bout shoot mostly digital now.
You're right, the F801 is a worthy camera but a stunning bargain: 25 EURO I purchased at eBay/Germany in 2020; in 1990 it cost 1398 D-Mark without any lens. And it's my favourite analogue gear even today;-)) @philosimot
I cut my teeth on an N8008, and loved it!. I never saw a reason to spend what an upgrade would cost. But I ignored it for a bit and the batteries popped, ruining it. I picked up an N8008s as a replacement. It's got a much better autofocus, better metering, is compatible with my MF-21 data back, and is about as inexpensive on ebay and cl. (My new one was even cheaper on cl at $10. It wasn't working. But an evening of repairs, and a few parts from my N8008 got it going perfectly.)
Thank you for the excellent review , clear and to the point , well appreciated. I have just acquired an F801s here in the UK . with a crack on the top the prism . for £15 . the camera is working perfectly and I am surprised to see it is solid just like the F90x. I contemplated going for the F80 which after reading many reviews , seems all plastic , that put me off.the same as the F100 that I bought few years back it was an early model .bought before I knew about the weaknesses of the back door breaking as well as the rewind fork issues , out of fear I have never used the camera and is gathering dust on the shelf.
thank you once again
Thanks for watching my video, and for commenting Ben. I do LOVE my 8008!!
I agree with. your comments; the camera is a good one and now that film photography may have a revival, this camera may appear more and more again.
It really is a great camera. A baby F4!!! Thanks for watching my video!
I believe that back in the day more working pros used the N8008 / N8008s / N90 / N90s than the D4s for most of their work. I got my N8008s used in the late 90s from a doctor who bought it to take snap shops and found it to be too much for him. It became the star of my photo gear. My pride and joy. A little side note here, the marketing guys at Nikon must have been on the ball giving the camera the number N8008s. Take out the N and you have 8008s which looks like ????
they really are workhorse cameras. And such fun to shoot. Thanks for watching my video Dominic!!
BOOBS! How did I not see that?? From the Nikon shuffle to the Tittie twister. ...
Found this one at a local camera shop with a 50mm 1.8 for $195. A fantastic piece of kit. Nice bright viewfinder, autofocus is razor sharp and plenty of shooting options. would've bought it on the spot if i had the cash
edit: I have since bought the much nicer (and more reasonably priced) Nikon N90S. It cannot be overstated how similar these bodies are.
Wowza! Happy shooting! Any tips on getting that autofocus to nail and be razor sharp? Mine tends to focus juuust near the perfect focus, but not often bang on.
@@flowermaze___I just recently got an N90S. So unfortunately, I do not have any tips.
I just got one at a thrift for 6 bucks , I’m excited I got a new toy for a steal
My Nikon N8008 shutter release button is not tripping the shutter. The batteries are good. Is there a fix?
how do you set the timer? if i press it ,it says 30sec but immediately takes the photo
Hi, thank you for the review, I bought the same camera and shot my first photos, but most of them turned out to be blurry. I shoot them on M mode, 125 ISO. I didn't look at the shutter speed though. Could you please make a video on how to shoot on different modes. :)
1) Buy some higher ISO film, and make sure you either set the camera to read the ISO from the film cartridge, or set it to the film speed. 2) start out using Program mode, and see what shutter speed and aperture the camera is recommending. Then use the program shift by adjust the settings for bokeh or blur. 3) read the online manual, if you don't have one for the camera. google "nikon N8008 manual". that should bring up a manual for you. Good luck and enjoy your camera!! It really is one of the best.
Great review! Thanks! Can feel the love you have for this camera :)
In all the years how was your experience with the AF?
I just picked up an F801s (N8008 with a spot meter) and i'm finding it focuses around a lot and doesn't quite nail the sharp focus very often. Hmm! Otherwise it's a great tool and could quickly become a favourite :)
this was my first AF camera. It does not compare to modern cameras, but it is fine for my photography. I don't shoot sports using it (anymore). But it was an incredible tool at the time I used it back in the Late 80s. Thanks for watching my video!
Que buen video 😀
What is the viewfinder like for glasses?
It has a big bright viewfinder that works great if you have glasses. Thanks for watching my video!
@@mdavis472000 Thanks for that.
I remember looking at buying one when they were new but then I got made redundant and the money got tight.
I've tried a new digital camera last few weeks but the sheer frustration of trying to take pictures is driving me crazy so I'm looking at going back to film but old age and new glasses make big viewfinders a necessity.