Rating Reviewed by: Dave Duke(Unregistered User)
(Intermediate)
Review Date September 19, 2007
Overall Rating 4 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for More than 1 year
Review 1 of 60
Price Paid:
$50.00
from online classifieds
Summary: Nikon's first good auto focus film slr. The 8008 and 8008s are fraternal twins.
Go my first one in 1990, the S version with spotmetering and slightly faster AF. Lasted a decade. Have since bought several more with prices plummeting because of digital. This camera made me capable of taking better pictures. All points good and bad are listed below under strengths weaknesses.
AF somewhat limiting in this day and age. Kind of pushing it for action sports photography (especially regular non S version) but great for general purpose, landscapes, kids, snapshots, concerts, portraits, weddings , fashion and just about anything else!
Strengths: 1/250 second flash sync. AA battery compatibility. High eyepoint for easy viewing even for eyeglass wearers. Depth of field preview. Shutter speed range from 30 seconds to 1/8000 second. Iso range from 6-6400. Motordrive shoots at up to 3.3 frames per second. Matrix metering. (N8008s only): Spot metering.
Very cheap on used market, cheaper then some lesser but later Nikons. Ruggedly built chassis. Extremely intuitive interface (similar to N6006 and N90/N90s).
Extremely reliable. A pro level body at a point and shoot price!
Weaknesses: Can't autofocus with Nikkor AF-S /AF-I lenses, Sigma HSM lenses. Only program and shutter priority with Nikon G lenses. Center point autofocus only. No built in flash. No built in autobracketing. (Get an N6006!)
Similar Products Used: Nikon N90s. N6006.
Customer Service: N/A . I took my dying 8008s to a local camera repair shop and they said they could no longer fix it, considering it an "obsolete" model. So I sold it on ebay for parts and bought me three more working ones!
Summary: 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.
Strengths: 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.
Weaknesses: AF slow by modern standards. Other than that not much to complain about
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.
Summary: 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.
Strengths: 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
Weaknesses: No real weaknesses, just a different set of compromises from other Nikons
Rating Reviewed by: Carl Koch(Unregistered User)
(Expert)
Review Date December 18, 2003
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for More than 1 year
Visitors rate this review 4.00 of 5,
2 votes
Review 4 of 60
Price Paid:
$0.00
from Inherited from fathe
Summary: 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.
Strengths: 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.
Weaknesses: Noisy.
Similar Products Used: Canon A-1, AE-1, F series
Nikon F2 (MF)
Summary: 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.
Strengths: - good finder displays
- mount/lens compatibility
- spot meter
- matrix meter (not foolproof, but very good)
- uses AA batteries
Weaknesses: - 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.
Similar Products Used: - N90
- Canon EOS 630
- various Pentaxes (manual focus)
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