fast AF (despite what everyone else says), durability and toughness, ergonomics, build, battery life, looks, large, bright viewfinder, intuitive, fast and easy to use, can use old MF lenses with this (most do meter).

The shutter goes off LOUDLY. This is the only fault I can honestly think of and, at times, it can be inhibiting.

This is not my only camera. But it is my favorite camera out of the twenty-odd that I have available for my use. I will not leave town without this camera in my bag. I honestly don't know what people are complaining about when they say the autofocus is not fast. My lord, I point and touch the button and the scene is in focus. What more do people want? I couldn't be happier, as this camera usually will not hunt like my other Nikon DSLR's. This baby locks on in even poor light. It's far better at auto focusing than my more modern DSLR's. The metering is also right on and rivals my F3 for accuracy. Its ergonomics and sure grip enable me to take hand-held night shots that can only be dreamed of with other cameras. I have owned about 100 cameras in my long life and I will state unequivocally that this is my favorite of all as it has provided me with the highest percentage of extraordinarily beautiful photographs. I shoot it with the Nikkor AF 50mm f1.8 and Nikkor AF 28-85mm f3.5-4.5. I'm writing this about a camera that is over 20 years old. I actually have three of these. That's how much I like them. I bought one new in the box, that is my backup, so that I wouldn't ever have to live life without this baby.

Customer Service

Never needed.

Intuitive and easy to figure out controls, with all the essentials (exposure compensation, PSAM modes, advance speeds, etc.) right there. This was one of the quickest cameras for me to get used to.

Is autofocus, auto rewind, etc.

Uses 4AA batteries. The last generation of film cameras that used the lithium CR2 batteries (Maxxum 4 and similar) were much smaller, but you can get AA's anywhere. In addition, having come from the time before NIMH's were common place, alkaline AA's will last a reasonable time.

Typical Nikon heavy duty build quality.

Optional MF-21 data back.

Backwards compatible with AI (manual focus) lenses to 1977, meters but only center weighted.

Is supposedly a 2nd generation autofocus but uses the same module as the original N2020; in other words it's slow.

No attachment for a battery grip I'm aware of.

Simple (5 segment?) matrix metering.

Film at this point is for nostalgia and novelty. Deal with it. It's not the 90's when digital cameras had a low resolution and small memory cards. I sometimes shoot more on a weekend than I ever did in my entire history of film.

About the same size as a Nikon D90, except a little wider, and actually quite a bit heavier.

These are between 15 and 23 years old now, so light seals, corrosion, and general decay are things to watch out for.

I think I set a record for getting a usable camera at a bargain price; the cost being $2.47 with a tiny chip in the edge of the top frame as the only defect.

The N8008/8008s was the top end of Nikon's "consumer SLR" line until the N90 came out. However, it ended up being used by quite a few professionals because of it's flexibility with older lenses and general features.

For most people who still want to do film this is a good camera; although even the former pro gear is now bargain basement.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N4004
Nikon FM
Minolta Maxxum 4

For indoor shots ( Im a professional tattoo artist) It takes great pictures of my work with just available light. Color quality is great.

When I use it outdoors on auto the color seems washed out or overexposed.

Ive had this camera since 1991 and still use it . Its a great camera for everyday use but if Im doing B&W fine art photos I still use my Canon A-1 from the '80's. I like the quality of the Nikon. Its a beautiful camera. And when I need a camera with full auto capacity it's great. I have a BFA in fine arts and would never use a digital.I bought it new in 1990 for about $800.

Customer Service

Never had to use it

Similar Products Used:

Canon A1

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!

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!)

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!

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!

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N90s. N6006.

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.