I love it - the Nikon N80

Sirius Glass · Jan 16, 2023

Evidently except for the HIE I can use the N75 and N80. I am definitely getting my money's worth I invested in Photrio.

Huss · Jan 16, 2023

Just shot a roll of HP5 this morning walking along the beach. The last of the major storms had passed through so now we have clean air and big waves.
Again using the grid lines all the time to make sure the horizontals and verticals stay as such!

The size/feature set of this camera is just perfect. The N75 is very nice, but a tiny bit too small. The N80 has a noticeably smoother/quieter shutter, bigger vf, you can set ISO, you can set metering pattern w/o needing to set a custom function for it and it just fits in my hand better. The build is also a step up. But they are the same money on ebay!

The beautiful thing about 'cheap' cameras is you use them w/o thinking this thing is so expensive I better not walk along the surf. I shielded the camera when I wasn't using it, whipped it out and snapped a shot when I saw the opportunity, then shielded it again.

As cameras like this are so quick to use, this is easy. Checked the camera when I got home - was completely fine w/ no spray/dust/sand etc on it. Developing this roll now.

ic-racer · Jan 16, 2023

Huss said:
Just shot a roll of HP5 this morning walking along the beach.

I just got back trudging through the snow. I was expecting my N80 to be at the doorstep when I got home, but it looks like it will be here tomorrow. I was using my N55 with the AA pack and the new 24mm AF-D lens I recently acquired.

This is just a cellphone picture of where I was. Since I usually use large format in these settings I have been considering the prospects of being some sort of B&W version of Galen Rowell when I'm exploring with a 35mm Nikon.

ic-racer · Jan 16, 2023

This may be way off topic, but supposedly these images were taken with Nikon 35mm equipment by Galen Rowell.
I just de-colorized them so I could understand them better. I'm not colorblind, but I don't see artistically in color; I don't make color photographs.

Huss · Jan 17, 2023

Developed my first rolls today - works great w HP5 and C200.

Huss · Jan 17, 2023

I like this camera so much I just put another roll in it. 3rd roll in two days.

madNbad · Jan 17, 2023

Meanwhile, your F6 is wondering what happened?

Christiaan Phleger · Jan 17, 2023

And the Leica sullenly sits...

Helge · Jan 17, 2023

ic-racer said:
This may be way off topic, but supposedly these images were taken with Nikon 35mm equipment by Galen Rowell.
I just de-colorized them so I could understand them better. I'm not colorblind, but I don't see artistically in color; I don't make color photographs.
View attachment 326889 View attachment 326891 View attachment 326892 View attachment 326890

Get over yourself.

Helge · Jan 17, 2023

Daniela said:
I love my N80. It's my main camera and I've had it for 20 years. I'm jealous that they're so cheap in the US. I've been looking for one over here and haven't found one for under 80 euros.

I can echo what others have said. Despite the warning, I used infrared film in it and had no issues. I can't remember which film it was because this was around 2005, but I used it for a school assignment and it worked just fine.

They are cheap here too. You just don’t look in the right places.

tokam · Jan 17, 2023

There's a lot to be said for the Nikon AF film cameras from the '90s. Plentiful and very reasonable prices on the second-hand market. Almost cheap enough to be considered as disposable for the lower models. If you pick the right model you can shoot with almost any F mount lens from 1960 onwards, (probably excepting some AF lenses for digital SLR's).

ericB&W · Jan 17, 2023

Huss said:
It was the N90s that I passed on. Super camera, excellent price -$50 at my local shop - but it just didn’t click w me. I think it was down to the size and weight. I already have an F6 so didn’t really see why I would use the N90s instead.
The advantage of the N80 is it smaller and lighter, it has a built on pop up flash that you can use as a fill, it handles better, it is G lens compatible, and the one I found was a lot cheaper. But I think that is luck of the draw even though I do see a US based N80 right now for $9.99 w quantary zoom on ebay! Black…
The N90s is more solidly built, but that is the weight/size trade off.

I just shot a roll of film in the N80 while cycling around town. This, like the n75, is such a good one hand camera for things like that. Already popped another roll of film into it.

p.s. The grid lines on demand is a huge deal for me. Used it a bunch of times today - I have it set as a default.

That's right, F90 is too much "fat" and the main command dial is more difficult to reach with the thumb,
while in the F80 is in the perfect position .
F 80 is fantastic, the only great negative point is that exposure don't work with non AF lenses.
Then is fragile, my first one ended to work due a quite common problem with power supply,
the mirror remained up and was necessary a second shoot to put it down .
I bought recently a second one.

Cholentpot · Jan 17, 2023

tokam said:
There's a lot to be said for the Nikon AF film cameras from the '90s. Plentiful and very reasonable prices on the second-hand market. Almost cheap enough to be considered as disposable for the lower models. If you pick the right model you can shoot with almost any F mount lens from 1960 onwards, (probably excepting some AF lenses for digital SLR's).

Some of them.

I personally find the EOS system and lenses to be superior to the Nikon systems of the 90's. There are some gems from Nikon but almost the entire Canon line of 90's SLRs are really good. And the lenses are far better. Pre auto-focus I'm a firm Nikon shooter. AF and on it's going to be Canon.

I have the AA battery pack for the N80. Not sure how I feel about it yet...I don't think it added anything really.

ericB&W · Jan 17, 2023

Cholentpot said:
Some of them.

I personally find the EOS system and lenses to be superior to the Nikon systems of the 90's. There are some gems from Nikon but almost the entire Canon line of 90's SLRs are really good. And the lenses are far better. Pre auto-focus I'm a firm Nikon shooter. AF and on it's going to be Canon.

I have the AA battery pack for the N80. Not sure how I feel about it yet...I don't think it added anything really.

Ergonomically i find Canons superior with the second control dial on the back of the camera.
One can stay in program and control the camera as if in manual mode with the shift in the frontal dial
and + - exposure in the second one, all the controls in two fingers .
Serie L lenses where the benchmark for AF tele lenses .

Cholentpot · Jan 17, 2023

ericB&W said:
Ergonomically i find Canons superior with the second control dial on the back of the camera.
One can stay in program and control the camera as if in manual mode with the shift in the frontal dial
and + - exposure in the second one, all the controls in two fingers .
Serie L lenses where the benchmark for AF tele lenses .

I found that even the budget level lenses performed and felt better than their Nikon counterparts.

Helge · Jan 17, 2023

Cholentpot said:
Some of them.

I personally find the EOS system and lenses to be superior to the Nikon systems of the 90's. There are some gems from Nikon but almost the entire Canon line of 90's SLRs are really good. And the lenses are far better. Pre auto-focus I'm a firm Nikon shooter. AF and on it's going to be Canon.

I have the AA battery pack for the N80. Not sure how I feel about it yet...I don't think it added anything really.

Not optically better that’s for sure.
There was always something slightly more chintzy and less well considered about Canon compared to Nikon.
That is of course also reflected in the price difference.
For absolute speed internal focus motors might be best, but often absolute speed is not that important. The lenses also seemed to unnecessarily balloon in size with the biggerism going on through the nineties to today. Not helped by all the electronics crammed into them.

Huss · Jan 17, 2023

madNbad said:
Meanwhile, your F6 is wondering what happened?

I know.. the size, the weight, it’s all so serious.

Huss · Jan 17, 2023

Cholentpot said:
I have the AA battery pack for the N80. Not sure how I feel about it yet...I don't think it added anything really.

I wouldn’t use it. Makes the camera bigger and heavier and so kills some of the fun.

Huss · Jan 17, 2023

ericB&W said:
F 80 is fantastic, the only great negative point is that exposure don't work with non AF lenses.

exposure/metering works with manual focus lenses if those lenses are chipped. Like the Nikon AI-P lenses, Voigtlander and Zeiss SlI and Zf.2

brbo · Jan 17, 2023

My F80S can print exposure data between frames (how "pro" is that?!) and/or date in the frame (how "amateur" is that!!!). The door latch broke after 2 years, but I was able to file down a piece of aluminium to proper shape to replace the broken part.

I can't think of a feature that I would use the F80 doesn't have except better compatibility with older lenses (some lenses can't be chipped) and ability to leave film leader out of the cassette after rewinding.

Huss · Jan 17, 2023

Cholentpot said:
Some of them.

I personally find the EOS system and lenses to be superior to the Nikon systems of the 90's. There are some gems from Nikon but almost the entire Canon line of 90's SLRs are really good. And the lenses are far better. Pre auto-focus I'm a firm Nikon shooter. AF and on it's going to be Canon.

I have the AA battery pack for the N80. Not sure how I feel about it yet...I don't think it added anything really.

This isn’t a Nikon vs Canon thing as I know Canon and others make fantastic AF slrs too. Most prob available at killer prices. What drew me to Nikon was they maintained the same lens mount (until the recent Z digicams) so what I use on my F2 I can use on my F6. I think that’s cool.

Cholentpot · Jan 17, 2023

Helge said:
Not optically better that’s for sure.
There was always something slightly more chintzy and less well considered about Canon compared to Nikon.
That is of course also reflected in the price difference.
For absolute speed internal focus motors might be best, but often absolute speed is not that important. The lenses also seemed to unnecessarily balloon in size with the betterism going on through the nineties to today. Not helped by all the electronics crammed not them.

I don't get frustrated at my Canon lenses. They're either FD or EF. That's it. There's no twisting the aperture and locking so the AF works, or is will it work with this camera or not? EF lenses work on every single EF camera. 1980's through 2023. No fuss no muss.

As for optical quality. Let's be honest. These are 35mm cameras, a small lo-fi format. The sharpest 35mm lens I own is a Pentax-A 50mm 1.7 having the slightest degree of sharpness over one or the other really doesn't make a difference.

Cholentpot · Jan 17, 2023

Huss said:
This isn’t a Nikon vs Canon thing as I know Canon and others make fantastic AF slrs too. Most prob available at killer prices. What drew me to Nikon was they maintained the same lens mount (until the recent Z digicams) so what I use on my F2 I can use on my F6. I think that’s cool.

Sure.

If you spend the money then you can use your F mount lenses. Downside is those lenses don't work on cheaper bodies.

Paul Howell · Jan 17, 2023

I think most of the 90s consumer and proconsumer grade zooms will resolve Tmax 100 stopped down, the are light, downside is that they are slow, most in the 4.5 to 5.6 range, while the pro level zooms are 2.8.

Daniela · Jan 17, 2023

Helge said:
They are cheap here too. You just don’t look in the right places.

I'm all ears!

I love it - the Nikon N80

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