Nikon F-801(s)/N8008(s) - A Nikon in Name Only?

It's got a thin red line and Nikon slathered on the prism housing, but is it the real deal?

  Updated Aug. 4, 2021

   As the purveyor of choice for professional SLRs for over three decades, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Nikon was among the more conservative of manufacturers. After all, most professionals in any field are inclined to stick with the tried-and-true over any newfangled gee-whizzery that comes along. Case in point: the original F lasted in production for 14 years, the whippersnapper F2 for 9, and the last bastion of manual focus pro Nikons, the F3, stuck around for 21 years. Likewise, the enthusiast-targeted FM/FE/FA platform barely changed in layout (a couple of minor control changes from the original FM to FE in 1978, and in the final FM3A model of 2001 being the biggest modifications) in nearly a quarter-century of production. So when Nikon did make major design changes, even in their non-professional models, it was a...big...deal. The summer of 1988 brought such a change, the DNA of which has managed to leapfrog from the venerable F-mount (in both film and digital forms) to the latest Z-mount mirrorless models. Worst of all for Nikonistas, it originally came from C...C...C...Canon (aaauuuggghhh!!!). 

  Nikon in the Year '88
 
   1988 was always destined to be a big year for Nikon. True to their every-other-Olympiad introduction schedule for a new pro SLR, Nikon had the Seoul Summer Games circled in red (what else?) on their calendars, and anticipation for the F4 was palpable. It was not just going to be the latest F-body to drop on the competition, but it was also widely rumored that it was going to be the first professional Nikon SLR to sport auto focus (AF). The F4 would meet all expectations and then some, but in reality it would prove to be more of a one-off MF/AF hybrid than the herald of a new Nikon era. That task would be left to the prosumer Nikon body that was introduced five months earlier in April 1988. Ironically, the F-801 (N8008 in the USA), while quickly overshadowed by the glow of the F4's resplendent entrance, would prove to be far more influential in the design of all future Nikon SLRs (including the pro bodies). The F4 may have been the figurehead, but the F-801 had the control...and that's what it was all about - control - or more specifically, control layout. 

   SLR controls had originally developed in an era of complete analog design. Every operation was mechanically-actuated and so the user interfaces of these cameras were directly coupled by physical means to the various functional bits (e.g. film winding/rewinding, shutters, lens mounts, aperture controls) by a variety of dials, gears and levers. And even when the first models with electronic components began to appear en masse in the early 1970s, such electronics did not replace mechanical systems, but only served to trigger those analog assemblies. But with the advent of microprocessors in the mid-to-late-'70s (a la the Canon AE-1 and its gaggle of imitators), it was only a matter of time before wholesale replacement of many mechanical systems by electronics became common. Many film enthusiasts (then and now ;-)) would decry such changes, but there would be no going back for the manufacturers: electronics were simpler and, therefore, cheaper to produce, and money always wins. But it would take another 10 years before the ultimate expression of modern SLR controls would arrive in its seminal form, courtesy of (again) C...C...Canon. (Notice that I was able to regain guttural control one stutter sooner this time :-)) 

    Leave it to Canon, Nikon's longtime nemesis, to come up with a completely new control paradigm that would become a necessity rather than just an alternative for the increasingly feature-laden SLRs offered over the last decade-and-a-half of the 20th century. Now, there were plenty of push-button electronic SLRs that came along between the AE-1 and the trendsetting T90 (1986). But it was the way that the T90 married push buttons with an electronic multi-purpose input dial and LCD that would change SLRs forever. Irony would strike yet again as the T90 would be on the bleeding edge of mid-'80s SLR technology in all areas save one: AF. Of the four major technological leaps in SLR design that typified the decade (internal motorized film handling, multi-spot or multi-segment metering, and button + dial + LCD controls being the other three), the lack of AF doomed the T90 in the sales department. But its advanced control design and internal layout did not go unnoticed by its competitors and Nikon, in particular, when it came to the F-801.  

The Canon T90 & Nikon F-801(s) - Trendsetter and Trendsettee :-)

  The F-801: A T90 in Nikon Livery?

    So just how much "inspiration" did Nikon take from the Canon T90? Well, let's leave the control layout concept for last, as there are plenty of other places to start:

• Construction - The F-801 would become the first enthusiast-level Nikon to adopt Canon's "hybrid" construction of a 100% polycarbonate shell over a metal chassis. Now, Nikon had already utilized this technique on its first bottom-end consumer AF model, the F-401/N4004 (1987). But there was a world of difference in their minds between what was appropriate for consumers versus enthusiasts. The T90 had been nicknamed "the Tank" by Japanese photojournalists soon after its introduction, which must have settled a few minds at Nikon as far as adopting its basic chassis/skin design for their latest advanced SLR body.
• Motors - The T90 pioneered the use of three smaller coreless motors to care for: 1) film winding, 2) shutter charging, the auto exposure mechanism & the quick-return mirror, and 3) film rewind. This approach allowed each motor to be optimized for its specific role and thereby reduced power consumption while increasing speed (a very rare occurrence :-)) over the then-standard single, large, multipurpose motor used by other motorized SLRs of the day. The F-801 utilized a similar three-motor design with the following adjustment: the first motor was used for film winding & rewinding, the second filled the same role as the T90's, leaving the third motor for AF duties. 
• Multiple Metering Options - The T90 was the first SLR to offer three metering options: 1) Centerweighted, 2) Partial (13% central region of the frame), and 3) Spot (2.7% spot at the very center of the viewfinder frame, with the capability to memorize and average up to eight spot readings). Nikon responded initially with two options: 1) Matrix - a five-segment pattern that was derived from the Automatic Multi-Pattern meter of the manual focus Nikon FA, and 2) Centerweighted (utilizing a new 75/25 pattern; having 75% of the sensitivity concentrated within the 12mm circle in the viewfinder with the remaining 25% tapering off to the edges of the frame versus Nikon's traditional 60/40 split). With the F-801s update in 1991, Nikon would add a third 2.3% Spot pattern that was restricted to a smaller 3.5mm central circle in the viewfinder.
• Rear-curtain Flash Sync. - Canon introduced this flash setting option on the T90 which fired appropriately-compatible flash units only as the second (or rear) shutter curtain was beginning its travel. The T90 was also Canon's first TTL-flash metered body, six years behind Nikon's adoption of TTL flash with the F3, which was only a mere five years after Olympus' introduction of the technology on the OM-2 in 1975 ;-). 28 months after the T90's debut, the F-801 became the first Nikon SLR to offer rear-curtain sync. (with its accessory SB-24 flash).   

    Okay, now that we have those smaller details out of the way, let's get down to the major feature that Nikon (and eventually, every other AF SLR manufacturer) lifted from the T90: the button + Electronic Input Dial (Canon's term) + LCD configuration. The reason Canon (led by the T90's outside consultant/designer Luigi Colani) developed the electronic dial interface was the rapidly ballooning feature sets of advanced SLRs. Consider, for a moment, the challenge of finding the real estate for physical dials or levers capable of not only setting but legibly displaying:

• A shutter speed range from 30 - 1/4000 sec. in 1/2-step increments (that would be 36 discrete settings)
• ISO settings from 6-6400 in 1/3-stop increments (31 discrete settings)
• Aperture settings (20), Exposure compensation (12), AE modes (10), Multiple Exposures (9), and Metering modes (3)

   This all added up to 121 different possible settings spread over 7 individual controls, which would have made for a hot, bloated mess with the traditional SLR interface or an insane amount of button pressing using an interface like Canon's T70 sported. But, by using an electronic multipurpose dial that travelled infinitely in both directions, it was now possible to assign these various functions to much smaller individual buttons that could be pressed singly or in pairs and then spinning the Electronic Input Dial to select the desired setting.  

    Nikon, of course, had their own ideas about how to implement their version of this new approach to SLR control, which we will dig into next. But, for a minute, let's just stop and think about how massive this change was for them. Aside from the mechanical Nikkor/Nikomats, every Nikon SLR since 1959 had sported the same basic control layout as the Nikon F. Nearly three decades with no major changes. And then to adopt the same premise developed by their fiercest rival? Quite a bold move for a company commonly considered to be as staid and conservative as they came. The F-801 would become just the second SLR of any brand to adopt this new control philosophy. But it would be far from the last.

  The F-801's Implementation of Button + Dial + LCD Controls

   Obviously, Nikon wasn't going to just straight-out up and copy Canon. There were patents and all that sort of thing to deal with. But it went deeper than just avoiding patent infringements. They definitely had their own philosophy about how this new control concept should affect the photographer. So let's take a closer look at how the F-801 (and all subsequent prosumer Nikons) differed from the T90 (and all subsequent prosumer Canons) in how the user interacted with the controls.

    Both cameras featured a single dial (Electronic Input Dial in trademarked Canonspeak and Command Input Control Dial in Nikonese). On the T90, this dial was oriented vertically directly behind the shutter release to be operated by the right index finger. Nikon disliked this arrangement as it required the user to lift their finger off of the shutter release to make any adjustments and then return it to that position (or use their middle finger for shutter release leaving the index finger free for scrolling the dial). Their solution was to orient the dial horizontally and to the rear of the top plate for operation via the right thumb of the user. This would keep the index finger on the shutter release ready to capture that "decisive" moment ;-). Both companies would add more dials in the years to come (Sub Command Dials mounted horizontally under and protruding in front of the shutter release for the Nikons, and vertical Quick Control Dials on the film backs of the Canons), but the paradigms were set with the T90 and F-801. And you can still see them in both manufacturer's latest DSLR (and mirrorless, for that matter) models :-). 

Similar yet Different: Button + Dial + LCD Interfaces from the T90 (bottom) and F-801 (top)

  A Truly New Nikon

   As noted earlier, while the F4 outshone the F-801 upon its public availability in December 1988, the F-801 would prove to be far more impactful when it came to the development of future generations of Nikon SLRs. And Nikon played the introduction of both models on dealer's shelves rather well, gapping them by about six months, allowing the F-801 grab a few headlines of its own before being eclipsed in the press by the F4. 

    The F-801/N8008 was the first SLR to offer a top shutter speed of 1/8000 sec. (likely the reason for the prominently-featured "8" in both model designations :-)), with the F4 soon following, giving Nikon a brace of the fastest SLRs on the market. Other notable (albeit, in some cases, short-lived) industry- or Nikon-firsts included:

• The fastest internal motor drive in an AF SLR. It was rated at 3.3 frames per second (fps) in Continuous High mode. The F4 would surpass this with between 4 and 5.7 fps (depending on battery configuration) for tops among AF SLRs. Sure, the T90 punched out 4.5 fps, but it was MF. Gotta milk those margins, eh Nikon ;-)
• Nikon claimed (as did virtually every manufacturer introducing a new AF model from the late-'80s onward) the fastest AF...in the world (until the F4 came along with a 15% more powerful focus motor and a dedicated 8-bit CPU just for AF operation ;-)). It definitely was the most responsive AF module in low light, able to focus at -1 EV (or as Nikon marketing trumpeted, "by the light of a single candle"). Which none of the press covering the launch were able to verify, as there were (conveniently) no single candles present in the room ;-). Nevertheless, the F-801 was the start of a long-time Nikon strength of low-light AF capability in their SLRs. And it was a major step forward from their first-gen AF SLR, the N2020/F-501, which topped out at 4 EV, at best.
• Something that was very evident as a definite improvement in flash performance at the time was the Matrix Balanced Fill-Flash with TTL Cybernetic Sync (ooohweee, the marketing-lingo boys were working hard for those paycheques ;-)) capability with the simultaneously-released SB-24 Speedlight. Marketing mumbo jumbo aside, this was an actual advantage over every other SLR on the market at the time.
• The most flexible self-timer ever produced to that point (the delay was user-selectable from 2 - 30 sec., with a special two-frame setting (10 sec. followed by another 5 sec. delay).
• The first Nikon to feature Flexible Program (aka Program Shift), whereby the user could change the shutter speed/aperture value combination selected by the camera while maintaining the same overall exposure, by simply turning the Command Dial in any of the P modes. This shift is automatically cancelled once the exposure is made or the meter turns off (after 8 sec. with sufficient battery power).  

  Descent Into Obscurity

    AF SLR development proceeded at a breakneck pace into the mid-'90s as both Canon and Nikon caught up to first-mover Minolta and soon were forming a duopoly of AF SLR domination. The F-801 would be in production for less than three years (selling around 600,000 units or roughly three for every F4 sold during that time) before being updated into the F-801s in March 1991. The F-801s would then be supplanted as the top enthusiast Nikon AF model by the F90/N90 only a year-and-a-half later. It would remain in the sales lineup until March 1995 (with sales in the 360,000-range), but was again overshadowed by its progeny (in identical fashion, the F90/N90 was updated into X/s versions in 1994 with AF improvements again being the major objective). Popular Photography never managed to put either version of the F-801 through its famous lab test as they simply lost track of them with other newer models (such as the F4 and N6006/F-601) just pipping them to the post when they were about to get around to it. So, even in its heyday, the F-801 flew somewhat under the radar as far as notoriety was concerned.

   That didn't stop it from becoming a beloved body for many an enthusiast or pro, in other words, a workhorse (if that isn't the ethos of a Nikon SLR, I don't know what is :-)). You could buy one for a third of the cost of an F4, it weighed a third less (and when compared to the F4s ("s" designated the 6 AA MB-21 grip, in this case) weight was almost halved), and did almost everything the F4 could (the most glaring exceptions being Focus Tracking, Spot Metering, and that 15% more powerful AF motor, all of which would be incorporated into the F-801s). There are a few other areas where the F-801 could leave certain potential users wanting for more: mirror lock-up (MLU), a PC sync port for studio lighting, and a 100%-coverage viewfinder being three of them. Oh, and it couldn't Matrix meter with non-CPU (AI & AI-s) lenses like the F4 (psst, not really a big deal, or even a small one as early Matrix metering conferred about a 10% improvement over centerweighted when it came to getting exposure correct in tricky lighting situations; it was not infallible). For what it's worth, I would take the 75/25 centerweighting of the F-801 over the 60/40 ratio of the F4 any day :-). The dawn of the digital era only served to hasten the demise of the F-801(s) into the netherworld of SLRs. And there it remains today, still in the shadows...available for a fifth of the cost of an FE2 (which, along with the FA, it directly replaced in Nikon's SLR lineup). 

    Which raises the question: WHY? Why is such a capable, groundbreaking camera still on the fringes of 35mm film enthusiasts' consciousness?

    It's actually not that complicated. The F-801 simply does not look nor feel the part of a "classic" SLR (unlike the FA, which Nikon went to great lengths to style conventionally while packing in as much technical sophistication as they could back in 1983). No milled shutter speed dial nestled next to the prism housing. No film advance lever to be caressed by a right thumb. No manual rewind crank to be tenderly twisted till the film is tucked safely inside the cartridge. No match-needle gently floating in the viewfinder. No lovely leatherette to nuzzle your fingertips. No cool-to-the-touch brass or aluminum to soothe your skin. Instead, you've got pernicious polycarbonate, dastardly digital displays, and those woeful, whining motors to contend with. The 35mm film snob's worst nightmare writ large ;-). In a rich twist, you could say it suffers from the same perception as its longtime arch rivals from Canon: capable of photographic near-perfection with a chaser of "meh" and two shots of "blah" for the purist. The consequence: zero street cred among hipsters and other nostalgists. But that reputation of reprobation also ranks it among the best values in film SLRs today. So should you bother looking at one?

  Is An F-801(s) in Your Future?

    In my experience, there are two ends of the scale for photographer types: 1) those looking for the shortest distance between visualization and execution of an image and who could thus care less about what equipment they use to reach that goal as long as the equipment facilitates the goal, and 2) those who prefer their equipment and the way it feels in hand and to eye to contribute measurably to the process. I find myself somewhere between the two, often just depending on the day and the mood that I am in. But if you generally lean towards the latter notion, the F-801 likely will prove disappointing should you decide to try it. If you are closer to the former, it might prove a compelling choice.

    Many times you will hear Type 1 photogs say that they prefer cameras that "just get out of my way". The F-801 is one such SLR. Although primarily intended as an AF-centric body, it does a very good job as a manual focus SLR, too. Here are a few key attributes:

• That 1/8000 sec. shutter is a peach. It was unmatched by Canon in anything below the EOS-1 until 1992 with the introduction of the EOS 5/A2(E). Although surpassed by Minolta's 1/12,000 sec. shutters in the Maxxum/Dynax/Alpha 9xi and 9 models (more for bragging rights than any real-world advantage), 1/8000 sec. still remains the standard for high-end mechanical shutters in today's latest advanced DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. Purists have yet another reason to hate on the F-801: Its duralumin shutter blades found their way into the "classic" FM2N starting in 1989, obsoleting those oh-so-$exy titanium honeycomb-etched blades that had been integral to Nikon breaking the 1/4000 sec. barrier seven years earlier. Never mind that they actually perform better in colder weather and are just as durable. Once again, epic tales of engineering genius were overthrown by straightforward competency. Booooo! ;-)
• A clear, uncluttered, high-eyepoint (19mm of eye relief) viewfinder with just a single set of AF brackets in the center of the finder with a 12mm circle surrounding them to indicate the centerweighted metering pattern (and another smaller 3.5mm circle around the AF brackets signifying the spot meter pattern on the "s" models). The BriteView focusing screen is very effective for MF, and the AF sensor works as an electronic version of the traditional split-image rangefinder with "> o <" symbols in the far left side of the unobtrusive information bar at the bottom of the viewfinder indicating which direction to turn the focus ring, with the "o" appearing when focus is achieved. Said information bar is automatically backlit with a pleasant yellow-green glow when low light is encountered, or can be activated anytime by the user. It will automatically go out when the meter times out at 8 seconds. Most future AF film (and digital) bodies sacrificed good MF capability for even-brighter viewfinders with zoom lenses that generally start at f/2.8, at best. The F-801 strikes a near-perfect balance between viewfinder brightness and manual focusing performance without overwhelming you with information.
• Unlike its two main contemporary competitors, the Canon EOS 620 and Minolta 7000i, the F-801 didn't hide any of its function buttons behind doors on the back of the camera, or in the handgrip. Conversely, the EOS 620 placed its Drive and Self-timer mode buttons (which, when pressed simultaneously, also formed the ISO function) and its manual rewind button, behind a flap on the back of the camera below the film door. The Minolta 7000i similarly stashed the Self-timer, ISO, and manual rewind buttons in behind its handgrip door (a la the T90). When Popular Photography tested all three cameras' AF systems head-to-head-to-head in their December 1988 issue, the F-801 received top marks for its controls being the easiest to navigate and the most comprehensive. There was no doubling-up of button presses (except for film rewind and program reset, both of which you wouldn't want to accidentally trigger with a single push, anyways :-)). Even by today's standards, its ergonomics are excellent. The top-deck LCD is clutter-free while still conveying all pertinent information. Again, it stays out of the way until you need it.
• As noted earlier, while it does not equal the F4 as far as backwards & forwards compatibility with both MF and AF lenses (nothing does among film SLRs :-)), the F-801 still makes for an excellent body both ways. First, it will offer full metering options & AF with any AF or AF-D screwdrive Nikkor lens ever made (and it still meters just fine with newer AF-S lenses, but with no AF). Second, it accepts all AI & AI-s MF lenses in A or M modes with centerweighted (and spot on the "s" models) metering that equals or betters any previous centerweighted AI-compatible Nikon MF body (Nikkormat FT-3, Nikon EL2, F2A(S), FM, FE, EM, F3, FM2(n), FG, FE2, FG-20, F-301(N2000), FM3A). The only drawback is that it does not display the set aperture value in the viewfinder or on the LCD (something the FT-3, EL2, EM, FG, FG-20, and F-301 also do not provide) with such non-CPU lenses. So you will have to physically check the aperture ring to verify the setting (modern MF F-mount lenses from Zeiss and Voigtlander incorporate a CPU chip so they will provide aperture readout in the viewfinder and on the LCD). But the option of spot metering and a shutter speed range of 1/8000 - 30 sec. just might serve to mitigate that disadvantage somewhat :-). In A mode you also get +/- 5 EV worth of exposure compensation versus a maximum +/- 2 EV on any of those other models. The F-801 also has a better M exposure mode readout than the later F90(X) with +/- 2 EV in 1/3-steps displayed in the viewfinder and on the LCD versus the +/- 1 EV scale of the newer model. So, yeah, it's not the perfect MF body, but it does a very fair impersonation of one for an SLR that was primarily designed for AF. And we won't even bother to compare its MF performance with MF lenses to the Canon and Minolta AF bodies & lenses (Ever tried MF with AF lenses? It's doable but not exactly pleasurable ;-). The electronic rangefinding assistance of the AF sensor can also assist a user's ability to use MF effectively.
• Screwdriven AF & AF-D Nikkors are some of the least expensive lens options (particularly the zooms, e.g. the 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5 kit zoom for the F-801, and the 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 AF-D for the F90) on today's market due to the same prejudices that haunt the F-801(s): plasticky, plasticky, and more plasticky ;-). But they offer excellent optical quality for their era, so, again, the cost/performance ratio is among the highest in the 35mm film world. Focus Tracking coupled with the 15% more-powerful AF motor in the "s" versions gave an improved "hit" rate with subjects moving towards the camera by about 40% over the original AF system (that equates to 8 rather than 5 acceptably sharp shots out of 31 according to Pop Photo's testing of the F4 versus the original F-801). So if AF is the driving force for you, go for an "s" version over the original (but take a good long look at the F90X first, as its AF system is considerably better than the even the F-801s). 

    Speaking of the F90X/N90s...it is a faster, more responsive body, with improved AF performance, better weathersealing, and 1/3-step shutter speed increments versus the standard 1-step increments of the F-801(s). And it can still be found for about 25% more with some patience. But if you have smaller hands, it can feel a bit portly (although the actual weight is only 60 grams (2.1 oz) more) in hand. The F-801(s) is considerably narrower in the midsection and has a smaller grip than its successor. For smaller hands, you might find it more comfortable to hold. Try both out before buying if possible. The F90X just edges it out for my medium-sized hands, but YMMV. Either way, the F-801's ergonomics have aged quite well (with no sticky-back syndrome, either :-)).     

The F90X/N90s is definitely more of a handful than its direct ancestor :-)

​    Things to look out for include:

• Batteries - Like every other AA (LR6)-powered SLR, the greatest enemies of these cameras are leaky alkaline batteries. Ascertaining the condition of the battery compartment and its MS-7 holder is the absolute first order of business when contemplating a purchase. The holders have been out of production for over 15 years and are sometimes broken or missing entirely from the camera (tip: don't overtighten the retaining screw; squeeze the holder against the spring pressure of the compartment with one hand and then just snug the screw with a coin in the other). Without a good holder, the F-801 is a brick. If you get one, do yourself and any future owner(s) a favor and use Energizer Ultimate Lithiums or NiMH (Eneloop-type) rechargeables instead of alkalines. You will never have to worry about leaks and subsequent corrosion that way. Plus, with lithium AAs you can expect a battery life, per set of four, of over 500 rolls of 36-exp. film with AF & the kit 35-70/3.3-4.5 AF Zoom Nikkor or 50/1.8 AF Nikkor (and considerably more with MF) at room temperature. And around 210 rolls at -10 Celsius. That absolutely destroys any of its 2CR5 lithium-powered contemporaries (at a ratio of 10 rolls to 1). In your Interweb travels you will likely come across mentions of Nikon not approving the use of lithiums in the F-301/-501, F-801, F90, and F4; take these with a grain of salt, as Nikon did not come around to lithium AAs or AAAs until the late-'90s after such models were discontinued and didn't bother to update their stance (which they did for the F90X, which remained in production until 2001) publicly. As for the NiMH rechargeables, you can expect about 3-4 times the battery life (with 2000-2800 milliamp-hour cells) versus the rating in the Instruction Manual for Ni-Cads (which were generally 600-1000 mAh, back in the day).
• LCD bleeding - Watch for dark patches or blotches in either the top-deck or viewfinder LCDs. The F-801(s), in my experience, does very well in this regard on the whole, unless it has received a direct impact to an LCD. Regarding the viewfinder display, also watch for the narrow, opaque window on the top of the finder to be in place, not pushed in or missing.
• Functionality - Of course, Nikon had to miss a couple of times (sometimes intentionally) with their trailblazer. First, if you are a massive Matrix-metering maven (can't say that I am), on the F-801(s) it only works in horizontal orientation (just like on the FA), as opposed to the fancy (and costly) mercury-switch system of the F4, which permitted vertical Matrix readings. The 1-step shutter speed increments for the shutter-priority and manual exposure modes also failed to make the best use of the new control dial system, (one also wonders if they did that intentionally to prevent potentially unfavorable comparisons for the F4 and its traditional 1-step shutter speed dial ;-)). As noted earlier, the lack of MLU, and a PC-sync. socket will turn off some people. 
• Noise - F-801s are average as far as noise for their era, but they are certainly not quiet by today's standards. AF function is definitely louder than contemporary Canons, although film transport noise is about the same in models prior to the Canon EOS 10 and Elan/100. If you are all about ultimate discretion, it will not be for you. 
• Accessories - Being Nikon's initial second-gen AF offering, the F-801(s) requires certain accessories to add features that became built-in on later SLRs. The MF-21 multifunction back adds: autobracketing, intervalometer, and "freeze focus" modes, along with the standard date imprinting from the basic MF-20 databack. The camera also requires the MC-12A/B electronic release cords for remote release (also used for the F-301/N2000, F-501/N2020, F4, and F70/N70 SLRs). The cables are 3m/9.8' and 0.8m/2.6' long, respectively, cost about $15-20 USD, and are still readily available. With a bit of patience, you can purchase a body with the MF-21 (it requires two CR2025 lithium batteries) already fitted, if you want its extra features, for no more than one with the standard film back. There were also two additional focusing screens besides the standard "B" screen with its matte field, 12mm metering circle, and central AF bracket for the F-801: the "E", with a grid pattern & 12mm circle over the matte field, and the "J", with a central microprism surrounded by the matte field for manual focusing. While you can fit the J screen to the "s" models, the central microprism will interfere with the spot meter's readings, so it is better to forgo if you wish to make use of the spot meter. Focusing screens will run you $30-40 USD, on average. Personally, the standard B screen works well enough for me when manual focusing that I have not yet found a reason to swap it out, but the option is there if you need it :-). The F-801(s) is compatible with any Nikon TTL flash unit up to the SB-600 (2004), but will give its best with the SB-24, -25, -26, -28, -29, -28DX, -50DX, -80DX, -800, and -600 models (the last two are also I-TTL compatible with many Nikon DSLRs for added versatility). There are also still a good supply of replacement eyepieces and diopters available (many of these also fit other Nikon enthusiast film and digital SLRs). Many F-801(s) have had their eyepiece removed, so make sure you get one with the body and save yourself another $30-40 USD from having to pick one up after the fact.

  Wrap-Up

    I found my personal F-801s in an online classified this year for $35 USD. The original owner supposed he had put maybe 20 rolls through it. The alkaline batteries in the camera had leaked (but not badly, fortunately) when I opened it up and popped four lithiums in to test it. It fired right up. As soon as I got it home, the battery compartment and holder received the vinegar and Q-tip treatment. I'm now left holding a camera with approximately 99% of its rated shutter cycles remaining (50,000, which was conservative as per the Nikon Way back then :-)), and a squeaky-clean viewfinder. The last new F-801s bodies at B&H Photo sold for $1,050 USD (inflation-adjusted to 2021) in March 1995. 97% depreciation...I'll have to live with that...I guess...if I have to ;-). Even at the more common going rate of $100 USD for excellent copies, the F-801 remains one of the best SLR bargains going today, if outright photographic capability is high on your priority list. I'll take the weight savings over an F4 any day and it works with my motley collection of AI-converted to AF-D Nikkors perfectly.

   Is it the body I take out every time? Nope. I love my manual winding, manual focus bodies when the situation calls for it. And if I want the ultimate in single-sensor Nikon AF performance, the F90X comes along. But when I want a camera to just get out of my way and let me lose myself in the fun of photography, the F-801s is a lean, mean, film-slingin' machine. While it is no Nikon F in form nor reputation, it has more than pulled its weight in perpetuating the long-standing Nikon trait of solid, workmanlike performance. And that still makes it a Nikon to me; even if it's commonly considered to be the photographic equivalent of an '80s cover band. Well, a cover can be alright in its own right, and sometimes it can give the 1959 original a run for its money ;-).  

  References:

    Nikon N8008 Brochure @ www.pacificrimcamera.com
    Canon T90 Brochure @ www.pacificrimcamera.com
    Canon EOS 620 Brochure @ www.pacificrimcamera.com
    Nikon N8008 User Manual @ www.butkus.org/chinon/nikon.htm
    Nikon N8008s User Manual @ www.butkus.org/chinon/nikon.htm
    Debut of Nikon F4 @ https://imaging.nikon.com/history/chronicle/history-f4/index.
    CAMERA; The Future Is Here - Andy Grundberg, NYT, Apr. 17, 1988
    Popular Photography magazine - June 1988 p. 28; May 1991 p. 12; Dec. 1996 p. 252
    Popular Photography Test Report: Nikon F4s - June 1989 p. 48
    Minolta 7000i User Manual
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